UPDATE: Menendez brothers' bid for a shorter sentence and possible parole is delayed again

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik and Lyle Menendez's bid for shorter sentences and a shot at freedom has again been delayed due to disputes among prosecutors and the brothers' lawyers.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic on Thursday set a new hearing for May 9 to tackle two issues in the brothers' resentencing case: whether material from risk assessments completed by the state parole board at the governor's order can be used in court, and whether the Los Angeles County district attorney should be removed as prosecutor in the case. The resentencing hearings will be on pause until those issues are resolved next month.

The brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting their entertainment executive father Jose Menendez and mother Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings. Defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father. Prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

The case has captured the public’s attention for decades, and the Netflix drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a subsequent documentary brought new attention. Reporters from dozens of media outlets crowded outside the courthouse Thursday and vied for space inside.

Confusion and more delays

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office notified the district attorney's office and the court earlier this week that part of the risk assessment he recently ordered had been completed. Prosecutors filed a motion late Wednesday to delay the resentencing hearings so the court could obtain those reports and consider them in its decision.

There was confusion in the courtroom Thursday over exactly what those reports contained and if they could be used.

“We believed it constituted additional facts that the court should consider in deciding whether or not the Menendez brothers do pose a risk of danger to society,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside court.

The resentencing hearings, which were supposed to take place Thursday and Friday, center on whether the brothers have been rehabilitated in prison and deserve a lesser sentence that could make them eligible for release.

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón had requested their sentences be reduced to 50 years with the possibility of parole. But their defense attorney, Mark Geragos, said Thursday he'll ask the judge to reduce their charges to manslaughter, allowing them to be immediately released.

The brothers’ hearing has been delayed several times. An initial hearing scheduled for January was postponed due to the LA fires and prosecutors’ attempt to withdraw their sentencing request.

Arguing in the courtroom

Neither the judge nor the brothers' attorneys had seen the parole board report that spurred heated arguments in the packed courtroom on Thursday.

“I need clarification from the governor's office,” Jesic said. “This is stupid.”

Prosecutors, who had seen the report intended for a separate June 13 parole board hearing, argued they should be able to use it. Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said the report was relevant and necessary.

“If there is a report out there assessing the risk of violence, how do we not use it?" Habib said.

The governor’s office confirmed that part of the risk assessment was shared with relevant parties for review 60 days before the June clemency hearing, per California law. They also notified the judge of the status of the report and offered to share it if requested, but said it was not a stand-alone risk assessment.

The brothers watched the proceedings via video from a correctional facility near San Diego, and could be seen in their blue prison garb on a screen in the courtroom. They showed no obvious reaction to the arguments.

Geragos angrily denounced Hochman for discussing the parole board report during a morning news conference and said he’ll file a motion to remove Hochman from the case. Hochman was elected in November 2024 and does not support resentencing.

Family denounces Hochman

Hochman last month reversed his office's support for the brothers' resentencing, saying they have not admitted to lies told during their trial about why they killed their parents, or that they asked their friends to lie for them in court. Hochman’s office has also said it does not believe that the brothers were sexually abused by their father and that by speaking about their childhood abuse, they have not taken complete responsibility for the crime.

The extended Menendez family, with the exception of an uncle who died last month, has said they fully forgive the brothers for what they did and want them to be freed. The brothers’ attorneys say their clients have worked hard over the decades to better themselves and give back to the prison community.

Menendez cousin Tamara Goodell filed a complaint in March alleging Hochman had violated her rights as a victim under California law and was “hostile, dismissive and patronizing” during a meeting with the family.

“I don't feel safe with him,” Goodell said after Thursday's hearing.

Then, prosecutors showed a gruesome photo of the 1989 crime scene during a hearing last Friday without warning.

“That's not dignity,” said Bryan Freedman, who is representing Menendez relatives. “That's disrespect. That's harassment.”

Balian apologized for the lack of a warning, but added, “Erik and Lyle Menendez caused that carnage, not me.”

Below, you'll find earlier updates from our newsroom and a preview of Thursday's hearing from CNS.

VAN NUYS, Calif. (KGTV) — As the resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers got underway Thursday morning, the judge on the case said that there will not be an immediate decision on the resentencing in the next two days.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday, LA Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said he needed more time to determine if a state parole board risk assessment for the brothers written by a psychologist is admissible in this hearing or not; the governor's office offered to give the court a recently completed version of the assessment, but the office said it was protected by executive privilege.

The hearing was in recess until 1:30 p.m. as the judge worked to contact the governor's office for clarification on the admissibility of the risk-assessment review.

The state parole board hearings for the brothers were originally scheduled for June 13.

Prior to the hearing, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman had asked that it be postponed so the court could review the risk-assessment report.

Judge Jesic says the resentencing hearing was not meant to relitigate the facts of the grizzly murders in Beverly Hills, but rather to determine if the brothers have rehabilitated.

Attorneys for the DA's office argued against the brothers' resentencing, saying it's clear what these men are capable of, considering they brutally killed their parents. The prosecution says the proceedings cannot be rushed.

Lyle and Erik Menendez attended the hearing remotely, wearing blue prison uniforms as they looked into the prison camera attentively during the back-and-forth arguments.

Below, you'll find an earlier version of this story from the City News Service wire previewing the hearing.

VAN NUYS, Calif. (CNS) - A re-sentencing hearing is set to begin Thursday for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shotgun killings of their parents at the family's Beverly Hills mansion more than three decades ago.

The hearing -- which is expected to continue Friday -- comes just under a week after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic denied a request by the L.A. County District Attorney's Office to withdraw a motion filed under prior D.A. George Gascón's administration that supported re- sentencing for Erik Menendez, now 54, and Lyle Menendez, now 57.

The district attorney's office filed a new motion Wednesday night asking the judge to delay the hearing until the court can review a recently released parole board assessment.

Prosecutors are objecting to the pair being re-sentenced for the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez.

Attorneys representing the brothers are hoping to have them re- sentenced to a lesser term, either allowing them to be released or become eligible for parole.

The two claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.

The brothers, sitting side by side in prison blues, appeared last Friday at the hearing via Zoom from the San Diego prison where they are incarcerated, but they did not make any statements.

"They've waited a long time to get some justice," attorney Mark Geragos said after last Friday's hearing. "Justice won over politics."

He had said during last week's hearing that the brothers "have done more good (and) helped more prisoners" than anyone could expect during their 35 years behind bars.

Following the judge's ruling, new District Attorney Nathan Hochman issued a statement saying his office has been prepared to make its case at a re- sentencing hearing, and the fact that such a hearing will be held this week "is not unexpected." But he said prosecutors will continue to oppose their release.

"These murders were calculated, premeditated, cold-blooded killings," Hochman said. "Our position remains clear: Until the Menendez brothers finally come clean with all their lies of self-defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury, they are not rehabilitated and pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety."

In court papers this week, a lawyer representing nearly 20 of the brothers' family members alleged that the District Attorney's Office needlessly showed a bloody crime scene photo without any advance notice during last week's hearing.

"The victims' family members were shocked, sickened, and traumatized by the District Attorney's callous act," the family's attorney, Bryan J. Freedman wrote, adding that Jose Menendez's 85-year-old sister, Terry Baralt, "experienced such severe emotional distress" that she was hospitalized soon afterward.

"Here, it is patently obvious that the district attorney treated the victims' family members as second-class victims, due to a policy disagreement between District Attorney Hochman and the victims' family members," Freedman added. "The district attorney represents all victims, not simply those that share the office's policy views."

Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian had apologized in court to the victims' family after Geragos objected to the prosecution's display of the graphic photo "without warning" to family members.

"To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo," the District Attorney's Office said in a lengthy statement.

"In light of recent events and out of respect for the victims' families, we determined that we will not present crime scene photographs in upcoming hearings. ... We caution anyone attending a hearing in person to be prepared for some of the difficult details and images surrounding these tragic circumstances," according to the statement.

One of the brothers' cousins, Anamaria Baralt, who has been a vocal advocate for the two, said they have shown "remorse and rehabilitation" while imprisoned, and "have repeatedly taken responsibility" for their crimes.

Meanwhile, state parole boards will conduct separate hearings for the brothers on June 13, then send their reports to Gov. Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency, the governor said.

In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers' allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father -- a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.

Interest in the case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.

The governor said that with the exception of brief clips on social media he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez case or documentaries on it "because I don't want to be influenced by them."

"I just want to be influenced by the facts," Newsom said.

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