Menendez Brothers
Family Fires Back at L.A. Prosecutor
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The Menendez brothers‘ family has a lot of hope after Governor Gavin Newsom spoke about the brothers’ case … though they’re still disappointed after L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman‘s recent comments on Erik and Lyle‘s case.
The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition — a group led by Menendez family members pushing for their release — held a virtual press conference Thursday where they addressed key facts about Erik and Lyle’s case and responded to statements made by L.A.’s top prosecutor.
Anamaria Baralt — Erik and Lyle’s cousin — kicked off the comments … saying Governor Newsom calling on the Board of Parole Hearings to conduct a “risk assessment investigation” is a huge sigh of relief for the family, which is excited to hear someone in power is paying attention to Erik and Lyle’s plight.
That said, Baralt also took D.A. Hochman to task … calling it dangerous to present a 1990s narrative about sexual abuse trauma — one where victims are questioned about their response to the trauma.
Last week, D.A. Hochman said the Menendez brothers’ alleged sexual abuse and two pieces of new evidence — the letter Erik wrote to his cousin detailing the alleged abuse and testimony by a member of the band Menudo claiming he was also abused by Jose — does not mean Erik and Lyle deserve a new trial.
Goodell and Baralt also hit back at Hochman’s criticism of the letter Erik sent to his cousin Andy Cano … saying it would be litigated fully in court — but, people need to remember Andy was a kid when he received the letter, and he might not have known what to do with it.
Erik & Lyle’s cousin Tamara Goodell said the family’s relationship with former District Attorney George Gascón was much different than the one they have with Hochman … and called not hearing about the positive contribution the Menendez brothers have made in the prison system from D.A. Hochman incredibly disheartening. Baralt said it was incredibly hurtful because they spoke to Hochman just weeks ago about their generational trauma.
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We spoke with the D.A. earlier this week on “TMZ Live” … and, he acknowledged that evidence of the alleged abuse could be taken into consideration by a judge at the resentencing hearing next month — it just doesn’t change anything on his end.
He also says he listened to snippets of our “2 Angry Men” podcast where Harvey Levin and the brothers’ lawyer Mark Geragos talked at length with Erik and Lyle. Hochman says his team will review the show in full in the coming weeks.
BTW … this isn’t the first time the Menendez fam has fired off at the D.A.’s comments. In the immediate aftermath of Hochman’s press conference, the family released a statement accusing Hochman of silencing survivors of sexual abuse.
The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition was formed late last year to advocate for the release of the brothers … despite the fact that their two victims — Jose and Kitty Menendez — were obviously also members of the family.
As we told you, California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked the state’s parole board to conduct a risk-assessment investigation into the effects of the potential release of the siblings. Newsom already has a clemency petition on his desk, so it seems the decision on whether to free Erik and Lyle is now squarely in his hands.
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