Robert Rant, the author of “the Menendez Murders” says Lyle and Erik Menendez are hopeful they may be released from prison soon thanks to the newly announced review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney. This video was broadcast during the NBC4 News at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.
An author who has been working on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez for decades has claimed that a letter he found during his investigation may be key to freeing the brothers from prison after nearly three decades.
Robert Rand, the author of “the Menendez Murders,” said Thursday that a letter that he found in 2018 was what Erik sent to his cousin Andy Cano nine months before the murders, complaining about ongoing sexual abuse from his father. Erik Menendez was 17 years old when the letter was written and sent.
“I found the letter in a dresser full of Andy Cano’s paper in 2018 when his mother Marta let me go through his room, and she said, 'If you can find anything, great.' I found that letter and realized it was a major piece of new evidence,” said Rant.
That letter is now one of the two pieces of evidence that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is reviewing for the possible request for resentencing of the brothers, who were convicted for murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. They were both sentenced to life in prison in 1996.
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The second piece of evidence, according to the brothers' defense attorney Mark Geragos, is a signed declaration from a member of the band Menudo who said that he too was molested in the house by Jose Menendez.
Another avenue for their release that Gascón is considering would be resentencing them if he believes they repaid their dues for the killings.
Rant, who said to be speaking with the brothers regularly, said that this new development has made the brothers “cautiously optimistic” that their release is possible.
