ERIK and Lyle Menendez will finally get their resentencing hearing, despite a last-ditch report that highlighted all of their mistakes behind bars.
After months of delays and legal battles, the two could actually see freedom.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman informed the press that in the most recent evaluation, the brothers were classified as having a moderate risk of exhibiting violent behavior.
Hochman mentioned that this determination was based on a psychologist’s evaluation that included details of Lyle’s actions such as concealing a cellphone in prison. It was reported that Lyle used this phone to engage in a romantic relationship with a 21-year-old British student.
The psychologist expressed concerns that Lyle’s willingness to jeopardize the outcome of his resentencing by obtaining and using the forbidden phone could indicate a propensity for further criminal activity if he were to be released, as per Hochman.
Hochman said that the risk assessment and a “variety of rule violations” were clear signs that the brothers aren’t ready to be released, and asked the judge to halt proceedings.
“The issue with the Menendez brothers is not never, that they should never qualify for resentencing. We said that it’s not yet,” he said.
However, despite Hochman’s final plea, the judge determined that none of the information in the risk assessment was new, and set the dates.
Now, the brothers are set to return to the Los Angeles, California, courthouse on May 13 and 14 for their next hearing.
Lyle was 21 and Erik was just 18 when they brutally shot their parents to death inside their family home in 1989.
They claimed in court that it was because their dad, Jose Menendez, was abusive and that they feared for their lives.
Hochman has blasted the pair for lying and says they’ve refused to take responsibility for murdering their parents in cold blood.
Erik and Lyle’s attorneys were trying to get Hochman thrown from the resentencing cases, but they dropped that motion in court on Friday.
This came after Hochman filed an opposition to the motion where he called the filing a “drastic and desperate step” that’s “devoid of merit.”
“Disagreeing with the opposing side’s position is not a conflict of interest it is simply a disagreement,” the filing said, according to KABC.
FAMILY’S FURY
Before the decision was made, the Menendez family released a statement where they claimed their “rights” had been ignored.
“This has been a pattern of behavior,” they said.
“It is one thing to try to ignore our rights, but when you use every legal remedy to tilt the scales of justice, it becomes clear that there is more at play than overzealous advocacy.”
The brothers were first arrested in March 1990 – almost eight months after the shootings.
Their first murder trial ended with deadlocked juries, but they were convicted of murder in their second trial.
They will face independent parole hearings on June 13.
The resentencing update comes after a Netflix star who portrayed one of the brothers showed up in one of the hearings.
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 17-18, 2025 – Brothers are scheduled to go before the judge at their resentencing hearings
