A judge on Friday denied the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s request to withdraw previous claims in favour of resuspension of Eric and Lyle Menendez over the murder of their parents in 1989.
The rule paves the way for a rehearsal of a hearing to begin next Thursday in Vanneis.
The brothers live without parole in their Beverly Hills home due to the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez. Their lawyers are trying to recenter them for lesser terms, as they could potentially allow them to be released from prison.
Last year, former Da George Gascon asked a judge to change the brother’s sentence to 50 years without the possibility of parole in light of new evidence that showed his brother endured sexual abuse by his father. They committed the crime while under the age of 26, so they will soon be eligible for parole.
New evidence includes a letter allegedly written by Eric Menendez just months before he and his siblings killed their parents, detailing alleged sexual abuse.
File – This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Eric Menendez, left, Lyle Menendez. (Califia section correction section via AP, file)
However, Hochman reversed Gascon’s decision in last month’s motion, casting it into new evidence. He noted that the letter was never mentioned in either of the brothers’ trials in the 1990s.
Hochman’s office said it cannot support restinsing as the brothers had not admitted the lies they spoke about killing their parents during trial and “doing not to accept full recognition, acknowledge and complete responsibility” for the crime.
Despite Hochman’s opposition, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jessick ruled Friday that the court could proceed with the hearing.
“Everything you claim today is an absolutely fair game to listen to resent next Thursday,” Jessick said.
The brothers appeared in court via Zoom but did not issue an official statement.
Deputy District Attorney Habib Varian said on Friday that the key issue with Gascon’s responsibilities was not addressing rehabilitation entirely and missing out on a key element of the original crime committed.
“What does that mean? Learn from your mistakes and really understand what you were wrong,” Varian said.
What does the resentment mean for the Menendez Brothers’ case?
Varian presented evidence and video clips of the brother’s testimony from the first trial, showing cases of “falling into a bunker of deceit, lies and deception.”
He said he killed his parents out of greed when he learned that they were being taken from their will, citing a note from the psychiatrist who said the brothers had shown “this is not self-defense.”
The brother’s lawyer, Mark Jelagos, called the presentation a “dog and pony show,” and described it as “a political cover-up” as Hochman defeated Gascon with the racial district attorney.
“They approved the denial of sexual abuse,” Geragos said of the prosecutor’s presentation.
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