AFTER nearly 35 years behind bars, the Menendez brothers could soon get a taste of freedom.

Lyle and Erik Menendez, the infamous brothers convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, with a pair of shotguns in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, could potentially be released on parole before the end of the calendar year.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announces his decision about the Menendez Brothers case on Thursday

Lyle Menendez grins on one of his most recent jail mug shotsCredit: The Mega Agency

The Los Angeles district attorney is reviewing a letter written by Erik Menendez in 1988 to his cousinCredit: The Mega Agency

Lyle (left) and Erik Menendez (right) pictured together inside a Los Angeles courtroom on August 6, 1990Credit: AP:Associated Press

Lyle and Erik have long alleged they were 𝓈ℯ𝓍ually and emotionally abused by their father, Jose MenendezCredit: BackGrid

From left to right, Erik Menendez with his attorney, Leslie Abramson, and his brother Lyle Menendez in March 1994Credit: Getty Images – Getty

On Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he will ask a judge to reconsider resentencing Lyle and Erik, now 56 and 55, respectively, on Friday.

“I came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate,” Gascón said.

The DA said he would ask the court to remove the life without the possibility of parole and instead request a sentence of 50 years to life with the possibility of parole.

“However, because of their age under the law, since they were under 26 years of age at the time that this crime occurred, they will be eligible for parole immediately,” he added.

Depending on how quickly the process moves, the brothers could be released within the next 30-45 days.

Gascón acknowledged the brothers committed a horrible act but believes they have “paid their debt to society.”

The district attorney underscored Lyle and Erik’s behavior and actions during their incarceration, noting that instead of engaging in illicit activity, they did the opposite.

“All this was done by two young people that had no hopes of ever getting out of prison,” Gascón said.

“To the contrary, even though they didn’t think they would ever be released because they were sentenced to life without parole, they engaged in a different journey. A journey of redemption and a journey of rehabilitation.”

The district attorney said the decision was made about an hour before the afternoon press conference and the possibility of lowering the charges to manslaughter was also being considered.

However, Gascón said manslaughter would not have been the appropriate charge given the premeditation that was involved.

Gascón said Lyle and Erik were not aware of the decision prior to the press conference.

He said the brothers were likely listening to his decision on television.

“We appreciate what they did while they were in prison,” he added.

“While I disagree with the way they handled their abuse, we hope that they get reintegrated into our community and continue to do public good.”

Joan Andersen VanderMolen, the sister of Kitty Menendez’ sister, voiced her support for her nephewsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

A supporter holds a sign at a press conference with Menendez family members outside the Criminal Courts Building on October 16Credit: Getty Images – GettyNO UNIVERSAL AGREEMENT

Gascón said his office was divided on whether or not Lyle and Erik should potentially be released.

“The teams that have worked on the resentencing side of this have spanned probably hundreds of hours looking at this case,” said Gascón.

“We don’t have a universal agreement. There are people in the office that strongly believe that the Menendez brothers should stay in prison the rest of their lives and they do not believe they were molested.

“And there are people in the office that believe they should be released immediately and that they were in fact molested.”

And while the Menendez family has come together in a strong show of support for the brothers, they’re not all in agreement either.

I came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón

Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez’s 90-year-old brother, filed legal documents asking the court to maintain the brothers’ original sentence.

“They shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,” Andersen’s attorneys said in a statement provided to the Associated Press on Thursday.

“The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.”

NOT A DONE DEAL

Gascón’s recommendation follows his October 3 announcement that his office was reevaluating the Menendez brothers’ case.

However, any recommendation by Gascón will ultimately be just that.

Gascón will pass his decision on to a judge who will make the final determination about whether the new evidence presented warrants resentencing.

Nearly 30 years after Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, their case reemerged in the spotlight following the release of the 2023 docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed and the Netflix series Monsters in September.

The case picked up pressure following the release of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, which garnered over 12.3 million views in its first weekend release.

The Netflix show presented the murders through different perspectives as it explored what might have led Lyle and Erik to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 their parents.

The show dramatized the alleged 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual abuse the brothers suffered at the hands of their father.

A Los Angeles court is expected to hear the case on November 26.

REVISITING THE CASE

During the October 3 press conference, Gascón said his office was closely investigating two new pieces of evidence related to the Menendez brothers’ case.

One is a letter written by Erik, eight months before the murders, to his cousin, Andy Cano, where he appears to reference the alleged abuse by his father.

“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now,” Erik wrote in December 1988.

“I never know when [the abuse] is going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night, I stay up thinking he might come in.”

Cano had testified at both trials, telling the courtroom that Erik, at age 13, privately confessed to him that his father had been touching him.

The second piece of evidence came from the 2023 Peacock docuseries in which Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.

At the time, Jose was a powerful and wealthy executive at RCA Records – the label to which Menudo was signed.

Rosselló, now 54, was with Menudo when the group shot to fame in the mid-1980s and signed with RCA International in 1983.

In the three-part Peacock docuseries, Rosselló alleged the band’s manager at the time, Edgardo Dize, offered him to Jose as a means to seal their multi-million dollar deal with RCA.

Rosselló, who was 13 when he joined the band, accused Diaz of 𝓈ℯ𝓍ually abusing him during his time with Menudo.

He said Diaz brought him to Jose’s home in New Jersey, where he alleged the former music executive drugged and raped him in early 1980.

“That’s the man here that raped me,” Rosselló said, pointing at a photo of Jose in the Peacock docuseries.

“That’s the guy. That’s the pedophile. I was in terrible pain for a week. I could barely stand the pain. I couldn’t even more.”

Rosselló also alleged that Jose 𝓈ℯ𝓍ually abused him on two other occasions, right before and after a performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Appellate attorney Cliff Gardner filed a habeas petition in May 2023 asking the district attorney’s office to review the new evidence.

A habeas petition is a legal document that a prisoner files to challenge the legality of their conviction or sentence, arguing that their rights were violated during the criminal proceedings.

‘TRYING TO SURVIVE’

Weeks before Gascón’s bombshell decision, nearly two dozen relatives of Lyle and Erik held a press conference calling for the brothers’ release.

Joan Anderson VanderMolen, the sister of Kitty, said she struggled for years with the nightmare of her sister and brother-in-law’s murders.

“Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,” Vandermolen, 92, said.

“The truth is that Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who were supposed to protect them.”

Brian Anderson, Kitty’s nephew, called the brothers survivors who deserve a second chance.

“They are no longer a threat to society,” he said.

Karen VanderMolen, Kitty’s niece, also defended the brothers, saying they were trapped in the alleged abuse.

“I forgive my cousins. I know they were acting out of fear and desperation,” she added.

Erik and Lyle Menendez on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez was fatally shot 10 timesCredit: BackGridTRIALS OF ERIK AND LYLE

On August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik, then 21 and 18, respectively, stormed into the den of their Beverly Hills mansion, wielding shotguns, and shot their parents at point-blank range.

Jose was shot six times, including a fatal shot to the back of the head, while Kitty was shot 10 times.

Lyle eventually called 911, sobbing over the phone to the dispatcher that his parents had been 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed and implied it may have been a business-related mafia hit.

In the months after the murders, Lyle and Erik went on a lavish shopping spree, spending about $700,000 on a Porsche, Rolexes, a tennis coach, and even a restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey.

The brothers even chose to live in adjoining condominiums in nearby Marina del Rey, dining at extravagant restaurants and booking overseas flights to the Caribbean and London.

Erik eventually confessed about the murders to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel, who then told his mistress, Judalon Smyth, who went to the police.

On March 8, 1990, Lyle was arrested outside their Beverly Hills home, while Erik turned himself in three days later after returning to Los Angeles from Israel.

The brothers’ first trial became an international spectacle and was broadcast by CourtTV in 1993.

The courtroom witnessed Erik and Lyle break down in tears on the stand as they testified about the 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual, emotional, and physical abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of their father.

Lyle and Erik did not deny carrying out the shooting but testified they 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed Jose and Kitty in self-defense out of fear their parents would 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 them first to prevent stories emerging about their alleged abuse.

However, despite the brothers’ emotional testimony, the trial ended in two deadlocked juries, each assigned to deliberate over one sibling separately.

Lyle and Erik’s defense suffered a major blow during their retail in 1995 after a judge ruled that most of the evidence of their alleged 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual abuse be withheld from the jury.

The brothers were eventually convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Kitty and Jose Menendez, seated center, are shown with their two sons, Lyle (left) and EricCredit: CNN