Lyle and Erik Menendez, currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murder of their parents, have had their resentencing hearing postponed “due to the impact” of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys convened with LA Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic, resulting in a new hearing date set for March 20-21.
“The continuance is due to the effects of recent wildfires on the extensive preparations for the hearings,” announced LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has recently taken over from George Gascon.
The hearing was initially slated for January 30-31.
The Menendez brothers have never contested that they were responsible for the fatal shots that resulted in the deaths of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, on August 20, 1989, in their Beverly Hills residence.
Nonetheless, they have consistently maintained that their actions were a form of self-defense, stemming from physical and sexual abuse inflicted by their father.
After a documentary series aired, then-District Attorney Gascon announced his recommendation for the brothers’ resentencing, which has garnered support from a majority of their family members and public figures like Kim Kardashian.
Resentencing could potentially lead to the brothers’ immediate release from prison, but it requires judicial approval.
During the previous court hearing, family members expressed heartfelt pleas in favor of the brothers’ release.
Joan Vander Molen, Kitty Menendez’s sister, told the court that no child should have to suffer what the brothers experienced “at the hands of their father.”
“I love Erik and Lyle, and I want them to come home,” the 93-year-old added.
Terry Baralt, 85, the eldest sister of Jose Menendez, stated, “Thirty-five years is a long time; I believe it is time for them to go home.”
The brothers were convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1996 and are currently incarcerated at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
This followed an initial mistrial, where the jury was deadlocked; prosecutors argued that there was no evidence of abuse and that the brothers murdered their parents to gain access to the family fortune.
Mr. Gascon later backed the brothers’ clemency request to California Governor Gavin Newsom, noting that all family members, except for Milton Andersen—the brother of Kitty Menendez—supported the petition.
