In a fiery takedown that’s ignited a national storm, newly-elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is going full throttle to block the Menendez brothers’ path to freedom—accusing them of spinning a “30-year bunker of lies” about their infamous 1989 double murder.
The brothers, Erik and Lyle Menendez, have been serving life without parole since their shocking shotgun slayings of parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion. But now, thanks to a controversial resentencing push made by former DA George Gascon just days before voters booted him out of office, the killer siblings could soon walk free.
Hochman isn’t having it.
“Though this pathway to resentencing has been offered,” Hochman said in a blistering statement, “they have chosen to stubbornly remain hunkered down in their over 30-year-old bunker of lies, deceit, and denials.”
The DA’s hardline stance came just ahead of a high-stakes court hearing Friday, where a judge will decide whether to toss Gascon’s last-minute motion to reduce the brothers’ sentences to life with parole—a change that could soon land them before the California parole board.
The Trump-endorsed Hochman—who took office pledging to restore law and order after years of what many called a “woke, soft-on-crime” experiment in L.A.—is demanding accountability.
“This is not about politics,” Hochman declared. “This is about the facts. It’s about two men who staged a Mafia-style hit on their parents, then built a defense out of fantasy and manipulation.”
He’s backed by a trove of evidence. His team reviewed tens of thousands of trial documents, prison records, and hours of footage. Their conclusion? The Menendez brothers have never taken full responsibility for their crimes—and have continued to lie, even enlisting friends to peddle claims of sexual abuse and family poisoning.
“The brutal reality is this,” Hochman wrote: “Jose Menendez was shot in the back of the head while watching TV. Kitty was blasted in the face and knees to make it look like mob revenge. This wasn’t panic. It was cold-blooded execution.”
Critics, including legal pundits and victim advocates, are applauding Hochman for refusing to let politics taint justice.
“This isn’t just about the Menendez case,” said L.A.-based attorney Brian Claypool. “It’s about whether we reward killers for crafting clever PR campaigns behind bars. Hochman knows he’s up against a wave of media manipulation—and he’s standing firm.”
That wave has grown louder in recent years. Netflix and social media have fueled a Gen Z-led revival of the Menendez case, with some painting the brothers as misunderstood victims rather than cold-blooded killers. Even California Governor Gavin Newsom has joined the fray, quietly ordering a state parole board risk assessment on the brothers last month—seen by many as a signal that he’s mulling clemency.
But Hochman isn’t backing down.
He says Gascon’s move to help the brothers was politically timed—filed just 12 days before Election Day in 2024 to curry favor with progressive activists. “That was politics. What we’re doing now is law,” Hochman said.
Though the Menendez brothers claim they feared for their lives and acted in self-defense, jurors in their second trial didn’t buy it. Their first trial ended in a mistrial, but after prosecutors successfully blocked some abuse testimony in round two, the brothers were convicted—not of survival, but greed.
Today, their defense insists they’ve changed. They’ve earned college degrees in prison, mentored inmates, and apologized publicly. But Hochman says rehabilitation means nothing without truth.
“They’ve never come clean,” he emphasized. “No full admission. No accountability. Just more stories.”
The upcoming hearing could determine whether resentencing even moves forward—or whether the brothers must rely solely on Governor Newsom’s clemency process, now tied to a scheduled parole hearing on June 13.
One of their only remaining relatives, cousin Tamara Goodell, continues to support them. “They’ve expressed remorse. They’ve grown. They’ve matured. This is what rehabilitation looks like,” she told reporters. But Hochman isn’t convinced.
“If they truly want a second chance,” he said in a recent ABC interview, “they need to stop the act and finally tell the truth.”
For now, all eyes are on the judge. If the motion is withdrawn, the Menendez brothers’ last hope may lie in the hands of the very governor who once boasted about California being a “nation-state”—and who critics say has no problem cutting deals with killers to score political points.
One thing’s clear: Nathan Hochman isn’t backing down.
“This isn’t about second chances,” he said. “It’s about the first lie—and whether they’ll ever stop telling it.”
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If lying were a crime, tRump would get the death penalty.
This POs th
THE ONLY WAY TO HANDLE THIS FARSE OF LETTING THESE TWO MEN THAT MURDERED THEIR MOTHER AND THIER FATHER OUT OF SPENDING THEIR REST OF THIER LIFES IN PRISON IS THAT THEY CAN BRING THE TWO BACK TO LIVE THEIR LIFES NOW. NO WAY SHOULD THEY EVER BE ABLE TO BE RELEASED. ASK THE PEOPLE THAT ARE RELATED TO THE MOTHER AND FATHER WHAT THEY THINK OF LETTING THE TWO THAT KILLED THESE TWO, WOULD THEY APPROVE OF THAT. THEY SHOULD ROT THE REST OF THIER LIFES BEHIND BARS,