On Wednesday, more than 20 relatives of the Menendez brothers — who are serving life sentences for killing their parents in 1989 — urged California prosecutors to review their convictions.
The family gathered outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, where they asked the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez. Cousin Anamaria Baralt said the pair suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder which stemmed from abuse, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“There is no doubt in my mind that their sentencing would have been very different,” she said.
READ: Prosecutor to Review Sexual Abuse Claims in Menendez Brothers Case
Further, KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl, who attended high school with Erik and Lyle Menendez, described Jose Menendez as a “tyrant.” However, she declined to say whether she believed it was true the father sexually abused the brothers — a claim the family has levied over the years.
“He was a very strict, very stern, very degrading father,” Triessl commented.
The Los Angeles Times reported that evidence of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s father molesting them was presented at their first trial — which ended with a hung jury. However, those details were not as prominent during the second trial which resulted in their convictions.
Earlier this month, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said his office would review the sexual abuse allegations.
In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez purchased two shotguns with cash and used them to kill their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home. Investigators originally suspected the mafia was behind the slayings. However, a break in the case occurred in 1990 when Erik Menendez, then 18, confessed to a therapist.
At the time, prosecutors claimed the brothers wanted access to their inheritance. However, Gascón said he has a photocopy of a letter, penned by Erik Menendez, which also corroborates claims of sexual abuse.
Gascón also said he is aware of claims made by Roy Rosello, an ex-member of the boy band Menudo. Rosello said Jose Menendez sexually abused him while a producer at RCA Records.
The molestation allegations are receiving renewed attention due to Ryan Murphy’s Netflix show, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” Murphy is considering extending the season as a court hearing regarding the case is scheduled for November 29.
“As their aunt, I had no idea the extent the of the abuse they suffered at the hands of my brother-in-law, none of us did,” Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen Vandermolen, said on Wednesday, according to KTLA.
“Looking back, I can see the intention…they were just children who could have been protected but were instead brutalized in the most horrific ways. The truth is, Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them: by their parents, by the system, by society at large.”
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[Feature Photo: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]]
