- The family of Erik and Lyle Menendez is suing the Los Angeles district attorney
- Recently, the family gave an interview to ABC News, campaigning for their release
- They are suing based on graphic crime scene photos shown at the resentencing hearing
The Menendez family is back in court, and this time, it isn’t because of the brothers. Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez are suing the Los Angeles district attorney over graphic crime scene photos. The photos shown in court are from the 1989 crime scene.
That year, the brothers shot both their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. Later in July 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison for the murders.
Both brothers, now 54 and 57, are still serving time for the slayings. Their family members have called for their release.
Read more: Menéndez family criticize new Monsters series
Because of the circumstances of the crime, their family wants them to be free. It is alleged by the brothers that they killed their parents in self-defense. They allege their parents sexually abused them for years.
In a recent interview, family members of the brothers did not confirm or deny the abuse. An aunt of the brothers, Terry Menéndez Baralt, said of the alleged abuse, “Who knows what was going on in that house? Unless you live there.” Beralt is the only surviving sibling of José Menendez.
In the interview, Beralt revealed she was struggling with a colon cancer diagnosis.
Now the family is suing the LA district attorney, but why? Read on to find out.
Why are the Menendez family suing?
In response to LA District Hochman displaying graphic images of the crime scene last week, the family is suing. On 15 April, lawyers, including Bryan Freedman, filed a motion in the Los Angeles Supreme Court on behalf of the family.
Previously, Hochman attempted to block the brothers’ resentencing motion, but a judge denied his request.
The filing states, “The District Attorney has made a mockery of the Victim’s Bill of Rights, or Marsy’s Law, which provides victims with the constitutional right to be ‘treated with fairness and respect’ and to be ‘free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse’ throughout the criminal justice process, including post-conviction proceedings”.
Also in the filing, it notes that the family seems to feel that displaying the “horrific and gruesome photographs of the 1989 deaths of their relatives” is a personal attack. Of course, Hochman and the Menendez family don’t have the best relationship given their opposing views on the brothers getting released.
“It is patently obvious that the District Attorney treated the victims’ family members as second-class victims, due to a policy disagreement between District Attorney Hochman and the victims’ family members,” continues the filing.
Additionally, it states, “The District Attorney represents all victims, not simply those that share the Office’s policy views. In the same token, Marsy’s Law provides constitutional rights to all crime victims.”
Terry Beralt’s hospitalization
There has been attention around Beralt being hospitalized on 13 April and being taken to the ICU. She was hospitalized after being found unresponsive in her hotel room. The 85-year-old remains in the hospital.
Shortly after, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office issued a statement to People, which reads: “To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo”.
This turn of events comes just before the brothers’ important resentencing hearings were ruled to be able to continue. The process will continue on 17 and 18 April in a Van Nuys courtroom.
If they are resentenced, the brothers could be eligible for parole.
