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Prosecutor in Menendez Brothers' Trial Bought Shotgun Amid Recent Criticism, Same Type “Used To Kill Their Parents”
New developments related to Erik and Lyle Menendez's murder conviction have put their chances at freedom closer, and widespread backlash about the case has prompted prosecutor Pamela Bozanich to arm herself.
During one of the most shocking trials of the 1990s, brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of brutally murdering their parents, José and Kitty Menendez. Now, they have a chance at freedom.
The latest developments in the case are explored a two-hour Dateline NBC special that includes new interviews with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who recently filed a motion to get a resentencing hearing for the brothers, as well as with Pamela Bozanich, the prosecutor in the 1993 trial, who's made some shocking revelations.
“The Menendez case has divided public opinion for more than three decades," Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison told NBC Insider. "Did the young brothers murder for greed, or after years of sexual abuse? Once, prosecutors condemned their abuse allegations as lies. Now a controversial Los Angeles DA [who lost his bid for re-election this November], has recommended they be released after 35 years in prison. Rarely has a case so galvanized online public opinion."
"Possible new evidence found stored away in an attic"
The special, titled “The Menendez Brothers: Chance at Freedom,” will also include never-before-aired excerpts from a 2017 Dateline interview with Lyle as he spoke from behind bars.
“We reveal possible new evidence found stored away in an attic, and we assess the new claims that may — or may not — help set the brothers free,” Morrison told NBC Insider of what viewers can expect from the two-hour special.
What happened to José and Kitty Menendez?
Erik and Lyle Menendez ambushed their wealthy parents inside their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989, shooting both of them to death with a shotgun. The brothers initially claimed that they’d arrived home from a movie to find their parents dead, but investigators eventually linked them to the crime.
The sensational trial that followed stunned the nation as the brothers claimed they’d finally snapped after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, José.
“No one had ever seen televised testimony like this before,” Morrison said in a preview clip of the Dateline special.
After the jury in the first trial was hopelessly deadlocked, the brothers were convicted and sentenced to life behind bars in a second trial in 1995.
“We were up against the myths that boys aren’t sexually abused, and upstanding people like my father aren’t child molesters,” Lyle told Dateline.
Now, 35 years after José and Kitty were killed, the case has once again been thrust into the spotlight.
“We’re viewing everything that happened back then through a different lens,” journalist Nery Ynclan told Dateline.
New evidence has also emerged, including a letter seemingly written by Erik to his cousin before the murders took place. There are also shocking new sexual abuse claims against José from a former member of the Latin boy band, Menudo.
Even some members of the victims’ family have spoken out, pushing for the release of Erik and Lyle.
“It’s time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past,” Kitty’s sister Joan VanderMolen said at a press conference advocating for their release.
Where does the Menendez brothers case stand today?
With the attention surrounding the controversial case reaching a fever pitch once again, Los Angeles County District Attorney Gascón made the surprising move to file a motion for a resentencing hearing for the brothers, arguing that they should be released.
“This is not about whether they committed the crime, they did,” Gascón told Morrison. “This is about 35 years of rehabilitation under state law, can they be released safely?”
With Gascón's re-election loss, the fate of the Menendez brothers is uncertain. Incoming district attorney Nathan Hochman, who is set to be sworn in on December 2, will soon have to decide how to proceed with Gascón's request to resentence the brothers to lesser prison terms that would made a release on parole possible.
Hochman said he plans to review the relevant files in the case and speak to the parties involved once he takes office, according to NBC4 Los Angeles.
“I know where to start, I know how to do it expeditiously, and if I need more time, I'll ask the court for more time, but I won't engage in delay for delay's sake," Hochman told NBC4 Los Angeles. "The Menendez brothers need to know what the answer is, the victims' family members need to know what the answer is, the public needs to know what that answer is."
What did prosecutor Pamela Bozanich say about recent criticism in the Menendez brothers case?
Dateline also spoke to Pamela Bozanich, the prosecutor in the first trial, about the extreme efforts she says she's had to go to to defend herself in the wake of recent online criticism.
“I have armed myself. I took lessons even,” she told Morrison of purchasing a Mossberg shotgun, the same type of weapon the brothers used in the killings, as seen in a clip of her interview.
“I went to the range and used a gun,” she continued. “I went out and bought a Mossberg shotgun, which is what they used to kill their parents. I figured it was easy to learn.”
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With the brothers' fate now hanging in the balance, Dateline's in-depth look at the high-profile case features many of the key players.
"A sensational story we thought was over may still have a new ending,” Morrison said in the episode’s preview.
To find out all the latest developments, watch Dateline on Friday, November 8 at 9/8c p.m. on NBC or stream it on Peacock the next day.
And for even more Dateline, sign up for the show's official newsletter and check out its podcast.
