NEWNow you can take heed to Fox Information articles!
The notorious killer Menendez brothers, who brutally slayed their mother and father with a shotgun inside their Beverly Hills house greater than 35 years in the past, have a completely new path to freedom after a decide’s order final week.
Brian Wice is a Houston-based post-conviction legal professional who says that the brothers scored a brand new victory that’s fully separate from their current bid for parole.
“If habeas aid is granted, this isn’t a resentencing,” Wice instructed Fox Information Digital. “That is a completely new trial.”
Trial of the Menendez brothers in Los Angeles – From left to proper : Erik Menendez together with his legal professional: Leslie Abramson and his brother Lyle Menendez. Los Angeles, ninth March 1994. (Ted Soqui/Sygma by way of Getty Pictures)
MENENDEZ BROTHERS SCORE CRUCIAL LEGAL VICTORY IN DECADES-LONG FIGHT AS THEY AWAIT POTENTIAL FREEDOM
“My understanding is that the aid that they’ve sought is a completely new trial, as a result of they declare that with this newly found, newly out there proof that there is a cheap likelihood, and that is the check — not a certainty — an affordable likelihood the end result would have been totally different,” he mentioned.
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been convicted and sentenced to life with out parole in a bloody shotgun bloodbath that left their mother and father, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez useless. Jose was shot six occasions, and Kitty 10.
They’ve spent greater than 35 years in jail for the slayings in a case that captivated the world.
In March 2023, the brothers filed a habeas petition claiming that proof was forbidden from being offered at their trial. That proof, they are saying, would have led a jury to seek out them not responsible.
This mix of two reserving images offered by the California Division of Corrections exhibits Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections by way of AP, File)
MENENDEZ BROTHERS RESENTENCED AS EXPERTS BLAST ‘INDEFENSIBLE’ BID FOR KILLERS’ FREEDOM
About eight months earlier than the double-homicide, Erik allegedly wrote a letter to his cousin, Andy Cano, claiming that Jose had sexually abused him and Lyle.
Additional, an affidavit from Roy Rossello, a member of a boy band known as Menudo, claimed Jose, who was a report govt, raped him when he was a 14-year-old boy in 1983 or 1984. Rossello made the declare virtually 40 years after the alleged rape.
If that info had been out there to a jury, the brothers declare, they’d not have been convicted. In addition they contend that the letter and the affidavit represent new proof that should be thought of.
In an off-the-cuff response to that petition, filed by Los Angeles County District Legal professional Nathan Hochman’s workplace in February of this 12 months, prosecutors denied that the letter and the affidavit constituted new proof. They mentioned that the Cano letter was “premature.” In addition they mentioned the Rossello affidavit was “inadmissible, immaterial, and lacks credibility.”
Los Angeles District Legal professional, Nathan Hochman exterior of courtroom in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, Might 9, 2025. (Derek Shook for Fox Information Digital)
Nonetheless, on July 8, Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom Choose William C. Ryan, mentioned that the letter and the affidavit constituted a prima facie displaying that the brothers are entitled to habeas aid, and ordered Hochman’s workplace to reply to the declare and clarify why the brothers shouldn’t be granted the aid.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS RESENTENCING: TIMELINE OF KILLERS’ FIGHT OVER FREEDOM IN PARENTS’ MURDERS
Wice burdened that it isn’t a simple path ahead for the brothers, and {that a} new trial is the sunshine on the finish of a protracted tunnel.
“Basically, that is your final ditch, all palms on deck, let’s have a look at what we are able to do to create a miracle, form of context,” he mentioned.
If the trial decide have been to grant the habeas petition in favor of the brothers, vacating their conviction, that call would then be reviewed by the California Courtroom of Appeals, and after that, the California Supreme Courtroom, Wice mentioned. Both of these entities may say the trial decide erred in his or her choice, and refuse the brothers’ alternative for a brand new trial.
“They’re ready to win, and like I mentioned, within the context of habeas, it is survive and advance,” Wice mentioned, utilizing a basketball analogy. “They survive and advance to a different spherical. Are they going to chop down? Who is aware of?”
Legal professional Mark Geragos exterior of courtroom for the resentencing listening to for Erik and Lyle Menendez in Van Nuys, CA, Tuesday, Might 13, 2025. (Derek Shook for Fox Information Digital)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In the meantime, the brothers will seem earlier than a parole board and plead their case for freedom in August. They have been resentenced from life with out parole to fifty years with the opportunity of parole in Might.
Fox Information Digital reached out to Los Angeles County District Legal professional Nathan Hochman’s workplace for remark.
