Updated November 25, 2024 at 13:43 PM ET
It's been more than 30 years since the murder trials of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, and the story continues to turn heads and take over headlines.
During the first of their two trials for murdering their parents, the case was public fodder and was among a series of sensationalized, criminal trials broadcast live around the world.
But that was in 1994. Why, after so many years, is this case back in the public consciousness?
Thank social media, Netflix, Kim Kardashian — and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who recommended in October that the two brothers be resentenced.
On Monday, a hearing is being held where a judge will decide whether new evidence means there should be a re-examination of the brothers' convictions.
Read on to get a handle on the latest developments of this decades-old case.
The Menendez brothers are incarcerated for killing their parents
In August 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were watching television in the living room of their Beverly Hills home when their two sons walked in and shot them to death. At the time of the murder the two men were 18 and 21.
It took two trials to convict the brothers of their parents' murders.
Two juries deadlocked in 1994 after Lyle and Erik Menendez testified that they shot their parents in self-defense. The brothers said they had feared their parents were going to kill them to prevent stories emerging about their alleged abuse of their sons.
They allege, and continue to say, that Jose Menendez subjected the boys to physical and sexual abuse for years while their mother, who was portrayed as an unstable alcoholic who also abused them, did nothing to stop it. The prosecutors claimed the men planned the murder ultimately with the goal to claim their parents' multimillion-dollar estate.
In the second trial, Judge Stanley Weisberg limited testimony related to their claims of sexual abuse. In 1996, that jury found them guilty on first-degree murder following a five-day deliberation and a 20-week long trial.
Why are prosecutors and a judge taking another look at the case now?
Gascón, the DA, announced back in early October that his office was reviewing new evidence in the case of now 53-year-old Erik and 56-year-old Lyle Menendez.
The brothers asked the court to vacate their conviction, which resulted in a life prison sentence without the possibility of parole, in a petition filed back in May, citing new evidence.
Gascón noted there is no question that the brothers killed their parents — a fact the two have admitted. But, he said, his office has a "moral and ethical obligation" to review the evidence. That evidence includes a photocopy of a letter from one of the brothers to another family member mentioning him being a victim of molestation. Another is testimony from one of the members of the hit Latin band Menudo who said Jose Menendez molested him in his early teens while he was an executive at RCA Records. None of this information has been confirmed, Gascón said.
After his office's review, Gascón recommended the brothers should be resentenced for the killing of their parents and given sentences of 50 years to life. This means the two could be eligible immediately for parole because they were under 26-years-old when the crimes happened.
In his recommendation he cited the recent public attention to the case and the two men's work on rehabilitation and good behavior while incarcerated.
Gascón's recommendations could be pulled back, however. He lost his re-election bid last month to now-incoming Los Angeles district attorney Nathan Hochman. Hochman has said he wants to take a close look at the case before making his own decision.
What does the new hearing mean?
Monday's hearing likely won't immediately determine a new sentence or freedom for the brothers.
Instead, Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic will hear the abuse evidence raised in the Menendez's petition filed last May. The Associated Press reports of the hearing's outcome, "Immediate freedom is one possible result; the judge also might weigh in on the merits of the evidence."
Down the road, if the courts offer no resolution, there is still an option for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to give the two men clemency. But, Newsom has indicated he will wait for Hochman to come on board before acting on the case.
How does Ryan Murphy's new show and social media fit into this?
Years ago, creators on social media sites like TikTok started to bring a renewed attention to the case. Many true crime junkies have made videos reexamining the Menendez trials, their crime and discussing how their alleged abuse by their parents may have contributed to their actions.
This new generation of attention on the case contributed to a new, controversial Netflix series from Ryan Murphy called Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which revisits the trials.
But Erik Menendez bashed the series. In a statement shared by his wife, Tammi Menendez, on X, he criticized the show, saying it created a misleading portrayal of him and his brother. He wrote that there are "blatant lies rampant in the show" and accused co-creator Murphy of intentionally distorting the facts surrounding their crime.
Erik Menendez wrote, "It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naïve and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent."
Murphy was defiant in his response to Erik Menendez's post, saying the brothers' reaction was "faux outrage," and that the show "is the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years in prison."
And Kim Kardashian is involved, how?
Kardashian, a businesswoman, reality star and criminal justice advocate, weighed in on the case earlier this week. In an op-ed published on NBC News, Kardashian called for the brothers' release, writing, "I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters. They are kind, intelligent, and honest men."
She visited the two in prison earlier this fall along with Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez in the new Netflix series.
Kardashian said in her essay that she doesn't excuse their crimes or their actions afterwards, but believes the men, now in their 50s, deserve freedom.
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