The Menendez brothers are one step closer to freedom after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon recommended they be resentenced for killing their parents.
Gascon held a press conference on Thursday afternoon where he recommended Erik and Lyle receive a new sentence – 35 years after they murdered their parents Kitty and Jose inside their Beverly Hills mansion.
His recommendation is that they be eligible for parole immediately.
It will be up to a court to ultimately determine the final sentence for the brothers.
The Menendez brothers could soon walk free from prison after more than 30 years behind bars
Gascon held a press conference on Thursday afternoon where he recommended Erik and Lyle receive a new sentence – 35 years after they murdered their parents Kitty and Jose inside their Beverly Hills mansion
‘I believe they have paid their debt to society… and the system provides a vehicle for their case to be reviewed by a court of law,’ Gascon said.
The announcement comes on the back of mounting community pressure to reconsider the life sentences without parole Erik and Lyle received at their 1996 trial.
The brothers have never denied killing their parents, but have long claimed they were driven to do so after suffering years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their businessman father.
The public was unconvinced by their claims in the 1980s, believing instead they were ruthless monsters.
But in recent months, a TikTok movement of more sympathetic fans and a duo of Netflix shows has won them favor.
Now armed with Gascon’s recommendation, the Menendez case will return to court, where a judge will ultimately decide their fate.
Relatives of victim Kitty Menendez spoke amongst themselves ahead of the DA’s announcement on Thursday. Pictured: Arnold VanderMolen whispering in the ear of Kitty’s sister, Joan VanderMolen, 92
53-year-old Erik (pictured here in January 2023) revealed he found it absurd that police working on the case didn’t arrest him and his brother at the scene of the crime
Lyle (pictured here in January 2023) bought a Porsche Carrera, Rolex watch and two restaurants in the immediate aftermath
Gascon approached the Menendez brothers’ relatives when he made his way into the press conference on Thursday afternoon, greeting Kitty’s sister Joan, 92, who has long advocated for her nephews’ release.
A sympathetic Gascon told the packed room: ‘I do believe they were molested. They have been in prison for nearly 35 years. I believe that they have paid their debt to society.
‘After careful review, I came to a place where I believe that resentencing is appropriate.
‘I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow. What that means, is that we’re going to recommend to the court that life without possibility of parole be removed, and they be sentenced for murder, which, because there were two murders involved, that’s 50 years to life.
‘But under the law, because at the time they were under 26 at the time these crimes occurred, they will be eligible for parole immediately.’
Gascon had the opportunity to recommend the charges be reduced to manslaughter, but he opted against that because ‘these were clearly murders.’
‘I don’t believe manslaughter would have been the appropriate charge given the premeditation,’ he said.
‘I believe these were clearly murders. I don’t think it would be appropriate to go all the way down to manslaughter.’
In an extraordinary twist, he revealed the brothers weren’t given a warning about the announcement, and said they were likely ‘watching the TV’ or learning about their new lifeline from behind bars.
Kitty Hernanedez’ niece Diane held her hands together at her face and closed her eyes ahead of the announcement
Pictured: Mark Geragos, defense attorney of Erik and Lyle Menendez, speaks to Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez
While Gascon hopes the Menendez brothers will soon be freed, he acknowledged that his office is deeply divided over the case.
‘We don’t have a universal agreement. There are people in the office that strongly believe they should stay in prison the rest of their life, they do not believe they were molested,’ he said.
‘And there are people in the office that strongly believe they should be released immediately.
Gascon’s decision has been widely welcomed, but critics suggested he is using the Menendez case to win favor ahead of his reelection bid this November.
He is seeking re-election on a platform of sentencing reform, and is currently trailing his opponent, former US Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman.
Asked about the ‘politics’ of his decision on Thursday, Gascon insisted the optics played no part in his final decision.
‘There’s nothing political about this, we have resentenced over 300 people, including 28 for murder. We will continue resentencing people,’ he said.
But Gascon refused to be drawn about his re-election campaign, snapping at a reporter who tried to ask a follow up question. ‘Would you please stop, I’m not going to talk about re-election,’ he said.
Gascón recently said his office was scrutinizing evidence that was not permitted in their trial, but insisted he was not committed either way.
Specifically, he was reviewing shocking allegations made last year by Roy Rossello, a former member of the band Menudo, who claimed Jose Menendez molested him as a teenager while he was working as a music executive in the 1980s.
The allegations opened the door for the Menendez brothers’ appeals over claims that critical evidence of their father’s alleged abuse was not admitted in their 1996 trial.
Erik had also allegedly penned a damning letter to his cousin Andy Cano, in which he alludes to serious, and long-term, abuse at the hands of his father Jose.
Mark Geragos, defense attorney of Erik and Lyle Menendez, appeared in high spirits ahead of the official announcement
The Menendez brothers spent seven months on the streets after they murdered their parents, Kitty and Jose (pictured center)
The letter, first revealed by DailyMail.com, was written eight months before they killed their parents.
Gascon said earlier this month ‘given the totality of the circumstances, I don’t think they deserve to be in prison until they die.’
After killing their parents in August of 1989, they made a frantic call to police claiming they returned home to find their parents had been slaughtered, prompting fears within one of America’s wealthiest communities that a murderer was on the run.
Police announced they were arresting Lyle Menendez in March 1990 – seven months after the crime.
They said he was motivated by greed. The brothers stood to inherit $14million from their parents, and set about spending it shortly after their parents’ deaths.
Relatives of the Menendez brothers are in Los Angeles to hear the outcome of the press conference
Pictured: Lyle and his wife, Rebecca Sneed
Lyle bought a Porsche Carrera, Rolex watch and two restaurants, while his brother hired a full-time tennis coach to begin competing in tournaments.
In all, they spent $700,000 between the time of their parents’ deaths and their arrests in March 1990.
But Erik insisted in the new Netflix documentary it is ‘absurd’ to suggest he was having a good time in the immediate aftermath of the murders.
Erik and Lyle, now aged 53 and 56, claimed they acted in self-defense. They said they were lifelong victims of sexual abuse at their hands of their father.
More than a dozen Menendez relatives and defense lawyer Mark Geragos held a press conference in Los Angeles this month asking for a revised sentence.
‘If they were the Menendez sisters they would not be in custody,’ Geragos said of the treatment the brothers received in their trial.
The family argued that at the time of the brothers’ trial, the public did not understand sexual abuse of boys.
Kitty’s sister Joan Andersen VanderMolen said: ‘Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father.’
The duo, then just 18 and 21, killed their parents Jose and Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez inside their million-dollar Beverly Hills home in August 1989
‘The truth is, Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them—their parents, the system, and society at large.’
The family introduced a coalition called ‘Justice for Erik and Lyle’ and spoke of how the brothers have lived a life of purpose in their 35 years in prison – even though they did not expect to ever be freed.
But the family aren’t entirely united in their push for Erik and Lyle’s release.
Kathleen Cady, an attorney representing Kitty Menendez’ brother Milton Andersen, said ‘Mr Andersen is not in support of resentencing the Menendez brothers.’
Andersen believes the initial sentence – life in prison without parole – was a fair and just outcome for the crimes committed against his sister and her husband.
‘He believes that should remain, and he is certainly entitled to his opinion. He is entitled to have his concerns and thoughts considered, but he has been ignored by Gascón,’ Cady said.
Chilling crime scene photos showing the blood-soaked couch where Jose Menendez was shot
Andersen has filed a brief with the court requesting the ‘right to reasonably confer’ with Gascón over matters involving his sister, and his nephews’ cases.
In an email sent to Gascón seen by DailyMail.com, the District Attorney was warned ‘any decision you make [must] not be political.
Cady wrote: ‘Mr Andersen… requests to confer with you immediately and hear your decision before you hold another press conference to announce your decision to the press and the genereal public.’
The filing implies that Gascón’s upcoming re-election campaign could be spurring his decision in the matter, in an effort to garner more public support.
But a petition calling for a resentence revealed the brothers have worked as hospice aides in prison helping sick inmates and have run Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
They’ve both also completed college courses, and have reference letters from correctional officers discussing their exemplary behavior behind bars.
One of those reference letters, written by Victor H. Cortes, read: ‘It is exceedingly rare to encounter an individual who, despite facing a life sentence without the possibility of parole, has dedicated himself to personal growth, the betterment of his fellow inmates, and overall stability of the prison environment.’