Menendez Brothers 'new evidence' update and latest on case

The Menendez case, which saw brothers Erik and Lyle sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of their parents has taken a fresh twist decades after their incarceration.

A Netflix series vividly depicted the gruesome murders and subsequent courtroom drama in the second season of the Monsters anthology series.

The streaming giant further fuelled public interest with a new documentary featuring prison interviews with the brothers. Amid these releases, it was disclosed that fresh evidence is being examined in relation to the case.

During their initial trial, both brothers asserted that they killed their parents in flawed self-defence, alleging sexual abuse by their father and claiming they genuinely feared for their lives.

The first trial ended with a hung jury, but at the retrial, the brothers were barred from using these allegations as evidence, leading, their lawyers argue, to their conviction for murder.

Just days before the release of The Menendez Brothers documentary on Netflix, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon confirmed his office was examining two pieces of evidence related to the sexual abuse claims.

One piece of evidence under review is a handwritten letter from Erik, penned in 1988 to his cousin and discovered by Jose Menendez's sister.

The letter states: "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening Andy, but it's worse for me now. I can't explain it. He so overweight that I can't stand to see him. I never know. When it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy. Every night, I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind.", reports .

Andy, the cousin who was the recipient of the letter, gave evidence in the first trial about being informed that Erik's father was behaving inappropriately towards him. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 29.

The second piece of evidence pertains to allegations made by former singer Roy Rossello.

Rossello was a Puerto Rican pop singer and formerly a member of the boy band Menudo.

In April 2023, Rossello claimed that he was sexually assaulted by Jose Menendez.

He alleged that he visited their home in New Jersey and was drugged and raped by Jose when he was just 14 years old. At the time, Jose Menendez was the head of RCA records.

These accusations were part of a separate documentary titled Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.

In a snippet from the show, Erik Menendez says: "I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad would come out. But I never wished for it to come out like this: the result of trauma that another child has suffered."

"We'd heard rumours that something might have happened with Menudo through the years. You know that that would have made a difference at trial."

District Attorney Gascon confirmed that a photocopy of Erik's letter and Rossello's claims in the documentary are part of the new information being reviewed.

According to Variety, he stated: "We are not at this point ready to say that we either believe or do not believe that information, but we're here to tell you is that we have a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination based on a resentencing side, whether they deserve to be resentenced-even though they were clearly the murderers-because they have been in prison for years and they have paid back their dues to society."

CBS News reported that Gascon hinted at the possibility of a resentencing or retrial.

Gascon, who is currently seeking re-election as DA in Los Angeles, was accused by his opponent of having suspicious timing for his statement during a televised debate.

However, Gascon claimed he was forced to hold a press conference due to the high volume of inquiries his office received following the release of Monsters on Netflix.

After their initial incarceration in 1996, the brothers exhausted all avenues of appeal.

All attempts were rejected, but in light of the new evidence, their attorney, Cliff Gardner, is seeking a resentencing.

In May 2023, Gardner filed a habeas petition, citing the letter and Rossello's affidavit as proof that the Menendez convictions should be overturned. He stated: "The boys were abused as children. They were abused their whole life. ... And this is a manslaughter case, not a murder case. It's just that simple. My hope in the case is that the judge will realise that this new evidence is indeed credible and persuasive, and he'll vacate the convictions."

A pivotal hearing to deliberate on the fresh evidence is slated for November 29.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and The Menendez Brothers documentary are both available to stream on Netflix now