The Menendez brothers case has come back into the spotlight recently after the release of Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix a couple of weeks prior, which coincides with alleged new evidence and a potential retrial.
According to D.A. George Gascón, evidence that the brothers had been sexually abused by their father would be reviewed by their office, which could result in a resentencing.
Evidence of the abuse had been presented in their first trial, however was largely withheld in their second trial, in which they were sentenced to life in prison.
The new evidences includes claims that the brothers’ father, Jose Menendez, also sexually abused an underage member of the band Menudo, plus the discovery of a letter written by Erik Menendez prior to the murder, which mentions the abuse suffered at the hands of his father.
Erik’s wife, Tammi Menendez, posted Erik’s response to the Netflix series, describing it as “inaccurate”, “a caricature” and “rooted in horrible and blatant lies.”
Ryan Murphy responded during an interview, defending the series as “the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years because it’s getting people to talk about it, and it’s getting people to ask the questions that are important.”
The series has instigated public interest in the case, including Kim Kardashian, who visited the brothers in prison and advocated for their life sentences to be reconsidered in a personal essay.
Erik and Lyle Menendez filed a writ of habeas corpus in May of 2023, which outlines the crime as “manslaughter, not murder” and that the killings “occurred in imperfect self-defense.” The hearing of the habeas corpus is presumed to occur on November 26, however D.A. Gascón said his review would not be completed by this time.
