Menendez Brothers Freedom Bombshell: 'Abused' Erik and Lyle Recommended for 'Immediate Parole' After Over 30 Years in Jail for Massacring Parents
Erik and Lyle Menedez, however, will have plenty of food options in prison on Thanksgiving.
Oct. 24 2024, Published 5:28 p.m. ET
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has recommended a resentencing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who have spent nearly 35 years behind bars for killing their parents, José and Kitty Menendez.
The D.A. said he would recommend to the court on Friday that the brothers' life sentence be removed, leaving them eligible for parole immediately, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Erik and Lyle have been been supported by George Gascón for a resentencing after the two were sentenced to life in prison for killing their parents.
The update, announced at a news conference on Thursday, follows a reevaluation of the case by prosecutors due to the discovery of new evidence.
Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 when they shot their parents 14 times inside their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
The two received life sentences without parole at their second trial in 1996 after the first ended in a mistrial.
Members of the brothers' family spoke on their behalf at a press conference on October 16.
During the first trial, their attorney claimed that the brothers killed their parents in self-defense, asserting that they feared for their lives if they revealed the years of alleged abuse they had endured from José.
Erik and Lyle never denied committing the crime.
Recently, new legal filings provided more details about the abuse the brothers reportedly suffered at the hands of their father.
The shocking evidence included a letter Erik wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, just eight months before the murders.
In the handwritten note, Erik wrote: "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening Andy but it's worse for me now. I never know when it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in."
"I need to put it out of my mind. I know what you said before but I’m afraid. You just don’t know Dad like I do. He’s crazy!"
Erik and Lyle Menedez, however, will have plenty of food options in prison on Thanksgiving.
Although Cano testified that Erik spoke about his father's abuse, prosecutors managed to keep his testimony from being heard at the brothers' retrial.
Cano died in 2003, but his mother found the letter nine years ago and it was included in a 2023 petition.
Another potential victim of José's has also come forward — Roy Rosselló, former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.
Rosselló claimed he was also abused by Erik and Lyle's father at the age of 14.
The brothers shot and killed their parents, Kitty and José Menendez, inside their Beverly Hills mansion.
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As time has passed, the brothers' story has been viewed in a different light — with more supporters contending that the Menendez brothers are, in fact, victims themselves.
A press conference was held last week, where extended family members pleaded for the release of the convicted brothers.
Lyle and Erik's attorney, Mark Geragos, kicked off the press conference by saying the brothers underwent "phenomenal rehabilitation" during their time in prison.
Family members then proceeded to take the stand, asking the public to sign their petition urging the D.A. to schedule a re-sentencing trial.
Among them were Anamaria Baralt, José's niece; Joan Andersen VandeMolen, Kitty's sister; Karen VandeMolen, Kitty's niece; and Brian Andersen Jr., José's nephew — who fiercely defended the brothers.
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