Less than a month before a California judge is set to decide whether the Menendez brothers will get out of prison before they die, the Los Angeles County district attorney said today that he has “made no decision” on recommendations to the court about the brother's fate.
Not long after a nearly three-hour meeting with 20 members of the Menendez family who wanted to see leniency for their relatives, Nathan Hochman, at a hastily called news conference, did not play where he and his office were leaning. Hochman described the meeting with the family as “informal,” and would only say that it was a “productive meeting.”
“We will take the time necessary to get this decision right,” Hochman said Friday in the language he used even before his landslide victory over incumbent Jorge Gascón. “No decision has been made to speak with the Menendez family themselves,” he added, even after saying he would speak to anyone affected by the Menendez brothers' horrific murder of their parents more than 35 years ago.
Previously scheduled for December 11 and postponed to give newly elected DA Hochman time to move forward, a life without parole re-sentencing hearing for the siblings convicted in 1996 has now been set for January 30. If necessary, a second re-sentencing day of January 31 is on the calendar.
While additional time may be needed, Hochman announced today that January 30 is the date on which he intends to submit his recommendation to the court. Discussions among the family to petition California Attorney General Rob Bonta to intervene over perceived conflicts of interest in the attorney general's office received little attention from Hochman in his remarks today.
The impact of the 2023 Peacock documentary series on the Menendez case, as well as the success of Ryan Murphy and Netflix Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Eric Menendezundeniably brought this case back first to Gascón and now to Hochman's office.
Behind bars in the same state prison near San Diego, Lyle Menendez and Eric Menendez, now middle-aged, brutally murdered their record executive father, Goose, and their mother, Kitty, in 1989 in a pre-arranged event at the family home in Beverly Hills.
As part of their defense after the ostentatious spending spree and arrest of the young men a year later, the brothers claimed that their father repeatedly sexually assaulted them and that the shooting was in self-defense. A media circus from start to finish The first trial of the Menendez brothers ended in a mistrial. With fewer cameras in the courtroom and reporters outside, a second trial in 1996 found the brothers guilty of first-degree murder. Two appellate courts have reaffirmed these rulings over the years.
Before the meeting between the DA and Menendez's relatives, the family released a statement of their own: “As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family hopes to have an open and fair discussion. Despite the abuse they suffered as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Eric and Lyle Menendez have served the three decades past taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation During our meeting with DA Hochman, we look forward to sharing our perspective on Eric and Lyle's tremendous personal growth “Over the past 35 years, and the ways in which we plan to support them in the coming chapters we hope this coming together will bring us one step closer to spending next Christmas as a family.”
A plan by the Menendez family and attorneys Mark Geragos and Brian Friedman to join the DA's press conference on Friday was abruptly canceled before the media pool began at 4:30. Hochman said today that he had no idea why the family's attendance at the news conference was halted. Representatives for the Menendez family did not provide any details about the change in plans.
