Judge delays resentencing hearing for Menendez brothers’ case

A California judge has postponed a resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers’ case. It will mark their first hearing since they were sentenced to life in prison for the murders of their parents in 1989. 

Erik, now 53, and Lyle, 56, were jailed for the 1989 murder of their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez, who were shot numerous times while watching television at their Beverly Hills mansion.

During the trial that followed, the Menendez brothers claimed the shootings were in self-defence after facing years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Prosecutors at the time, however, said the claims were fabricated and that the killings were revenge for being written out of their father’s multi-million-dollar will. The brothers were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment without chance of parole in 1996.

The Menendez brothers’ story was told in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, starring Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Erik Cooper Koch, bringing renewed attention to the case.

Along with the support of criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian, the pair are now facing a re-sentencing hearing. 

On a Monday (25 November) status hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said the resentencing date has been rescheduled for 30 January. It was originally scheduled for 11 December, but Jesic cited his reasons for changing the date to allow the new district attorney time to review the case.

Current Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon was voted out of office earlier in the month and is set to be taken over by Nathan Hochman next week. Gascon previously recommended a resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers, which could allow them to be released from prison after serving almost 30 years of their sentence.

While incarcerated in San Diego, the brothers appeared virtually for the status hearing. Technical issues meant that they were unable to be shown on video.

The sister of their mother, Joan VanderMolen, testified in favour of their resentencing. She said tearfully: “It’s time for them to come home.

“No child should have to endure what Erik and Lyle did,” the 93-year-old told the court. “No children should have to live in fear day by day that their dad would come and rape them.”

Their father’s sister, Terry Beralt, 85, said she wishes to “hug them and see them” and not have to visit them in jail to be able to do so.

New LA County District Attorney Hochman is set to take office at the beginning of December.

He said in a statement on the Menendez brothers’ case: “Before I can make any decision about the Menendez brothers’ case, I will need to become thoroughly familiar with the relevant facts, the evidence and the law.”