The Menendez family has accused the District Attorney’s Office of causing undue distress to their aunt, Terry Baralt, by presenting crime scene images in court without prior notice.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is under scrutiny as a Menendez family member has been hospitalized in severe condition.
This incident arises as Erik and Lyle Menendez approach a resentencing hearing that could potentially lead to their release.
Erik and Lyle Menendez, aged 54 and 57 respectively, have been incarcerated for more than three decades following their conviction for the 1989 murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in their Beverly Hills residence.
The brothers were initially sentenced for first-degree murder in a second trial after the first trial resulted in a hung jury, during which they described alleged sexual abuse by their father.
In the subsequent trial, the prosecution argued that the brothers murdered their parents to gain from their wealth, a narrative that convinced the jury, culminating in life sentences for the Menendez brothers in 1996.
Currently, the brothers’ defense team is urging for the removal of the District Attorney’s office from the case due to what they describe as a ‘cruel action’.
According to the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, an organization led by the family to advocate for the brothers’ release, 85-year-old Baralt, Jose Menendez’s sister, was hospitalized after unexpectedly seeing crime scene photos of her brother in court on Friday (April 11).
The family, in a statement, emphasized their determination: “We will not let what happened on Friday stand.
“We are taking formal action and demanding that the District Attorney’s Office be removed from this case. They have shown again and again that they are incapable of handling this process with the fairness, care, or neutrality required by law.
“This wasn’t just cruel. It was a clear violation of our rights under Marsy’s Law, which guarantees victims the right ‘to be treated with fairness and respect for their privacy and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse throughout the criminal justice process.”
Lawyer Bryan Freedman expressed to Deadline over the weekend his dismay: “As counsel for the victim’s family members. I was appalled that without so much as a warning to allow them the option to avoid further distress, the DA callously decided to re-traumatize the family by needlessly showing insensitive photos on screen in their court presentation.”
The family accused the attorney’s office of willfully bypassing legal protocols to present the crime scene images.
The photograph in question had been previously shown to the public in the 2024 Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers.