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() A long-awaited resentencing hearing for brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez is set to move forward Thursday, hours after Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman filed a motion attempting to delay it further.
Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, the hearing could overturn the brothers’ sentences of life without parole nearly 30 years after they were convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
The hearing has been postponed multiple times since former DA George Gascón recommended resentencing last fall, citing new evidence in the case amid renewed attention from a Netflix series about the killings.
Late Wednesday, Hochman filed a motion to again push the hearing back, citing the need to review a newly completed parole board risk assessment ordered by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Deadline first reported.
“Although the People were directed not to disclose these reports due to the Governor’s Executive privilege and for other reasons, the Governor’s Office has invited the Court to request these documents for use at the resentencing hearing,” the DA’s motion stated.
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Supporters hold signs during a press conference regarding developments in the Menendez brothers case Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) -
FILE – Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File) -
This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File) -
FILE – Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
On April 12, a judge rejected Hochman’s attempt to withdraw the brothers’ resentencing petition altogether.
Hochman has maintained the brothers have not accepted full responsibility for their actions.
“Until they come fully clean with the full breadth of their lies, deceit and denials, they are not in a position to be trusted,” Hochman told last week.
Those lies, Hochman said, include the brothers’ claim of self-defense, the characterization of their father as a “violent rapist” and their mother as a “poisoner of the family,” among others.
Family members, including cousin Tamara Goodell, have advocated for the brothers’ release from prison.
Goodell told a rally of resentencing supporters in March that “kids lie when they’re scared, when they feel intimidated and when they become traumatized.”
“But they grow up, they learn, and they take responsibility,” Goodell said.
In addition to Thursday’s resentencing hearing, the Menendez brothers are scheduled for individual hearings before California’s parole board on June 13, after which Newsom will decide whether to grant clemency.
‘s Damita Menezes and Andrew Dorn contributed to this report.
