Menendez brothers resentencing: Timeline of killers' fight over freedom in parents' murders
After the bombshell Tuesday news that convicted killers Erik and Lyle Mendendez have been resentenced to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, the future for the brothers still remains uncertain.
The pair, who admitted to killing their parents, Mary "Kitty" and Jose Menendez, in a bloody 1989 shotgun massacre inside their Beverly Hills home, maintained that their actions were self-defense stemming from a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their parents until Tuesday's resentencing hearing.
Below is a timeline of how we've reached this point in their resentencing bid, and what could happen next:
March 2023: Attorneys for the brothers ask the Los Angeles County District Court to reconsider their convictions and sentencing in light of a new affidavit claiming Jose Menendez raped a 14-year-old boy in 1983 or 1984.
The claimant was Roy Russello, a member of the boy band Menudo, who made the rape claim against the former record executive at age 54.
He said that he went to the Menendez home and drank a glass of wine, then lost control of his body before Jose raped him.
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Sept. 2024: The Menendez family defends the brothers against the "dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime" in a Netflix documentary called "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."
Sept. 27, 2024: The Menendez family calls for the brothers' release.
"We are virtually the entire extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez. We are 24 strong and today we want the world to know we support Erik and Lyle," their family wrote in a statement that Erik's wife, Tammi Menendez, posted to X in response to the Netflix docuseries. "We individually and collectively pray for their release after being imprisoned for 35 years. We know them, love them, and want them home with us."
Oct. 4, 2024: Then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announces that he is reviewing evidence in the case.
Oct. 14, 2024: Gascon announces that he has found new evidence that affects the brothers' case.
That evidence came in the form of a letter allegedly written by Erik to his cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the double-homicide, claiming that Jose was continually raping his sons.
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Oct. 16, 2024: Multiple generations of the Menendez family hold a news conference asking for the brothers' release.
Oct. 25, 2024: Gascón asks the court to resentence the brothers.
"After very careful review of all the arguments… I came to a place where I believe that, under the law, resentencing is appropriate, and I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow," Gascon said at the time.
Oct. 31, 2024: The brothers' attorney, Mark Geragos, files a request for clemency from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Nov. 5, 2024: Nathan Hochman defeats Gascón in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney.
Nov. 19, 2024: Newsom says he won't make a clemency decision until Hochman has had time to review the case.
"The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility," Newsom's office said in a statement. "The Governor will defer to the DA-elect's review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."
Nov. 25, 2024: Judge Michael Jesic delays the brothers' resentencing hearing until Jan. 30, 2025.
Jan. 3, 2025: Hochman meets with the Menendez family.
"As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion," the family said in a statement at the time. "Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation."
Jan. 18, 2025: The brothers' resentencing trial is postponed due to the extreme and destructive Los Angeles wildfires.
The new hearing was scheduled for March 20–21.
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Feb. 26, 2025: Newsom announces that he has directed the state parole board to conduct a "comprehensive risk assessment investigation" of the Menendez brothers in response to their request for clemency.
March 10, 2025: Hochman asks the court to withdraw Gascón's motion to free the brothers.
"As a full examination of the record reveals, the Menendez brothers have never come clean and admitted that they lied about their self-defense as well as suborned perjury and attempted to suborn perjury by their friends for the lies, among others, of their father violently raping Lyle's girlfriend, their mother poisoning the family, and their attempt to get a handgun the day before the murders," Hochman's motion said.
March 11, 2025: Newsom sets June 13 parole board hearings for the brothers in their bid for clemency.
March 20, 2025: The resentencing hearing is again postponed, this time until April 18-19.
April 11, 2025: Jesic denies Hochman's motion to quash the brothers' resentencing hearing.
April 14, 2025: Jesic denies Hochman's motion to withdraw a petition by the brothers for a new trial, and Terry Baralt, the 85-year-old aunt of Erik and Lyle is hospitalized after fainting at the court hearing.
Prosecutors were accused of showing unredacted crime scene photos to the court without prior notice to the family, leading to Baralt's medical emergency.
Hochman's office later apologized.
"To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo," his office said.
April 18, 2025: The resentencing hearing is postponed until May 9 to address two motions in the case: whether Hochman's office should be punished for showing the graphic photos, and whether it could cite the parole board's comprehensive risk assessment in its arguments.
April 28, 2025: Geragos files a motion attempting to disqualify Hochman from the case over an alleged conflict of interest regarding members of his office who opposed the brothers' resentencing.
May 9, 2025: Jesic denies Hochman's request to withdraw the March 10 motion in which he asked the court to drop Gascón's attempt to free the brothers.
Jesic also denies Geragos' attempt to withdraw his own April 28 motion to disqualify Hochman. Geragos said he wanted to withdraw the motion because he "did not want to waste any more time" and wanted to move forward with the resentencing process.
May 14, 2025: Jesic resentences Erik and Lyle to 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole.
The brothers have spent 35 years behind bars.
At the hearing, they expressed remorse for killing their parents during the hearing, and took full responsibility for their actions, which Hochman previously demanded as a condition of their resentencing.
"I take full responsibility. I killed my parents. I made the choice to kill my mom and dad in their own home," Lyle said. "I made the choice to make a mockery of the justice system. I offer no excuse and I don't blame my parents. I'm deeply ashamed for what I did."
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Erik then spoke.
"I have profound sorrow for the tragedy I created," he said. "I took the lives of my mom and dad. My actions were criminal, cruel, and cowardly. I have no excuse or justification for what I did and I was the one who convinced Lyle we couldn't escape."
"I fired all five rounds at my parents and went back to reload. I lied to police. I lied to my family. I'm truly sorry," he said. "This crime should have never happened. I know my parents should be alive and aren't because of me."
Newsom's June 13 parole board hearings are planned to go on as scheduled, and the board will have the opportunity to free the brothers.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Erik and Lyle Menendez "will likely be freed in a matter of months," adding that he does not expect "the parole board or Governor Newsom" to block their release.
Clemency from Newsom is also still a possibility.
Fox News' Michael Ruiz, Audrey Conklin, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this report. Original article source: Menendez brothers resentencing: Timeline of killers' fight over freedom in parents' murders
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