LA County’s top prosecutor on Wednesday said his office will evaluate a final position on the Menendez brothers case after considering evidence presented at parole hearings scheduled for Thursday and Friday that could result in freedom after more than 30 years in prison.
In a statement issued 36 years to the day of the shotgun murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion and on the eve of the hearings, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the brothers have never fully accepted responsibility for the 1989 murders.
“The Menendez brothers have never fully accepted responsibility for the horrific murders of their parents, instead continuing to promote a false narrative of self-defense that was rejected by the jury decades ago,” Hochman said. “We have consistently opposed their release at this time because they have not demonstrated full insight into their crimes or shown that they have been fully rehabilitated, and therefore continue to pose a risk to society. We will evaluate our final position based on the evidence presented at the hearing.”
The parole hearings, Erik Menendez’s is set for Thursday with Lyle Menendez’s hearing on Friday, became possible earlier this year when a judge resentenced the brothers from life in prison without parole to 50 years to life in prison. The reduced sentences made them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offenders law.
The path to this week’s hearing opened late last year when then-District Attorney George Gascón recommended resentencing. Gascón was voted out of office, losing in November to Hochman, whose office did not support resentencing.
In Wednesday’s statement, Hochman said the case has broader implications for the justice system. His office will likely be represented at the hearings.
One day after a judge ruled Erik and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole, family members of the two brothers are speaking out on the decision. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on May14, 2025.
“The gravity of the murders cannot be minimized without undermining confidence in the justice system and how it treats other serious cases,” Hochman said. “As Governor Newsom recently made clear in denying parole to Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, failure to exhibit full insight and accept complete responsibility for one’s actions are critical factors in determining parole eligibility. The same principle applies here.
“While recent documentaries and films have drawn renewed attention to this case, parole decisions must be based solely on the facts and the law. This case, like all cases — especially those that captivate the public — must be viewed with a critical eye. Justice should never be swayed by spectacle. My personal opinions are irrelevant. What matters and what guides my office is the evidence, the facts of the case, and the application of the law.”
The brothers’ first trial ended with jurors unable to reach verdicts, deadlocking between first-degree murder and lesser charges including manslaughter. The second trial, which began in October 1995 and lacked much of the testimony centered on allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, ended with both brothers being convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy.
The brothers will appear for the hearings on a video feed from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Parole hearings before a panel of two to three hearing officers usually take about two to three hours with a written decision delivered after the proceeding, possibly that same day.
The panel can question the offender and hear from family, attorneys and other participants. They also can review documents and other evidence associated with the case.
The panel’s decision is not final and is subject to a lengthy review that includes the California Board of Parole and governor.
According to the CDCR, less than 1 percent of people released after a parole hearing are convicted of new felony crimes within three years of release. Less than 3 percent are convicted of new misdemeanor or felony crime, according to the agency.