Family of Menendez Brothers Beg for Convicted Killers' Freedom in Press Conference Three Decades After Brutal Murders: 'They Were Failed By Their Parents!'
Members of the Menendez Brother's extended family have spoken during a press conference on Wednesday.
Oct. 16 2024, Published 4:56 p.m. ET
The Menedez Brothers were fiercely defended at an LA press conference today, with extended family members pleading for their release after spending three decades behind bars.
Over 20 members of Erik and Lyle's family took the stand outside the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Menendez brothers could be freed or be given lighter sentences.
Prosecutors examined new evidence to decide if the two should be granted a new trial three decades after the brutal murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty.
Lyle and Erik's attorney, Mark Geragos, kicked off the press conference by saying the brothers underwent "phenomenal rehabilitation" during their time in prison.
The Menendez brother killed their parents by shooting them 14 times with 12-gauge shotguns inside their home.
Family members then took the stand, asking the public to sign their petition urging District Attorney George Gascón 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.
Karen said: "I forgive my cousins. I have forgiven them forever, because I know they were acting out of fear and desperation.
"These were children. Children, just six and eight years old, who didn't understand their own bodies."
She added: "They spent most of their lives in prison, paying for their actions. During that time, they have become supporters and advocates for children who have suffered sexual violence.
"I believe they have suffered enough. I ask the district attorneys to take into account the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Brian fiercely defended the brothers, saying: "I think about the pain and suffering they endured it breaks my heart to know that the system failed them so profoundly.
"They tried to protect themselves. The only way they knew how."
Brian also noted that the brothers are "not the same people they were 35 years ago and have "shown that they are more than their past."
He continued: "They are survivors they deserve a chance to rebuild their lives. There are no longer being threat to society."
Joan said that "Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them — their parents, the system, and society at large."
She said that after details of Lyle and Erik's abuse came to light, it was clear the boys were simply trying to survive their father's cruelty and needed to defend themselves.
The brothers have presented 'new evidence' in hopes of being re-sentenced, including a letter Erik wrote to his cousin mentioning abuse from his father.
In 1989, the brothers — only 18 and 21 at the time — shot them 14 times with 12-gauge shotguns inside their Beverly Hills home.
They never denied the murders and instead claimed they acted in self-defense after being sexually abused by their father.
Earlier today, RadarOnline.com revealed details from a letter written by Erik just eight months before the murder.
In the handwritten note, sent to his cousin Andy Cano, Erik said he suffered serious abuse at the hand of his dad.
Cano was a key witness and testified that Erik had been sexually molested by his father at the age of 13.
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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!"
While Cano testified that Erik spoke about his father's abuse when he was 13, prosecutors managed to keep his testimony from being heard at the brothers' retrial.
The famous brothers were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996 after their first trial was declared a mistrial.
Cano died in 2003, but his mother found the letter nine years ago and it was included in a 2023 petition.
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