LA County DA files opposition to Menendez brothers' bid for new trial
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman filed a 132-page response outlining his office's opposition to the Menendez brothers' petition for a new trial.
Lyle and Erik Menendez have been serving sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the August 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They fatally shot their parents at the family's Beverly Hills home, admitting to the killings over the course of two trials as they claimed self-defense and said they feared for their lives following years of physical and sexual abuse.
The Menendez brothers' attorneys filed the habeas petition, a legal action that requests a new trial, in May 2023. They cited two new pieces of evidence backing the brothers' allegations of abuse, including a 1988 letter written by Erik Menendez, which alludes to sexual abuse by his father and an allegation of sexual assault made by a former boy band member against the brothers' father, who was once a record executive.
Hochman has stated his opposition to a new trial and any avenue that could lead to the brothers' release several times this year. In February, Hochman requested that a judge deny the habeas petition, raising concerns about the credibility of the new evidence and claiming that the brothers had lied throughout the investigation.
His 132-page response reiterates those claims, referring to the petition as a "Hail Mary effort to obtain a new trial."
"After completing a thorough and exhaustive review of the Menendez brothers' habeas corpus petition and the alleged 'new' evidence presented, we have concluded that this petition does not come close to meeting the factual or legal standard to warrant a new trial," District Attorney Hochman said.
The habeas petition is one of three efforts that the Menendez brothers' legal team has attempted in the past few years, including the recently approved resentencing hearing.
In May, Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life in prison, opening them up for the possibility of parole after spending more than three decades behind bars.
Following the decision, Hochman said the DA's office disagrees that "resentencing was appropriate at this time," and claims the brothers continue to lie about allegations of sexual abuse.
"I believe that the Menendez brothers have started down the path of fully accepting responsibility for all their actions, but they stop short in their statements," Hochman said. "For instance, they've never said that the self-defense, defense, that they've said during trials that they've said for the last 30 years, that it's absolutely false."
The brothers' parole hearings are scheduled for August 21 and 22.