The Menendez brothers will appear in court on Monday: what you need to know

LOS ANGELES – The Menendez brothers’ case reaches an important milestone Monday.

That’s when attorneys for Erik and Lyla Menendez will ask a judge to reconsider the convictions of the brothers, who are serving life sentences without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in Beverly Hills.

The Menendez brothers are expected to attend the hearing virtually from San Diego, where they are incarcerated.

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The highly anticipated trial will have limited public attendance, with only 16 courtroom seats available by lottery. The lottery will take place outside the Van Nuys Courthouse on Monday morning.

Monday’s status hearing is expected to confirm details of the rehearing scheduled for Dec. 11.

This came after California Governor Gavin Newsom refused to grant the brothers a pardon, which was seen as one of the ways to the couple’s freedom. Newsom has handed the case over to newly elected District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who will be sworn in on Dec. 2.

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Defense lawyer Mark Geragos says at the hearing he will ask the judge to resentence the Menendez brothers on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, a crime for which they have already served three times the maximum sentence.

The final decision will be submitted to the parole board for approval.

The Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, and sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.

Eric and Lyle, who were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings, said they acted in self-defense after years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. However, this defense was not allowed to be used in the second trial.

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In October, Gascón announced his recommendation to re-sentence the brothers after investigating new evidence presented to the district attorney’s office – allegations that their father also molested Roy Rossello, a former member of the boy band Menudo, in the 1980s and a letter from Eric Menendez. a letter to his cousin Andy Cano that surfaced in 2015, years after Cano’s death, was unveiled.

Their names came back into the spotlight last year with the release of the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 10.30.

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