The extended family of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have been imprisoned since being convicted of the 1989 murders of their parents, said they are hurt and disappointed after Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman rejected their bid for a new trial.
Attorneys for the brothers, who were sentenced to life without parole for shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty, to death at their Beverly Hills, California, home, said new evidence of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez emerged, and that the brothers had the support from most of their extended family.
But Hochman filed an informal response Feb. 21, urging the Los Angeles County Superior Court to reject a habeas petition filed by the brothers’ attorneys in 2023 that seeks a reexamination of their case that centers in part on the sexual abuse allegations.
Hochman, a Republican, defeated Democrat incumbent George Gascón in November to become the first GOP district attorney for LA County in 12 years. During a news conference Feb. 21, he cast doubt on the evidence of abuse and said it was not pertinent to the case.
“Sexual abuse in this situation may have been a motivation for Erik and Lyle to do what they did, but it does not constitute self-defense,” Hochman said.
Family members said Hochman lacked the understanding and sympathy that Gascón had for the alleged sexual abuse the brothers experienced before they gunned down their parents, the New York Post reported Thursday.