Crime & justice

Menendez Brothers' Resentencing Delayed Until May 9

APR 18 2025·Updated APR 19 2025

Story

Above: Tammi Menendez, Erik Menendez's wife, leaves the Van Nuys West Courthouse on April 17, 2025, in Van Nuys, California. Image credit: Apu Gomes/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

A Los Angeles County, Calif., judge postponed the resentencing hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who have spent over 30 years in prison for killing their parents in 1989, with the next hearing scheduled for May 9 to address two crucial motions.
New York Post
CNN
The delay stems from disputes over a newly completed parole board risk assessment ordered by Governor Gavin Newsom, which prosecutors want the court to review before making any resentencing decisions.
Foxnews
ABC News
Defense attorney Mark Geragos announced plans to file a motion to recuse District Attorney Nathan Hochman from the case, citing what he called "personal bias" and alleging the DA's office engaged in "media stunts" that traumatized family members.
New York Post
The New York Times
The brothers, who were 18 and 21 at the time of the murders, are currently serving life sentences without parole for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. If resentenced, they could get out of jail on parole
BBC News
Breitbart
A 2024 Netflix documentary brought renewed attention to the case, along with new evidence, including a letter from Erik dated before the murders describing alleged abuse, which influenced former District Attorney George Gascón to support their resentencing.
New York Post
CNN
The May 9 hearing will address both the admissibility of the risk assessment report and the motion to recuse Hochman, with the judge indicating that portions of the hearing may be closed to the public.
The New York Times
Newsmax

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Lyle and Erik Menendez deserve resentencing, particularly due to new evidence — a letter from Erik and Roy Rossello's testimony — supporting their claims of severe childhood abuse by their father. This trauma, increasingly recognized as a mitigating factor, drove their targeted act. With no prior violence, good prison behavior, and a low risk to society, they warrant parole consideration. Justice demands that trauma be weighed, especially after the brothers have spent decades in prison.

The Fp

Narrative B

Lyle and Erik Menendez don't deserve resentencing. Their brutal, premeditated murder of their parents, finished off by Lyle's kill shot of his own mother, was driven by greed, not abuse. District Attorney Hochman rightly doubts the 1988 letter's authenticity and the Menudo allegations' relevance. Their cover-up attempts show no remorse, and the barbarity of their crime outweighs unproven claims. Life without parole is more than justified.