Menendez brothers case: Understand everything that is happening and the next steps

Every day, the case of the Menendez brothers, accused of brutally killing their parents in 1996, takes on new contours. The two are portrayed in a series, released in September, and in a documentary, both on Netflix.

The most recent step in the case is that there is now a date for a new hearing: it will be on December 11th. After evaluating the evidence, both may be released immediately. Among the lawyer’s allegations is the request to change the murder conviction to manslaughter.

If this is done, they would be released from prison, as they have served three times the time proposed for this type of crime.

UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE CASE

Roy Rosselló, 54 years old, former member of the classic formation of the Puerto Rican group Menudo, brought, for the first time in 34 years, a new fact to the defense of the Menendez brothers, Erik and Lyle. The singer and missionary said he was drugged and raped by José Menendez, their father, in the family home.

Roy’s testimony gives more strength to the original defense of the Menendez brothers, who always said they acted in self-defense, as they believed they would be killed by their parents when they threatened to take the abuse to the public.

In October, the family of Lyle and Erik Menendez held a press conference to ask then-public prosecutor George Gascón to release the brothers, sentenced to life in prison.

The brothers’ defense team argued that new evidence showed that they were victims of sexual abuse by their father, businessman Jose Menendez.

Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the two, said they were “victims of a culture that was not ready to listen.” “Lyle and Erik deserve a chance to heal. Our family deserves a chance to heal with them.”

At the end of November, a hearing would take place to decide whether the two would have a new trial.

The case, however, took on new contours a week later when George Gascón decided that there would be an anticipation of the decision to analyze a habeas corpus that could free the two.

“I intend to have a decision by the end of this week, which is what I promised when we started getting a lot of questions. We’ve been looking at this case for over a year, by the way,” he said in an interview with CNN.

The strong repercussion of the series and pressure from fans caused him to change the analysis date for the resource. “We had set a date at the end of November to discuss habeas corpus, but given the public attention to this case, I tried to reach a decision before that and I will do so,” he commented.

The brothers were held in separate prisons for the first 22 years of their sentence. Today, they are in the same prison, in Southern California, near San Diego. Lyle and Erik are 56 and 53 years old, respectively, and have spent 34 years in prison.