Menendez brothers case: LA DA asking court to withdraw predecessor Gascón's resentencing motion

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office will move forward on a resentencing motion for Erik and Lyle Menendez, he announced during a press conference Monday.

Hochman said that he does not support the resentencing because the brothers have repeatedly lied about why they killed their parents at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

What we know:

Hochman said he is asking the court to withdraw his predecessor's previous motion for resentencing for the Menendez brothers, calling their claims of self-defense "lies."

"We are prepared to go forward with the hearing regarding their resentencing case," he said. "However, we are asking the court to withdraw the previous district attorney's motion for resentencing, because we believe there are legitimate reasons and the interests of justice justifies that withdrawal."

In February, Hochman expressed skepticism about the admissibility and relevance of new evidence presented by the brothers' defense attorneys, which alleges sexual abuse by their father. 

Despite opposing the request for a new trial, Hochman has not yet taken a stance on their motion for re-sentencing. 

The brothers' attorneys are seeking a sentence reduction that could make them eligible for parole or release based on time served.

What they're saying:

"After a thorough and exhaustive review of the over 10,000s of pages of trial transcripts from two months-long trials, of the 1,000s of pages of prison records, of the 100s of hours of videotaped trial testimony, of all relevant pleadings, exhibits and statements, as well as interviewing victim family members, defense counsel, prior prosecutors, and law enforcement and the applicable law, the District Attorney's Office is prepared to proceed forward with the hearing on the Court's initiation of resentencing proceedings for the Menendez brothers but we are requesting that the prior District Attorney's motion for resentencing be withdrawn," Hochman said in a statement.

Hochman said his decision fell on whether the brothers’ had exhibited "insight and complete responsibility" into lies told during their original trial, including their original claims that they did not kill their parents. He said their repeated argument that they killed their parents in self-defense does not match the facts of the case that showed premeditated steps to plan the killings and make it look like a gang hit.

"The basis for that request is that the prior motion did not examine or consider whether the Menendez brothers have exhibited full insight and taken complete responsibility for their crimes by continuing for the past over 30 years to lie about their claims of self-defense, that is, their fear that their mother and father were going to kill them the night of Aug. 20, 1989, justifying the brutal murders of their parents with shotgun blasts through the back of their father's head, a point-blank blast through their mother's face, and shots to their kneecaps to stage it as a Mafia killing," he added.

Among the things Hochman wants to hear from the brothers is the admission that they "fabricated a story of self-defense that their parents were going to kill them and recruited others to lie on their behalf."

"As a full examination of the record reveals, the Menendez brothers have never come clean and admitted that they lied about their self-defense as well as suborned perjury and attempted to suborn perjury by their friends for the lies, among others, of their father violently raping Lyle's girlfriend, their mother poisoning the family, and their attempt to get a handgun the day before the murders," he said.

"The Court must consider such lack of full insight and lack of acceptance of responsibility for their murderous actions in deciding whether the Menendez brothers pose an unreasonable risk of danger to the community."

Hochman said he would support resentencing in the future if the brothers "finally come clean with the court, with the public, with the DA’s office, with their own family members and acknowledge all these lies."

The backstory:

Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted in 1996 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in Beverly Hills. Their defense claimed self-defense due to years of alleged abuse, while prosecutors argued the murders were financially motivated.

In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers' allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father -- a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, eight months before the August 1989 killings, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.

Interest in the case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.

In October, then-District Attorney George Gascón recommended the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for parole. Hochman called his predecessor’s recommendation a "desperate political move."

The other side:

Relatives of the Menendez brothers have backed the push for them to be released. They condemned the announcement by Hochman that he would oppose the bid for a new trial.

"District Attorney Nathan Hochman took us right back to 1996 today," according to a statement released by the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, which includes Menendez family members and supporters. "He opened the wounds we have spent decades trying to heal. He didn't listen to us. We are profoundly disappointed by his remarks, in which he effectively tore up new evidence and discredited the trauma they experienced."

The family continued, "To suggest that the years of abuse couldn't have led to the tragedy in 1989 is not only outrageous, but also dangerous. Abuse does not exist in a vacuum. It leaves lasting scars, rewires the brain and traps victims in cycles of fear and trauma. To say it played no role in Erik and Lyle's action is to ignore decades of psychological research and basic human understanding."

In response to their petition, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last month that he had directed a state parole board to conduct a "risk assessment investigation" of Erik and Lyle Menendez, a move that was lauded by the prisoners' family members.

"This is a pretty exciting time for us as the family of Erik and Lyle Menendez," their cousin, Anamaria Baralt, told reporters Thursday afternoon, calling it "a positive step toward Erik and Lyle's release."

"We are incredibly grateful that Governor Newsom is paying attention to this case," she said. "For us, it is a huge sigh of relief that someone in a seat of power is paying attention to what we have seen up close since Erik and Lyle have been incarcerated. We have seen their rehabilitation. Erik and Lyle have changed countless lives since their conviction in 1996. Inmates have seen it, corrections officers have seen it and now we need the entire criminal justice system to see it."

What's next:

Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed a state parole board to conduct a "risk assessment investigation" of the Menendez brothers, a move praised by their family. 

Newsom said the findings will be shared with the Los Angeles Superior Court judge presiding over the case, as well as with the district attorney and defense attorneys. The assessment could take up to 90 days.

Resentencing hearing dates are set for March 20 and March 21.

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