Changes and Turns in Menendez Brothers Case After Prosecutor Backs Anger

On the evening of Sunday, August 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez While they were watching television at their mansion in Beverly Hills, their sons Lyle, 21, and Erik, 18, burst into the room with 12-gauge shotguns.

Jose, a 45-year-old business manager, was shot multiple times, including point blank in the head. Kitty, 47, also suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the face.

At their trial in 1993, prosecutors said the brothers was fatally shot to his parents in exchange for their $14 million fortune. However, the brothers testified that they killed their parents not for money, but because they were afraid of Jose after years of sexual abuse allegations, and that he planned to kill Kitty, who they claimed knew about the abuse but never tried to stop it. sons.

The sensational trial ended in a deadlock. Siblings I tried again They were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Over the years, the brothers appealed their convictions but were denied.

The case, which was recently the subject of a Netflix documentary, Menendez Brothersand Netflix dramatic series produced by Ryan Murphy Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez StoryIt attracted attention after the brothers’ lawyers filed a lawsuit habeas corpus petition He demanded that the case be re-examined.

Allegations of sexual abuse were included in the petition Roy RosselloA former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo filed a lawsuit against Jose, who she claims raped her in the 1980s. It also cited a letter from Erik to his deceased cousin, Andy Cano, describing his father’s alleged sexual abuse months before the murders.

On Thursday, October 24, more than a year after the petition was filed, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said he supported resentencing the brothers.

Here are some turning points of the case.

Social Media Support

The case gained renewed attention as young people on social media, mostly on TikTok and Instagram, brought a new perspective to the Menendez murder cases; Many of these people sympathized with siblings who claimed to have been sexually abused by their father.

In an interview with News Countrycomedian Rosie O’Donnell He thanked the younger generation for starting the online movement and advocating for their release.

“It got people interested in the documentary Roy Rossello“And it was such a horrific depiction of what happened to her and what’s happened to her since. And with Lyle’s letter coming out, it’s like there’s so much new evidence, 1989′ “It was as if they needed to take a look at the fact that no one is ready to believe that fathers rape their sons. But they do.”

2023’s Peacock docuseries Menendez + Menudo: The Betrayed BoysPublished in 2023, it featured Rosselló’s allegations regarding harassment she allegedly suffered at the hands of Jose Menendez. In the documentary, Rosselló claimed that she was drugged and raped as a teenager by a company executive in the 1980s.

Petition of Habeas Corpus

In May 2023, the brothers’ lawyers filed a lawsuit. habeas corpus petition Los Angeles County Superior Court based on new evidence in the case.

new evidence Rosselló’s allegations of sexual abuse were an affidavit alleging that the band’s manager asked him at a hotel to “do a favor” and “do something great” for Menudo and himself, and instructed him to go downstairs and join Jose Menendez. limousine.

The petition alleges that Rosselló was taken to Menendez’s home in New Jersey, given wine by Jose, and then raped. “Roy lost consciousness and woke up in his hotel,” the petition alleges.

The petition alleges that Rosselló was raped a second time by Menendez at a hotel in New York City.

In the petition, defense lawyers also pointed to a letter: Erik wrote. She tells her now-deceased cousin, Andy Cano, about the sexual abuse her father allegedly suffered in the months before the murders.

“I don’t know if I can get through this,” Erik wrote in his letter.

“The letter itself was fascinating to me,” the Menendez brothers’ post-conviction attorney told PEOPLE. The discovery of a letter corroborating the statements of Cano and Erik, it was found 20 years after the trial and dated eight months before the murders. “That was a game changer for me.”

Netflix Programming Brings Attention to Case

Netflix released two productions focusing on siblings in late 2024. the first one Ryan Murphytrue crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

On Friday, September 20, the day after the Murphy series aired, Erik criticized the show He criticized Murphy for publishing misinformation, saying it was “based on egregious and blatant lies” about himself and Lyle.

“I believe Ryan Murphy could not be so naive and wrong about the realities of our lives to do this without malicious intent,” Erik said.

Murphy said Hollywood Reporter He said the siblings “should have sent me flowers” ​​on Tuesday, October 1. “They haven’t received this much attention in 30 years. And this attracted the attention of not only this country but the whole world. “There is some kind of interest in their lives and the cause.”

“I know a lot of people have offered to help because of the interest in the show and what we do,” he continued. “There’s no world in which the Menéndez brothers, their spouses, or their attorneys can say, ‘You know what, that was a wonderful and accurate portrayal of our clients.’ “This was never going to happen and I wasn’t interested in it.”

Murphy says he and his co-creator Ian Brennan They felt they had an “obligation” to tell the stories of other people in Erik and Lyle’s orbit, including their parents.

In the Netflix documentary Menendez BrothersThe brothers spent more than 20 hours on the broadcast, which started airing on October 7. opening She tells director Alejandro Hartmann about growing up in Beverly Hills with a hard-working father who they accuse of sexually abusing them, and how horrified they were after he murdered their parents in 1989.

Prosecutor Previously Said He Had an ‘Open Mind’ About the Case

On Thursday, October 3, just a few days later Monster After his release, Gascón announced at a press conference that he had an “open mind” on the matter. Your Menendez brothers Make an offer for release.

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“I’m not leaning in any direction right now,” he said. “We have very experienced lawyers in our office who have studied this matter very carefully. Their advice will be presented to me, but the final decision will be mine.”

Acknowledging that the brothers were “clearly murderers,” Gascón said his office “had a moral and ethical obligation to review what was presented to us and determine whether such evidence could divert jurors from first-degree murder convictions.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “POWER” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.