Two brothers, jailed in the United States for the infamous murders of their parents, are today a step closer to finally being freed.
Eric and Lyle Menendez, who have been in prison for more than 30 years, should be re-sentenced by a judge and released on parole, the Los Angeles County district attorney has now recommended.
The move comes after their notorious case was highlighted in a new documentary and drama miniseries on the streaming giant Netflix, providing new evidence of paternal abuse – both physical and sexual – giving context to the killings.
The expose has prompted LA district attorney George Gascón to recommend that Erik and Lyle, now 53 and 56 respectively, be re-sentenced by a judge because the new evidence merits a review.
The 1989 murders of their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion have gripped the US for decades.
But the popular new Netflix miniseries and accompanying documentary has once again brought the focus back onto a possible miscarriage of justice.
For the brothers to gain their freedom, a judge would have to agree with the recommendation and then a parole board approve their release.
Erik and Lyle are currently serving life in prison without possibility of parole in California.
Their case centred on their motive in the murders, in which their parents were shot 13 times as they watched television.
“I believe the brothers were subject to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in their home and molestation,” said Mr Gascón, LA County’s top prosecutor.
He added that, while there was no excuse for murder: “I believe they have paid their debt to society.”
During their criminal trials in the 1990s, prosecutors painted the brothers as rich kids who methodically planned the murders to gain access to their parents’ fortune.
But their defence attorneys argued the brothers were victims of years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and only acted out of self-defence.
The announcement by Mr Gascón – who is facing a tough re-election battle – follows new evidence in the case relating to claims of sexual abuse.
One new piece of evidence was a letter from Erik Menendez to another family member that appears to be from 1988 – a year before the murders – and details the alleged abuse by his father, Jose.
The other evidence comes from a then-underage member of the 1980s Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.
The band member alleges that the brothers’ late father Jose, who worked as an executive at record company RCA at the time, drugged and raped him during a visit to Menendez’s home.
The notorious case began on 20 August 1989 when the brothers – then aged 18 and 21 – called police and reported finding their parents’ bodies after returning home.
Their first trial ended in a mistrial in 1993, but a second in 1995 led to them to being convicted of first-degree murder.
LA district attorney Mr Gascón’s office was today in the process of filing a re-sentencing recommendation in court. It will contain details and evidence arguing for a lesser sentence.
A hearing will then be scheduled in the next 30-45 days where a judge will weigh in and hear arguments about their release.
The brothers may also be in attendance.
