Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez‘s resentencing cases will be handled separately going forward.
New Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman addressed his decision during his first network interview, telling NBC News on Monday, December 16, “This is an important decision, although that decision is not going to get a more rigorous review of the facts and law than any other decision.”
Hochman’s plans differ from his predecessor George Gascón.
“While they’re called the Menéndez Brothers case, there’s an Erik Menéndez case and a Lyle Menéndez case,” he added. “So we will look at each case separately, which is the way they actually should be handled.”
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s Murder Trial: Where Are The Key Players Now?
Despite having his own approach, Hochman, 61, has been intrigued by the recent outpouring of support for the Menéndez brothers, adding, “What I’m actually hoping about the Menéndez case is that people use that as the springboard to get interested in criminal justice issues.”
Hochman continued, “You know, there’s a whole lotta people who heard a little bit about the Menéndez case. I want them to learn a lot about the Menéndez case, and not just stop with the Menéndez case. There are plenty of cases out there that, if the public gets interested in, it’ll actually help the process of bringing justice across this– this county, this state, maybe even this nation.”
Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, are both at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility as they await news of a potential resentencing. They were originally arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found dead in their own Beverly Hills home. Two subsequent trials resulted in Erik and Lyle’s conviction and life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Timeline of Erik, Lyle Menendez’s Murder Case: From Arrest to Resentencing
The siblings have maintained that their mother and father were physically, emotionally and sexually abusive and that they acted in self-defense. After being locked away for nearly three decades, Erik and Lyle’s murder case returned to the spotlight through the release of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters, which provided a dramatized look at their lives.
In October, Gascón recommended that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle to 50 years, which could make them eligible for parole and prison release.
“I won’t speak to whether [Erik and Lyle] have a plan [after their potential prison release]. I just think that in order to get through each day, you’ve got to just ground yourself,” their attorney Mark Geragos exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “It’s a long road from life without [parole] for almost 17 years to being hopeful.”
The request got more complicated, however, when Gascón lost his bid for reelection in November. Erik and Lyle also petitioned for clemency, but Governor Gavin Newsom said he will defer the decision to allow Hochman to review the case upon entering office.
Why a Decision in the Menendez Case Came Sooner: Questions Answered
Another Menéndez attorney, Bryan Freedman has since issued a letter to Hochman.
“Instead of wanting to meet with the victim’s family members that can share their own personal experiences of years watching and speaking directly with Lyle and Erik, you chose to meet with Milton Anderson’s attorney first,” Freedman wrote about Kitty’s brother, who has advocated for Erik and Lyle to remain behind bars. “It does not make any sense to my client.”
Freedman urged Hochman to hear from Erik and Lyle, writing, “I thought that when you were ready to meet or talk to the victims that you would want to meet or hear from the victims that knew Lyle and Erik best over the past 30 plus years of incarceration.”
He concluded: “Instead of that happening, I was very surprised to read that you had instead spoken with the attorney who represented the one family member who did not interact with Erik and Lyle over these past 30-plus years.”
