LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Family members of Eric and Lyle Menendez, brothers serving life sentences for killing their parents in Beverly Hills 35 years ago, are set to speak as prosecutors review new evidence in the case.
Nearly two dozen relatives are scheduled to hold a news conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday to pressure the district attorney to officially recommend indictment in the brothers’ case.
The brothers’ defense attorney, Mark Geragos, and their families told ABC News their biggest wish is for the two to be released from prison and home in time to celebrate their aunt’s 93rd birthday this Thanksgiving.
Earlier this month, L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon announced that his office would review the new evidence and make a decision on whether to enter a guilty verdict in the infamous case that has drawn national attention.
In new evidence presented in a petition, a letter written by Eric Menendez corroborates allegations that he was sexually abused by his father, his lawyers say.
After enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from their parents, the brothers claimed to have killed their parents in self-defense. Their attorneys argue that because of society’s changing view of sex abuse, the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and would not have been sentenced to life without parole today.
Lawyers for the brothers said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder. Manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial, which ultimately led to the brothers’ murder convictions, Geragos said.
In 1989, 21-year-old Lyle Menendez and 18-year-old Erik Menendez confessed to fatally shooting their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in 1989, but said they feared their parents were going to kill them to stop it. Disclosure of father’s chronic sexual abuse of Eric.
At the time, the lawyers argued that there was no evidence of any abuse of honor. They said the sons were after their parents’ multi-million dollar fortune.
Jurors rejected a sentence of life without parole.
The case received new attention after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story.”
Gascón said he believes the topic of sexual assault would have been considered more sensitive if the case had happened today.
“We have not decided on the outcome. We are reviewing the information,” Gascón said earlier this month.
He said his office did not know the validity of what was submitted to the inquiry.
Gascón, who is seeking re-election, noted that during his tenure more than 300 people were resentenced and only four re-offended.
A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 29.
Lyle Menendez recently graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a degree in sociology through the prison program. Geragos said they were model prisoners despite believing they would never be released.
“I think it’s time,” Geragos said. “The family thinks it’s time.”
Kim Kardashian, a reality TV star and celebrity who has advocated for criminal justice reform, wrote in a personal essay shared with NBC News that she was denied justice by the media attention that emerged in the first nationally televised trial.
“Saturday Night Live” satirized their stories of suffering and abuse as “two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills who killed their parents out of greed. No room for empathy. Only sympathy.”
“Eric and Lyle were not afforded a fair trial against this background,” Kardashian wrote.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
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