Menendez Brothers’ ‘20 Lies:’ Why DA Won’t Support Their Bid For Freedom

LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told a judge Erik and Lyle Menendez do not deserve to get out of prison because they've failed to fully accept responsibility for their crimes — the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, he announced Monday. Independently, Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to consider a clemency petition for the brothers, setting up an array of possible outcomes for the killer siblings.

To support his argument, Hochman outlined what he said was a series of 20 lies the brothers told, most in support of the idea that they killed their parents in self-defense. Until the Menendezes recant those statements, Hochman said he will not support an ongoing effort by their attorneys to get them out of prison.

“Gov. Newsom, today, he could commute their sentences and release them. I, on the other hand, am bound by the facts and the law as it pertains to an analysis of whether resentencing is appropriate,” Hochman said at a Monday morning news conference. ”The Menendezes, after over 30 years … persisted in the lie of self-defense and (other) related lies.”

Hochman said the brothers lied or encouraged others to lie about their father raping Lyle’s girlfriend, their mother poisoning the family, and about their efforts to get a handgun the day before the murders.

Of the 20 lies Hochman said they told, the brothers have only owned up to four, he said. In several instances, the truth came out in audio tapes made by Jerome Oziel, the brothers' therapist:

1. "Erik and Lyle lied on the 911 call about just discovering their parents' bodies. When they were found out and the tapes came in, they admitted to that lie," Hochman said.
2. "They lied to the police, family and friends, and the media about their involvement in the murders. When their confession came out on tape, they had to admit to that in the first and the second trial," he said.
3. "They admitted that they lied to the police, family and friends, and the media, suggesting the mafia was involved in the murders," he said.
4. "Erik admitted that he lied when he told his expert psychiatrist, Dr. Vickary that his parents would kill him because his father's homosexual lover warned him that he was in danger two days before the murders," he said.

"There are 16 lies that remain to this day that have been reaffirmed as recently as last year," Hochman said:

1. The brothers claimed that because they knew their parents were going to kill them, they had to act in self defense by murdering them first.
2. "They basically tried to suborn perjury from Brian Eslaminia, telling him to testify they borrowed one of his handguns the night before the murder," he said.
3. Hochman said they lied about making a first stop before heading to San Diego to buy the guns they would use to kill their parents. "They said they started at the Big Five sporting goods store in Santa Monica to try and buy handguns, and unfortunately, there was a 14-day waiting period," Hochman said, despite the fact that store hadn't sold handguns for three years prior.
4. They "lied when they testified the purpose of their 120-mile drive to San Diego was not to buy shotguns, when in fact, that was the reason they made the trip," a court filing reads.
5. "They never admitted that they provided that fake ID and a fictitious address to buy those shotguns in San Diego in order to conceal their connections to the shotguns and the ammunition — they just said they used a fake ID because they had driven all the way down to San Diego and forgot their California driver's licenses," he said.
6. "They testified that the day before the murders they had stayed away from the home all day, that Saturday, even though ... the pool repairman said they were playing tennis that day at the house and disrespecting their parents," he said.
7. "They lied when they said they didn't plan that alibi before the murders," he said.
8. "They lied when they said they did not ask Perry Berman to come back to their house in order to be a witness on the discovery of the mutilated bodies," he said.
9. "They lied when they said that they did not stage the murders to look like a mafia gangland hit," he said.
10. "They lied when Lyle said they tried to suborn that perjury from Jamie Pisarcik about his father drugging and violently raping her," he said.
11. "They lied when they testified that their mother was so dangerous and unpredictable that she tried to poison the whole family," he said.
12. They "suborned perjury when they solicited Lye's girlfriend, Traci Baker, to testify that she was present when their mother tried to poison the family," court documents obtained by Patch said.
13. "They further lied when they testified that they thought their parents were going to kill them during their Saturday afternoon fishing trip," he said.
14. "They lied when they testified that when they burst into the den with their shotguns that it was too dark to see, and their parents were standing up or moving towards them. Expert testimony showed that at all times, the parents were seated on the couch when they were shot," he said.
15. "They lied when they testified that the reason they rushed in on their parents was because of self defense, and they thought that their parents were going to shoot them first that evening," he said.
16. "They lied when they testified Dr. Oziel blackmailed them into confessing on tape to murdering their parents," he said.

"The Court must consider such lack of full insight and lack of acceptance of responsibility for their murderous actions in deciding whether the Menendez brothers pose an unreasonable risk of danger to the community,” Hochman said.

Hochman's predecessor as district attorney, George Gascón, requested that the court consider resentencing the brothers, who are serving life without the possibility of parole. If they were to be resentenced to a lesser term, that might allow them to seek parole or be released on time served.

Now, Hochman said he is asking a judge to withdraw the district attorney’s office's request for resentencing. If a judge agrees, that means that the court could consider resentencing on its own accord – without the recommendation of the DA – but Hochman would argue against the appropriateness of resentencing, he said.

The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for March 20 and 21, in Van Nuys.

The development comes after the Menendez brothers suffered a blow in a second track they’re using to seek their freedom.

Hochman last month said his office would oppose a motion filed by the Menendez brothers' attorney seeking a new trial as part of a habeas petition. He challenged the attorneys' claims of new evidence they say supports allegations of sexual abuse of the brothers by their father.

Hochman argued the evidence is inadmissible on various grounds. He questioned whether the claims are actually new or being presented in a legally timely manner.

As part of a third track, the brothers filed a request with Gov. Gavin Newsom for the governor to grant them clemency in the form of a pardon or commutation of their sentence. Newsom previously said he would defer to Hochman on that question and last month directed the state parole board to conduct a routine "risk assessment investigation" into the brothers.

Newsom has broad clemency powers under the state constitution.

• Read more: Menendez Brothers' Freedom Could Hinge On Investigation Ordered By Newsom

The multi-pronged campaign for the brothers centers around alleged new evidence and is supported by a change in how society views boys as victims of sexual abuse. Renewed advocacy around the case fueled by social media content creators and a new documentary have also raised questions about the convictions, members of the Menendez family say.

The evidence claimed by defense attorneys includes a letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin eight months before the killing and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, that he was also sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager, their attorney says.

The Menendez brothers were tried twice after the first trial ended in a hung jury. During the second trial, prosecutors argued there was no evidence of sexual abuse, and details of the brothers' claims were not permitted in the second trial, ending in their conviction. Prosecutors at the time argued that Erik and Lyle Menendez sought to profit from their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

The brothers — now 57 and 54 — never denied carrying out the killings, but maintained they feared for their lives amid their father's abuse.

City News Service contributed reporting.