Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series, Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendezhas brought the Menendez trial back into the public eye. In 1989, Lyle and Erik killed their parents Kitty and Jose in their Beverly Hills home. The boys later claimed it was self-defense after years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The crime became a tabloid sensation. There were two trials. In the first, the jury could not reach a consensus, and in the second, Eric and Lyle were sentenced to life in prison without parole. At the time, Judge Stanley Weisberg prohibited the defense from including the abuse allegations in their argument. Now that the brothers’ story has gained renewed momentum, one of their defense attorneys, Cliff Gardner, is hoping to appeal the convictions.
Gardner claims there is new evidence to support the Menendez brothers’ defense. Her team discovered a letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy, speaking out about his father’s abuse. Prosecutors suspected the boys were lying, and this letter proves otherwise. It is dated December 1988, months before Kitty and Jose’s deaths.
CBS News received a copy of the note. Here is part of what Erik wrote:
“I’ve tried to avoid Dad,” he said. “It still happens, Andy, but it’s worse for me now… Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in… I’m scared… He’s crazy. He warned me a hundred times not to tell anyone, especially not Lyle.”
Additionally, a new witness has come forward. According to CBS, a man named Roy Rosello testified in an affidavit that Jose assaulted him. Rosello claims the incident occurred in the ’80s when he was a member of Menudo, a Puerto Rican boy band that signed Jose to RCA Records.
With these two revelations, Gardner hopes that the Menendez brothers could get out of prison. He said CBS 48 Hours that the court had mishandled their case. “The boys were abused as children,” he said. “They were abused their whole lives … and this is a case of manslaughter, not murder. It’s as simple as that.”
In May 2023, Gardner filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the brothers. The brothers are still in prison, but that could change if Gardner gets his way. There is no further news at this time.
