Menendez brothers lose chance to be released by Christmas as bid hit with legal blow days before new DA to take over
A JUDGE has set a resentencing hearing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, whose fates will be determined after the New Year.
The notorious brothers, who have been jailed since the 1989 double murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, appeared virtually in court on Monday as a judge scheduled their resentencing hearing for January 2025.
Lyle and Erik’s resentencing hearing will now take place on January 30 and 31, if needed, a judge ruled on Monday.
The hearing was pushed back to allow more time for Nathan Hochman, the new Los Angeles County district attorney, to review evidence before deciding if he’ll recommend their resentencing.
The brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos said Monday’s hearing was “quite a moving experience,” saying, “It was, first of all, the first time that Lyle and Erik have been, at least remotely, in a courtroom in a number of years.”
The brothers’ aunt Terri and aunt Joan, respectively Jose and Kitty’s older sisters, both pleaded with the judge to send the pair home.
“I do want them home. They never should have been in such situations,” Joan Anderson VanderMolen said outside the courthouse.
The brothers, whose cameras were turned off during their remote appearances, didn’t speak besides confirming they could hear the judge.
Their bid for freedom began when outgoing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who was unseated on Election Day, filed paperwork on October 25, asking a judge to reconsider resentencing Lyle and Erik, respectively 56 and 53, citing new evidence.
The new evidence aims to prove the brothers’ accounts, which were argued in court, of years of abuse by their parents that led to the killings in self-defense.
Gascón, whose last day in office is December 2, asked a court to remove the life without the possibility of parole penalty for the brothers.
Instead, the district attorney recommended a sentence of 50 years to life with the possibility of parole.
Monday’s high-profile status hearing was unlike most in Los Angeles.
A public lottery was held hours before the 10:30 am PST court hearing to determine which 16 members of the public would be allowed inside the courtroom to witness what happens next in the case.
The drawing took place about two hours before the hearing.
Cell phones were also banned from the courtroom.
The status hearing comes days after reports emerged that Lyle is now in a relationship with a 21-year-old British student who has visited the infamous killer at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego.
LYLE’S WHIRLWIND ROMANCE
Milly Bucksey, a student at the University of Manchester, sparked a relationship with Lyle at the start of 2024, according to the Daily Mail.
Buckey’s 78-year-old father, Peter, told The Sun the family knew nothing about his daughter’s romance.
“We knew nothing about it,” Peter said from his family’s home in Altrincham, Manchester.
“But it’s our personal business.”
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been serving a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole since July 1996.
The brothers were convicted of shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in August 1989.
Timeline:
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
July 20, 1993 – The highly publicized trial of Lyle and Erik begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins.
March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 – The attorney representing Lyle and Erik files a habeas petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024 – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said his office was reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik’s convictions.
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 – Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
November 25, 2024 – The Menendez brothers appear in court for a status hearing to learn their resentencing hearing is pushed back from December 11 to allow new DA Nathan Hochman more time to review the case.
January 30-31, 2024 – Erik and Lyle are set to go before a judge in a scheduled hearing.
Despite his newfound romance with Bucksey, Lyle is still legally married to Rebecca Sneed.
Sneed, then 33, married Lyle, 35, in November 2003 in a ceremony at the Mule Creek State Prison near Sacramento.
However, Sneed confirmed she and Lyle are separated but “remain best friends and family.”
FAMILY SUPPORT
Several family members of Lyle and Erik have been outspoken about their support for the brothers’ fight for freedom.
Diane Hernandez, Kitty’s sister and niece, respectively, and Tammi Menendez, Erik’s wife, were pictured entering the Van Nuys Courthouse ahead of Monday’s hearing.
VanderMolen, 92, has previously said she struggled for years with the nightmare of her sister and brother-in-law’s murders.
“Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,” Vandermolen said.
“The truth is that Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who were supposed to protect them.”
Brian Anderson, Kitty’s nephew, called the brothers survivors who deserve a second chance.
“They are no longer a threat to society,” he previously said.
Karen Vandermolen, Kitty’s niece, also defended the brothers, saying they were trapped in the alleged abuse.
“I forgive my cousins. I know they were acting out of fear and desperation,” she added.
Erik Menendez's letter to his cousin
A hand written letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin about his dad's alleged abuse has sparked a review of the case that could set him and his brother free from jail.
Erik’s letter was written in December 1988, eight months before the double murders in August 1989.
The letter reads in full:
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it. He so overweight that I can’t stand to see him.
“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!
“He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle.
“Am I a serious whimpus? I don’t know I’ll make it through this. I can handle it, Andy. I need to stop thinking about it.”
Before the January hearings, Hochman has to review new evidence submitted by the brothers’ lawyers in a habeas corpus petition in May 2023.
The evidence includes testimony by former boy band member Roy Rossello, who alleged Jose Menendez raped him as a teen.
A letter by Erik appearing to reference the alleged abuse is also included in the evidence.
Hochman previously said he’d only be able to make his decision on the case after thoroughly reviewing all evidence.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also said his decision on clemency for the brothers also depends on Hochman’s next move.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).