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Lyle and Erik Menendez‘s family members are praying the duo will be able to reunite with their elderly relatives before time runs out, In Touch can exclusively report.
Sources close to Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, tell In Touch that the family members who are in support of the brothers’ release are hoping to speed up the resentencing process.
As In Touch previously reported, Los Angeles District Attorney, George Gascon, announced his office’s decision to recommend Lyle and Erik be resentenced in their criminal case.
The brothers were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers claimed they were the victims of abuse by their father. A judge sentenced them to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
An insider close to Lyle and Erik tells In Touch that they hope the D.A.’s decision will lead to the brothers being released immediately. The source told In Touch that the family desperately hopes Lyle and Erik will be able to see their 92-year-old aunt, Joan Andersen VanderMolen.
The brothers also have a 85-year-old aunt named Terry Baralt, who is battling cancer. “This could be the last chance,” the source said.
The source tells In Touch, “For over 35 years, and as victims themselves, the families of Erik and Lyle have fought for their release. Now decades later, with the health of the older members declining, they pray they have a chance to reunite in the real world one last time.”
The insider added, “When Erik and Lyle were sentenced, so was the family.”
Daily Mail first reported on the family’s hope for a reunion.
Last year, a former child singer Roy Rosselló, from the band Menudo, came forward with allegations that Jose sexually abused him as a child.
Erik spoke out about Roy’s claims. He said, “My dad was one of the guys that was choosing and selecting the new members of the group. I remember specifically taking one of the kids and going off and saying he wanted to talk to him alone and they went off into the house upstairs.”
He continued, “Frankly, to be honest, I feel horrible. It’s sad to know there was another victim of my father,” Erik said. “I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad would come out, but I never wished for it to come out like this — the result of trauma another child has suffered. It makes me very sad.”
Lyle and Erik used Roy’s allegation in a petition which asked for their sentence to be reconsidered. They also included a newly discovered letter that Erik wrote to a relative detailing Jose’s alleged abuse.
At a press conference this month, the D.A. said, “Today, as we move forward with the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez who have spent 35 years behind bars after being convicted in 1996 for the killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, we must acknowledge the deep pain and suffering experienced by the victims’ families. For decades, they have navigated the grief of their unimaginable loss. We also acknowledge Erik and Lyle’s continuous rehabilitative efforts during their incarceration.”
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