SACRAMENTO, CA - A court has ordered prosecutors to explain why abuse evidence was barred from the Menendez brothers' 1989 trial, as Erik and Lyle Menendez wait for their August parole hearing.
The brothers, who admitted to killing their parents, Mary "Kitty" and Jose Menendez, in a bloody 1989 shotgun massacre inside their Beverly Hills home, have claimed for years that their actions were in self-defense stemming from a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse, Fox News reported.
A July 8th court order will now force the state to explain why that evidence was barred from their original trial. About eight months before the double-homicide, Erik allegedly wrote a letter to his cousin, Andy Cano, claiming that Jose had sexually abused him and Lyle.
Additionally, an affidavit from Roy Rossello, a member of a boy band called Menudo, claimed that Jose, a record executive, raped him when he was a 14-year-old boy in 1983 or 1984. Rossello made the claim almost 40 years after the alleged rape.
In March 2023, the brothers filed a habeas petition claiming that if they had been allowed to use the Cano letter as evidence, and if Rossello's claim had been made before and presented at their second trial, a jury would not have convicted them.
In an informal response to that petition, filed by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman's office in February of this year, prosecutors denied that the letter and the affidavit constituted new evidence.
They said that the Cano letter was "untimely." They also said the Rossello affidavit was "inadmissible, immaterial, and lacks credibility."
However, the July 8th order handed down by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan, said that the letter and the affidavit constitute a prima facie showing that the brothers are entitled to a habeas relief.
Because of that order, the district attorney's office is now subject to a "show cause" response in the next 30 days.
In their response, Hochman's office must explain why the brothers' habeas relief should not be granted. The brothers have spent the last 35 years behind bars.
The brothers sought a new trial back in 2023, but have since shifted their focus to their own resentencing, which they were granted in May.
Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life with the possibility of parole. They were previously serving life without the possibility of parole.
Since the resentencing, the brothers have been awaiting their upcoming parole hearing. After it was initially scheduled for June 13th, it was postponed until August 21st and 22nd.
The brothers, who admitted to killing their parents, Mary "Kitty" and Jose Menendez, in a bloody 1989 shotgun massacre inside their Beverly Hills home, have claimed for years that their actions were in self-defense stemming from a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse, Fox News reported.
A July 8th court order will now force the state to explain why that evidence was barred from their original trial. About eight months before the double-homicide, Erik allegedly wrote a letter to his cousin, Andy Cano, claiming that Jose had sexually abused him and Lyle.
Additionally, an affidavit from Roy Rossello, a member of a boy band called Menudo, claimed that Jose, a record executive, raped him when he was a 14-year-old boy in 1983 or 1984. Rossello made the claim almost 40 years after the alleged rape.
In March 2023, the brothers filed a habeas petition claiming that if they had been allowed to use the Cano letter as evidence, and if Rossello's claim had been made before and presented at their second trial, a jury would not have convicted them.
In an informal response to that petition, filed by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman's office in February of this year, prosecutors denied that the letter and the affidavit constituted new evidence.
They said that the Cano letter was "untimely." They also said the Rossello affidavit was "inadmissible, immaterial, and lacks credibility."
However, the July 8th order handed down by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan, said that the letter and the affidavit constitute a prima facie showing that the brothers are entitled to a habeas relief.
Because of that order, the district attorney's office is now subject to a "show cause" response in the next 30 days.
In their response, Hochman's office must explain why the brothers' habeas relief should not be granted. The brothers have spent the last 35 years behind bars.
The brothers sought a new trial back in 2023, but have since shifted their focus to their own resentencing, which they were granted in May.
Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life with the possibility of parole. They were previously serving life without the possibility of parole.
Since the resentencing, the brothers have been awaiting their upcoming parole hearing. After it was initially scheduled for June 13th, it was postponed until August 21st and 22nd.
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