Erik and Lyle Menendez – two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in a case that shook America more than three decades ago – should be resentenced by a judge and released on parole, the Los Angeles County district attorney has recommended.
The 1989 murders of Kitty and Jose Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion have griped the US for years and recently inspired a popular Netflix series.
The case centred on Erik and Lyle Menendez’s motive in the murders, in which their parents were shot 13 times as they watched television.
George Gascón, LA County’s top prosecutor, announced on Thursday that new evidence in the case merited a review of their life sentences.
A judge will now have a final say over whether the recommendation will lead to the Menendez brother’s release from prison after more than 30 years.
Erik Menendez, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56, are currently serving life without parole in a California jail.
The pair did not receive notice of Mr Gascón’s decision in advance and were watching the prosecutor’s news conference live.
“I believe the brothers were subject to a tremendous about of dysfunction in their home and molestation,” Mr Gascón said.
He added that, while there is no excuse for murder, “I believe they have paid their debt to society”.
During their criminal trials in the 1990s, prosecutors painted the brothers as rich kids who methodically planned the murders to gain access to their parents’ fortune.
But their defence attorneys argued the brothers were victims of years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and only acted out of self-defence.
The announcement by Mr Gascón – who is facing a tough re-election battle – follows new evidence in the case relating to claims of sexual abuse.
One new piece of evidence was a letter from Erik Menendez to another family member that appears to be from 1988 and details the alleged abuse by his father, Jose.
The other evidence came from a then-underage member of the 1980s Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. The band member alleged Jose Menendez, who worked as an executive at record company RCA at the time, drugged and raped him during a visit to Menendez’s home.
The case started on 20 August 1989 when the brothers – then aged 18 and 21 – called police and reported finding their parents’ bodies after returning home.
