LOS ANGELES, CA – The family of the Menendez brothers and new Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman met last week, and Hochman said they had a “very productive” discussion, according to an ABC7 report.
However, the recently elected DA added he has yet to decide whether he will back any measures that could result in the brothers’ release.
In the summer of 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez entered the den of their family’s Beverly Hills home armed with shotguns and fatally shot their mother and father, and when charged with the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, the brothers claimed they killed their parents after enduring years of severe sexual abuse by their father, wrote ABC7.
Prosecutors, however, dismissed these allegations as false, arguing the siblings were driven by a desire for financial gain, according to an article written by Tim Stelloh on NBC News.
The recent meeting allegedly lasted around three hours, and Hochman claimed to have met with around 25 Menendez family members, who are in support of the brothers getting released, stating “It was a very productive conversation over a number of hours.”
According to ABC7, Hochman emphasized he and a team of prosecutors are still thoroughly examining thousands of pages of prison records, as well as transcripts from the brothers’ two trials and appellate court hearings.
He stated that no decision has been reached regarding whether he will support efforts to reduce their sentence from life without parole to a term that could make them eligible for parole.
Over the years, the brothers made numerous attempts to appeal their convictions, but all were unsuccessful, ABC7 said, noting, “A hearing on the possible re-sentencing remains scheduled for the end of January.”
The brothers have garnered strong support from much of their extended family, who believe they deserve freedom after spending decades in prison.
ABC7 added that some family members argue that in today’s society, with greater awareness of the effects of sexual abuse, the brothers likely would not have been convicted of first-degree murder or sentenced to life imprisonment.
In October 2024, then-District Attorney George Gascón proposed resentencing the brothers to 50 years to life, a decision that would have made them eligible for parole immediately.
Hochman, who was campaigning against Gascón at the time, criticized the proposal, calling it a “desperate political move.”
A statement given to the media by the brothers’ cousin, Anamaria Baralt, following her meeting with Hochman, claimed the past 35 years have been extremely traumatizing for her and her family.
“To understand that going to a parole board for our family will only serve to re-traumatize us more. Two parole boards. Two brothers. Again, with victim statements. We have had enough. It is a lot, 35 years is a very long time. So we hope that will happen,” she said.
ABC7’s report suggested the brothers’ attorneys are exploring multiple strategies to seek their release from prison, arguing that new evidence supports their claims of being sexually abused by their father.
