1 of 2 | Erik Menendez testifies during cross-examination in the Menendez brothers murder trial in September 1993. The siblings claimed they suffered a lifetime of abuse from their parents, and shot them to death out of fear, as the prosecution argued they hated their parents and wanted their money. On Monday, after nearly 30 years in prison for their conviction, the brothers attended a status hearing for their resentencing and possible release. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A resentencing hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life sentences without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, was postponed Monday to January.
The Menendez brothers attended Monday's status hearing via phone from San Diego, where they are incarcerated, as their aunts pleaded with the judge "to send the brothers home." While it was their first court appearance since their 1996 conviction, technical issues prevented them from appearing on video. Neither brother spoke.
Last month, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón -- who lost his campaign for re-election -- said the Menendez brothers have paid their debt to society, having served almost 30 years, and should be made eligible for immediate parole. Their habeas corpus petition was filed last year for a review of new evidence not presented at trial.
On Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic ruled the resentencing date, originally scheduled for Dec. 11, would be delayed to Jan. 30, to give the new district attorney, Nathan Hochman, more time to review the case.
"Judge Jesic's decision to continue the hearing on the resentencing motion to Jan. 30-31, will provide me with sufficient time to review the extensive prison records, transcripts of two lengthy trials and voluminous exhibits, as well as consult with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and victim family members," Hochman, who will be sworn in on Dec. 2, wrote Monday in a post on X.
"I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all the facts and the law to reach a fair and just decision, and then defend it in court," Hochman added.
The Menendez brothers also requested clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Last week, Newsom said he would defer to Hochman's "review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."
While the brothers did not speak during Monday's status hearing, their mother's sister Joan VanderMolen, and their father's sister, Terry Baralt, both testified.
"They never knew if tonight was the night they would be raped," said VanderMolen, 93. "No child should have to live day by day knowing that at night their dad would come and rape them ... It's unconscionable."
Baralt, 85, argued the brothers have served enough time.
"We miss those who are gone, but we miss the kids, too. I would like to see leniency. Thirty-five years is a long time. They have rehabilitated and done lots of good things," Baralt said, while admitting that the brothers did kill their parents.
Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were 18 years old and 21 years old at the time of the murders, claimed they shot their parents -- Jose and Kitty Menendez inside their Beverly Hills home -- in self-defense following years of physical and sexual abuse by their father. Prosecutors claimed the brothers killed for money.
The first trials for each brother ended in mistrials. The brothers were convicted in the second trial, where much of their sexual abuse defense was barred. They were sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole.
