Although Erik and Lyle Menendez have never denied killing their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez's family has never abandoned them after learning of the hell they endured since childhood. Now, the uncles and cousins of the Menendez brothers have taken their plea for freedom to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, the same institution that tried them twice and sought the harshest punishment.
"For many years, I have struggled to understand what happened to my sister's family. It was a nightmare that none of us could have imagined," said Joan Andersen Vandermolen, sister of Kitty and aunt of Lyle and Erik.
"As details of Lyle and Erik's abuse emerged, it became clear that their actions—though tragic—were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive their father's unimaginable cruelty."
"I beg the DA's office to end our years of suffering and grant our family the release of Lyle and Erik. Thirty-five years is too long. I ask God to let me live long enough to see my nephews again and hug them one more time," expressed Terry Baralt, José Menendez's sister, in a statement. She could not travel from Tampa, where she resides, due to health issues.
Her daughter Anamaria Baralt added, "If Lyle and Erik's case were tried today, with what we now know about abuse and PTSD, I have no doubt their sentence would have been very different."
The family's plea comes as George Gascon, the district attorney of Los Angeles County, considers two petitions from the brothers' lawyers. One of them is to reassess the sentence.
As the DA explained two weeks ago, this involves reviewing the case from scratch and determining if the crime and sentence would differ based on new evidence. The new evidence includes statements from former Menudo member Roy Roselló about alleged sexual abuse by José Menendez, and a letter Lyle sent to a cousin detailing what was happening two years before the murders.
The second petition is a habeas corpus requesting a new trial, arguing that the original trial was illegal.
Although the brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996, they maintained that the murders were an act of self-defense after enduring years of physical and sexual abuse by their father, José Menendez.
@ktlanews MENENDEZ CASE: Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen Vandermolen, was emotional as she took the stage. “For many years, I struggled to come to terms with what happened to my sister’s family. It was a nightmare none of us could have imagined,” she said. “But as details of Lyle and Erik’s abuse came to light, it became clear that their actions — while tragic — were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father.” #erikmenendez #lylemenedez #fyp #kitty #losangeles #1989 #beverlyhills #monstersnetflix #menudo
♬ original sound - KTLA5NEWS
"It's time to recognize the injustice they have suffered and grant them the second chance they deserve," declared their cousin Joan MolenCopley as the family headed to the DA's office to make their demands under Marsy's Law.
Four family members spoke, along with a letter read by José Menendez's 85-year-old sister, who could not attend for medical reasons.
This could be a turning point in the fate of these two brothers, as Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon considers the possibility of re-sentencing or declaring the trial null based on new evidence presented in the 2023 petitions. At a press conference, Gascon added that he expects to have made a decision by November 29.
Although public attention on the case has increased since the release of Ryan Murphy's anthology series Monsters, which narrates the Menendez brothers' case, the petitions for re-sentencing and habeas corpus were presented to the Los Angeles DA's office last year.
However, the series and the subsequent documentary 'The Menendez Brothers', in which Erik and Lyle tell their story, have brought public opinion to their side.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
