The Menendez brothers’ prosecutor reveals key evidence that could prove the killers are lying
A prosecutor with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office is wary of a new piece of evidence that could help secure Erik and Lyle Menendez’s release.
Juan Mejia, who was a young deputy prosecutor during the brother’s second murder trial, questions the legitimacy of a new letter entered into evidence in May 2023.
In the undated note, first revealed by DailyMail.com, Erik writes to his now-deceased cousin Andy Cano that he is “trying to avoid dad” and that “it’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now,” referring to the sexual abuse he experiences at the hands of his father.
Mejia, who opposes the brothers’ release, said he questions the evidence because the Menendez brothers’ attorneys have yet to hand over the original copy and the letter is undated.
“We cannot say whether it was written before the murders or after the conviction,” he said NBC News. “Are they trying to get another fast player on the field?”
Last month, it was announced that District Attorney George Gascón — who lost his reelection bid on Tuesday — recommended the brothers for resentencing. A hearing on the brother’s criminal case is scheduled for December 10
Juan Mejia, a young deputy prosecutor during the brother’s second murder trial, questions the legitimacy of a new letter used as evidence in May 2023. ‘We cannot say whether it was written before the murders or after the conviction. he said
Erik Menendez wrote a letter to his cousin, Andy Cano, alluding to severe and long-term abuse by his father Jose
Cano, who died in 2003, testified before a jury that Erik told him about his father’s abuse when he was 13. His mother found the letter nine years ago and it was included in a 2023 petition to investigate whether the brothers were wrongfully imprisoned.
Despite Mejia agreeing that the brothers are more than just meeting the strict standards, he doesn’t think there is any “justification for shooting your mother eight times with a shotgun and reloading it.”
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison with parole for the 1989 murder of their parents, whom they shot multiple times in their home.
The brothers’ case has been brought back into the spotlight 35 years after the murders thanks to the popular Netflix docuseries Monsters.
Many of their new fans believe that the boys should have been convicted of manslaughter instead of murder. If they had, they would have already served their sentences and been released.
DA George Gascón – who lost his re-election bid on Tuesday – made the announcement last month he had recommended the brothers for revenge and said he wanted to see the couple’s early release.
Despite Mejia agreeing that the brothers are more than just meeting the strict standards, he doesn’t think there’s any “justification for shooting your mother eight times with a shotgun and reloading it.”
Gascón argues that the brothers do not pose a risk to public safety as they have been “exceptional prisoners” during their incarcerations and have paid their dues.
But on Election Day, Los Angeles County voters dramatically ousted Gascon and replaced him with Republican-turned-independent Nate Hochman, jeopardizing the grudge process.
Hochman, 60, will take office on December 2 and has already said he plans to review Gascón’s decision on the brothers.
In a statement to CNN after his victory, he said, “Before I can make any decision regarding the Menendez brothers’ case, I will need to become thoroughly familiar with the relevant facts, evidence and law.”
The former federal prosecutor added, “I will need to review each brother’s confidential prison records, the transcripts of both trials, and speak with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and the victims’ family members.
A hearing on the brother’s cruel sentence is scheduled for December 11. But Hochman told CNN that if he needs more time to review the request, he will “ask the court for that time.”
Pamela Bozanich, a former deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County, disagrees with Gascón’s call for recidivism and does not believe the boys were abused.
‘They killed their parents. They slaughtered their mother,” she told NBC. “Why should they live among us?”
Mejia is also wary of the brothers’ history of fabrications, including Lyle allegedly trying to get people to lie before trial in his defense, and the fact that they spent a lot of money after death.
But Gascón argues that the brothers do not pose a risk to public safety because they have been “exceptional prisoners” during their incarcerations and have paid their dues.