Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says he does not support the resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, brothers who have spent more than 30 years in prison for killing their parents at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
The brothers were convicted and sentenced in 1996, but have argued that they committed the crimes in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.
Before leaving office, previous district attorney George Gascón said reexamining the case was appropriate given a renewed understanding of and empathy for sexual abuse victims.
Here’s a look at the timeline of the case:
August 1989: Jose Menendez, an executive at RCA Records in Los Angeles, and his wife Kitty Menendez, are shot and killed in their Beverly Hills mansion.
March 1990: Lyle Menendez, then 21, is arrested. Eighteen-year-old Erik Menendez turns himself in a few days later. They are accused of first-degree murder.
July 1993: The Menendez brothers go on trial, each with a separate jury. Prosecutors argued that they killed their parents for financial gain. The brothers’ attorneys don’t dispute the pair killed their parents, but argued that they acted out of self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse by their father.
January 1994: Both juries deadlock.
October 1995: The brothers’ retrial begins, this time with a single jury. Much of the defense evidence about alleged sexual abuse is excluded during the second trial.
March 1996: Jurors convict both brothers of first-degree murder.
July 1996: The brothers are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
May 2023: Attorneys for the Menendez brothers ask the court to reconsider the conviction and sentence in light of new evidence from a former member of the boy band Menudo, who said he was raped by Jose Menendez when he was 14. In addition, they submit a letter that Erik wrote about his father’s abuse prior to the killings.
September 2024: Netflix releases the crime drama ” Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, ” a nine-episode series about the killings.
Oct. 4, 2024: Gascón says his office is reviewing new evidence in the case.
Oct. 16, 2024: Multiple generations of family members of the Menendez brothers hold a news conference pleading for their release from prison. The relatives say the jurors who sentenced them to life without parole in 1996 were part of a society that was not ready to hear that boys could be raped.
Oct. 24, 2024: Prosecutors schedule a news conference to announce their decision on whether to recommend resentencing.
Nov. 18, 2024: California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he would not decide on granting the brothers clemency until after the newly elected district attorney has a chance to review the case.
Nov. 25, 2024: A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge holds a hearing regarding the request for resentencing but says he needs more time to make a decision, pushing it back to Jan. 30 and 31 instead of Dec. 11 as originally planned.
Dec. 3, 2024: Nathan Hochman is sworn into office as the new district attorney of LA County.
Jan. 17, 2025: Due to the fires in the LA region, Hochman pushes the resentencing hearing back to March 20 and 21.
Feb. 21, 2025: Hochman says his office will oppose a new trial for the Menendez brothers. He cast doubt on the evidence of sexual abuse, including the letter Erik wrote to his cousin about his father’s abuse, and said it was not pertinent to the case.
Feb. 26, 2025: California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders the state parole board to conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment” to determine whether the brothers have been rehabilitated and if they would pose a danger to the public if released.
March 10, 2025: Hochman says his office won’t support resentencing the brothers because they have repeatedly lied about why they killed their parents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News