Menendez Family Reveals Erik and Lyle’s Mindset as the Brothers Await Their Last Chance for Freedom (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Erik and Lyle Menendez.

Anamaria Baralt says she is often asked what her cousinsLyle and Erik Menendezare like.

“Lyle’s humor is sharp and quick, it’s one of the things that’s kept him and our family going,” says Baralt as she talks about the brothers, who fatally shot their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez at their Beverly Hills, Calif. home in 1989. “And Erik, he’s got this deep compassion that makes him someone everyone can lean on. But what stands out most about them is their resilience.”

“What’s driving me, and my family, is love,” she tells PEOPLE. “Their continued incarceration serves no societal purpose and only prolongs our family’s pain. They’ve taken responsibility for their actions, they’ve committed their lives to helping others and they’ve done it all while carrying the weight of their past and the judgment of the world. All we want is to welcome them home.”

Erik and Lyle Menendez.California Dept. of Corrections via AP

California Dept. of Corrections via AP

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In October 2024, the Menendez brothers appeared to be on the verge of release when then-L.A. District Attorney George Gascón filed a re-sentencing request that could have ultimately freed them. However, Gascón lost his bid for reelection, and what newly elected district attorney Nathan Hochman plans to do is unclear.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.Damian Dovargane/AP

Damian Dovargane/AP

“We are still figuring it out,” Hochman told PEOPLE when asked if he would support or withdraw his predecessor’s resentencing motion.

The brothers’ journey to what they — and nearly two-dozen supportive family members like Baralt — hope will pave the way to their release has been a long time coming. Their fate took an unexpected twist last year when a new generation of supporters joined the call for their release from prison, owing to a cultural shift in understanding of the devastating toll that sexual abuse survivors face, along with the impact of Netflix’s hit dramaMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyand a documentary on the streaming service,The Menendez Brothers.

Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez.Mike Blake/Reuters

Mike Blake/Reuters

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By last October, efforts to re-sentence the men to 50 years to life — making them immediately eligible for parole as “youthful offenders” since Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time of the murders—seemed to be on the threshold of success. But many now wonder if their best shot at walking free is fading due to the November election of Hochman, who ordered a re-examination of the case and replaced members of the D.A.’s re-sentencing unit with attorneys of his own picking.

At this point,” says Laurie Levenson, a professor at L.A.’s Loyola Law School who has followed the case for decades, “Hochman is reviewing the case because he’s not quite sure that he feels the same way about it as Gascón.”

Asked if Gascón losing the election was a setback for the brothers, Cliff Gardner, one of the attorneys representing the Menendez brothers, tells PEOPLE that it “remains to be seen.”

Lyle, Erik, Kitty and Jose Menendez.

The 1989 crime scene.Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office

Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office

“This tragedy will always be the most astounding and regrettable thing that has ever happened in my life,” Lyle told PEOPLE in 2017. “You can’t escape the memories, and I long ago stopped trying.”

But Levenson isn’t convinced that this new evidence would be enough to overturn the Menendezes’s 1996 convictions. “I don’t think that’s likely to succeed,” she says.

And now, exactly what will happen at the resentencing hearing beginning on March 20 is anyone’s guess.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com