‘Not the Villains’: Menendez Family Makes Tearful Plea for Brothers’ Freedom

Erik and Lyle Menendez’s family made a tearful plea Wednesday for their freedom, insisting the imprisoned brothers protected themselves “the only way they knew how” when they blasted their parents to death in 1989.

Nearly two dozen family members made a show of unity at a press conference ahead of L.A. prosecutors’ anticipated recommendation next month on whether to re-sentence the brothers, who have been behind bars for nearly 35 years.

“The truth is, Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them—by their parents, by the system and by society at large,” said Joan VanderMolen, sister of the brothers’ mother, Kitty Menendez, outside of L.A. Country criminal courthouse.

A number of the relatives in attendance, who came from both sides of their family, became emotional as they read statements advocating for the brothers’ freedom. They were joined by the comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who has become a close friend of the Menendezes— “a big sister,” she has said—and an outspoken advocate for their release.

Their speeches revolved around the claim that the killings were a response to sexual abuse against the brothers at the hands of their father, José Menendez—the defense they argued unsuccessfully at their 1996 trial, which resulted in life sentences without parole for both.

“When I think about the pain and suffering they endured, it breaks my heart to know that the system failed them so profoundly,” said Brian Andersen Jr., Kitty’s nephew. “They tried to protect themselves the only way they knew how.”

“They are not the villains they were portrayed as,” he added.

“What happened is tragic, but I forgive my cousins,” said Karen VanderMolen, Kitty’s niece. “I have forgiven them forever, because I know they were acting out of fear and desperation. These were children.”

Immediately after the conference, the family members met with the district attorney’s office to formally express their desire for the brothers’ release.

Joan VanderMolen told Vanity Fair that the family members were invited to the presser by Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who announced on Oct. 3 that he is considering new evidence in the brothers’ case.

Nevertheless, Gascón was not in attendance and his office said that a decision has not yet been reached, NBC News reported.

“A decision regarding the Menendez case has not been made. Once DA Gascón has made a decision, the family members of the victims and the public will be notified,” a statement from the district attorney said.

The brothers’ legal team has argued that the two new pieces of evidence they submitted for consideration in a May 2023 filing support the unsuccessful defense the brothers offered during their 1996 trial—that the brutal killing was an act of self-defense after years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

The new evidence consists of a letter from Erik to his cousin Andy Cano that seems to hint at his father’s abuse along with another allegation of sexual assault against their father José, once an executive at RCA Records, by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boyband Menudo.

Gascón said at the early October press conference that he has “a moral and ethical obligation” to review the evidence to see if it entails consideration of resentencing in the brothers’ case. A hearing on the matter is set for Nov. 29.

The apparent breath of life into the brothers’ campaign for freedom comes in the wake of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the Ryan Murphy true-crime series that has brought a surge of fresh interest in the case after debuting on Netflix last month.

The Menendez family has slammed the show, which insinuates an incestuous relationship between the brothers, as “ruinous” and “full of lies.”