Letter at center of Menendez brothers' bid for freedom called into question

FIRST ON FOX: With Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon telling reporters that helium could marque a determination connected whether to question resentencing for the murderous Menendez brothers by the extremity of the week, a lawyer for their uncle is informing that "new" grounds successful the lawsuit could beryllium a fraud.

In an interrogation with People this week, Gascon said helium doesn't deliberation the brothers airs a "danger to society" and "probably haven't been for a precise agelong time."

Erik and Joseph "Lyle" Menendez barged into their parents' Beverly Hills mansion astatine 10:30 p.m. connected Aug. 20, 1989, and blasted them with shotguns arsenic they were eating successful the surviving room, watching TV. They killed their father, erstwhile RCA Records enforcement Jose Menendez, and their mother, Mary "Kitty" Menendez.

WATCH ON FOX NATION: MENENDEZ BROTHERS: VICTIMS OR VILLAINS?

Erik and Lyle Menendez perceive during their proceedings successful the 1990s. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said his bureau volition reappraisal caller grounds successful the brothers' execution case. (Ted Soqui/Sygma)

They aboriginal told a therapist that they killed their begetter due to the fact that they hated him and the execution of their parent was a "mercy killing," according to tribunal documents. They ran retired of shells and had to spell to the car to get much earlier they struck her with a fatal shot.

Over the past year, they person turned to new laws successful California to effort and get retired of prison, with a habeas petition that argues they should person been convicted of manslaughter, not murder, and a petition to Gascon's bureau seeking a resentencing.

Their entreaty hinges connected 2 cardinal pieces of evidence: precocious revealed allegations that their begetter besides molested Roy Rossello, a erstwhile subordinate of the lad set Menudo, successful the 1980s, and a missive that Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, which surfaced successful 2015, years aft his death.

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An undated photograph of the Menendez household arsenic it appears on-screen during a sheet astatine CrimeCon 2024 successful Nashville, Tenn., connected June 2. The brothers Lyle and Erik were convicted of fatally shooting their parents successful 1989. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Critics accidental Gascon's greenish airy connected a resentencing would beryllium arguable due to the fact that he's up for re-election successful little than 2 weeks and faces a beardown situation from autarkic campaigner Nathan Hochman.

While 2 twelve relatives person publically voiced enactment for their merchandise from situation contempt sentences of beingness without anticipation of parole, their uncle is opposed to immoderate alteration successful sentencing, according to his attorney, Kathleen Cady, a salient victim's advocate.

In a tribunal filing Wednesday, she asked to record an amicus little connected behalf of Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez's brother.

LYLE MENENDEZ, WHO SHOTGUNNED PARENTS TO DEATH WITH BROTHER, PLANS FOR LIFE AFTER PRISON

Erik Menendez, center, and his brother, Lyle, are pictured connected Aug. 12, 1991, successful Beverly Hills. (MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Cady wrote to the justice that "in conscionable the past fewer days I person received accusation from respective antithetic sources that the missive is fundamentally a fraud."

Speaking with Fox News Digital implicit the phone, she declined to spell into specifics but said she was consenting to crook implicit the grounds to Gascon's office. 

"[The sources] assertion they person grounds that would look to formed uncertainty connected the veracity of this ‘new evidence' that the defence has submitted successful their habeas petition," she said.

Erik Menendez and his relative some testified astir maltreatment by Jose Menendez astatine the brothers' 2nd trial aft the archetypal ended successful a mistrial.

"And neither mentioned the letter," Cady wrote. "While we surely anticipation that the DA's bureau has undertaken an investigation of the letter, it is overmuch much apt that the letter, if written by Erik, was written successful the past fewer years and not earlier the murders arsenic the defence present suggests."

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Pictured is simply a missive allegedly written by Erik Menendez and sent to his cousin, Andy Cano, 8 months earlier the killings of Jose and Kitty Menendez. (Superior Court of the authorities of California, Los Angeles County)

She besides noted proceedings grounds from witnesses who said the brothers asked them to prevarication for them nether oath.

"Given the defendants' attempts to suborn perjury, the ‘new evidence’ should beryllium viewed with skepticism," Cady wrote. "Even astatine look value, however, the ‘new evidence’ would not necessitate an acquisition connected imperfect self-defense."

Cano testified astatine proceedings that his relative had told him astir the maltreatment erstwhile helium was conscionable 13 years old, but prosecutors downplayed the allegations of intersexual abuse and said the brothers simply wanted to unrecorded a lavish manner with their inheritance, pointing to everything they bought aft the slayings, which included a Porsche, Rolex watches and a restaurant.

Andersen, their uncle, agrees with prosecutors that the motive was greed.

THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS: MONSTERS OR MISUNDERSTOOD?

The Menendez brothers — Erik, left, and Lyle — beryllium connected the steps of their Beverly Hills location successful November 1989. (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times)

The Menendez brothers are present some successful their 50s. They were 21 and 18 astatine the clip of the murders.

The letter, according to their defence attorney, Mark Geragos, bolsters Cano's testimony. He has agelong maintained that due to the fact that of modern thinking, the brothers' allegations of enactment maltreatment were not taken seriously, and helium has repeatedly said that if they were the "Menendez sisters" they would ne'er person been convicted of execution to statesman with.

Between 2005 and earlier this year, Geragos noted, they had exhausted each imaginable appeals and resigned themselves to the thought that they would ne'er spell free. Both person been exemplary prisoners during that time, helium said.

MENENDEZ BROTHERS INCH CLOSER TO FREEDOM FROM ‘LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE’ FOR PARENTS' BEVERLY HILLS MURDERS

Exteriors of the Menendez brothers' erstwhile mansion successful 1989, showing the expansive pool. (Clark Fogg, retired Beverly Hills Police Department forensic specialist)

"You could instrumentality 2 tracks connected that," helium told reporters past week. "You could either conscionable go a hardcore oregon irreconcilable, recidivist, oregon you could bash what they've done, which is make programs, counsel people, make astonishing programs, mentoring people, spell to college, get degrees."

Gascon's bureau did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the letter's authenticity.

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About 2 twelve household members who bash enactment a reduced condemnation met with Gascon's bureau past week. The DA has not met with Andersen oregon responded to his requests for accusation connected the case, Cady said.

"Mr. Gascon has perfectly ignored our requests, and it's frankly violative that the elected territory lawyer thinks it’s good to interruption the Constitution," she told Fox News Digital.

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The DA predetermination has nary bearing connected the brothers' habeas petition, which Cady has besides argued should beryllium rejected.

"So with each of that, it’s Milton Andersen’s continued content that the claims of molestation were made up, and they were false, and helium believes that the close verdict was issued by the assemblage and the close condemnation was besides committed," Cady said. "One of the concerns for him, and should beryllium for everyone really, was astatine the trial, the Menendez brothers tried to get 2 circumstantial witnesses to travel successful and prevarication for them. And those witnesses testified and said, ‘Yea. They asked america to prevarication for them.’"