The Los Angeles district attorney publicly released a letter he cited as “new evidence” in the infamous Erik and Lyle Menendez case — as he mulls whether to review the brothers’ life sentences for murdering their parents.
DA George Gascón on Sunday posted — but later deleted — a screenshot of the letter Erik Menendez had written to his cousin more than three decades ago alleging he’d been abused by his father, CNN reported.
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. Its still happening Andy but its worse for me now,” the handwritten letter stated. “I never know when its going to happen and its driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.”
The brothers’ legal team have long argued the letter – which was filed last year in LA Superior Court as part of a petition to have their case reviewed — backs up Erik’s claims that he was sexually abused by his father as a kid.
The district attorney’s office had deleted the post as of Tuesday as it emerged relatives of the Menendez brothers had been invited to attend a press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
The extended family is hopeful the DA will use the press conference to finally recommend that Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, be re-sentenced after spending more than three decades behind bars for murdering parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
The potential update comes weeks after Gascón first announced his office was reviewing new evidence of alleged molestation in the case to determine whether the brothers should continue serving life sentences without parole.
The letter, addressed to the brothers’ cousin, Andy Cano, was written in December 1988 – months before the murders unfolded.
It was never introduced as evidence during their trial.
The brothers’ lawyers argued in the petition that if it had been shown in court, the jurors may have reached a different verdict.
The siblings have long claimed they killed their parents out of self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them.
Prosecutors, though, contended at the time there was no evidence of any molestation –and argued the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
The brothers were ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.