By Elizabeth Wolfe

Los Angeles (CNN) — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman recommended Friday that a judge reject Erik and Lyle Menendez’s request for a new trial in the 1989 killings of their parents – a petition the brothers filed over their claims of new evidence of abuse by their father.

Hochman declined, however, to announce his decision in the brothers’ separate resentencing request, saying he would address that issue in the coming weeks ahead of a hearing scheduled for March 20 and 21.

After serving more than three decades in prison for the grisly murders of their parents, Erik and Lyle Menendez have launched a multipart bid for their freedom: a resentencing request, a petition for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the habeas corpus petition, which Hochman is now opposing.

Though the brothers can still push for clemency or resentencing, Hochman’s Friday announcement upends the powerful momentum that had been building in their favor under the district attorney’s predecessor, George Gascón. The brothers’ bid for freedom has gained renewed national attention due to the emergence of potential new evidence and fervent social media support driven by the release of a documentary and fictionalized Netflix series last year.

During their high-profile trials, the brothers admitted responsibility for the killings of their parents, Kitty and Jose, but argued they should not be convicted of premeditated murder after enduring a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their father. Their argument was unsuccessful and they were sentenced to life without parole in 1996.

The brothers’ attorneys filed the habeas petition in 2023 after a Peacock docuseries featured another alleged victim saying he was raped by Jose Menendez. The petition also cited a letter from Erik Menendez to his cousin in 1988 that they say references abuse by Jose. The attorneys claim the letter was discovered after the trial and should be considered new evidence.

Hochman filed an informal response to the petition on Friday, urging the Los Angeles County Superior Court to reject it.

The district attorney dismissed the claim that Erik’s letter provides new evidence, accusing the brothers of a “continuum of lies” and saying that the brothers should have been aware of the letter’s existence before trial.

“If this letter truly existed, the defense counsel would have absolutely used it at the trial because it would have helped corroborate … Eric Menendez’s testimony,” Hochman said.

Hochman has been reviewing the brothers’ case since he took office in December and inherited it from his predecessor, George Gascón, who championed the brothers’ resentencing request.

Last month, Hochman met with the brothers’ family members to hear their thoughts on whether they should be released. All but one member of the brothers’ family have supported their release.

Several Menendez relatives on Friday said they were “profoundly disappointed” in Hochman’s decision.

“District Attorney Nathan Hochman took us right back to 1996 today. He opened the wounds we have spent decades trying to heal. He didn’t listen to us,” reads a statement from the family-led Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition. “To suggest that the years of abuse couldn’t have led to the tragedy in 1989 is not only outrageous, but also dangerous. Abuse does not exist in a vacuum.”

The family coalition urged Hochman to support the brothers’ resentencing request, which would make them eligible for parole.

“For over three decades, our family has lived with the weight of what Erik and Lyle endured – abuse that shaped their lives, fear that defined their childhood, and a justice system that refused to see them as victims,” the family said in the statement.

They added: “We have fought and advocated tirelessly for their release, so that we can heal and finally move forward. All we are asking for is to right this decades-long injustice.”

Newsom has previously said he will delay his clemency decision until the district attorney has fully reviewed the case. When asked for comment on Friday’s developments, his office reiterated his previous stance.

Possibility of resentencing remains

All eyes will remain on Hochman as he weighs whether to recommend the brothers be resentenced – a decision he said he expects to make in the coming weeks. While the habeas decision relies solely on the evidence and facts of the case, the resentencing decision will weigh a number of factors, including the brothers’ rehabilitation efforts in prison, the district attorney said.

Hochman has been reviewing the brothers’ case since he took office in December, inheriting it from his predecessor, Gascón, who championed the brothers’ resentencing effort.

Gascón filed a motion in October recommending the brothers be resentenced from life in prison without parole to life in prison with parole. Because the siblings were under 26 when they committed the crimes, they would be immediately eligible for youthful parole under California law.

In his argument on behalf of the brothers, Gascón pointed to unearthed evidence of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father and the support of all but one of their family members. He also highlighted their rehabilitative efforts during their nearly three decades in prison, calling the siblings “model prisoners by all accounts.”

“We’re very sure not only that brothers have rehabilitated and will be safe to be reintegrated into our society, but they have paid their dues, not only for the crimes that they committed but because of all the other things they have done to improve the lives of so many others,” Gascón said in October.

While incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, the brothers have each cofounded several inmate-led programs, including groups to help prisoners cope with childhood trauma and provide care for disabled and elderly inmates, according to the motion filed by Gascón.

But Hochman has remained tight-lipped about how he will approach the Menendez case, saying he will thoroughly review the facts and circumstances before deciding whether to recommend their resentencing to a judge.

“I will have to review the confidential prison files for each brother, the transcripts from both trials, and speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel, and the victims’ family members,” Hochman said in November.

CNN’s Matthew J. Friedman, Ray Sanchez, Cindy Von Quednow, Amanda Musa and Melissa Gray contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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