Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said Menendez murder case The review by his office names two new factors that prosecutors will look at ahead of a court hearing next month.
Gascon said at a Thursday news conference that there was the possibility of retaliation or even a new trial. The hearing will be held on November 26.
Lyle and Eric Menendez spent nearly 35 years behind bars for the shooting deaths of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. In the evening at their Beverly Hills mansion August 20, 1989. Prosecutors argued it was a murder motivated by greed – shortly after their parents’ deaths, the brothers were accused of spending money on Rolex watches, cars and real estate investments.
But Menendez testified that he killed their parents in self-defense. During an emotional, highly publicized first trial, with separate jurors for each of them, the brothers told a jury about the sexual abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of their father.
With the jury divided, the judge declared a mistrial.
The brothers were later convicted of first-degree murder during a second trial in 1995. Prosecutors argued that allegations that the brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time of the murders, were being abused were false.
On Thursday, Gascón mentioned 1988 Letter from Eric Menendez A relative was allegedly abused by her father, as well as a former member of the boy band Menudo, Roy Rossello, who filed an abuse allegation against Jose Menendez, who served as a record company executive.
Gascón said prosecutors are reviewing potential pieces of new evidence when reconsidering sentences.
Later Thursday, prosecutor Mark Geragos said at a separate news conference that the new evidence, including Rossello’s declaration, “provides a sufficient basis to set aside the outcome of the second trial.”
He described the brothers as “model prisoners” during their more than three decades in prison.
“I think we’re at a point now where any reasonable person looking at this case believes they should get out,” he said.
The Menendez case has received renewed attention in recent weeks after the release of the Netflix true-crime drama series “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story.” A documentary about the case, “The Menendez Brothers,” premieres Monday on Netflix.
Gascón said his office received calls following the release of the Netflix series.
“We’re here to tell you that we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what’s being offered to us,” Gascon said.
