A judge rejected a new trial petition from Erik and Lyle Menendez, ruling that evidence that their sexual abuse at the hands of their fathers would not change the outcome of the murder, which left them jailed for more than 35 years for shooting their parents.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William C. Both were denied parole During a long hearing in late August.
Personal protection Petition on behalf of brothers In 2023, they should be able to provide additional evidence at the trial that their father, Jose Menendez, was being sexually abused.
New evidence includes a 1988 letter sent to his cousin Andy Cano, who said he was abused until his teenage years. There are also charges Roy RossellóA former member of the boy band Menudo, who claimed Jose Menendez raped him.
The brothers have long thought they were worried that their father would continue to abuse them and that their parents would kill them to cover up the nightmare at home in Beverly Hills.
Prosecutors argued that the brothers killed their parents with shotguns in 1989 for massive inheritance, and repeatedly highlighted the wild spending frenzy of Erik and Lyle in the months following their parents’ death.
“Both evidence adds to the abusive charges that the jury has considered, but found the brothers planned and then executed the plan to kill their abusive father and accomplice mother,” Ryan wrote. “The court believes that the two evidence presented here will not result in the jury’s pending, nor will they convict less directive crimes.”
Ryan agreed to Los Angeles County. Atti. Nathan Hochman believes the petition should not be granted a new trial for the brothers because abuse of evidence would not change the fact that their plan and the execution of the killing was carried out.
The new evidence written by Ryan will not lead to a different trial court lawsuit, as the brothers cannot show that they are afraid of “imminent danger.”
A spokesperson for more than 30 relatives of Menandez who fought for the brothers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately comment.
The horrible killing happened when the brothers bought a shotgun with cash and attacked their parents when they attacked their parents while watching a movie in the family living room.
Prosecutors said Jose Menendez was hit five times by a shotgun explosion, including the back of the head, and Kitty Menendez climbed to the floor and injured, then the brothers reloaded and drove the final deadly explosion.
The petition rejected this week is one of three paths the Menendez legal team pursues in search of brotherly freedom. Earlier this year, another judge allowed their lives in the murder to last for 50 years, qualifying them to receive parole after initially being sentenced to life imprisonment.
Both were released at the first parole hearing, but could reappear before the national panel within 18 months. The wide-ranging petition is still under trial before Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The first trial ended with a jury for each brother. In the second, allegations of abuse and support for testimony are limited, Lyle and Erik Menendez convicted of first-degree murder March 1996.
Erik Menendez insists that he and his brother bought shotguns because they think their parents might try to kill them, or that his father would go to his room to rape him.
“That will happen,” he said. “One or the other. If he is still alive, it will happen.”
When asked why the two killed their mother, Erik Menendez said the decision was made when she learned she knew about the abuse.
“Step by step, my mom showed she was united with my dad,” he said at the hearing. “I saw them as a person that night. Maybe it would be different if she wasn’t in the room.”
