New LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman Demands Judge Reject Menendez Brothers' Plea to Overturn Murder Convictions — Declares 'New Evidence' In Case Could Be 'Lies'
D.A. Nathan Hochman shot down claims of new evidence in the Menendez case, calling it inadmissible and casting doubt on its timing.
Feb. 21 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman has urged the courts to reject the Menendez brothers' habeas petition.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Hochman rejected previous claims of new evidence regarding sexual abuse allegations against Erik and Lyle Menendez’s father, deeming it inadmissible and questioning its timeliness and authenticity.
The Menendez Brothers claimed they killed their parents in self-defense after alleging abuse.
In a press conference on Friday, the D.A. emphasized the evidence presented by the convicted brothers’ attorneys, a 1988 letter from Erik to his cousin Andy Cano, was not relevant to the new trial and should be considered invalid.
He said: "To say that this letter was not discovered until after the trial, as it’s been alleged in the defense papers, we believe, is just wrong."
Hochman claimed a 1988 letter written by Erik to his cousin is 'old news' and could be 'lies.'
The letter first came to light in a 2015 Barbara Walters interview, but it wasn’t submitted as new evidence for the trial until May 2023.
Hochman added: "The notion that this letter could be part of a continuum of lies and deceit and fabricating stories required us to go back into the history of the Menendez case to analyze whether or not that would be true."
Hochman went on to explain how the Menendez brothers gave five different accounts of the motives behind the murders on August 20, 1989.
They claimed it was a mafia attack, that father José had raped Lyle's girlfriend, that their mother Kitty was abused by her husband, that both brothers were molested by their father, and finally, that they acted in self-defense – believing their parents were trying to kill them.
The district attorney pointed out the jailed brothers had an alibi and took steps to cover their tracks by picking up shell casings and disposing of their clothes after the murders.
He emphasized the jury's job in the original trial was to decide whether the killings were premeditated or in self-defense, not to investigate claims of sexual abuse.
Hochman also criticized the new evidence, specifically that letter from Erik to his cousin, stating it should have been presented earlier during their testimony.
He added: "We believe it’s inconceivable, as we’ve argued in our papers, and defies common sense, that if they had evidence that would show that sexual abuse had been communicated not just six years before the events, but nine months before the 1989 killings, that it would absolutely have come out during one or both of their testimonies.
Lyle and his brother Erik have been behind bars for 35 years after being sentenced to life in prison.
"Sexual abuse is abhorrent, and we will prosecute sexual abuse in any form it comes. But sexual abuse, in this situation, while it may have been a motivation for Eric and Lyle to do what they did, does not constitute self defense."
In the letter, then 16-year-old Erik allegedly described feeling overwhelmed by the abusive behavior of his father and the tense dynamics within the family.
It has become a central point of contention in the Menendez brothers' case – with some suggesting it might shed light on their motive for the murders, and others arguing it has no relevance to the trial.
Over three decades ago, Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 when they shot their parents 14 times inside their Beverly Hills mansion.
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The brothers' case gained even more attention when a Netflix series was centered on their story.
The two have been behind bars for nearly 35 years, receiving life sentences without parole at their second trial in 1996 after the first ended in a mistrial.
The brothers' resentencing hearing is currently scheduled for March 20 and 21.
