A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has instructed the District Attorney’s Office to explain why evidence that could have supported the Menendez brothers’ sexual abuse claims didn’t get presented to the jury during their second trial.
According to Court TV, during their murder trial in 1993, the Erik and Lyle Menendez claimed they killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in self-defense. They cited years of sexual abuse and fear for their lives.
Their first trial concluded with two hung juries.
In May 2023, the defense submitted a habeas petition arguing that two new pieces of evidence could have altered the outcome of the second trial, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The petition referenced a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders, as well as new rape allegations against their father, made by former Menudo band member Roy Rossello.
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse.” Erik’s letter, dated December 1988, read, in part.
“Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.”
The letter was never offered as evidence during the trial and was discovered decades later by Jose’s sister, Marta Cano. She subsequently provided it to journalist Robert Rand.
According to People magazine, Judge William Ryan found that the brothers “made a prima facie showing of their entitlement to habeas corpus relief,” unless prosecutors can prove otherwise.
Ryan has given a 30-day deadline for the prosecution to offer an explanation as to why the sexual abuse allegations were not disclosed to the jury.
Los Angeles County DA Hochman previously indicated he was opposed to habeas corpus relief calling the letter “not credible evidence.”
Meanwhile, in May 2025, a judge resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life in prison, with immediate parole eligibility. The hearing is scheduled for August.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: An Oct. 31, 2016 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez. The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion nearly three decades ago, have been reunited in the Southern California prison San Diego’s R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility. The brothers are serving life sentences for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)]
