Friday’s meeting with the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition will include more than 20 members of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s family, who organizers say are united in their support for a new sentence that “reflects Erik and Lyle’s abuse, trauma, and demonstrated rehabilitation over the last 35 years.”
Former District Attorney George Gascón, who was soundly defeated by Hochman in November’s election, had expressed support for re-sentencing, but Hochman has not yet said whether he will take a similar position, saying he wants the chance to review the voluminous evidence before making a decision.
“As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion,” the coalition said in a statement released Thursday evening. “Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation.
“During our meeting with DA Hochman, we look forward to sharing our perspective on Erik and Lyle’s immense personal growth over the last 35 years and the ways in which we plan to support them in their next chapters. We hope that this meeting will put us a step closer to spending next Christmas reunited as a family.”
Tammi Menendez, Erik Menendez’ wife, leaves the Van Nuys Courthouse after a hearing on Erik and Lyle Menendez’ case on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Menendez brothers’ Attorney Mark Geragos speaks to the press after a hearing on Erik and Lyle Menendez’ case at the Van Nuys Courthouse on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Menendez brothers’ Attorney Mark Geragos arrives to the Van Nuys Courthouse for Erik and Lyle Menendez’ hearing on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. The Menendez brothers were seeking to have their 1989 convictions reexamined in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Menendez brothers’ Attorney Mark Geragos speaks to the press after a hearing on Erik and Lyle Menendez’ case at the Van Nuys Courthouse on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. The Menendez brothers were seeking to have their 1989 convictions reexamined in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Menendez brothers’ Attorney Mark Geragos and Attorney Bryan Freedman, representing the Menendez family, leave the Van Nuys Courthouse after a hearing on Erik and Lyle Menendez’ case on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Attorney Bryan Freedman, representing the Menendez family, arrives to the Van Nuys Courthouse for Erik and Lyle Menendez’ hearing on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. The Menendez brothers were seeking to have their 1989 convictions reexamined in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Angel Chavez, 23, of San Diego, second from left, waits in line with others for lottery tickets to attend Erik and Lyle Menendez’ hearing at the Van Nuys Courthouse on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. The Menendez brothers were seeking to have their 1989 convictions reexamined in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
An Oct. 31, 2016, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, File )
Lyle Menéndez, a la izquierda, y su hermano Erik se sientan en el Tribunal Municipal de Beverly Hills el 2 de abril de 1991. El 20 de agosto de 1989, Lyle y Erik Menéndez asesinaron a sus padres, José y Kitty, en el estudio de la casa familiar en Beverly Hills. (Foto de archivo de Los Angeles Daily News)
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks during a news conference regarding the Menendez brothers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
FILE – Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony in his and brother Erik’s retrial for the shotgun slayings of their parents, Oct. 20, 1995 in Los Angeles. (Steve Grayson/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Kitty Menendez’ sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, center, walks up to podium to make a statement during a press conference to announce developments on the case of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Lyle Menendez stands up to leave the courtroom in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles Tuesday, July 2, 1996, after he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murders of his parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Lyle and his brother, Erik, were sentenced nearly seven years after the murders. (AP Photo/Pool, Sam Mircovich)
Erik Menendez sits in a courtroom in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles Tuesday, July 2, 1996, just before he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for killing his wealthy parents. Erik and his brother, Lyle, were sentenced nearly seven years after they killed their parents. (AP Photo/Pool, Sam Mircovich)
FILE–Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave the courtroom in Santa Monica, Calif., in this Aug. 6, 1990 file photo. The brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy Wednesday, March 20, 1996, of the August 1989 murders of their parents in their second trial in the Van Nuys Superior Court in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
Lyle Menendez, right, listens to the defenses closing arguments in the murder retrial of him and his brother, Erik, in a Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, Feb. 29, 1996. The brothers have admitted killing their wealthy parents in 1989. At left is Lyle Menendez attorney Terri Towery. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Erik Menendez looks back at the gallery during prosecution closing arguments in the murder retrial of Menendez and his brother, Lyle, in the Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 1996. The juries in the brothers? first trial deadlocked on verdicts in the case, in which the two have admitted killing their weathly parents in 1989. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, Pool)
Lyle Menendez listens to the testimony of forensic psychologist Park Dietz Thursday, Feb. 8, 1996, in Los Angeles. Lyle and his brother Erik are on trial for the second time for the murders of both their parents. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, Pool)
Erik Menendez takes a break during lengthy testimony in Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, Jan. 4, 1996. Erik and his brother, Lyle, are on their second trial for the 1989 murder of their parents in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Erik Menendez gestures during lengthy testimony in Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles, Jan. 4, 1996. He and his brother Lyle are being retried for the 1989 murder of their parents in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Erik Menendez takes a break during lengthy testimony, Thursday, Dec. 21, 1995 in Van Nuys courthouse in Los Angeles. Menendez testified that he thought about ways his parents might kill him before he and his brother gunned down their wealthy mother and father. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Murder defendant Lyle Menendez sits during a pre-trial hearing in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, July 21, 1995. Menendez, shown with his attorneys Charles Gessler, left, and Terri Towery, and his brother Erik are scheduled to go on trial in August for the August 1989 shotgun killing of their wealthy parents. The first trial ended with two juries empaneled for each brother deadlocked between murder and lesser manslaughter convictions. (AP Photo/Chris Martinez)
Erik Menendez, left, and his brother, Lyle, sit in the courtroom, Sept. 1, 1992 in Beverly Hills, California as a judge scheduled an October 13 court session to set a date to begin their preliminary hearing. The brothers are accused of murdering their wealthy parents three years ago. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Lyle Menendez smiles in the direction of courtroom spectators during a pretrial hearing, July 22, 1994 in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, for his and his brother Erik’s retrial for the murder of their parents. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony in his and brother Erik’s retrial for the shotgun slayings of their parents in Los Angeles Friday Oct. 20, 1995. With Lyle is his attorney Terri Towery. (AP Photo/Steve Grayson, pool)
Erik Menendez looks in the direction of courtroom spectators as he sits with attorney Leslie Abramson, during a pretrial hearing, July 22, 1994, in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, for the brothers’ retrial for the murder of their parents. (AP Photo/Pool/Nick Ut)
Erik Menendez sits in a Los Angeles courtroom, March 9, 1994, after a judge refused to pay his private attorney to represent him in the Menendez brothers? second murder trial. The judge refused despite a plea from Erik to allow him a lawyer he trusts. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Erik Menendez holds a greeting card during a break in proceedings at his murder trial, Dec. 1, 1993 in a Van Nuys, courtroom. Menendez, along with his brother Lyle, are charged with murder in the August 1989 shotgun deaths of their parents. The card is a get well card from an admirer in Italy. (AP Photo/Lois Bernstein)
Erik Menendez testifies in his brothers murder trial, Sept. 29, 1993 in Los Angeles. Menendez testified he admitted telling a psychiatrist he killed his parents hoping to alleviate his guilt, nightmares and flashbacks of the murders. If convicted, Erik and Lyle Menendez could face the death penalty. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Lyle Menendez glances at the courtroom during the session, Sept. 8, 1993 in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles where he and his brother, Erik trial for the murder of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Lyle Menendez, right, and brother Erik listen to a charge of murder conspiracy against them with Leslie Abramson, far left, attorney for Erik, Dec. 29, 1992 in Los Angeles. The brothers pled innocent to the new indictment which dropped the original charge that they killed their parents for money. The indictment was returned nearly three years after Joseph and Kitty Menendez were found slain in their home. (AP Photo/Chris Martinez)
A preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, Calif., for Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez, was postponed Friday as their lawyers fought to keep potentially incriminating evidence out of the case, April 12, 1991. Lyle, 23, and Eric, 20, are charged in the August 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. (APP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Lyle Menendez, left confers with brother Erik during a court appearance, April 2, 1991 in Beverly Hills, California. Lawyers for the brothers won another delay of a preliminary hearing while they seek a state Supreme Court opinion on whether an alleged murder confession is protected by doctor-patient privilege. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave courtroom in Santa Monica, Calif., Aug. 6, 1990, after a judge ruled that conversations between the two brothers and their psychologist after their parents were slain are not privileged and can be used as evidence in their murder case. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
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Tammi Menendez, Erik Menendez’ wife, leaves the Van Nuys Courthouse after a hearing on Erik and Lyle Menendez’ case on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Attorneys for the brothers are pursuing various avenues in hopes of securing their release from prison, contending that new evidence backs the brothers’ claims that they were sexually abused by their father.
The pair were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the chance of parole for killing Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez on Aug. 20, 1989.
During an hourlong hearing in Van Nuys in November, a judge heard testimony from two of the brothers’ aunts, both of whom pleaded for their release from prison. Judge Michael Jesic made no immediate decision, instead scheduling a two-day hearing for Jan. 30-31 to hear the various arguments in the case.
Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister, and Terry Baralt, Jose’s older sister, asked for the brothers’ release, saying 35 years was enough prison time for Erik and Lyle Menendez, considering the abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of their father.
“We miss those who are gone tremendously,” Terry Baralt, 85, testified. “But we miss the kids too.”
Baralt, who became emotional during her time on the stand, told the court that “it’s time for them to come home,” adding that the brothers “have done a lot of good things” while incarcerated.
Asked by Brock Lunsford, assistant head deputy of the District Attorney’s Post-Conviction and Litigation unit, if she knew exactly why her nephews were in prison, Baralt replied, “Absolutely. They killed their parents.”
VanderMolen, who turns 93 on Tuesday, read a statement to the court, imploring the judge to release the brothers.
“No child should have to endure what Lyle and Eric have lived through,” she said. “No child should have to live … knowing that at night, their father was going to rape them. It’s time for them to come home.”
VanderMolen said that she speaks for all members of her family apart from her brother Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez’s 90-year-old brother, who has said through an attorney that his nephews’ “cold-blooded actions shattered their family.”
Hochman said in November that “Judge Jesic’s decision to continue the hearing on the re-sentencing motion to January 30-31 will provide me with sufficient time to review the extensive prison records, transcripts of two lengthy trials and voluminous exhibits, as well as consult with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and victim family members.
Erik Menendez, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56, both attended the Van Nuys hearing via an audio link from prison in San Diego. The brothers did not speak, other than acknowledging they were able to see and hear the proceeding.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos said after the hearing that it was “quite the moving experience” to hear two of the brothers’ aunts make “impassioned pleas with the judge to send the brothers home.”
The defense filed a petition in 2023 arguing that newly uncovered evidence bolsters defense allegations that the brothers were victims of sexual abuse.
In the court filing, Menendez attorneys 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 written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins in early 1989, 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.
Jose Menendez was an executive at RCA Records, which signed Menudo to a recording contract.
Interest in the case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.
The Menendez brothers’ defense team submitted papers to Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting clemency, but the governor said he would not make any decision on the request until Hochman has a chance to review the nearly 35-year-old case.
During their two highly publicized trials, the brothers did not dispute that they killed their parents, but claimed self-defense, citing decades of alleged physical and sexual abuse by their father.
