Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman recommended that a judge reject Erik and Lyle Menendez’s request for a new trial in the 1989 killings of their parents, a petition the brothers filed over their claims of new evidence of abuse by their father. Hochman declined to announce a decision in the brothers’ separate resentencing request, saying he would address that ahead of a hearing March 20 and 21, CNN reports. After serving more than three decades in prison for the grisly murders of their parents, the brothers launched a multipart bid for their freedom: a resentencing request, a petition for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the habeas corpus petition, which Hochman is opposing. Though the brothers can still push for clemency or resentencing, Hochman’s Friday announcement upends the powerful momentum that had been building in their favor under the district attorney’s predecessor, George Gascón. The brothers’ bid for freedom has gained renewed national attention due to the emergence of potential new evidence and social media support driven by the release of a documentary and fictionalized Netflix series last year. During their high-profile trials, the brothers admitted responsibility for killing their parents, Kitty and Jose, but argued they should not be convicted of premeditated murder after enduring a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their father. Their argument was unsuccessful and they were sentenced to life without parole in 1996.
The brothers’ attorneys filed the habeas petition in 2023 after a Peacock docuseries featured another alleged victim saying he was raped by Jose Menendez. The petition cited a letter from Erik Menendez to his cousin in 1988 that references abuse by Jose. The attorneys claim the letter was discovered after the trial and should be considered new evidence. Hochman filed an informal response to the petition on Friday, urging the Los Angeles County Superior Court to reject it. The district attorney dismissed the claim that Erik’s letter provides new evidence, accusing the brothers of a “continuum of lies” and saying that the brothers should have been aware of the letter’s existence before trial. “If this letter truly existed, the defense counsel would have absolutely used it at the trial because it would have helped corroborate … Erik Menendez’s testimony,” Hochman said. Hochman has been reviewing the brothers’ case since he took office in December. Predecessor Gascón championed the brothers’ resentencing request. Last month, Hochman met with the brothers’ family members to hear their thoughts on whether they should be released.