The resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers has been postponed due to the raging Los Angeles fires.
In 1989, the Beverly Hills mansion was the site of a tragic event where the brothers accidentally killed their parents with gunshots.
The Menendez brothers' resentencing hearing, originally scheduled for November 19th, has been postponed until January 7th, 2021, due to California's wildfires.
The resentencing hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez has been rescheduled from January 30-31 to March 20-21, as announced by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Friday.
The continuance of the hearings is due to the impact of recent wildfires on the parties' extensive preparations, Hochman stated in a brief statement.
At least 27 people have been killed and tens of thousands of acres have been torched in Los Angeles due to the fires.
The latest development in the brothers' ongoing fight for freedom is the postponement.
Since 1996, Joseph Menendez, also known as Lyle, and his younger brother, Erik Menendez, have been incarcerated in California prisons for their parents' 1989 murders. They are serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole.
The brothers assert that they shot their father, Jose Menendez, a former RCA Records executive, in self-defense, believing he would kill them after they warned him of their intention to expose him as a child molester.
In their Beverly Hills living room, while sitting next to Jose and eating ice cream, Mary "Kitty" Menendez was killed by her own children.
The brothers were arrested after they went on a $700,000 spending spree, initially suspected of a mob hit.
Jurors couldn't agree on their fate during their first trial, resulting in a mistrial. In the mid-1990s, after some of their evidence was excluded during a second trial, jurors agreed with prosecutors that their motive was greed.
George Gascón, a former District Attorney who advocated for a resentencing that could have released the brothers under a new California law, was replaced by Hochman.
Hochman, an independent, defeated him in a landslide and pledged to thoroughly examine the facts of each brother's case before making a decision.
Over two dozen of their family members advocate for their freedom, following the release of documentaries detailing their father's alleged child abuse, a former RCA Records executive.
Milton Andersen, the uncle of the men, is against any leniency for his nephews.
New evidence has emerged to support the brothers' case, including testimony from Roy Rosello, a member of Menudo, who accused Jose Menendez of abuse in 2023. Additionally, a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the murders, could support some of Cano's trial testimony about Jose Menendez. However, the authenticity of the letter has been questioned in court filings.
us
You might also like
- In the Bryan Kohberger case, a judge in Idaho hears a defense motion regarding the murders.
- A fire broke out in Los Angeles County, prompting officials to issue evacuation orders.
- As fears of ICE raids intensify, a bustling Chicago district, often referred to as the "Mexico of the Midwest," has become a ghost town.
- Injured in a shooting at Antioch High School in Tennessee, three people were left in a lockdown.
- A German national who worked at the Pentagon during 9/11 was allegedly killed by a Vermont Border Patrol agent, according to the family.