New evidence has come to light in the notorious Menendez brothers case, including a one-time member of the band Menudo giving sworn claims of sexual abuse by the brothers’ father, and LA District Attorney George Gascón may reopen the case.  

SF’s former District Attorney George Gascón is now the Los Angeles District Attorney, though up for reelection next month, and he’s apparently getting clobbered in the polls. So it may or may not matter that KTVU reports Gascón is reportedly considering reopening the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, whose early 1990s trials for killing their parents generated near-OJ Simpson trial levels of national interest.

Both brothers were sentenced to life without parole in 1996, but Gascón says there is new evidence that could lead to the case could be reheard, or a resentencing for the brothers.


Gascón posted an Instagram post on Sunday, which included a 1988 handwritten letter from Erik Menendez detailing that his father was sexually abusing him “Evidence of a letter addressing Erik Menendez's [sexual abuse] has surfaced,” says a caption in Gascón’s post. “Progressive DA Gascón wants their case to be reevaluated. He says it is his moral and ethical obligation to review the Menendez brothers' case. It has been 35 years since their sentencing. It is time to decide whether these men have paid their dues to society. Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent most of their lives behind bars and will continue to unless we can ensure George Gascón can review and restore justice for all."

The handwritten letter was written to the brothers’ cousin Andy Cano. Cano did testify at the brothers’ trial that Erik had told him of his father's abuse when Erik was 13, though Cano died in 2003.

There is also apparently now a sworn statement from Roy Rosselló, a one-time member of the 1980s boy band Menudo, saying that the father José Menendez had drugged and raped him when he was 14 years old. The Menendez father was an executive at RCA Records, to whom Menudo was signed.

There has been recent renewed interest in the case, as Netflix just released a star-studded dramatization of the Menendez brothers’ story, in addition to a documentary about the case that both brothers participated in, via phone, from prison.

There is a hearing on the new evidence scheduled for November 29.

Related: SF District Attorney George Gascon Looks To Be Running For DA In Los Angeles [SFist]

Image: TRIAL OF BROTHERS LYLE & ERIK MENENDEZ, PARRICIDES (Photo by Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)