Relatives of Menendez brothers to rally outside LA courthouse as DA expresses outrage

LOS ANGELES – The extended family of Eric and Lyle Menendez is expected to gather outside a Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday as the district attorney examines whether the brothers convicted of murdering their parents nearly three decades ago should be resentenced and possibly released.

About two dozen family members will hold a news conference outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown LA on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT. They will be joined by the brothers' defense lawyers, Mark Geragos, and Rosie O'Donnell, one of their celebrity advocates.

The timing of the press conference is noteworthy. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said earlier this month that his office is reviewing the convictions of the brothers, who were convicted in the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

Gascon, a progressive who is running for re-election, will not attend the rally, according to a statement from his office.

“No decision has been made regarding the Menendez case. Once DA Gascon makes a decision, family members of the victims and the public will be notified,” the statement said.

The Menendez brothers are “cautiously optimistic” about the prosecutors' review, Geragos told NBC Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Eric and Lyle Menendez were convicted 28 years ago and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case attracted widespread attention at the time, turning the Beverly Hills brothers into household names and gaining them nationwide notoriety.

The legal saga has garnered renewed public interest since the release of a Netflix miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story” co-created by Ryan Murphy, as well as a feature-length Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”

The series and documentary film chronicle the years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse the brothers claim they suffered at the hands of their father, a record company executive.

Lawyers for the brothers argued they acted in self-defense out of fear and trauma. The prosecution argued that they killed their parents to inherit money and went on a spending spree after the murder.

The brothers were first tried together in 1993, and those televised proceedings ended in a hung jury. When they were retried in 1995, most of their sexual abuse claims were deemed inadmissible in court.

Family members at Wednesday's news conference included Jose Menendez's niece, Annamaria Barrault; Joan Anderson Vandermolen, sister of Kitty Menendez; Karen Vandermolen, niece of Kitty Menendez; And Brian A. Anderson Jr., nephew of Kitty Menendez.

O'Donnell isn't the only celebrity who has rallied behind the brothers. Kim Kardashian, who has used her platform to advocate for criminal justice issues, called for their release in a personal essay shared exclusively with NBC News this month.

“I spent time with Lyle and Eric,” the reality TV star wrote in part, and “they are not monsters.” He argued that the siblings were treated unfairly by both the prosecution and the press in the 1990s.

At an Oct. 7 news conference, Gascon said more than 300 people had been offended during his tenure and only four had reoffended.

Gascon was elected in 2020 on a reformist platform. Recent polls show him trailing his challenger, Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor.

Law School Professor Lori Levenson, who specializes in criminal cases, said the renewed public attention surrounding the Menendez case only goes so far.

“It's in the court of public opinion that may provide some majority support for the defendants, but it's in the judicial court where the decision will be made,” Levenson said.

Andrew Blankstein reports from Los Angeles and Daniel Arkin from New York.