Menendez brothers’ sentencing hearing postponed due to LA fires
The hearing to determine whether the Menendez brothers should be punished more than three decades after the murder of their parents has been postponed due to the ongoing fires in the Los Angeles area.
The trial for Eric and Lyle Menendez, originally scheduled for later this month, has been moved up to March, according to an announcement made Friday by the county’s top prosecutor.
It is the second time Los Angeles County’s new District Attorney Nathan Hochman has postponed debate on the brothers’ future after his predecessor George Gascón recommended they be expunged and released on parole. The brothers are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders.
Work continues to contain the blaze that has killed at least 27 people and razed several communities in the Los Angeles area.
infamous case The incident occurred in 1989 when Lyle, 21, and Eric, 18, fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion.
During their preliminary trial, the defense claimed that the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father. However, prosecutors argued that his motive was financial gain.
The first trial, with separate juries for each brother, ended in a mistrial. In 1996, a second trial excluded most of the evidence related to the abuse claims and both brothers were convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
Mr. Hochman, who defeated Mr. Gascón in the November elections, has said he needs more time to review the case, and that he will not take a public stance like his opponent. He planned to announce his decision on January 30 as to whether his office would support the resentencing effort. Now it has been extended to March 20.
Mr Hochman campaigned on ending “pro-criminal, extremist policies” and aimed to prosecute crimes more harshly to prevent recidivism.
In the wake of the deadly fires in Los Angeles, he has aggressively gone after looters, arsonists and people pretending to be first responders to get into evacuated areas. It is also deploying teams to affected areas to stop and prosecute insurance fraudsters targeting wildfire survivors.
On Friday, Mr. Hochman’s office filed arson charges against six people who are accused of lighting the fires in the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.
