Judge grants re-sentencing bid by Menendez brothers for 1989 shotgun murders
By
Lisa Richwine
, Reuters
Erik Menendez (R) and brother Lyle listen to court proceedings during a May 17, 1991 appearance.
Photo:
Reuters: Lee Celano
Lyle and Erik Menendez, serving
life sentences
for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills, can be re-sentenced for their crime, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Tuesday, paving the way for the brothers' possible release from prison.
The ruling capped a day-long hearing in which several relatives, a retired judge and a former fellow inmate testified in support of defence efforts to shorten the brothers' sentence to time already served, or at least gaining their
eligibility for parole
.
The brothers themselves, now 57 and 54, appeared at the proceedings in Los Angeles County Superior Court via live video feed from prison in San Diego.
The brothers were found guilty in 1996 of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life in prison terms without the possibility of parole for shooting to death their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, on August 20, 1989, as the couple watched television in the family room of their home.
At trial the brothers admitted to committing the killings but insisted they did so out of fear that their parents were about to kill them following years of sexual abuse by their father, a wealthy entertainment industry executive, and emotional battering by their mother.
Former District Attorney George Gascon petitioned for a re-sentencing last autumn, citing new evidence purported to bolster the brothers' claims that they were molested and a prison record showing they had achieved rehabilitation while incarcerated.
Gascon said the pair had paid their debt to society and should be eligible for parole under the state's youthful offender statute since they were younger than 26 at the time of their offence. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18.
But Gascon's successor as DA, Nathan Hochman, opposed the re-sentencing after taking office earlier this year, arguing the brothers have yet to fully acknowledge and accept responsibility for the killings.
- Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Erin Patterson denies murdering lunch guests in triple-murder mushroom trial
By Larissa Ham & Joseph Dunstan for ABC Erin Patterson has testified that she did not intentionally kill her relatives by putting death cap mushrooms in their meals. Photo: ABC News Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson has testified that she did not intentionally kill her relatives by putting death cap mushrooms in their meals. Patterson, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder, has taken to the stand for the fourth day running in the trial in Morwell, in regional Victoria, Australia. The 50-year-old is accused over the deaths of her estranged husband's parents Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson. Mrs Wilkinson's husband Ian, who also became seriously ill, was the only guest to survive the deadly 2023 lunch. The prosecution has begun cross-examining Erin Patterson in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts after three days of questions from her defence team. Ian and Heather Wilkinson, and Don and Gail Patterson were all hospitalised after the lunch, with only Mr Wilkinson surviving. Photo: ABC / Supplied This morning, Patterson's defence barrister Colin Mandy SC asked his client whether she murdered her relatives. "Did you intend to kill or cause really serious injury to Donald Patterson by serving that meal?" he asked her. "No I didn't," Erin she replied. "Did you intend to harm him in any way?" Mandy said. Patterson replied: "No." The defence barrister asked the same question of the three other guests. Patterson answered no to all questions, her voice progressively breaking as he came to the end of the names. The court was shown a transcript of a police interview with Patterson, in which she claimed she had not dehydrated food before. This morning, she said that was a lie, and admitted to also lying when previously denying she either owned a dehydrator or knew anything about one in the house. "I had disposed of it a few days earlier in the context of thinking that maybe mushrooms that I'd foraged, or the meal I'd prepared, was responsible for making people sick," she told the court. "And then on the Saturday, Detective Eppingstall told me that Gail and Heather had passed away, and, was this stupid kneejerk reaction to just dig deeper and keep lying. "I was just scared, but I shouldn't have done it." Lead prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC began her cross examination of Patterson by asking about her ownership and use of a food dehydrator. Dr Rogers asserted that Patterson had used it to knowingly prepare death cap mushrooms for the lunch. "You knew that they were death cap mushrooms that you'd been dehydrating, correct?" Dr Rogers asked. "No, I didn't know that," Patterson replied. "And you were very keen to dispose of any evidence that might connect you with the possession of death cap mushrooms, correct?" the prosecutor asked. "No, I didn't." The prosecution also put it to Patterson that she had tested how to hide dehydrated mushrooms in food without them being noticed. "Yeah, that's fair," Patterson replied. The trial heard Patterson had been adding powdered mushrooms to foods for her children, which she told the court was only done to boost their vegetable intake. However, she denied she had only ever used the dehydrator on mushrooms, saying she also used it to dehydrate apple, banana and other fruits. The trial continues. - ABC
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Blenheim man sent to prison after violently murdering mother in argument
Paul Thomas Armon has been sentenced in the High Court in Blenheim for the murder of his mother, Jennifer Phyllis Sheehan. Photo: RNZ/Samantha Gee A man who snapped during an argument with his mother over dinner and used a crowbar and a knife to kill her before handing himself into police three days' later has been sentenced to life in prison. Paul Thomas Armon, 55, appeared for sentencing at the High Court at Blenheim on Thursday for the murder of his mother Jennifer Phyllis Sheehan, 78. The pair was having dinner at her Blenheim home, something they did every Friday night, when an argument escalated into violence. Justice Grice said Armon attacked his elderly mother, taking her by surprise, striking her head with a crowbar and again as she lay defenceless on the ground. "You then stabbed her four times in the chest. Rather than seeking medical help or calling an ambulance, you stood over her and watched her as she took her last breaths," she said. Armon was angry about comments his mother had made about his previous relationships and lifestyle, which was something they frequently argued about. Sheehan's family members declined to provide victim impact statements but Justice Grice said it was clear Armon's actions undoubtedly had a profound and permanent effect on their lives. "Of course, the ultimate harm has been done to your mother who's lost her life because of what you've done," she said. Justice Grice said the murder was not pre-meditated, Armon had turned himself in and confessed, entered guilty pleas at the first available opportunity and expressed remorse, but there was a high degree of callousness and his mother had been a defenceless and vulnerable victim. Jennifer Phyllis Sheehan. Photo: Supplied / Facebook The court heard Armon and Sheehan had a fraught relationship. Justice Grice said reports showed the pair had been close when Armon was young, but he experienced mental health struggles as a teenager and had turned to alcohol, drugs and crime. Armon had turned his life around by the age of 29 and was in a long-term relationship with two children, but that ended after the Christchurch earthquakes when he lapsed back into drug use. His mother had stood by him but had also been critical of his life choices despite changes he had made and would regularly bring up the past and frequently make direct insults and hurtful comments. Armon said he had usually dealt with them by walking away. The court heard Armon moved back to Blenheim in 2023 at his mother's request to support her but chose not to live with her because of concerns about her behaviour. "Nevertheless, you said you loved your mother and wanted to be a good son to her. Every Friday evening you'd buy takeaways for dinner and would eat and watch television with her. You said on the night in question your mother started having a go at you for no reason, which caused you to snap," Grice said. On the day of the attack, Armon said his mother had started swearing at him and calling him names that triggered him, making him so angry that he "totally lost the plot". In a letter to the court he said, "I wish every day that I had walked away as I had many times before". A psychiatric report said that while Armon's actions seemingly came out of nowhere and appeared out of character, they emanated from lifelong feelings of resentment and inadequacy. Another report said Armon was still coming to terms with what he had done, grieving the loss of his mother and appeared incredulous at his own behaviour. It said he had demonstrated remorse and taken full responsibility for his actions and had made no attempt to deflect, justify or excuse the killing. After the murder Armon had dragged his mother into the bathroom so no-one could see her lying on the kitchen floor. He went outside and smoked a cigarette before attempting to clean up by wiping down blood in the kitchen. He put the knife in the kitchen sink and threw the crowbar under a bed before going home. Three days later Armon went to Blenheim police station and told staff he had murdered someone. "I have killed my mother, last Friday, in her home," he told an officer. When spoken to further, he confessed to hitting his mother on the back of the head twice with the crowbar and stabbing her three times in the chest. A short time later police found Sheehan dead on her bathroom floor. Crown prosecutor Mark O'Donoghue said there was a high level of callousness in the murder and Sheehan was particularly vulnerable because she was a defenceless, elderly woman who had been taken by surprise. "Rather than then seeking medical help or walking away, the defendant has gone to the kitchen, armed himself with a carving knife and cold-bloodedly stabbed her four times. He appears to have finished what he started," he said. O'Donoghue said Sheehan "stood no chance" against her younger son, who was armed with two weapons and who should have walked away as he had described doing many times before. Armon was not suffering from an untreated psychosis and did not have impaired threat perception or judgment, the court heard. Defence lawyer Rob Harrison said there was an element of provocation in the murder. A psychiatrist report said Armon had a conflicted relationship with his mother where he felt belittled, demeaned and criticised, which Harrison said contributed to his actions. "Throughout his life, she has been extremely critical of him. This was not a premeditated murder. This was an assault, a murderous assault, where the defendant snapped and he cannot explain why," he said. Despite the difficulties in their relationship, Armon clearly loved his mother, which was evident in his return to Blenheim at her request and weekly dinners. Harrison said Armon spent the weekend after the murder wandering around in shock before turning himself in. He had written letters to his family, including his brother and children, apologising for the murder and seeking their forgiveness. Justice Grice sentenced Armon to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years. She said a 17-year minimum non-parole period would have been manifestly unjust because it did not take into account his early guilty plea, so she awarded him a two-year discount. Detective Sergeant Ashley Clarke of Marlborough CIB acknowledged the sentence and extended extend police sympathies to Sheehan's family. "While no outcome can bring Mrs Sheehan back, we are pleased that the matter has now been concluded through the courts." Clarke thanked the investigations team as well as the wider public who helped police with information during the investigation.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Rapana Tukuru Tahana-Heretini named as Tokoroa homicide victim
A man has been charged with his murder. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Police have named 30-year-old Rapana 'Raaps' Tukuru Tahana-Heretini, of Tokoroa, as the man who was fatally injured last week. Police were called to an Abercorn Place address about 4:15am on 27 May, after reports a man had been injured by a male known to him outside his house. The victim was taken to Waikato Hospital in critical condition, but has since died. Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley said a homicide investigation had been launched, and a man has been charged with murder . The man will appear in the High Court at Rotorua later this month. Police are still seeking any information from witnesses, including CCTV footage from Abercorn Place at around 4:15am on Tuesday, 27 May. "If you can help, please get in touch with us via our 105 service, quoting reference number 250527/7868," police said. "You can also provide information anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111."
