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Join Telegram ChannelNew Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has a message for fans of Erik and Lyle Menendez: Don't rush to judgment as their Dec. 11 resentencing hearing approaches.
Hochman, 60, told The Daily Beast that he thinks many fans of the Menendez brothers' crime series don't fully understand the case.
The Menendez brothers, now 53 and 56, are serving life sentences without parole at San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility after being convicted of murdering their parents , José and Kitty Menendez, with a shotgun in 1989.
Hochman says the sudden interest in the Menendez brothers is likely due to a Netflix series and documentary about their crimes. To stay focused, the new prosecutor said he didn't look either.
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Nathan Hochman at the Los Angeles District Attorney candidate forum at the Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“I didn’t want to see them,” he said. “What's the point? I'd rather read the book.”
Hochman admitted he only remembers fragments of the case from 30 years ago, but that's why he plans to look closely at the facts. The Menendez case is a “high priority,” Hochman told The Daily Beast.
Hochman added: “Any time a particular case receives this level of attention, it is even more important to get it right. »
Hochman, a Republican, won the seat decisively earlier this month, with 61.46 percent of the vote, while incumbent Democrat George Gascón had 38.54 percent, according to data released by the County Registrar's Office. Los Angeles. He says he won't be swayed by celebrity endorsements, including celebrity Kim Kardashian and actor Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez in the Netflix series.
Before leaving office, Gascón asked a judge to reduce the brothers' charges to involuntary manslaughter, which some said was a move to help his re-election campaign.
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Erik Menendez, left, and his brother Lyle, listen during a preliminary hearing, December 29, 1992, in Los Angeles, after both men pleaded innocent in the August 1989 shooting deaths of their wealthy parents, Jose and Mary Louise Menendez of Beverly. Hills, California. (Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images)
Some superfans were also hoping the brothers could be released as early as Thanksgiving after filing a habeas corpus petition in May of last year with a hearing scheduled for November 26, but their resentencing hearing is set for December 11. Hochman is expected to ask the judge for a continuance.
The Menendez family requested the immediate release of the brothers, asking to avoid parole proceedings. But even if a judge agrees to impose a new sentence, parole could still take a year. On top of that, Governor Gavin Newsom could block their release.
Another possibility is clemency from Newsom. On this matter, he said: “What matters are the facts. What matters is justice and fairness. Not treating them worse because they are celebrities, not treating them worse better.”
The brothers admitted killing their parents but claimed it was self-defense after years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Prosecutors argued that wasn't true, saying the brothers killed for money.
Erik Menendez listens to his lawyer Leslie Abramson speak, while his brother Lyle sits in a Los Angeles courtroom, March 9, 1994. (Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)
Prosecutors at the time pointed to a $700,000 spending spree in the weeks after the murders, including Porsche vehicles and Rolex watches. The jury agreed, sentencing them to life without parole. Although originally in separate prisons, the brothers were reunited in San Diego in 2018.
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Hochman will officially assume the position of Los Angeles County District Attorney on December 2.
He did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.