(NewsNation) — Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez met Friday with new Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to advocate for a “fair and just resentencing” for the brothers.
Hochman addressed the public Friday evening in a news conference, saying the “difficult but important work” to review the Menendez brothers’ case is continuing.
“It was a very productive session, where they gave me all their thoughts about what should happen in this case,” Hochman said.
Hochman said he hasn’t yet finished reviewing all the prison files and trial transcripts for the brothers, but that the family members’ conversation Friday was “useful” to his case evaluation.
Anamaria Baralt, the daughter of José and Kitty Menendez’s lifelong friends, spoke publicly after the meeting.
“I want to reiterate our position as a family – and as the victims’ families – that this 35-year process has been incredibly traumatizing for us, as I’m sure you can all imagine,” Baralt said. “
“We are very much hoping that we can find a path to manslaughter, that we can see the release of the brothers immediately.”
“As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion. 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,” a statement from the family said.
Over 20 members of the family spoke with Hochman. They were able to “share their perspective on Erik and Lyle’s immense personal growth over the last 35 years and the ways in which we plan to support them in their next chapters,” a statement from the family said.
“We hope that this meeting will put us a step closer to spending next Christmas reunited as a family,” it continued.
Menendez brothers resentencing hearing Jan. 30
The Menendez brothers were convicted in the murder of their parents and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996 without possibility of parole. Their first trial ended in a mistrial.
While the brothers’ attorneys never denied they killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, they argued the pair acted out of self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse by their father.
A resentencing plea is set to be heard at a hearing on Jan. 30. Los Angeles prosecutors had recommended the resentencing, saying they demonstrated good behavior and rehabilitation in prison. Attorneys presented new evidence of the sexual abuse the brothers said they suffered, and filed a habeas corpus petition in May 2023 asking a judge to consider it.
New evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez wrote in 1988 to his uncle about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. In addition, Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, said Jose Menendez drugged and raped him as a teen. Jose Menendez was chief operating officer at RCA Records, where Menudo was signed.
Freedom for the brothers is now possible with a resentencing plea eligible to be heard at a hearing set for Jan. 30.
Renewed public interest in the case came after a Netflix drama and documentary were released. Former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who lost re-election to Hochman, asked the judge to give the Menendez brothers a new sentence of 50 years to life which could make them immediately eligible for parole.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.