Warning: This article discusses abuse.
Multiple family members of convicted US killers Erik and Lyle Menendez have publicly pleaded for the brothers' release from prison, arguing they would not have received the same treatment in court today as they did when they were sentenced.
The brothers have spent more than 30 years in jail, serving life sentences for the murder of their entertainment executive father, José Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez in Beverly Hills in 1989.
But multiple generations of family members of both José and Kitty — including Kitty's sister and José's niece — gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse to call for for their freedom.
They said the brothers had been "brutalised" and sexually abused by their father.
Several of the family members emphasised that in today's world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have received the same sentence.
The case captivated the US in the 1990s, with their story returning to news headlines after Netflix began streaming Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story last month.
Erik Menendez and brother Lyle during a 1991 court appearance. (Reuters: Lee Celano)
Brothers were 'vilified', family say
Relatives from both sides of their parents' families attended the press conference in Los Angeles, the largest public gathering of the multigenerational family since the brothers' sentencing.
Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez's sister, said the wider family did not know about the extent of the abuse.
"It became clear that their actions — while tragic — were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruel[ty] of their father," she said.
"The whole world was not ready to hear that boys could be raped.
"Today we know better."
About 20 family members were at the press conference, and said they were then heading to the district attorney's office to make clear to prosecutors their wish that the brothers be released or given a new trial.
The brothers’ legal team said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter rather than murder.
"If Lyle and Erik's case were heard today, with the understanding we now have about abuse and PTSD, there is no doubt in my mind that their sentencing would have been very different," Anamaria Baralt, a niece of Jose Menendez, said.
Joan Andersen VanderMolen wants the brothers to be released from prison. (Reuters: Mike Blake)
But not every family member agrees.
Kitty Menendez's brother, Milton Andersen said through his lawyer Kathy Cady that he believed the appropriate sentence was life in prison without possibility of parole.
Mr Andersen was not available for an interview.
"He believes that there was no molestation that occurred," Mr Andersen's lawyer said.
"He believes that the motive was pure greed, because they had just learned that they were going to be taken out of the will."
New evidence under review
The press conference came after the Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón announced a review of new evidence to determine whether the brothers should be serving life sentences.
Mr Gascón said there was no question the brothers committed the murders.
But the topic of sexual assault would have been treated with more sensitivity if the case had happened today, he said.
There's been renewed interest in the case with the release of the Netflix series about the brothers. (Reuters: Mike Blake)
The new evidence presented in a petition includes a letter written by Erik Menendez that his lawyers say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father.
Roy Rossello, former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, also recently came forward saying he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez, the boys' father, when he was a teen in the 1980s.
Menudo was signed under RCA Records, which Jose Menendez was the head of at the time.
Rossello spoke about his abuse in the 2023 Peacock docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.
These allegations are part of the evidence listed in the petition filed last year by the Menendez brothers' attorney to review their case.
A review hearing has been set for November 29.
"We have not decided on an outcome. We are reviewing information," Mr Gascón said.
What were the Menendez brothers convicted of?
First-degree murder.
After initially pretending to be innocent, Lyle Menendez and younger brother Erik Menendez eventually admitted they shot their parents.
At the time of the murder, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18.
During a televised trial that captivated the US in 1996, the brothers claimed they had been sexually abused by both parents for years.
The brothers said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of their father's long-term sexual molestation of Erik.
Prosecutors at the time contended there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in their story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the trial that led to their conviction.
The prosecution argued the pair were seeking their parents' multi-million-dollar fortune.
A jury convicted the brothers of first-degree murder and they were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Lyle Menendez is now 56 and Erik Menendez is 53.
In 2018, more than 20 years after their convictions, the brothers were moved into the same housing unit in a Southern California prison.
The brothers have been behind bars for more than 30 years. (AP: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
ABC with Wires