Mendez Brothers' Lawyer Wants from 'Thrown Off' Case

The resentencing Hearing for Lyle and Erik Mensendez was delayed again thursday as defense and prosecution lawyers Clashed in Court and the Brothers' Lead Attorney Mark Geragos Said the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Should Be “Thrown Off The Houses.”

At the Hearing in Van Nuys, California, Which the Brothers ASSIGNDED by Video From Their Prison in San Diego, Geragos Said he Believed da Nathan Hochman Was “Showboating,” Putting on a “Dog and Pony Show,” and Violating the Law As Continued to Oppose resentencing Heading Intnned. Two-Day Hearing Rooming from the 1989 Shotgun Slayings of Their Parents. The Hearing was two to includes Live Testimony from Several Family Members Highly Supportive of the Brothers' Resencing and Release.

Geragos Said he Simply Couldn'T Trust the prosecutors Working Under Hochman to cross-Examine His Witnesses. “I'm not going to put them Through it,” he told the court, vowing to file to formal motion asking that the Da's Office Be Recused and Replace by the State Actney General. Judge Michael Jesic Set a Hearing on the Expected Recusal Motion for May 9.

Just Seconds Into the Tense Hearing Thursday Morning, Geragos Blasted Hochman for holding a Press Conference Minutes Earlier During Which He Admitted the Da's Office Had Gained Access to the Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) Report compiled by State Officials as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom's Review of a separate Clemency Bid by the Brothers. Geragos Told Judge Jesic That He Believed The Report was Still in a “Strictly Confidential” Phase, Based on “The Most Private Psychological Records Where where [the brothers were] encouraged to spear freely. ” Heid the Report Was Not Admissible in the Resentencing Hearying and that it was improper that Deputy District Attney Habib Balian Almedy Had Downloaded and Read It, Though Neither the Judge Nor The Defense Had Access To It Yet. Heid Said His Office Filed a Motion to Delay the Resencing Hearying Because He Wanted All The Parties to Get Copies.

“If there is a Report Out there that is assessing the risk of Violence, Whatever That Risk May Be … a Report by an Expert … and we are being told you May ask for it, How do we not ask for!n Making the Ultimate Determination of Where's they posse a Risk of Violence If Released?” Balian Asked The Judge. “I Just Don't See How We Close Our Eyes to this Information and Rush Forward to make this Important decision when we know this is out there.” The Judge Agreed.

“I Want To Get Those Reports,” Judge Jesic Said Before Calling a recess to Find Out Out Wheer Gov. Newsom was, in fact, Willing to wive as executive privilege and share the reports ahead of a June 13 Hearing on the Clemency Matter. Jesic Said there was “No Way” He would make a decision on resentencing without reading them If they were available and admissible. When he resumed the bench after lunch, Jesic Said the Governor's Office Had Responded to the Court's Request and Agreed to Share the Reports. He Said the Defense would get copies too. He sets a separate May 9 Hearing to discuss the Admissability of the reports at a Future Resencing Hearing That would be Recheduled After The Defense's Recusal Motion was decided.

Anamaria Baralt, A Cousin to Lyle and Erik Who Acts As the Family's Spokesperson, Said After The Hearying That The Two Dozen Relatives Actively Supporting The Brother's Release Were Disappointed by the Delay But Chose to Step Back and Wait for the Recusal Motion To Run Its Course.

“We were given an option as a family if we wanted to textify TODAY, but the idea of ​​textifying when one side has information that the other side does not, and to be facing cross-execution from a team that has information that we do not, when it's good or bad or neutral, did, did did Not Seem Fair To Us, At All, “Baralt Said. “IT WAS Certainly Not Something I Was Going to Encourage Anyone in My Family to do.”

Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, Did Not Speak During the Hearing. They Sat Next to Each Other in Front of a White Cinderblock Wall Wearing Bright Blue Prison Uniforms. It was the second time they appeared in Jesic's Courtrom by Video in Less Than a Week. They Alo Appered Last Friday When Jesic Ruled The Res’Estening Effort Could Proceed Over The Object of Hochman.

The Residentencing Process was initiatered by hochman's More Liberal Predecessor, George Gascón, Last Octaber. Gascón Said He consider the Brothers' Young Ages at the time of the Killings – Erik was 18 and lyle was 21 – and their exemplary Behavior Behind Bars, and determined they have paid their “Debt” to society and Should Be Eligible for words, immediate.

Erik and Lyle Have Speent The Last 35 Years Behind Bars for Killing Their Parents, José and Kitty Mendez, Inside The Family's Beverly Hills Mansion. After an Initial Television Trial Ended With Two Hung Juries-One for Each Brother-Lyle and Erik Were Convicted of Murder AT A Follow-up Trial and Sentenced to Life Without The Possibility of Words in 1996.

At Trial, The Brothers Said They Suffered Years of Sexual Abuse at the Hands of Their Father and Believed Their Parents Had Plans to Kill Them to keep a Lid on the Family's Dark Secret. Prosecutors Argued the Brothers Acted Out of Greed, Resorting to Murder to get their Multimillion-Dollar Inherances Before Being Cut Out of Their Parents' Will.

When the second trial followed soon after oj Simpson's Acquittal – A Clear Debacle for Local Law Ephrcement – The Chamber Were Kicked Out and prosecutors Foodt Hard to Limit Testimony About the Alleged Sexual Abuse. While The Brothers' Older Cousin, Diane Vandarmolen, Testified at the first Trial that Lyle Confided in Her When he was Only Eight Years Old, And She was 16, That His Father Would Touch His Genitals, Vandarmolen's Testony About That Conversation Was Exclude Second Trial.

The Mendez Brothers Have Been the Subject of Public Fascination for Decades, but their Case Has Become A Cultural Obsession All Over Again Following a Pair of New Documentries and the Release of Ryan Murphy's 2024 Netflix Drama, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Mendez Story. In Their 2023 Peacock Docuseries, Mendez + Meno: Boys BetrayedJournalists Robert Rand and Nary Ynclan Detaled New Allegations from Roy Rosselló, to former member of the Puerto Rican Boy Band Menudo. In the documentary, Rosselló Claimed That José Mendez Had Sexually Abused Him, Too.

At the Hearying Last Friday on hochman's motion to with the resentencing request, Balian Claimed the Brothers Were Still Trying to “Minimize” What they Did. He claimed they've Never Owned Up to Writing “Scripts” for Witnesses to Lie on Their Behalf. “They have not Changed in the way they need to change,” Balian Argued.

The Brothers' Lawyers Dispute This, Saying Erik and Lyle Have Repeatedly Apologized for Their Actions, Shown Remorse, and Become Model Prisoners, Multiple Self-Help and Outreach Program Launching That Have Transformed The Lives of Hundreds of Other InMates. Defense Lawyer Alexandra Kazarian Played on Video Montage of Erik and Lyle Speaking with News Reporters Over the Years from Prison. In One Clip, Erik Said, “What We Did Was Awful … Not A Day Goes by That I Don't Think About What Happened and Wish I Could Take [it] back. ” In Another Clip, Lyle Said he Had “Tremandous Remorse.”

Though no family members Testified Thursday, The Brothers' Two Elderly Aunts – The Sisters of Each of Their Parents – Testified at a Hearing Last Maybor That they want erik and Lyle to be released. (They wered to give conditional testimony based on their ages and issues with their Health.) José's Older Sister, Teresita Baralt, 85, Testified That She Loved Her “Baby Brother” and That Kitty Was Her “Best Friend.” Still, Through Tears, She Said “It's time for [my nephews] as home. ”

“We miss that are gone, terrible, but we miss the Kids Too,” The Elder Baralt Said last November on the Witness Stand. “I would like Some Leniency to Have Them Back. 35 Years, It's a Long Time [to be in prison]. Think they have Been Rehabilitated. They have done a Lot of Good Things. They went to college. They couuld have done a Lot of Bad Things [while incarcerated]. They didn't. “

Asked If She Understood Why the Brothers Were in Prison, She Replied, “Oh, Absolutely. They Killed Their Parents. We Were The Executors of the Summer, So We Were Quite Close.” She Continued, “Have You Ever Made a Mistake And Paid for It for 35 Years? … It's Been a long time.”

Teresita was present at the Hearing Friday When Balsian Flashed a Gruesome Crime Scene Photo Showing José's and Kitty's Dead Bodies Inside the Den Wheer Were killed. Geragos Called the Move “Outrainian,” Consider the Family Had No Warning to Look Away. Over the Weekend, Teresita was rushed to a Hospital in Critical Condition. In a statement, The Family Said the da's “Cruel and Careless” Presentation, Including the photo, “Pushed Her Past the Brink.”

Family Lawyer Bryan Freedman Filed A Motion Asking Judge Jesic To Admonish the da For Allegedly Subjecting the Family to “Intimidation, Harassment, and Abuse” in Violation of a Law Protecting Victims' Rights. At the Hearying Thursday, Freedman Accused prosecutors of showing the photo for “Shock and Awe.” Geragos Said He Later Learned That Teresita Had Never Seen the Photo Before and Was Highly Traumatized by It. He called it the “Ultimate Insult” to the family that aldenady is at least attending hearts with no Victims' Advocate Provided by hochman's office.

Judge Jesic Said Thursday that he to Took Responsibility for the Photo Being Shown Because He Failed To Ask Prosecutors at the outset of the Friday Hearying What Exhibits They Planned to show. “I Should Have Been The One To Ask Those Questions Ahead of Time,” The Judge Said. “We can't get away from the facts of this case. It was in Gruesome Murder.”

AS She Addested Reporters After The Hearing, Anamaria Baralt Gave an update on Her Mother's Health. “I know that lots of you have been rooting for my mother, I know the wanted to let you know more she is out of the hospital, and she is recovery, and she is a very strong woman,” Said anamaria. “She Will Continue This Fight, But I Don't Think You will see Her Again at Any of the Hearyings Moving Forward.”