Who are Eric and Lyle Menendez?
Eric and Lyle Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in 1989.
A Los Angeles judge denied the petition for a new trial of Eric and Lyle Menendez, the latest blow to his brother’s freedom, after serving in prison for decades of murdering his parents at his Beverly Hills, California home in 1989.
In a ruling late September 15th, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan rejected the habeas corpora filed in 2023 by his brother’s lawyers. The petition challenged the incarceration based on newly revealed evidence that said the petition changed the outcome of the murder trial.
The lawyers argued that two new evidence supports their claim that the brother’s father, Jose Menendez, was sexually abusive. However, in the ruling, Ryan said, “The evidence for either finding is not particularly strong.”
Ryan said new evidence that the siblings were allegedly sexually abused is “slightly supported,” but it is not denied that the two acted on “assumptions and deliberations” when they fatally shot their parents.
“The court held that these two evidence presented here did not necessarily result in the judges’ judges.
The verdict comes weeks after the brothers are denied parole for consecutive decisions. They currently have only one last measure of freedom from prison. This is a generous request for a long shot that is still pending from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Renewed interest in the case
Lyle Menendez, 57, and Eric Menendez, 54, were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The two, who had been in custody since March 1990, were sentenced to two consecutive conditions of life without the possibility of parole.
At the time of the murder, Lyle Menendez was 21 and Eric Menendez was 18. The brothers initially denied involvement and tried to make the case look like an organized crime hit.
They later admitted the murder, but said it was self-defense and that they acted out of fear due to years of physical and sexual abuse by their father, an entertainment industry executive and mother. Prosecutors argued that the siblings were seeking millions of dollars in wealth from their parents, highlighting their path to extravagant spending shortly after the murder.
The incident received new attention and support after the release of the popular Netflix show “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers” in 2024. That same year, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced they were immediately eligible for res.
New evidence included allegations of sexual abuse against Jose Menendez
In May 2023, the brother’s lawyers submitted new evidence. This included a letter Eric Menendez allegedly wrote to his cousin, hinting at his father’s abuse and an affidavit from Roy Rossello, a former boy band member who claimed Jose Menendez had sexually abused in the 1980s.
Rossello, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo in the 1980s, claimed that in Peacock’s 2023 documenary, Menendez + Menudo: Boys boys eded, he drugged and raped him as a teenager.
Gascon said that before he resigned from the profession, the evidence would be considered and considered in his recommendation that the brothers resent. The case faced a setback after Nathan Hochman was elected as new Los Angeles County District Attorney in December 2024, and said he did not support his brother’s resting.
Hochman also opposes petitions from his brother’s habeas. At a press conference on September 16, the district attorney called the petition request pointlessly as he detailed how Ryan’s ruling supported his office’s position.
“He basically said that the evidence claimed here was not so convincing and created reasonable doubt in the minds of at least one ju umpire,” Hochmann said at a press conference. “It’s about how little evidence presented by the Menendez brothers is in this habeasistic move, how unworthy and unfounded.”
The brothers denied parole for inappropriate behavior, contraband cell phones
Despite gaining momentum and momentum for freedom, the May response was repeated to make parole a new qualification, but the brothers were denied parole in late August. The parole committee praised the brothers for being in educational and rehabilitation programs, but they cited long-standing prison violations in their decision.
Eric Menendez was the first sibling to attend the parole committee on August 21. The Robert Burton Committee of California’s Parole Hearing Committee said that it “continued to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.”
“Contrary to the beliefs of your supporters, you weren’t a model prisoner, and frankly, we feel a bit intrusive,” Burton said.
And after more than 11 hours of proceedings on August 22nd, Lyl Menendez was also denied parole. The commissioner said he still suffers from “anti-social personality traits like deception, minimization, and rule breaking” and would pose a risk to the public if he was released from detention.
The committee also focused much of their attention during hearings regarding the repeated use of smuggling cell phones by both brothers who violated prison rules.
The brothers who are detained in San Diego prisons are eligible for parole within three years.
Contributions: Janine Santucci, Christopher Kang, n’dea yancey-bragg, and Carissa Waddick, USA TODAY;Reuters
