Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has urged the court to reject the Menendez brothers’ latest attempt to secure a new trial, citing serious concerns over the validity of the so-called “new evidence.”
This decision comes months after former DA George Gascón, known for his lenient criminal justice policies, suggested the brothers could be resentenced based on newly presented claims.
Hochman has pointed specifically to issues with two pieces of evidence—the most notable being a 1989 letter from Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano, alleging abuse by his father.
In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez brutally murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, inside their Beverly Hills mansion. After a widely publicized first trial in 1993 ended in a mistrial, they were convicted of first-degree murder in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In 2024, then-DA Gascón announced his intention to resentence the brothers based on new claims that their father had sexually abused them—a defense their attorneys unsuccessfully tried in the 1990s.
The two main claims in the petition include:
- A letter allegedly written by Erik to his cousin in 1989, describing abuse—though it was not presented in either of their trials.
- A sworn statement from a third party who claims to have been abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.
Despite Gascón’s rush to reexamine the case, Hochman insisted on a thorough review, delaying any decision until prosecutors could assess thousands of pages of trial records and prison documents.
On Friday, Hochman formally recommended that the court dismiss the Menendez brothers’ latest appeal. He noted that even if the letter were authentic, its existence would have been known to the brothers and their legal team at the time of trial. He also raised concerns about the long delay in presenting the evidence and inconsistencies in the brothers’ testimony over the years.
Most critically, Hochman affirmed a key legal principle: even if the abuse allegations were true, they do not justify cold-blooded murder.
If the court sides with Hochman, the Menendez brothers will have the option to appeal. They are also pursuing other legal avenues, including a request to have their sentences reduced to allow for parole and a clemency petition to Governor Gavin Newsom. Hochman stated that his office will address these efforts in the coming weeks.
For now, justice remains firmly on the side of law and order.
