Erik and Lyle Menendez’s family to speak in LA
Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez will speak at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.
LOS ANGELES – Nearly two dozen family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez will speak at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing review of the brothers’ cases by the office of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Family members speaking at the 1 p.m. press conference include Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez, and Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Mary “Kitty” Menendez. Several nieces and nephews of both Jose and Kitty Menendez will also be present.
The family will be joined by Erik and Lyle’s defense attorney, Mark Geragos.
Also in attendance will be comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who has been a staunch supporter of the brothers.
RELATED COVERAGE: Menendez Brothers: DA reviewing new evidence in the case
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday his office is actively reviewing the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents in Beverly Hills in 1989, in light of renewed allegations of sexual abuse by their father.
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Gascón’s office is working to determine if the brothers are entitled to having their case reheard, or even being resentenced.
Over the weekend, the DA revealed one of the two pieces of “new evidence” in the case of the brothers convicted of murdering their parents in Beverly Hills in 1989.
It appeared to be a handwritten letter from Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano, in which Erik allegedly complained about the abuse he suffered from his father months before the killings.
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According to the brothers’ attorneys, Cano’s mom found the letter nine years ago. Cano testified at trial that Erik had told him about his father’s abuse when Erik was 13. Cano died in 2003.
The second piece of evidence being reviewed was a sworn statement from a third person who claimed he was abused by José Menendez as a teenager.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Do Menendez brothers have a shot of getting out?
With Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón openly showing interest in revisiting the murder convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez, do the infamous brothers have a chance at being out of prison.
Lyle and Erik Menendez have been serving life sentences since 1996 for killing their parents, José and Mary “Kitty” Menendez. While the brothers never denied killing their parents, at trial, attorneys argued they feared for their lives after suffering years of sexual abuse from their father.
RELATED: Menendez Brothers: Testimony of Lyle and Erik Menendez, and the trial marred by wealth and abuse
The Menendez brothers have appealed their convictions multiple times over the years without success, but a new petition a year and a half ago points to two pieces of evidence that the brothers’ lawyers say bolster their sexual abuse claims.
Interest in the case has recently been renewed by the release of Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” and an upcoming documentary, in which the brothers will tell their side of the story.
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The brothers have a hearing on Nov. 29.
FOX News contributed to this report.