murder

Erik and Lyle Menendez, the infamous brothers convicted of brutally murdering their parents more than three decades ago, have had their sentences reduced today in Los Angeles

Two brothers who murdered their parents more than three decades ago have their sentences cut.

Erik and Lyle Menendez had been caged for life without parole but this punishment has been slashed to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law. The law applies to those who committed crimes under the age of 26 — Erik was 18 and Lyle 21 when they killed Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989.

And Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic told the packed courtroom in Los Angeles: “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 brothers, who appeared via livestream, remained largely stoic — though Erik cracked a smile when a cousin praised his recent A+ grades in college courses behind bars.

Appeared via livestream video, they spoke for the first time in court before the ruling. Lyle said in a statement to the court: “I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification. The impact of my violent actions on my family … is unfathomable.”

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The ruling means the decision now lies with California’s parole board, who will determine whether the pair still pose a risk to the public.

The sensational case remains one of America’s most talked-about family tragedies, reignited recently by hit Netflix dramas and a wave of public support.

Attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez must prove the pair have been rehabilitated during their time in prison and deserve a lesser sentence of 50 years to life.

Such a ruling that would make them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law, since both were under 26 when they killed their parents.

READ MORE: ‘I was jailed for 38 years for murder I didn’t commit – but I’m not angry or bitter’

Their high-profile defence lawyer Mark Geragos told reporters outside court that he wants the charges dropped to manslaughter, and for the brothers to be given time served.

This move would effectively grant them immediate release. At least seven family members are expected to testify in support during the hearings, highlighting the level of backing the brothers continue to receive.

While Los Angeles County prosecutors are opposing the resentencing, arguing the pair haven’t fully accepted responsibility, Geragos fired back:

“The purpose of resentencing is to encourage rehabilitation — that is the law, not relitigate the facts of the crime as the D.A. wants to do.”

Former District Attorney George Gascón has already paved the way, citing new understandings of trauma and the brothers’ lengthy rehabilitation behind bars, including their educational achievements and support work with fellow inmates.

The resentencing hearing for brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez kicked off Tuesday morning with emotional testimony from family members, one of whom testified in court that they should be freed from prison for the shotgun killing of their parents more than 30 years ago.

Annmaria Baralt, often wiping away her tears, testified that the relatives of victims Jose and Kitty Menendez want a judge to give the brothers a lesser sentence than life without parole for the 1989 murders inside their Beverly Hills mansion.

“Yes, we all on both sides of the family say 35 years is enough,” she told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic in a Van Nuys courtroom. “They are universally forgiven by both sides of their families.”

Baralt, whose mother was Jose Menendez’s older sister, said the family had endured decades of pain from the scrutiny of the murders.

“From the day it happened… it has been a relentless examination of our family in the public eye,” she said, beginning to cry. “It has been torture for decades.” She said the family was the butt of repeated jokes on “Saturday Night Live” and lived like outcasts who wore a “scarlet M.”

The Menendez brothers have been in prison for more than 35 years after being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the gruesome 1989 murders. The brothers bought shotguns with cash and opened fire as their mother and father watched a movie. Jose Menendez was shot five times, including in the kneecaps and the back of the head. Kitty Menendez crawled on the floor, wounded, before one of the brothers reloaded and fired a fatal blast, jurors heard at their two trials.

On the stand Tuesday, Baralt echoed the brothers’ justification for killing their parents — saying it was out of fear their father was going to kill them to cover up his past sexual abuse of the boys.

She told the judge that she believes they have changed and are “very aware of the consequences of their actions.”

“I don’t think they are the same people they were 30 years ago,” she said.

If Jesic agrees to resentence them, the brothers would become eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law, since the murders happened when they were under 26. If the judge sides with Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, they would still have a path to freedom through Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is weighing a clemency petition. Regardless, Erik and Lyle would still have to appear before the state parole board before they could walk free. Jesic on Tuesday emphasized that the bar to keep them from being resentenced is high, and that they would have to still pose a serious danger to the public.

Prosecutor Habib Balian spent the morning trying to punch holes in the brothers’ relatively clean reputations they’ve gotten behind bars.

Under cross-examination, Baralt admitted that she never thought her cousins were capable of killing their parents until they’d done it, and that prior to their criminal trial decades ago, Lyle Menendez had asked a witness to lie for him on the stand.

Nearly two dozen of the brothers’ relatives, including several who testified Tuesday, formed the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition to advocate for their release as interest in the case reignited in recent years. The release of a popular Netflix documentary on the murder, which included the unearthing of additional documentation of Jose Menendez’s alleged sexual abuse, helped fuel a motion for a new trial.

The family has become increasingly public in its fight for Erik and Lyle’s release after Hochman opposed his predecessor’s recommendation to re-sentence them. They have repeatedly accused Hochman of bias against the brothers, called for him to be disqualified from the case and alleged he intimidated and bullied them during a private meeting. Hochman has denied all accusations of bias and wrongdoing, and says he simply disagrees with their position.

Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton, was the only member of the family opposed to Erik and Lyle’s release, but he died earlier this year. Kathy Cady, who served as his victims’ rights attorney, is now the head of Hochman’s Bureau of Victims’ Services, another point of aggravation for the relatives fighting for the brothers release.

A new documentary on C5 – The Real Adolescence – looks at the rise in murder convictions for 12-17 year olds in the UK. We spoke to the mother of one young knife victim wanting to save lives

Nearly two years on from losing her son Mikey Roynon, mum Hayley Ryall is still in shock. Her beloved boy was just 16 when he went to a birthday party at a house in Bath, Somerset and didn’t come home.

For on June 10, 2023, the much-loved teenager was stabbed with a zombie-style knife and died from a single wound to his neck. Upwards of 70 kids had travelled to the party and Shane Cunningham, 16, was later detained for life for Mikey’s murder with his two friends, Leo Knight and Cartel Bushnell, also 16, jailed for manslaughter.

Mikey didn’t know the trio, who were pictured in court travelling from Wiltshire to Bath with what appeared to be sharp objects visible underneath their clothing. “I miss everything about him,” said Hayley. “I miss doing his washing, I even miss telling him off for being late.

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“I miss the mess, I miss cooking for him, I miss that terribly. I miss the noise in the house. I miss Christmas because we don’t have that anymore, I miss birthdays, I miss everything.”

Hayley was working in Birmingham at the time of her son’s death and remembers looking at her phone to see 37 missed calls before one of Mikey’s friends got through to her – and her world changed forever. “Every day I wake up in the morning and I still feel in shock,” she said.

“People say time heals but it doesn’t get easier. I have a big wall up where I feel like if I talk about Mikey and go into his bedroom, I can feel him around me and he’s still here.”

Hayley described her son as “completely fearless” and “a lot of fun”. “He liked playing lots of jokes on me,” she smiled. “He was always excited, he was happy. He told me he loved me about 30 times a day. That was the last thing he said to me: ‘Love you Mum’.”

A district manager for Slimming World, the bereaved mother is appearing in tonight’s C5 documentary The Real Adolescence: Our Killer Kids, which explores the rise in murder convictions for 12-17 year olds in the UK, focusing on the experiences of families affected by these crimes. The hit Netflix four-part series that inspired the show’s name, Adolescence, recently attracted more than 24 million viewers.

“I thought it was very very good, i just felt like there could have been more towards the victim’s family,” said Hayley of the drama, which stars Stephen Graham as the father of a teenager accused of murder. “It was all about the boy that did it and his family but it didn’t show the devastation that causes to the community around that.”

The real life statistics are harrowing, with the number of children convicted of murder between 2016 and 2024 rising by more than 300 per cent. Information published by the Office for National Statistics earlier this year found teenage homicide victims in England and Wales were far more likely to have been stabbed to death than any other group – 83 per cent were killed with a sharp instrument.

Zombie-style knives and machetes, including the one that was used to kill Mikey, are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches in length, normally with a serrated cutting edge. Last year, they were banned in England and Wales.

Mum Hayley had thought knife crime was “something that happened in London, in big major cities, not where we live” before it affected her own family in devastating fashion. “I didn’t think you could go to a 16th birthday and have this happen,” she said. “The reason I’m speaking in the documentary is because I wish I’d known more two years ago – if speaking out saves one person’s life it’s worth it.

“If it gets the message out to stop one young person carrying a knife, it’s worth it. We need to stop the epidemic of knife crime.”

“We have to change how the next generation – it can’t keep getting worse,” Hayley added. “It is important because kids are killing kids.”

The TV show Adolescence explores how technology, particularly social media, influences the lives of young people. It explores toxic masculinity and online abuse and takes a wider look at the intense pressures faced by boys in Britain today.

“These kids have to deal with at such a young age with technology – it’s not the real world,” said Hayley. “We need to be checking in and asking ‘are you ok?’.”

In May last year, Mikey’s murderer Cunningham was ordered to serve a life sentence, with a minimum of 16 years behind bars, at Bristol Crown Court. His friend Bushnell was detained for nine years and Knight for nine years and six months.

“The court case was horrific to go through, to have to sit with those boys in a room,” said Hayley. “We were not even allowed to look at them. Getting justice for Mikey, it made a tiny difference but it won’t change the fact that it ruined our lives.”

Hayley and her partner Scott, a 48-year-old insurance manager, now run the charity Mikey’s World, which has teamed up with their local police force and ambulance service to install specialist ‘bleed’ kits around Mikey’s hometown. The charity is also partnering with a technology company to offer virtual reality headsets which allow people to step into the shoes of young victims of gang-related crime.

Produced by ITN Productions, The Real Adolescence: Our Killer Kids is available to view or stream tonight on 5, from 10pm

Her hair is red, voluminous and wild. She walks with a swagger. Her voice is raspy, and not in a sexy kind of Lauren Bacall way, but more like Peter Falk.

Long before finding her groove with unconventional roles in “Orange Is the New Black,” “Russian Doll” and now, “Poker Face,” there weren’t many options for a free spirit like Natasha Lyonne, especially when she aged from a pliable child actor into a self-aware adult.

“It’s weird that all of a sudden, one day, everybody looks at you differently and you’re aware of it,” says Lyonne, 46. “I remember the ‘Lolita’ audition, and it was like, ‘Will you slowly eat this apple?’ And I was like, ‘I know what you’re asking of me. I can eat it for you comedically.’ But no, I will not simulate sex with an apple on camera. I mean, I’d studied the history of film. These were not revelations.”

The real surprise? Lyonne forged a career by finding and later creating projects that capitalized on her undeniably intrepid personality, wrapping the roles around her eccentricities rather than conforming to what was expected of a female performer in Hollywood. Lyonne’s latest act of defiance is Season 2 of the Peacock series “Poker Face,” a murder-of-the-week mystery created by Rian Johnson (“Knives Out,” “Glass Onion”) that she stars in and executive produces. This season, in addition to writing, she’s also directing two episodes.

Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale in Season 2 of Peacock’s “Poker Face.”

(Sarah Shatz / Peacock)

The series, which returns Thursday with three episodes followed by one each ensuing week, continues to follow Charlie Cale (Lyonne), a scrappy Vegas casino employee who is blessed and cursed with the ability to accurately discern when someone is lying. Following the murder of her best friend, she’s forced to outrun the mob in her 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, traversing the byways of America while solving murders along the way.

The hourlong series takes its cues from personality-driven, ‘70s-era detective dramas including “The Rockford Files” and “McCloud.” But it’s “Columbo,” starring the wonderfully rumpled Falk, that’s most heavily influenced “Poker Face.”

Lyonne recalls the 1971 pilot episode of the vintage TV series, which was directed by a 24-year-old newcomer named Steven Spielberg. “I ripped from it directorially,” Lyonne says. “I like the one long, slow [Robert] Altman-like zoom shot through the office window down to the car. And I hear Spielberg went on to do great things. It’s like, ‘You like that long shot? You’re never gonna believe what this guy does next! Holy smokes. Are you in for a ride!’”

But Charlie Cale is not Columbo. She carries a vape pen instead of a cigar and prefers cut-off shorts to a trench coat. She does, however, share the uncanny knack for arriving just as a murder’s taking place, be it on an alligator farm in Florida or a sprawling East Coast mansion. She’s confronted with a new cast of characters at every stop, and the roster of talent who inhabit those roles is impressive. The lineup includes Cynthia Erivo, Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Justin Theroux, Alia Shawkat, John Mulaney, Kumail Nanjiani, Lili Taylor, Margo Martindale, Melanie Lynskey and Rhea Perlman.

Katie Holmes, left, guest stars this season. Also guest starring is Giancarlo Esposito. (Sarah Shatz / Peacock)

“Charlie is a great lover of people,” Lyonne says. “[My former character] Nadia in ‘Russian Doll,’ which I co-created with Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland, it’s almost like she was on her own case. But Charlie’s already been on the journey where we lose interest in ourselves and gain interest in our fellows. The mob is after her. She can’t have a phone. She can’t have roots. She can’t really fall in love. It’s lonely.”

Lyonne’s own journey into the world of acting turned her into a seasoned veteran before she was even old enough to vote. The New York native worked in commercials before kindergarten, and as a grade-school student landed the TV role of Opal in “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” She also appeared in films such as “Heartburn,” “A Man Called Sarge” and “Dennis the Menace.” By her late teens, she landed her breakthrough role as the daughter of a broke single dad (played by Alan Arkin) in the 1998 indie comedy “Slums of Beverly Hills.”

“I’ve been doing this since I was 4 years old, dear reader,” jokes Lyonne, whose acting career now spans four decades. “As a child character actor, there is this kind of inner knowingness. We were completely alert, little businesspeople. If you start at 4, by 6, you kind of get the idea [of what’s going on], like ‘Don’t mumble. The Minute Maid people don’t like that in their commercial.’ By 8, you know where the bodies are buried. You know how to read a room, to perform on command. I can still smell the Pine-Sol from that Pine-Sol commercial in 1986.”

Even as a child, Lyonne didn’t quite fit the mold of precocious yet accessible girl next door: “I was trying to carve out this weird lane while discovering the heartbreak of not getting the role in ‘Curly Sue.’ I was like, I’m perfect for this thing. What’s wrong? Oh, I see. You’ve got to be Shirley Temple or you can’t really hang out.”

Lyonne pivoted to another passion: film and television history. She is a walking encyclopedia of great performances and buried, esoteric moments in both media. For a short time, she studied film and philosophy at NYU. “I was already thinking that I’ve got to transition this into filmmaking from the inside out, rather than just being an actor for hire. It took 20 years for that to materialize into a reality,” she says.

“I was already thinking that I’ve got to transition this into filmmaking from the inside out, rather than just being an actor for hire. It took 20 years for that to materialize into a reality,” Natasha Lyonne says. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

She disappeared from the public eye for over a decade as she battled drug addiction. Her comeback included a recurring role as Nicky Nichols in “Orange Is the New Black,” Netflix’s breakout streaming hit. Lyonne has said she had plenty to draw on for the character, who was a recovering drug addict. Nicky became a fan favorite.

By 2019, Lyonne co-created her own Netflix series, the existential dark comedy “Russian Doll,” where she played Nadia, a New York City-based video game developer who gets caught in a time loop at her 36th birthday party. She’s on a quest to solve the mystery of why she dies, repeatedly.

“There were techniques [I had to learn], like actual filmmaking, actual writing, actual producing,” Lyonne says. “The parts weren’t there, and the parts are still not there. It’s like nobody’s writing them.”

But she credits collaborators like Johnson for creating parts for actors such as herself.

“Rian really is some kind of genius because he took this self-referential gig that I was doing [and turned it] into a kind of character piece. I’m self-made, I suppose,” she says. “This is the way the hair grows out of my head. I’ll commit to it. So he took that and made it into something.”

“Poker Face” is a colorful, entertaining ride through a retro murder-mystery genre, present-day pockets of quirky American culture and Lyonne’s own personal journey as seen through Charlie.

“The show is about losing this nihilistic, self-destructive streak and finding connection with another human,” Lyonne says. “You try to build a life and not kill yourself over and over again. It’s like a marathon man or a long-distance runner. But she’s been through that dark and stormy night of the soul, and come out on the other side with the sun at her back.”