Could Murderous Menendez Brothers Lyle and Erik Walk Free Due to Explosive Letter Kept Secret from Jurors?
Erik and Lyle Menendez are allegedly plotting for their prison breakout, sources claim.
Sept. 24 2024, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Locked behind bars on life sentences, parent killers Lyle and Erik Menendez may be on the brink of getting sprung from prison — and walking the streets as free men — thanks to a new law legal loophole that allows sexual abuse as a murder defense.
RadarOnline.com can reveal, the brothers’ lawyer Chris Pixley, who is working for free, was drafting an appeal to get the pair a new trial because a judge refused to allow the jury to hear their claims they’d been beaten down and molested by their father, Jose.
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life behind bars for the 1989 murders of their parents.
Lyle, then 21, and Erik, 18, killed Jose and their mom Kitty with a shotgun as they enjoyed dessert in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
During their initial separate trials in 1993, the brothers contended they were victims of years of physical and sexual abuse — and only killed to stop the horror. But prosecutors argued the boys, who went on a wild spending spree after the slayings, were driven by greed for their parents’ fortune.
After Judge Weisberg’s sentencing, the brothers traded their mansion for prison!
Their separate juries ended deadlocked and a new trial was held. In the new proceeding, judge Stanley Weisberg barred evidence that Jose and Kitty abused their sons.
“The judge in the second trial gutted the defense,” says Pixley. Without the abuse evidence, Lyle, now 56, and Erik, 53, were convicted in 1994 and caged for life.
The bodies of Kitty (on the floor) and Jose (on the couch) were discovered in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
But a new California law recently gave prisoners who were not allowed to present evidence of abuse the right to appeal for a new trial.
Pixley shared an explosive piece of evidence that could free the killers.
New evidence in the case includes this letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in December 1988.
In a letter to his cousin Andy, Erik, then 15, wrote about Jose:
“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 know what you said before, but I am afraid.”
Powered by RedCircle
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
New York defense attorney Gerald Allen believes the letter and similar evidence would have freed Erik and Lyle — if presented to the jury.
“That’s why this information was kept from the jury during the second trial,” Allen said. “That testimony is of potentially great importance in any retrial. It could very well change the outcome and result in an acquittal!”
But others aren’t so sure.
Says a legal source, “It would be shocking if these cold-blooded murderers were allowed back into society.”
Have a tip? Send it to us! Email RadarOnline.com at tips@radaronline.com.
