The Menendez brothers’ murder case is being reevaluated due to sexual abuse allegations

The Menendez brothers are facing release after more than 30 years in prison. Her case is being reviewed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney for possible resentencing after significant new evidence emerged.

On August 20, 1989, then 21-year-old Lyle Menendez and then 18-year-old Erik Menendez shot and killed their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. Jose Menendez was a wealthy 45-year-old entertainment executive while 47-year-old Kitty Menendez was a housewife.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in the second retrial following a mistrial in the first trial.

“From the beginning, it was one of the largest cases in Los Angeles and the country; no one could believe that these two young men had killed their parents like that,” ABC’s Terry Moran, who covered the trial, told Impact X. Nightline.

It was always clear that they killed their parents 36 years ago. However, the reason why they did so has always divided and intrigued the nation.

During their first trial, defense attorney Leslie Abramson claimed that Lyle and Erik shot their parents in self-defense. She argued that the brothers feared their parents would kill them if they revealed years of alleged harassment they had suffered at the hands of their father.

The first trial ended in a mistrial on January 13, 1994 because the jury deadlocked. After a second trial, the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

MENENDEZ BROTHERS CASE: How would resentencing occur?

A new lawsuit has been filed that contains even more disturbing details about Jose Menendez’s alleged abuse.

According to the brothers’ lawyers, Erik Menendez wrote a letter to his cousin describing his father’s alleged abuse.

Another of her father’s alleged victims, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, also spoke out in the 2023 Peacock documentary “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” Roy Rosselló claimed he was José Menendez’s when he was 14 been mistreated.

The Menendez brothers appear to have gone from enemies of the state to victims, as a powerful movement calling for the brothers’ release is building online.

Her story now appears through a modern lens, shedding a new perspective on an alleged trauma that was little understood at the time – that men could also be victims of sexual abuse. Some people say this review challenges long-held beliefs and causes people to rethink their understanding of this complex issue.

“I’ve always thought that if the Menendez brothers were the Menendez sisters, they would be free today and convicted,” Moran said. “But a victim of abuse often gets some kind of mercy.”

Prison reform advocate Kim Kardashian called for her release.

“We are all products of our experiences,” Kardashian wrote about the brothers in a personal essay. “Time changes us and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18.”

Actress Rosie O’Donnell became friends with the brothers.

“They weren’t terrible kids,” O’Donnell told “Impact X Nightline.” “They were severely and sadistically tortured by a pedophile predator father and a very compliant and involved mother who had no interest in them.”

In the 90s, Dr. William Vicary, a former psychiatrist, was a key defense witness in the case after defense attorney Leslie Abramson hired him to evaluate Erik Menendez. Vicary later received probation on his medical license because he admitted altering notes from those meetings.

“In the ’80s and ’90s, the public knew very little about this type of sexual abuse, particularly about fathers who abused their own sons,” Vicary told Impact X Nightline. “At the time, there were a lot of people who simply dismissed it.”

Others, like Alan Abrahamson, who covered the trial for the LA Times, still believe that the brothers killed their parents for money and that the jury was right, considering they spent excessive amounts of money after the murders.

“The parents were sitting in the living room watching TV,” Abrahamson told Impact X Nightline. “Did they have any weapons? No.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced earlier this month that he was reviewing new evidence in the case against the brothers.

Some family members said the Menendez brothers should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder. A group of relatives, including Kitty Menendez’s sister, agree.

Family members held a press conference in LA on Wednesday, hoping it would influence the appeal of their conviction. The court has scheduled a hearing for November 2024.

ABC News Studios’ “IMPACT x Nightline: The Menendez Brothers: Monster or Victim?” and a special “20/20” report on the Menendez Brothers are now streaming on Hulu.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News Studios, Hulu and this channel.