The Menendez Brother Murder Trial: Justice served or rigged?

On the night of August 20, 1989, the brutal murders of entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty, shocked Beverly Hills and instantly drew international attention. The wealthy couple was shot to death in their mansion, and soon, their sons, Lyle and Erik Menendez, became the prime suspects.

Initially, the public believed the brothers, aged 21 and 18 at the time, killed their parents out of greed. However, journalist Robert Rand, who covered both trials and remains close to the Menendez family, argues the case was far more complex.

"The biggest misconception that people have about the Menendez case is that these were a pair of greedy rich kids that killed this lovely couple ... because they were in a hurry to inherit their parents' money," Rand told KTLA's Mary Beth McDade. "That's not the real story."

In his book , Rand explains that Jose Menendez had already removed his sons from his will. The brothers claimed the killings were an act of self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Erik and Lyle testified about the alleged abuse and told jurors that they feared for their lives, believing their parents were planning to kill them to prevent them from revealing the family's dark secrets.

"I believe Erik and Lyle are incredible survivors of [not] just crazy sexual abuse, but also physical and mental abuse," Rand said.

Family members, including cousin Diane Vandermolen, testified during the first trial about the alleged abuse. Vandermolen said that Lyle once confided in her about inappropriate contact with their father, but when she informed Kitty, she dismissed the claims.

In the first trial in which the brothers were tried separately, the juries for Lyle and Erik were deadlocked.

Hazel Thornton, who served on Erik's jury, said many men didn't believe boys could be molested by their fathers and accused the female jurors of being emotionally biased.

"A lot of people at that time in the 90s knew little about child abuse," Thornton told KTLA in a recent interview. "I believed their story that they had been abused and that they had killed out of fear and had not planned the killings."

Then-Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti decided to retry the case. By then, the paradigm has shifted. Another, even more explosive criminal trial had just concluded.

"The OJ Simpson verdict came back. The L.A. DA's office lost that case. It became a firestorm," said the brothers' attorney Mark Geragos.

Could new developments set the Menendez brother free?

With the shadow of the Simpson verdict hanging over his re-election bid, Geragos believes Garcetti steered the Menendez case toward a conviction.

In the second trial, the brothers were tried together, manslaughter was taken off the table, and much of the abuse evidence was excluded.

"He changed it in a way that was significant, that basically directed an all-or-nothing [verdict], murder or acquittal," Gergagos said.

The Menedez brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

"I think if people knew more about what really happened in the first trial and what happened in the second trial, they would see that it was a miscarriage of justice," said Thornton.

After decades in prison, the Menendez brothers are seeking their freedom.

Geragos has filed a habeas petition highlighting the differences between the two trials and introducing new evidence. This includes a letter Erik wrote to a family member months before the murders, describing abuse by his father. The petition also includes allegations from a former member of the boy band Menudo, who claims Jose Menendez sexually assaulted him while Jose was an executive of RCA Records.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has not yet responded to the petition.