Lyle & Erik Menendez’s Family Shows United Front As They Plea For Their Release

The Menendez family is asking for the release of Lyle and Erik Menendez. Nearly two dozen family members gathered for a press conference in front of a Los Angeles courthouse on Oct. 16. They were joined by defense attorney, Mark Geragos as they asked the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office to review new evidence and resentence Erik and Lyle. The brothers, who are now in their 50s, were sentenced to life in prison for killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago. Lyle who was 21 and Erik who was 18 at the time, admitted they fatally shot their parents in 1989. They claim they killed them after years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Prosecutors claimed there was no evidence of the abuse and that the men were just after their parents multi-million-dollar estate. LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced his office was looking into the brother’s case again and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted, as the case continues to get national attention following the release of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” At the press conference, several family members spoke, including Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez and Joan Anderson VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, as they asked for their family members release.