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Lyle and Erik Menendez, convicted in the 1989 killings of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, have lost their latest attempt at securing a new trial. On September 15, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan denied a habeas corpus petition filed by the brothers' attorneys in May 2023, ruling that the evidence presented did not meet the threshold required to overturn their convictions.
The petition cited two items: a letter Erik allegedly wrote to his cousin Andy Cano in late 1988 describing sexual abuse by his father, and an affidavit from former Menudo member Roy Rosselló, who claimed Jose Menendez sexually assaulted him as a teenager. Defence attorneys Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner argued the information "not only shows that Jose Menendez was very much a violent and brutal man who would sexually abuse children, but it strongly suggests that—in fact—he was still abusing Erik Menendez as late as December 1988."
Judge Ryan concluded otherwise. "Neither piece of newly discover [sic] evidence is particularly strong," he wrote. "The evidence alleged here is not so compelling that it would have produced a reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror or supportive of an imperfect self-defence instruction." He further ruled that the material "would not have resulted in a hung jury, nor in the conviction of a lesser instructed offense."
Following the ruling, a message posted to Lyle Menendez's Facebook page stated: "The fight continues. This disappointing decision does not take away from the courage of Roy Rosselló or the torment that he lived through at the hands of Jose Menendez."
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for the shotgun murders carried out in their Beverly Hills mansion. Prosecutors argued they acted out of greed to access their parents' wealth, citing the brothers' extravagant spending spree after the killings.
Earlier this year, both were resentenced to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole. Separate hearings in August, however, resulted in denials, with commissioners citing Erik's prison misconduct and Lyle's "anti-social personality traits." They will not be considered again for at least three years, though clemency petitions remain pending before California Governor Gavin Newsom.
