In the summer of 1989,
Erik and Lyle Menendez
burst into the den of their family’s Beverly Hills home armed with shotguns and opened fire, killing their mother and father.
After the brothers were charged in the
murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez
, they said they gunned down their parents after years of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their father — an allegation disputed by prosecutors, who argued the claims were false and the siblings were motivated by financial gain.
Their televised trial, which captured the brothers recounting the alleged abuse in grim and graphic detail, ended when the jury could not reach a verdict. After a second trial, the siblings were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
In October, Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor said the brothers had been
model prisoners and recommended that they be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison
. If a judge agrees, they could be eligible for parole immediately and potentially released from prison.
Here are key dates in the case:
Aug. 20, 1989: A grisly murder in Beverly Hills
Kitty and Jose were shot to death in their den. In a frantic 911 call that night, Lyle reported that someone had killed his parents.
The brothers initially told authorities that the killings could have been linked to their father’s work — he was a wealthy executive at an entertainment company whose founder had ties to the pornography industry — but authorities found no evidence to support the claim and focused on the brothers.
In the days after the double murder, investigators discovered that the brothers had been spending lavishly and, believing they could be disinherited from the family’s multimillion-dollar estate, sought out their father’s will.
March 8, 1990: The brothers are arrested
Beverly Hills Police announced Lyle’s arrest. Erik, who was in Israel for a tennis tournament, was in custody days later.
When their trial began three years later, the brothers relied on a legal doctrine known as “imperfect self-defense” and testified that their father had sexually abused them for years. Lyle said he’d been molested from the ages of 6 to 8; Erik said it was going on at the time of the killings.
The siblings fatally shot their parents, they testified, after Lyle confronted Jose about his brother’s abuse. When Lyle threatened to expose his father, he testified, Jose appeared to threaten him and his brother.
Prosecutors alleged that the sex abuse claims were false and identified money as the motive in the killings.
Jan. 13, 1994: Sentenced to life without parole
A mistrial was declared after separate juries for the brothers could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether they should be convicted of murder, as prosecutors sought, or manslaughter, if they believed the defense.
During a retrial the following year, the brothers were not allowed to invoke imperfect self-defense after a ruling from the state’s high court. And after prosecutors discovered that Lyle had asked a friend and an ex-girlfriend to make false claims for the defense, he did not testify at the retrial.
They were convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Oct. 24, 2024: A chance for release
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he would seek to have the brothers resentenced to 50 years to life, a term that would make them immediately eligible for parole. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
The prosecutor said that while their crimes were brutal and premeditated, the brothers had been “exceptional” inmates who helped others behind bars, remained out of trouble and took college courses.
Gascón also said his office was also reviewing a petition from the brothers that challenges their convictions. The petition includes two pieces of evidence to support the petition, including a photocopied letter that Erik said he wrote to a cousin months before the murders.
The letter appears to show Erik telling the cousin about the abuse and saying that it’s getting worse.
Prosecutors are expected to weigh in on the petition this month.
L.A. County District Attorney-elect Nathan Hochman (who defeated Gascón this week and is set to take office Dec. 2) has said he will review the facts, evidence and law before making a decision on the requests to resentence the brothers.
Sources close to the incoming DA said “there is a good chance” he will seek a delay in the Dec. 11 hearing.
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