Although there is much to factor in when it comes to Erik and Lyle Menendez’s potential release from prison, one man will determine what that outcome could look like.
The brothers are currently serving life sentences in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. In Oct. 2024, Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, were on the verge of release when then-L.A. District Attorney George Gascón filed a re-sentencing request that could have potentially freed them.
But after Gascón lost his bid for re-election, the newly-elected district attorney, Nathan Hochman, isn’t quite ready to open the prison doors.
True Crime News journalist Ana Garcia sat down with Hochman, 61, to see which way the city official is leaning.
“Hochman is a law and order kind of guy,” the Emmy award-winning journalist told The Post. “He is radically different from the last D.A., so he does believe in punishment for crimes. But he has two cases here where he has to figure out something that has to do with basic fairness.”
One of those cases, as Garcia added, “has to do with this new alleged evidence — if it can be proven that this is truly new evidence.”
The new piece of evidence is a letter Erik allegedly wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, relaying the torment he felt after years of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of his father.
“He’s a prosecutor and he’s a man of the law,” continued Garcia. “So, we have to figure out — and there are procedures in place. That’s why we’re having a hearing on this filing about this new evidence and what impact it has on that.”
“The other hearing, which is about a sentence reduction, that was initiated by the previous District Attorney,” she explained, noting that since the ball was already rolling, a hearing has to proceed.
“California law says just because there is a change in elected official, it doesn’t mean that the new elected official gets to sign and change everything. The law says he is, by the state of California, required to follow through with this hearing.”
“That doesn’t mean he has to recommend what the previous D.A. was recommending,” she continued. “But, he can’t just toss it out. It must still be heard in a court of law because that’s the way you protect from politics getting in the way of criminal cases.”
The podcast host revealed that Hochman told her he is currently “preparing documentation for two different court hearings.”
The two hearings are scheduled to start in March.
As for why it’s taken a bit of time for Lyle and Erik to get their day in court, again?
“The new D.A. told me that he is taking his time, that he’s trying to review everything and that’s why we’ve had these delays. I think this is the second or the third delay now in these hearings because he needs time to prepare.”
“I asked him, how is he leaning. He wouldn’t say anything, but he did say he met with members of the Menendez family and he has taken his time to hear their side of things,” Garcia shared. “Remember, they hold a very unique position in all of this. They are family members of the murder victims and yet they are the family members of the two convicted killers. So, they have a very strong voice.”
Which, in Garcia’s mind, could help, but it might not be as powerful of a stance as it once was.
“They had, perhaps a stronger voice under the old D.A.,” the anchor noted, “but I think this District Attorney just got into office, Los Angeles has been on fire, and he needs to make sure that he sees all of the records and the files and the stuff that is not public.”
“So, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for him to say, ‘Hey, I just need a little time to go over the record to make the best decision and recommendation to the court possible.’”
