Family members stand behind Lyle and Eric Menendez as they await a decision that could free them from prison. CNN

As the Los Angeles County district attorney weighs new evidence that could free Lyle and Eric Menendez from prison after more than 30 years, about two dozen of their relatives are expected to speak on their behalf at a news conference Wednesday.

In 1996, the Menendez brothers were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, in their Beverly Hills home.

Although they never denied killing their parents, both men maintained during their trials that they acted in self-defense and suffered years of physical and sexual abuse from their father.

Attorneys for the brothers also argued that the judge overseeing the 1996 case did not allow much evidence of abuse to be presented to the jury.

In 2023, attorneys representing the Menendez brothers filed a petition arguing that Jose Menendez should be released from prison based on new charges that speak to a pattern of allegations of sexual abuse, and that Eric Menendez wrote a letter alleging abuse. He endured.

And they may get that chance soon, as Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon weighs re-sentencing the brothers based on evidence filed in a 2023 petition. He announced earlier this month that there was no question the brothers committed the murders, but that his office was reviewing the evidence.

In an interview with ABC that aired Wednesday, Eric and Lyle's cousin, Karen Vander Molenkopley, said she remembers noticing a change in the boys' behavior over the years.

“When you were young you could see that these were two lively young children, young boys who became sadder and sadder over the years,” Molenkopli said.

After more than 30 years in prison, Molencopley, who is set to appear at the news conference, said he now thinks Lyle and Eric should be released and allowed to come home and be with their families.

“That would be the best birthday present to give my mom … to be at her house with her nephews on her birthday on Thanksgiving.”

But an attorney for Kitty Menendez's brother, Milton Andersen, accused Gascon on Wednesday of betraying the victims and their loved ones.

“The cold-blooded actions of the Menendez brothers tore their families apart and left a trail of grief that has continued for decades. Jose was shot six times, and Kitty was shot ten times, including one in the face after Eric reloaded,” the attorney, Kathy Cady, a retired prosecutor, said in a statement.

Anderson was never informed that Gascon had rescheduled the case, nor was he told about a news conference where the district attorney announced a second look at it, according to Cady, who said the prosecutor did not respond to his request for a meeting.

“Mr. Andersen, like all victim families, has a constitutional right to be informed, to have her voice heard and to have her views considered in any decision on the case,” Cady said.

CNN has reached out to Gascon for comment.

On Sunday, Gascon posted on social media a photo of the handwritten, unsigned letter submitted by Menendez's attorneys as part of their petition.

Eric Menendez wrote in the letter, “I was trying to avoid my father. It's still happening Andy but it's worse for me now.”

She continued, “I never know when it's going to happen and it drives me crazy. Every night I wake up thinking he might come. I need to get it out of my head.

“I know what you said earlier but I'm scared. You don't know father like I do. He's crazy!”

Images of the letter, which is in the public record, have since been removed from Gascon's social media accounts — but the district attorney addressed its potential significance in an interview with ABC that aired Wednesday.

The letter was “about all the abuse that was the basis of their defense,” Gascon said. He told ABC that his office is expected to make a decision on sentencing the Menendez brothers sometime this month.

The case resurfaced after the Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story,” was released last month. Netflix also this month released a documentary on the Menendez case in which both men are discussed what led to the murder.

Former Los Angeles County Prosecutor Lonnie Combs told CNN's Jim Acosta on Wednesday that Gascon has said publicly that the documentary generated numerous phone calls to his office about new evidence in the case.

“This new evidence motion has been sitting on his desk for over a year, but it wasn't until all the attention and spotlight came from this documentary that he came out now and said, 'I'm going to look at it,'” he said.

Society has changed its view of sexual abuse of boys, he said.

“We understand it better. We understand its dynamics, sometimes it takes years for victims to talk about the trauma,” he added.

Coombs described the timing of the district attorney's decision to review the case as “a perfect storm,” noting that Gascon has already molested 300 people in the county in the past year.

CNN's Ray Sanchez contributed to this story.