Days before the resentencing hearing for Lyle and Erik Menendez was set to begin, Lyle took to social media to share a cryptic Mother’s Day message, decades after helping his brother murder their parents.
“To all those who are in pain today for whatever reason….Your mother passed away; You never knew your mom; Your mother was abusive and you struggle with celebrating her; You are estranged from your mother; You wanted to be a mom but aren’t; Your child passed away; You are estranged from your child…… or any other reason related to this day, we see you,” Lyle wrote in a post on his personal Facebook page.
Menendez, 57, and brother Erik Menendez, 54, have been in California prisons since 1996, serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole for their parents’ 1989 slayings.
The brothers claim they shot their father, former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez, in self-defense, arguing they thought he was going to kill them after they warned him they planned to expose him as a child sex abuser. They also killed their mother, Mary “Kitty” Menendez, who was sitting next to Jose eating ice cream in their Beverly Hills living room when they opened fire.
Their first trial ended in a mistrial, when jurors couldn’t agree on their fate. After a second trial in the mid-1990s, in which some of their evidence about the alleged sexual abuse was excluded, jurors agreed with prosecutors that their motive was greed.
Lyle Menendez previously gave a public hint at what he plans on doing if he is released.
The elder Menendez brother said he’s been studying for a master’s degree and working on how he might reintegrate with society when he called into a live interview with lawyer Mark Geragos at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville.
“Well, I’m hoping that … I’ve had these discussions with corrections officials who are in charge of letting formerly incarcerated people return to the prisons to do good work, and they are definitely open to and would like me to continue to work on this idea of transforming prison yards so that it creates living environments and communities that produce better neighbors,” Lyle said.
While in prison, he has been working on therapy groups with other inmates and plans to continue his advocacy work for survivors of childhood sex abuse, he added.
CALIFORNIA AG TAKES STANCE ON MENENDEZ BROTHERS PROSECUTOR STAYING ON CASE AMID RESENTENCING BATTLE
“I’ve had talks with Rosie O’Donnell about creating a foundation where we would go and try to speak to the forums in those groups and help in that space,” Lyle added. “It’s an area that I spend a lot of my time in.”
On Friday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his office fired off one last Hail Mary to have Judge Michael Jesic halt the resentencing process, set in motion by former L.A. DA George Gascon.
Hochman’s office failed as Judge Michael Jesic said “there was nothing significantly new in the Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) or otherwise for him to stop the process.”
But before the judge made his final ruling, which cleared the way for the brothers’ resentencing to proceed, Hochman detailed why new evidence in the CRA reports raised red flags, details he added were not in the original reports requested by Gascon.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS RESENTENCING: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Hochman shared the findings from each CRA report, which is done by state psychologists from the state parole office, that determine the overall risk assessment of likelihood to commit violence after the release of both Menendez brothers. He argued that the pair is not “low-risk” but more elevated.
Each report found that both brothers had been cited in recent months for breaking prison rules for contraband violations, specifically the possession of cellphones.
Hochman shared the findings on Lyle Menendez first, whose “actions perpetrated deceit,” speaking about the contraband phone.
He added that Lyle had “downplayed his rule-breaking” and that his report showed his “entitlement and willingness to meet his own needs.”
TIMELINE OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS’ MURDER CASE
Hochman added that he should have been on his best behavior since his resentencing was on the table.
Instead, Hochman said, he proved that “he is more likely to do whatever it takes to meet his own needs and has narcissistic tendencies.”
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Jesic noted that the conclusions of the state psychologists are “subjective and not available for cross-examination in his court.”
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
He also noted that those conclusions can change and flagged the various warnings attached to using the CRA outside the state parole system.
The brothers return to the Van Nuys West Courthouse on May 13-14 for continued proceedings in their resentencing case.
With unresolved issues surrounding the risk assessment report, the upcoming dates remain pivotal as the brothers seek resentencing for their parents’ murders.
