Proof Dad Molested Menendez Brothers? Read the Startling New Evidence That Could Finally Free Erik and Lyle
RadarOnline.com has obtained a handwritten letter that could set the infamous Menendez brothers Erik and Lyle free from prison after more than 30 years.
Oct. 4 2024, Published 7:45 a.m. ET
Notorious rich kids Erik and Lyle Menendez have been rotting behind bars for more than three decades after killing their parents in cold blood – but the pair were given a monumental lifeline Thursday when Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón openly showed interest in revisiting the murder convictions.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the shocking new evidence that has forced Gascón into the sensational decision and could set the reviled brothers free.
This is the handwritten letter the pair's lawyer, Cliff Gardner, has said is "irrefutable proof" supporting the brothers' claims they were driven to kill by their predatory father José's repeated sexual abuse – testimony prosecutors scorned at their 1993 murder trial.
Attorney Cliff Gardner has said the Menendez brother's handwritten letter is "irrefutable proof" they felt forced to kill their father and mother.
The attorney said: "Erik and Lyle honestly believed they had to take action to save their lives.
"That means they are culpable for manslaughter – not murder – and if that's the case, they should be released based on the time they've already served."
But the argument could be a hard sell, even despite Gascón's sensational endorsement.
Erik, now 53, and Lyle, 56, were each convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. The brothers used 12-gauge shotguns to blow away their mom, Kitty, and record exec dad in their Beverly Hills mansion.
José was hit six times. Kitty's body was mauled by ten brutal blasts.
During sensational trials, prosecutors scoffed at the brothers' claims they were the victims of horrific sexual and physical abuse at their father's hands while their mom did nothing to help them.
Erik Menendez, then 18, told his cousin Andy Cano about his father's alleged physical and sexual abuse in one of the newly unearthed letters.
Gardner insisted a recently unearthed letter written by Erik and former boy bander Roy Rosselló's claim José sexually abused him proves the siblings' story.
He also said the first crucial piece of evidence is a letter 18-year-old Erik wrote to his now-deceased cousin Andy Cano detailing José's daily sexual abuse – and his mother's knowledge of the twisted doings.
Andy, who died in 2003, supported Lyle and Erik with testimony at their first court case, which ended in a mistrial.
He said: "Erik told me his father was massaging his d---. He told me never to reveal it to anybody."
But prosecutors managed to keep the cousin's testimony from being heard at the brothers' retrial in 1996 when they were convicted.
Gardner said: "The state's position was Andy Cano was a liar.
"This evidence proves Andy wasn't making it up."
Erik and Lyle Menendez while on trial for their parents' murders in 1993.
The second new development is an allegation by Roy, now 53, who claimed he was molested by the record boss while he was a member of the boy band Menudo, as RadarOnline.com was first to report.
After RCA Records honcho José signed the Puerto Rican pop stars to a recording contract, Roy revealed José gave him a "glass of wine" at his Beverly Hills mansion, leaving him feeling drugged and with "no control" over his body.
José took him to a room and raped him, the musician claimed.
Roy recalled: "I was in terrible pain for a week. I could barely stand the pain. I couldn't even move."
He added José abused him twice more in New York before he was delivered into the clutches of the group's manager, Edgardo Diaz, who's been accused of similar abuses by the members of the group.
Lyle says those revelations led him to tears.
The brothers have been behind bars for over three decades for the murders of their parents, José and Kitty.
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He said: "For me, it was very meaningful to just have things come out that caused people to really realize, OK, at least this part of what it's about is true."
Gardner said he believes Roy's claims are a game-changer.
He said: "The state's position was the sexual abuse never happened, and José Menendez wasn't the type of person who would molest a young boy.
"This new evidence takes both those arguments and undercuts them entirely."
The attorney has filed a petition asking that the Menendez convictions be vacated.
Gardner said: "Those boys were abused their whole life.
"This is a manslaughter case, not a murder case. It's that simple."
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