Decades after Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents inside their Beverly Hills mansion and sentenced to life in prison, the brothers now have a chance at freedom after a judge resentenced them and granted them immediate eligibility for parole. Kristin Thorne is taking a closer look at what the Menendez brothers’ resentencing means as part of In Touch Investigates, a new true crime video series.
Investigative reporter Kristin spoke with Erik and Lyle’s cousin Anamaria Baralt, who has been a vocal supporter of the brothers for years, and she says that she’s “always been rooting for them” to be released.
“Well, I should say for my part, because I grew up with Eric and Lyle and we are very close and we have been since [we were] children. There wasn’t actually a time that I didn’t know them because they’ve always lived close to me, so there was no journey for me as far as it came, as far as forgiveness and that kind of thing,” Anamaria shares. “At the same time, they are so empathetic. I mean, the number of times that the two of them individually have apologized for the effect of their actions that they had on my life is numerous. I mean, there’s so many times they understand what they did, affected all of us, and they’ve apologized.”
She continues, “They’ve said so many times that they wish they had made a different decision on that day. They do, and they know the pain that they caused in the family, and it just rips them apart.”
Lyle and Erik were just 21 and 18 years old when they gunned down their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, by shooting them multiple times at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun in the den at their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989. They said they killed their parents in an act of self-defense after years of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
“The world was not ready to believe boys could be raped or that young men could be victims of sexual violence. Today we know better,” said their aunt Joan VanderMolen. “No jury today would issue such a harsh sentence without taking their trauma into account.”
Prosecutors disagree, however, and say that the men were after their parents’ money.
Anamaria Baralt
A California state judge has ruled that new state laws related to youthful offenders should apply to the brothers since they were under 26 years old at the time of the crime. Their resentencing of 50 years to life on May 13 allows for their potential release right away. However, California governor Gavin Newsom would have to approve the parole for it to take effect.
Anamaria is aware that the final decision lies with the California governor, and she admits that she doesn’t know what the final choice will be.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, and there are so many moving parts to this, right? There are so many different variables in all of the steps, right?” Anamaria explains to In Touch. “What the judge is going to decide, where he goes with the sentencing, what the parole board is going to decide, what they recommend, what the governor is going to decide.”
As for what she wants to do most with her cousins if they’re granted parole, Anamaria sticks to the simple pleasures in life.
“I just want to have dinner at home,” Anamaria says. “We just want to hang out. Just spend time share space together in a way that people take for granted that you take for granted of the people in your life that we don’t get to do.”
