Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman has formally opposed the Menendez brothers’ latest effort to secure a new trial or case dismissal, arguing their newly surfaced evidence fails to meet legal standards for habeas corpus petitions. Erik and Lyle Menendez – convicted in 1996 for murdering their parents – claim a 1988 letter detailing alleged sexual abuse and recent accusations against their father justify revisiting their case.
The petition centers on two contentious pieces of evidence:
- A handwritten letter from Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano describing abuse eight months pre-murders
- 2023 allegations by former Menudo member Roy Rossello claiming José Menendez assaulted him
If this letter truly existed, defense counsel would have used it at trial,Hochman stated, emphasizing the document’s absence from prior proceedings despite Cano’s 1990s testimony about abuse disclosures.
Prosecutors argue the letter’s belated emergence (first published in 2015) creates unreasonable delays, while Rossello’s claims “couldn’t influence state of mind during the crime” since the brothers learned of them decades later. Under California law, habeas petitions require evidence to be both newly discovered and material to original defenses.
With their life without parole sentence under review, the brothers pursue three potential freedom avenues:
- Habeas corpus petition outcome
- Resentencing hearing scheduled March 20-21
- Clemency request to Governor Gavin Newsom
Former DA George Gascón advocated reducing their sentence to parole-eligible terms last October, but successor Hochman hasn’t committed to this position. Legal analysts note the case tests California’s evolving standards for considering childhood trauma in violent crimes.
As prosecutors prepare rebuttals ahead of next month’s resentencing hearings, this 35-year legal saga continues challenging notions of juvenile justice and evidentiary thresholds in appeals.