The relatives of the Menendez brothers have criticized the prosecutors, holding them responsible for the collapse of their elderly aunt when she saw disturbing photos from the crime scene during a court hearing.
During a resentencing hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles, the district attorney’s office displayed graphic images from the 1989 murders of Kitty and José Menendez.
The family members of the Menendez brothers, who have been strong supporters of the siblings in their quest for release, have condemned the prosecutors for presenting the gruesome pictures without any prior notice. This sudden exposure greatly affected Terry Baralt, José’s sister.
Baralt, 85, was rushed to the hospital when she was found unresponsive in a hotel in Los Angeles on Friday, hours after attending the resentencing hearing to support the brothers, who tuned in remotely via video.
Her family said she might not survive the shock of seeing the pictures of the scene where her brother and sister-in-law were shot to death by Lyle and Erik, respectively 21 and 18 years old at the time.
Baralt, who has colon cancer, lives in New Jersey but traveled to Los Angeles as over 20 family members of the Menendez brothers fight for their release from prison.
“Terry, who is battling cancer, came to court to support her family,” the family said in a statement released by their initiative, the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, on Sunday.
“No physical pain has ever kept her from being there for her nephews.
“But the display put on by the DA’s office pushed her past the brink. By early this morning, she was rushed to the hospital and remains in critical condition,” the family said in their statement on Sunday.
The family’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, said the “despicable action” broke Marsy’s Law, which was approved in 2008, according to TMZ.
Marsy’s Law protects victims by ensuring they are “treated with fairness and respect” during due process.
“The display was retraumatizing, completely avoidable, and we believe it was intentional,” the family’s statement said in part.
“The District Attorney’s Office knew what the law required and deliberately chose to ignore it. We are holding them fully responsible for the profound pain we are suffering right now. The shock and heartbreak we feel cannot be put into words.”
The DA’s office apologized to the family about the pictures and said they didn’t mean to “cause distress or pain,” according to the New York Post.
“To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
However, prosecutors also said the pictures “trigger emotions for all those concerned in a case that had lied dormant legally for over 18 years,” according to TMZ.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case dates back more than three decades since their parents were found shot to death at their Beverly Hills mansion.
Below is a timeline of the brothers’ case, starting at the gruesome crime scene:
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 surrenders to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
December 1992 – Murder charges against the brothers are officially filed.
July 20, 1993 – The murder trial, highly publicized on Court TV, begins in Los Angeles with Erik and Lyle each having a separate jury.
January 28, 1994 – The first trial ends with two deadlocked juries.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins with one jury.
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 22, 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 – Lyle and Erik’s attorney files a habeas corpus petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez in a Peacock docuseries.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024 – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón says his office is 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, 2025 – Erik and Lyle’s resentencing hearing was initially set but had to be rescheduled due to the California wildfires.
February 21, 2025 – Hochman officially opposes a new trial for the brothers.
February 26, 2025 – California Governor Gavin Newsom orders the parole board to conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment” of the Menendez brothers.
March 10, 2025 – Hochman asks the court to withdraw Gascón’s resentencing motion
April 11, 2025 – Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic denies Hochman’s motion and allows the resentencing process to continue
April 17, 2025 – Brothers’ resentencing hearings are scheduled
The DA’s office hasn’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
Prosecutors showed the pictures in an attempt to prove Erik and Lyle haven’t been rehabilitated during their time in prison after murdering their parents.
The brothers have spent more than 30 years behind bars as they serve sentences of life in prison without parole for the murders of their parents, which prosecutors argued were motivated by greed.
However, the brothers insist their crimes were committed in self-defense following years of abuse by their parents.
Deputy district attorney Habib Balian said on Friday that Erik and Lyle “hunkered down in their bunker of deceit, lies, and deception.”
Despite the DA’s attempt to withdraw a motion for resentencing, the judge ruled that the brothers can proceed with their resentencing proceedings.
The DA’s office hasn’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
The brothers will appear in court for their resentencing hearing on April 17 and 18.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
