Are the Menendez brothers getting a retrial? New update issued on Erik and Lyle's court appeal

14 October 2024, 18:18 | Updated: 14 October 2024, 18:44

Are the Menendez brothers getting a retrial? New update issued on Erik and Lyle's appeal. Picture: Kim Kulish/Sygma via Getty Images

By Sam Prance

Before Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story came out, Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez filed a court appeal based on new evidence concerning their case. Now, the LA district county has responded.

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LA district attorney George Gascón has spoken about whether or not the Menendez brothers could get a retrial.

Ever since Netflix released Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, there's been a renewed interest in the case of the Menendez brothers. In 1989, Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez became the subjects of international news attention after they killed their parents. They were later sentenced to life in prison without parole on two charges of murder.

However, some people believed that Lyle and Erik didn't deserve their sentence based on claims of parental abuse they made during their trial. In recent years, people have begun re-examining their case on social media and now there's been extra demand for Lyle and Erik to get an appeal and potentially be released from prison.

Recently, Lyle and Erik filed for an appeal concerning new evidence and now LA's district attorney has addressed it.

Read more: How a Menudo member's claims could reopen the Menendez brothers case
Read more: Are Lyle and Erik Menendez in the same prison? Netflix ending leaves out 2024 update

Will the Menendez brothers be released from prison?

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story trailer

What is Erik and Lyle Menendez's new evidence?

As it stands, the LA district county is currently examining Lyle and Erik's appeal. The appeal includes a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin about his alleged abuse six months before killing his parents. There are also recent claims from former Menudo boy band member Roy Roselló that he was also abused by Lyle and Erik's dad José Menendez.

Addressing Lyle and Erik's new appeal, LA district attorney George Gascón said: "We are reviewing the information, but I think it’s also important that we recognise that both men and women can be the victims of sexual assault. We have a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination."

He added: "Whether they deserve to be resentenced because they have been in prison for 35 years and have paid back their dues to society, or whether habeas is appropriate if there was evidence that was not presented to the court at that time and had [it] been perhaps a jury would have come to a different conclusion.”

In a separate interview with CNN, George said: “There's no question they committed the killing. The question is to what degree of culpability should they be held accountable to given the totality of the circumstance.”

According to Erik's daughter Talia Menendez, the LA district county will confirm their decision within 60 days.

What is Erik and Lyle Menendez's new evidence? Picture: MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

What have Erik and Lyle Menendez said about their support?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lyle and Erik are grateful for the support they're receiving on TikTok. Lyle said: "The followers who are younger that are on that sort of TikTok social media generation, they really have tremendous hope. I feel more hope when society seems to be understanding these experiences and sex abuse better.”

Meanwhile, Erik asked people not to minimise their crimes. He said: “This tragedy has been deep, and every member of my family has been impacted. Sometimes I think a lot of that pain and tragedy gets lost in translation in some of the TikTok videos."

He added: "I think that it is important that we remember that two people are no longer alive and families have been devastated by this tragedy, and that I am at the center of it. I am the one responsible."

Erik ended by saying: "I don’t want that to be diminished or minimized in any way by people that support me and believe in me.”