Defense Team Claims It Proves Long-Standing Allegations, File For Clemency
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman has formally urged a judge to reject the Menendez brothers’ bid for a new trial, filing a 132-page brief that challenges the credibility of newly presented evidence and labels the request a “Hail Mary” attempt to overturn decades-old convictions.
Lyle and Erik Menendez have been serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the August 1989 shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, inside the family’s Beverly Hills home. While admitting to the murders during two trials, the brothers argued they acted in self-defense after years of physical and sexual abuse.
The current petition, filed in May 2023, seeks a new trial based on two pieces of evidence their attorneys say support those abuse claims: a 1988 letter written by Erik Menendez in which he refers to sexual abuse by his father, and an allegation from a former boy band member accusing Jose Menendez, a former music executive, of sexual assault.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has repeatedly voiced opposition to reopening the case, argued in the filing that the evidence is unreliable and that the brothers lied during the investigation. He previously asked the court in February to deny the petition outright.
The brothers’ attorneys, Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner, contend the new material bolsters their long-standing defense. “It not only shows that Jose Menendez was very much a violent and brutal man who would sexually abuse children, but it strongly suggests that he was still abusing Erik Menendez as late as December 1988,” they wrote.
After a May re-sentencing by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic, both men became eligible for parole consideration. Erik Menendez is scheduled for a parole suitability hearing on Aug. 21, with Lyle Menendez’s hearing the following day. If the parole board recommends release, Gov. Gavin Newsom would have 90 days to review and could block the decision.
The defense team has also submitted a clemency request to Newsom on behalf of the brothers.
