After over three decades in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents, the Menendez brothers may finally get a new trial. New evidence has emerged that could support their claims of self-defense and lessen their culpability.
This story originally aired on March 2, 2024. It was updated on Sept. 28.Lyle and Erik Menendez have been behind bars in California for more than three decades for the 1989 killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in a case that captured the nation's attention, they had no hope of ever walking free. But new evidence may change that.
On August 20th, 1989, did you and your brother kill your mother and father? Good afternoon … The only question in this case is why did these killings occur? … Why they were killed is what the focus of all of our evidence will be on.What the defense was arguing was that since this was a self-defense case, the brothers were deserving of a lesser charge and punishment. The defense attorneys who tried the case didn't respond to '48 Hours'' requests for an interview. Cliff Gardner represents Lyle and Erik Menendez today.
I told him that I would tell everybody … Then he said, … we all make choices in life, son. Erik made his. You've made yours. That he would kill us. The brothers testified that they got into another argument with their parents on the night of the crime and that they believed their parents were about to kill them to keep the family secret from coming out. So, they said, they grabbed shotguns that they had bought two days earlier for protection, went into the family room and started shooting their parents — at one point, even stopping to reload.
Menendez Brothers Murder Evidence Self-Defense Trial
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