By FRED SHUSTER
A prosecutor on Friday showed a bloody crime scene photo from the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life prison sentences without the possibility of parole for the shotgun murders of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills mansion more than three decades ago, while arguing in court that the siblings should not be set free until they show “insight” into their crimes.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic heard arguments involving the prosecution’s request to withdraw a motion filed during the administration of former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón that sought re-sentencing for the brothers.
Arguing that the Menendez brothers have not shown they understand the “severity and depravity” of their crimes, and thus should remain behind bars, Assistant Head Deputy Habib Balian put a crime scene photo of one of the parents covered in blood and dead on a couch on a screen inside the packed Van Nuys courtroom.
“Are they the same people they were when they committed this brutal crime?” Balian asked. “Have they changed?”
New District Attorney Nathan Hochman — who attended the Friday morning court session — announced last month that his office will oppose the release of the brothers, saying then, “Our position is that they shouldn’t get out of jail.”
Hochman’s office is asking the judge to allow prosecutors to withdraw Gascón’s motion for re-sentencing, telling reporters in March that “in no way, shape or form did they deal with what we believe to be one of the key issues …. (which is) the exhibition of full insight and complete responsibility for one’s crimes.”
Erik Menendez, 54, and Lyle Menendez, 57, were convicted of the Aug. 20, 1989, killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. The two claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.
As the hearing drew toward the noon recess, the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, rose to address the judge, asking if “we’re going to spend the entire day like this?” referring to Balian’s argument.
“It’s outrageous, frankly, (that Balian) flashes up photos of the crime scene without warning” to victims’ family members who may be “retraumatized” by the picture, Geragos said.
Balian responded that the photos are “horrific” and apologized to Menendez family members in court.
A family-led group has been advocating for the two to be released from prison and have accused Hochman of ignoring the positive work the two brothers have done while behind bars.
“Accountability should not be weaponized to deny people the second chance they worked so hard for,” Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers and part of the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, said March 20. Baralt said the advocates were speaking up “for every person who has been told … that the worst thing they ever did defines them forever.”
In court papers filed last week, prosecutors wrote, “In sum, Erik and Lyle have not changed. They continue to lie about their crimes and the fact that they perjured a wildly mendacious self-defense story to justify killing their parents. Accordingly, Erik and Lyle have not been rehabilitated.”
The filing notes that the prosecution would evaluate whether to take a different position on re-sentencing if the two were “to ever unequivocally and sincerely recognize, acknowledge and accept responsibility for the full range of their criminal conduct.”
“Though this pathway was offered to the Menendez brothers, they have chosen to stubbornly remain buried in their over-30-year-old bunker of lies, deceit and denials,” Balian and Deputy District Attorneys Seth Carmack and Ethan Milius wrote.
In court papers opposing the District Attorney’s motion to withdraw the re-sentencing request, attorneys for the brothers wrote that “the new district attorney’s position that withdrawal of the request for re-sentencing is justified due to insufficient insight into the crime ignores case law, the facts of the main authority in which the district attorney relies, and Erik and Lyle’s repeated taking of responsibility for the shooting and expressions of remorse.”
Meanwhile, state parole boards will conduct separate hearings for the brothers on June 13, then send their reports to Gov. Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency, the governor said.
In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father — a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.
Interest in the case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.
The governor said that with the exception of brief clips on social media he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez case or documentaries on it “because I don’t want to be influenced by them.”
“I just want to be influenced by the facts,” Newsom said.