The Menendez brothers, who were sentenced to life for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, are now eligible to be released from prison for the first time after being resentenced.
Lyle Menendez, 56, and his 53-year-old brother Erik have spent 35 years behind bars for the shotgun murders of their father and mother, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
The brothers have claimed that their parents abused them and have argued that the killings were an act of self-defence.
A Netflix drama series about the brothers called Monsters, which aired in September, thrust them back into the spotlight and led to renewed calls for their release, including from their family.
Now, a long-delayed resentencing hearing has offered them a path to freedom for the first time since their incarceration.
But how is it possible, and what happens next?
What does the resentencing mean?
Before leaving his role in December, former LA district attorney (DA) George Gascon asked LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic to review the brothers’ convictions.
During the resentencing on 13 May, he gave them a revised sentence of 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for youth parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime while under the age of 26.
The judgment was based on whether the pair had been rehabilitated based on their behaviour in prison.
Image: Joseph Lyle Menéndez and Erik Galen Menéndez. Pics: Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
The brothers’ case highlighted some of their achievements behind bars: attaining several degrees and contributing to the community.
It listed a prison “beautification programme” Lyle Menendez started called GreenSpace as one example, and added that both brothers had received low-risk assessment scores, with Lyle apparently not being involved in a single fight during his time in jail.
The brothers’ attorneys pushed for the judge to resentence the brothers to manslaughter, which would have allowed them to be immediately released, but he gave them a revised murder sentence instead.
Handing them the new sentence, Judge Jesic said: “I’m not saying they should be released, it’s not for me to decide.
“I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”
The resentencing hearing had faced lengthy delays due to the judge needing to review a large number of files, as well as the LA wildfires in January.
There was also a turnover in the DA’s office, with liberal leaning Gascon replaced by the more conservative Nathan Hochman, who repeatedly attempted to have the resentencing hearing thrown out.
Emotional testimony in court from brothers and family members
The brothers appeared at the proceedings in Los Angeles County Superior Court via video feed from prison in San Diego.
“I killed my mum and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification,” Lyle said in a statement to the court. “The impact of my violent actions on my family… is unfathomable.”
Erik also spoke about taking responsibility for his actions and apologising to his family.
He said: “You did not deserve what I did to you, but you inspire me to do better.”
The brothers chuckled when one of their cousins, Diane Hernandez, told the court that Erik received A+ grades in all of his classes during his most recent semester in college.
Anamaria Baralt, another cousin of the brothers, told the court they had repeatedly expressed remorse for their actions.
“We all, on both sides of the family, believe that 35 years is enough. They are universally forgiven by our family,” she said.
Image: Attorney Mark Geragos hugs Anamaria Baralt, cousin of Erik and Lyle Menendez, after the brothers’ resentencing hearing. Pic: AP
The defence also called a former judge and a former fellow inmate to the witness stand to testify that the brothers were not only rehabilitated, but also helped others. Prosecutors cross-examined the witnesses but didn’t call any of their own.
Former judge Jonathan Colby, who said he considered himself tough on crime, told the court that spending time with the brothers and witnessing their growth made him believe in rehabilitation.
Anerae Brown, who previously served time in prison alongside the brothers, cried as he testified about how they helped him heal and eventually be released through parole.
“I have children now,” he said. “Without Lyle and Erik I might still be sitting in there doing stupid things.”
The judge said he was particularly moved by a letter from a prison official who supported resentencing, something the official had never done for any incarcerated person in his 25-year career.
Los Angeles County prosecutors argued against the resentencing, saying the brothers have not taken complete responsibility for the crime.
The current DA Mr Hochman said he believed the brothers were not ready for resentencing because “they have not come clean” about their crimes.
Image: Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. Pic: AP
His office has also said it does not believe they were sexually abused.
“Our position is not ‘no’. It’s not ‘never’. It’s ‘not yet’,” Mr Hochman said. “They have not fully accepted responsibility for all their criminal conduct.”
What happens now?
The reduced sentencing has made the brothers immediately eligible for parole, but they must still appear before a state parole board, which will decide whether or not to release them from prison.
While this decision is made, the brothers will remain behind bars.
Their first hearing must take place no later than six months from their eligibility date, according to board policy.
Image: Erik Menendez, left, and his brother, Lyle, sit in the courtroom in 1992. Pic: AP
If they are denied at their first parole hearing, the brothers will continue to receive subsequent hearings until they are granted release.
But the brothers have another potential avenue to freedom, having appealed to California governor Gavin Newsom for clemency before they were resentenced.
Mr Newsom has the power to free them himself through clemency, and in February, he ordered the state parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public.
They already have a hearing before the board scheduled for 13 June, but that one was set as part of the clemency petition.
It’s not yet clear if that hearing will serve as their formal parole hearing or if a separate one will be scheduled.
Mr Newsom can override any decision the board makes.
Image: California governor Gavin Newsom. Pic: AP
Anne Bremner, a trial lawyer in Seattle, said the brothers will be preparing for the parole board and aiming to impress upon them that they should be let out, but suggested the board members will already have a clear view.
“My guess is the parole board has been watching this and of course they’ve done these risk assessments already,” she said, adding they will know “who these two are, what their alleged crimes were and what they’ve done since the time that they were incarcerated until today.”
Potential new evidence
The brothers’ lawyers have also submitted a letter Erik wrote to his cousin as new evidence, saying it was not seen by the jury when the brothers were sentenced in 1996 and could have influenced their decision.
The letter is dated months before the murders, which they say alludes to him being abused by his father, Jose Menendez.
In the handwritten letter, Erik wrote: “I’ve been trying to avoid dad… every night, I stay up thinking he might come in.”
He also said he was “afraid” and that he needed to “put it out of my mind” and “stop thinking about it”.
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More new evidence submitted comes from Roy Rossello, a former member of the band Menudo, who alleges he was sexually assaulted by Jose Menendez as a teenager in the 1980s.
He has provided a signed declaration of his alleged rape by Jose Menendez to the brothers’ lawyers, which the lawyers say is further proof of his supposed abusive nature.
LA prosecutors filed a motion opposing the petition, but its status is unclear, and appears to have been halted while the brothers have pursued their resentencing and clemency.
What happened in the original Menendez trials?
Image: Lyle and Erik Menendez before entering their pleas in 1990
On 20 August 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, multiple times at close range.
The brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time, initially told police they found them dead when they got home, but were eventually tried for their murder.
During the original trial, prosecutors accused the brothers of killing their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance, although their defence team argued they acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father.
An initial attempt to try each brother individually in front of separate juries ended in a mistrial after both juries failed to reach a verdict.
In their second trial, which saw the brothers tried together, the defence claimed the brothers committed the murders in self-defence after many years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their father, with no protection from their mother.
Image: Lyle Menendez confers with brother Erik during trial in 1991. Pic: AP
They said they had feared for their lives after threatening to expose their father.
The prosecution argued the murders were motivated by greed, and they killed their parents to avoid disinheritance.
Evidence of alleged abuse from their defence case was largely excluded from the joint trial by the judge.
In 1996, seven years after the killings, a jury found the brothers guilty, and they were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder.
They were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
But the brothers and many of their family members have continued to fight for their freedom ever since.
Although their focus of late has shifted towards the brothers’ rehabilitation in prison, their main argument in recent years has been that more evidence of Jose Menendez’s alleged abuse has come out since the last trial, and that a modern jury would have a better understanding of the impact of abuse than one 30 years ago.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Image: Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
Image: An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Image: Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
Image: The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Image: Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
US President Donald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former vice president and 2024 Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
A senior adviser to Harris, Kirsten Allen, confirmed the decision. “The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” said the adviser.
Typically, vice presidents receive a six-month security detail from the Secret Service after they leave office, although it had been extended to 18 months for Harris, according to officials.
Initially, then-president Joe Biden extended her security arrangements to one year, or January 2026, according to reports.
However, a Secret Service official told Sky News’ US partner, NBC, that Biden subsequently signed an executive memorandum in January increasing the then vice-president’s protection period even further, to 18 months.
Former US presidents receive Secret Service protection for life.
Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Mr Trump, is due to start a book tour for her memoir, “107 Days”, shortly.
She was the Democratic nominee for 107 days after Biden exited the race in the weeks following a challenging debate against Trump.
Mr Trump has also ended federal security protection for others, including former national security adviser John Bolton. Last week, FBI agents raided Bolton’s Maryland home.
In March, the president ended protection for Joe Biden’s children – Hunter and Ashley Biden.
Harris has not ruled out a possible presidential run in 2028. She announced in July that she would not run for governor of California in 2026.
Eighteen other people were injured, including children aged between six and 15 and three adults in their 80s.
Police said Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman, opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the school’s church as children sat in pews.
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New details released of US school shooting
‘Our hearts are broken’
Harper’s parents, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, remembered her as “a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her”.
“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss. As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” their statement said.
They urged leaders and communities to “take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
“Change is possible, and it is necessary – so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies,” the statement added.
Image: The family of Fletcher Merkel said there was a ‘hole in our hearts’. Pic: Family handout/AP
‘Fletcher loved his family’
In a statement reported by Sky’s US partner network NBC News, Fletcher’s father Jesse Merkel blamed the “coward” killer for why the boy’s family can’t “hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming”.
He said: “Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports that he was allowed to play.
“While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”
Mr Merkel also praised “the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church”.
“Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more. For these people, I am thankful,” he added.
Image: Families and loved ones reunite at the scene after the shooting. Pic: Reuters
Mayor calls for assault weapon ban
It comes after Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey called for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons, a day after the deadly school shooting.
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Minneapolis mayor urges assault weapons ban
“Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it. It’s on all of us to see this through,” the mayor said at a news conference. “We need a statewide and a federal ban on assault weapons.
“We need a statewide and a federal ban on high-capacity magazines. There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload.
“We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle gear. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people.”
“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children,” he added, before saying the killer “fantasised” about the plans of other mass shooting attackers and wanted to “obtain notoriety”.
Thomas Klemond, interim CEO of Minneapolis’s main trauma hospital Hennepin Healthcare, said at an earlier news conference that the hospital was treating nine patients injured in the shooting.
One child at the hospital was in a critical condition, he added.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital also said that three children remain in its care as of Thursday morning.