Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to give update on case | Fox News
===============

Menendez brothers: Los Angeles DA Nathan Hochman to give update on case
======================================================================

Brothers' uncle Milton Andersen, outspoken critic of release, died on March 3 at age of 90
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By  

Published March 10, 2025 12:33pm EDT | Updated March 10, 2025 2:26pm EDT

  

#### 

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that new evidence suggesting convicted killers Lyle and Erik Menendez may have been abused doesn't rise to the standard for a new trial.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters Monday that he is seeking to withdraw his predecessor's motion to have a resentencing hearing for the  – two convicted killers, Erik and Lyle – who hope to be freed from life imprisonment without parole.

He said the brothers have failed to come clean about a motive or display meaningful self-reflection that would warrant a resentencing.

"They have failed to come clean about the motive and display meaningful self-reflection that would warrant a resentencing."

They had previously exhausted all appeals and had no hope of freedom, until a new California law made resentencing hearings possible.

Any reduction could make them immediately eligible for parole. Hochman said the brothers have repeatedly lied about the case, their parents, and their interactions with witnesses.





This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)

In a statement following Hochman's remarks, relatives of the brothers who have been pushing for their release accused the DA of holding their family "hostage."

"He appears fixated on their trauma-driven response to the killings in 1989 with blinders on to the fact they were repeatedly abused, feared for their lives, and have atoned for their actions," the family said in a statement. "How many times do we have to hear the same attempts to bury who they are today and rip us back to that painful time?"

The brothers have largely been credited for good behavior behind bars, even after they thought they exhausted all appeals.

In an 88-page filing, Hochman's office said prosecutors were ready to proceed with the scheduled resentencing hearings on March 20 and 21 – but would formally ask the court to withdraw the initial resentencing request under former District Attorney George Gascon.

"The basis for that request is that the prior motion did not examine or consider whether the Menendez brothers have exhibited full insight and taken complete responsibility for their crimes by continuing for the past over 30 years to lie about their claims of self-defense, that is, their fear that their mother and father were going to kill them the night of Aug. 20, 1989, justifying the  of their parents with shotgun blasts through the back of their father’s head, a point-blank blast through their mother’s face, and shots to their kneecaps to stage it as a Mafia killing," Hochman said.

"As a full examination of the record reveals, the Menendez brothers have never come clean and admitted that they lied about their self-defense as well as suborned perjury and attempted to suborn perjury by their friends for the lies, among others, of their father violently raping Lyle’s girlfriend, their mother poisoning the family, and their attempt to get a handgun the day before the murders."

**Read the** 





The Menendez brothers have never come clean and admitted that they lied about their self-defense as well as suborned perjury and attempted to suborn perjury by their friends for the lies, among others, of their father violently raping Lyle’s girlfriend, their mother poisoning the family, and their attempt to get a handgun the day before the murders.

— Nathan Hochman, Los Angeles district attorney

If they don't, he said, they don't deserve reduced sentences.

The brothers' resentencing hearing has been postponed following November's  district attorney election, and was rescheduled to March 20 and 21.

The brothers killed their parents, Mary "Kitty" Menendez and Jose Menendez, with shotguns from behind in their Beverly Hills living room in 1989.

**SIGN UP TO GET** 



An undated photo of the Menendez family as it appears on screen during a panel at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, June 2. The brothers Lyle and Erik were convicted of fatally shooting both of their parents in 1989. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

They claimed self-defense, arguing that they were afraid their father was going to kill them after they threatened to expose him as a child sex abuser.

The brothers are pursuing two other avenues that could set them free – clemency from Gov. Gavin Newsom and a habeas petition seeking new trials, which could result in lesser sentences.

Since then, roughly two dozen relatives have come out in support of their freedom, including Kitty's sister Joan Andersen VanderMolen, 92.

Her brother, Milton Andersen, was the sole family member who spoke out publicly in opposition to their release. He died on March 3 at the age of 90, according to his attorney – just weeks before his nephews were expected to appear in front of a California judge.



Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, speaks as family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the Beverly Hills brothers convicted of killing their parents, hold a press conference at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

"Milton Andersen was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather," attorney RJ Dreiling told Fox News Digital. "He served his country with honor as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. Kitty Menendez wasn’t just his sister—he helped raise her after their father left when they were young. He loved her deeply and missed her every single day."

Andersen had vehemently opposed a sentence reduction for his nephews and previously told Fox News Digital he does not believe their claims of sex abuse against their father.



Erik Menendez (C) and his brother Lyle (L) are pictured on August 12, 1991 in Beverly Hills. (MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)



"It’s Milton Andersen’s continued belief that the claims of molestation were made up, and they were false, and he believes that the  was issued by the jury and the correct sentence was also committed," his previous attorney, Kathleen Cady, told Fox News Digital at the time. She later recused herself from his case in order to take a new role within the DA's office.

VanderMolen and other relatives in the pro-clemency faction met with former  District Attorney George Gascon to push for their freedom, but he never met with Andersen.



Gascon initiated the push for sentence reductions but lost re-election to Nathan Hochman in November. Hochman then met with both sides of the family.



Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, speaks as family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the Beverly Hills brothers convicted of killing their parents, hold a press conference at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)





**Related Topics**
------------------

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

### True Crime

The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.

Arrives Weekly

By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News  and , and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.

Subscribe

Subscribed

[](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/personal-freedoms/proud-american)

[](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/personal-freedoms/proud-american)

[](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/personal-freedoms/proud-american)

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

#### 

*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

#### 

*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

#### 

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   



*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   
*   

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by . Powered and implemented by . . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by .
```