Family of Menendez brothers urges killer siblings to be released after 30 years in prison for parents' gruesome murder

The family of Lyle and Eric Menendez called for the murderous brothers to be freed after more than 30 years in prison Wednesday, arguing they were brutally sexually abused by their parents before they were gunned down in their ritzy Beverly Hills mansion. In 1989.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 in a long and highly publicized trial that captivated the nation and made the men household names after the gruesome murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez.

More than 20 family members came to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, insisting that the Menendez brothers suffered “unspeakable cruelty” at the hands of their father, music executive Jose — and that their suffering was ignored at the 1993 trial because society had yet to acknowledge that Men can be victims of sexual abuse.

“If they were the Menendez sisters, they would not be in custody. We have evolved, and it's time for them to be released,” Ana Maria Barrault, Jose Menendez's niece, told reporters.

“Like many others, I am struggling to process the loss of that day and the pain I felt. Over time, it became clear that there were two more victims — my cousin — who would continue to be victims of a system that did not hear them and a culture that was not ready to listen,” he added.

“They will be mocked, called cold-blooded murderers, rot in jail with no hope of release.”

He insisted the brothers were “living light” and “bettering themselves” during their decades behind bars and advocated giving the men a second chance.

“I hope our 34-year nightmare will end, and we will be reunited as a family. I'm here to ask the DA's office to consider the whole picture, which has been hidden for so long. Lyle and Eric deserve a chance to heal and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Barrault said.

Kitty Menendez's sister Joanne Vandermolen, 93, nervously approached the cluster of microphones, becoming visibly emotional as she spoke.

“As their aunt, I had no idea how much they were abused by my brother-in-law. None of us did. But looking back I can see that their father instilled fear in them,” he told the crowd.

“The truth is, Lyle and Eric were failed by the very people they were supposed to protect. By their parents, by the system, by society at large. When they stood trial, the world was not ready to believe that boys could be raped or young men could be victims of sexual violence.

“Today we know better,” he continued.

“No jury today would impose such a harsh sentence without taking their trauma into account. Lyle and Eric have paid a heavy price – discarded by a system that fails to recognize their pain. They've grown, they've changed and they've become better people despite everything they've been through.”

The family members were introduced by high-profile attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented big-name clients including Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Colin Kaepernick and Jussie Smollett.

Geragos praised the brothers' efforts to spend most of their time behind bars, along with Lyle, one of 22 inmates to earn their bachelor's degree from UC Irvine while in prison.

After the press conference, he said, family members will march across the street to meet with Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon to discuss Mercy's Law, a 2008 California law that greatly expands the rights of crime victims under the state constitution to file their lawsuits under Mercy's law. .

The Menendez brothers' case returned to public consciousness after the release of the popular Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story,” and an announcement earlier this month by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office that the brothers' convictions would be reexamined in light of new evidence.

One of the new pieces of evidence is a bomb shell note – written by Eric months before the murder – which suggests he lives in fear of the accusations he suffered at the hands of his father.

“I was trying to avoid father. It's still happening Andy but now it's bad for me,” said the handwritten letter addressed to Andy Cano, the brothers' cousin.

“I never know when it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy. Every night I wake up thinking he might come.”

DA George Gascon posted — but later deleted — a screenshot of the letter weeks after the office revealed it was reviewing new evidence and reconsidering its beliefs.

The letter was not introduced as evidence during the brothers' trial, which their lawyers argued would allow a jury to convict them of first-degree murder.

The Netflix series has generated a groundswell of sympathy for the killers, who supporters believe were acting in self-defense when they committed the brutal murders.

Eric and Lyle, who were 21 and 18, respectively, at the time of their parents' murders, have long claimed they killed their parents, Kitty and Jose, after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them.

Prosecutors at the time, however, claimed there was no evidence of molestation and argued that the brothers' motivation for the killings was to get their hands on their wealthy parents' multimillion-dollar estate.

Their first trial ended in a hung jury in 1994, with both Lyle and Eric convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole, before the case was retried in 1995. The judge in the final trial ruled at the time that any evidence regarding the sibling's alleged sexual abuse was inadmissible.

Eric Menendez, now 53, has spoken out about the Ryan Murphy-helmed Netflix series centered on the brothers' case, which has drawn criticism for suggesting the men carry on a promiscuous relationship, calling it a “horrible” and “horrible and dishonest” show. Blatant lies. .”

About 100 spectators attended the press conference, some notable signs of support for the long-imprisoned brothers.

Donna Carroll, 53, carried a sign that read, “Given 35 years / Get 'em out!”

“I'm a parent of three boys, and I think of course murder is wrong, but I believe in reform, I believe in second chances. They have served 35 years for this crime,” he told The Post.