Latest developments in the murder case, explained: NPR

More than 30 years have passed since the murder cases of brothers Eric and Lyle Menendez, and the story continues to turn heads and grab headlines.

Their first of two trials for the murders of their parents was public fodder and the sensational, criminal trials were televised live around the world.

But it happened in 1994. After many years, why is this case back in people’s minds?

Thanks to social media, Netflix, Kim Kardashian — and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who announced this week that his office is reviewing the evidence.

Read on to get a handle on the latest developments in this decades-old case.

The Menendez brothers are in prison 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 dead. The two were aged 18 and 21 at the time of the murder.

Two trials were required to convict the brothers of their parents’ murders.

Two judges deadlocked after Lyle and Eric Menendez testified in 1994 that they shot their parents in self-defense. The brothers said they feared their parents were going to kill them to prevent stories of their sons’ alleged abuse from getting out.

Lyle Menendez (second from left) and his brother Eric are flanked by their attorneys Gerald Salff (left) and Robert Shapiro in Beverly Hills Municipal Court in 1990.

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They allege and continue to say that Jose Menendez subjected the boys to years of physical and sexual abuse while their mother was portrayed as an unstable alcoholic who abused them and did nothing to stop it. Prosecutors said the men ultimately planned the murder with the intention of claiming their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

In the second trial, Judge Stanley Weisberg limited the testimony related to their claims of sexual abuse. In 1996, that jury found them guilty of first-degree murder after five days of deliberations and a 20-week-long trial.

Why are prosecutors revisiting the case now?

DA Gascón announced Thursday that his office is reviewing new evidence in the case of Eric, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56.

The brothers asked the court to overturn their sentences of life imprisonment without parole. Filed back in MayCiting new sources.

Gascón notes that there is no doubt that the brothers killed their parents—a fact both admit. But he said his office had a “moral and ethical obligation” to review the evidence. The evidence included a copy of a letter from one brother to another family member alleging he had been molested. Another is the testimony of one of the members of the hit Latin band Menudo Who said Jose Menendez He molested her in her youth when she was an executive at RCA Records. None of these reports have been confirmed, Gascon said.

Lyle Menendez looks on during testimony at his brother Eric’s 1995 retrial for the shooting death of their parents in Los Angeles.

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He said there are several options for how prosecutors would approach Menendez’s case, including a new sentence. Release from prison or new trial.

The next hearing of this case will be held on November 29.

How does Ryan Murphy’s new show and social media fit into this?

Several years ago, creators on social media platforms like TikTok began bringing renewed attention to the case. Many true-crime aficionados have created videos of Menendez interrogations, recounting their crimes and discussing how their alleged abuse by their parents may have contributed to their actions.

In this case the new generation focus Contributed to the new, controversial Netflix series Called from Ryan Murphy Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story, It reviews the tests.

But Eric Menendez dropped the streak. In a statement released by his wife Tammy Menendez, In XHe criticized the show, saying it misrepresented him and his brother. “The show is rife with blatant lies,” he wrote and accused co-creator Murphy of deliberately distorting the facts surrounding their crime.

Cooper Koch as Eric Menendez (left) and Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez in Episode 8 Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story.

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Eric Menendez wrote, “I say with a heavy heart that I believe Ryan Murphy could not be wrong and inaccurate about the facts of our lives to do this without malice.”

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Murphy responded to Eric Menendez’s post, saying the brothers’ reaction was “fake outrage” and that the show was “the best thing that happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years in prison.”

And Kim Kardashian is involved, how?

Kardashian, an entrepreneur, The reality star and criminal justice attorney weighed in on the case earlier this week. In A version published on NBC NewsCalling for the Kardashian brothers’ release, she said, “I’ve spent time with Lyle and Eric; they’re not monsters. They’re kind, smart and honest people.”

She met the two in prison a month ago With Cooper Koch, He stars as Eric Menendez in the new Netflix series.

In her article, Kardashian doesn’t condone their crimes or their actions, but believes that men now under 50 deserve freedom.

He continued, “If this crime had been tried today, I believe the outcome would have been dramatically different. I strongly believe that they were denied a fair second trial and that Eric and Lyle were denied the opportunity to present their case fully and further justify their convictions by excluding critical evidence of abuse. undermining.”