‘I feel hope’: chance of release dawns for Menéndez brothers in 35-year-old case
Renewed interest in the 1989 case of two men convicted of killing their parents leads the LA district attorney to consider new evidence
W hen the Los Angeles district attorney announced last week that his office would review new evidence in the Menéndez case, it marked the first time in decades that the brothers had any hope of a release.
Erik and Lyle Menéndez have been in prison since their 1996 conviction in the killings of their parents, José and Kitty, in 1989. The fatal shooting of a prominent entertainment executive and his wife in Beverly Hills, at the hands of their own children, captured international attention three decades ago – their first trial was televised by Court TV – and has reached a new generation thanks to social media and numerous TV dramas and documentaries.
The brothers have long denied the prosecution’s claims that they were driven by greed and a desire to inherit a multimillion-dollar fortune, and argued that they killed their parents in self-defense after years of sexual, physical and psychological abuse by their father. Earlier this month, George Gascón, the LA district attorney, said his office would review new evidence and decide whether the case should be considered for resentencing or a new trial.
