The Menendez brothers were part of a court hearing in Van Nuys. NBC4’s Eric Leonard explains what happened.
What to Know
- Erik and Lyle Menendez were part of a court hearing together for the first time in decades Monday in Van Nuys.
- The status conference, which usually involves basic housekeeping matters for the court, was scheduled to provide an update on what happens next in the brothers' high-profile case.
- Seats for the proceeding were opened to the public through a lottery system.
- Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's re-sentencing recommendation announced in October is among matters likely to be discussed at the conference.
- A re-sentencing hearing, one legal avenue to the brothers' release, scheduled for Dec. 11 was postponed to late January
Erik and Lyle Menendez were part of a court hearing Monday on an upcoming re-sentencing hearing and other matters surrounding the murder conviction that placed them behind bars for the 1989 shooting deaths of their parents at the family's Beverly Hills mansion.
The brothers could be heard, but not seen, on a feed from the San Diego prison where they have served 35 years of their life sentences. They were expected to appear on a video feed, but technical problems prevented them from being seen together in court for the first time in decades.
The status conference was scheduled to provide a court update on what happens next in the brothers' case, including where things stand with their possible re-sentencing for the killings. Before the conference began, it was determined that a re-sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 11 will be re-scheduled for Jan. 30 and 31 to allow the newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney more time to study the case.
"We're hoping by the end of that, or some time sooner, we will get the brothers released," attorney Mark Geragos said outside the courthouse.
The judge set a deadline of mid-January for all parties to file document for the hearing.
The brothers had the right to be in attendance in the San Fernando Valley courtroom, but their attorney said Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, would attend online. There were no cameras in the courtroom, but sketch artists provided drawings.
Menendez family members spoke during the hearing, pleading with the judge to release them, Geragos said. No decision was made on the defense effort to have the brothers -- 21 and 18 when they killed their parents in 1989 -- re-sentenced and potentially released from prison.
"It was quite a moving experience," Geragos said.
Status conferences usually involve basic housekeeping matters like scheduling for the court and attorneys to discuss, but the Menendez brothers case has received new attention following Netflix's release of "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" and a recommendation from Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón that their sentences be shortened. If a judge eventually agrees with the outgoing district attorney, who was defeated in the November election, the brothers could be eligible for immediate parole.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
The presence of the key figures at the center of the high-profile Los Angeles case made this status conference unlike most others. Seats for the 10:30 a.m. PT proceeding, which could have marked the first time the brothers have spoken publicly in years, were opened to the public through a lottery system. The brothers could be heard on the audio feed confirming they could hear audio from the courtroom.
Several people had already lined up early Monday for the 16 tickets available through the lottery.
The January re-sentencing hearing will likely focus heavily on new evidence in the case, including a letter Erik Menendez wrote in 1988 to his uncle Andy Cano, describing sexual abuse by his father. More new evidence emerged when Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently came forward saying he had been drugged and raped by Jose Menendez when he was a teen. Menudo was signed under RCA Records, where Jose Menendez was chief operating officer.
The two pieces of evidence were not available during the brothers' trial, which allowed prosecutors to argue there was no corroboration of sexual abuse.
Gascón, LA County's top prosecutor, was voted out of office in favor of Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and Assistant U.S. Attorney General. Hochman was already expected to seek a delay in the re-sentencing case as he seeks to review facts and evidence in the decades-old case, multiple sources close to the DA-elect told NBCLA.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he will not consider clemency until the DA reviews the case.
Geragos said the brothers remain optimistic as the legal process plays out around them. He is hoping to have the brothers re-sentenced on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter based on the new evidence.
"I speak with them quite often actually," Geragos said. "The attitude is, it's been a roller coaster of emotion, to borrow a cliché. We've had all kinds of ups and downs."
