Ahead of an upcoming and much delayed resentencing hearing that could see the Menendez brothers out of prison after decades, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is being blamed for an octogenarian relative being in critical condition in hospital after photos of the siblings’ father mutilated dead body were shown in court last week.
Fighting efforts by the DA kicked off in March to stop any change in Erik and Lyle Menendez‘s life without parole status for the brutal 1989 shotgun killing of their parents, members of the Menendez family now want Hochman and his team off the case ASAP.
“We will not let what happened on Friday stand,” family members said in a statement Sunday after 85-year-old Terry Baralt, sister to the brothers’ record executive father José Menendez, was admitted to hospital on the morning of April 13. “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.”
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“This wasn’t just cruel,” the family goes on say. “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,” they continued in a longer statement that can be read in full below. “What happened was the opposite. The display was retraumatizing, completely avoidable, and we believe it was intentional.
“The District Attorney’s Office knew what the law required and deliberately chose to ignore it. We are holding them fully responsible for the profound pain we are suffering right now. The shock and heartbreak we feel cannot be put into words.”
Convicted in a second trial and sentenced in 1996 in their early 20s to spend the rest of the lives behind bars for the admittedly premeditated murders of their father and their mother Kitty Menendez the now middle aged siblings reentered the spotlight in recent years thanks to Ryan Murphy and Netflix’s hit series Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story and several documentaries reexamining their cases.
The brutal photos of José Menendez, who has been accused of repeatedly sexually abusing his sons and others, were suddenly put on display on April 11 during an unsuccessful presentation before LA Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic by Deputy DA Habib Balian. It should be noted, the crime scene photo of the maimed and murdered José Menendez was not new to public view. The same photo shown in court last week was used in the 2024 Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers as well as other films. Still, keeping the April 17 starting proceedings on the court calendar, Judge Jesic rejected moves by Hochman’s office to withdraw a motion to reconsider the brothers’ lifetime incarceration.
“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,” lawyer Bryan Freedman told Deadline Sunday. “This despicable action was a clear violation of Marcy’s law which requires absolute empathy toward victims. The DA flashing of the crime scene photos is directly responsible for Aunt Terry being rushed to the ICU. We are all praying for her recovery, she did not deserve this. Shame on those who knowingly engaged in this egregious conduct.”
As DA Hochman attended a National Crime Victims week event in San Pedro on Sunday, his office responded to the attacks by the Menendez family and attorney Freedman.
“We never intend to cause distress or pain to individuals who attend a court hearing,” the LA DA’s office said today of the accusations by the family and Terry Baralt’s condition. “We understand the nature of the evidence of these heinous double murders was deeply emotional. However, by design, these hearings are intended to be a place where the truth, no matter how painful, is brought to light. That truth starts with the abject brutality and premeditation of the murders themselves.” With Hochman himself giving a press conference Sunday where he reiterated his critique of any resentencing of the brothers, his office added: “To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo.”
The DA’s office did not address the family’s call for them to step aside.
Graphic photos aside and with the Menendez brothers attending virtually, the April 11 court hearing that both Hochman and his office mentioned today already saw the DA at the end of a judicial scolding.
“There’s no new information,” LASC Judge Jesic told the court last Friday, dismissing the current DA’s contention that the still high profile brothers have not fully accepted responsibility for their deeds and that resentencing was initiated by previous DA George Gascón for purely political purposes. “None of this is really new. They’ve stuck with their story. It goes to whether they’ve been rehabilitated.”
At the same time as resentencing hearings are in progress, Gov. Gavin Newsom will ultimately be making the final decision on all this after early last month ordering a risk assessment of the brothers to inform the clemency request on his desk since late 2024. The Menendez brothers are set to appear individually before the parole board on June 13. After getting recommendations from the board, who would have to oversee any potential resentencing and pass that on to Newsom, the governor will announce his judgement.
In the meantime, and ahead of the April 17 and April 18 resentencing hearing, read the full statement released today by the family-led Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition here:
We are devastated to share that Terry Baralt – who is a mother, an aunt to many of us, and José Menendez’s sister – has been hospitalized and is in critical condition following the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office’s cruel and careless conduct in court.
Without notice, prosecutors chose to show a graphic, unredacted image of José’s dead body directly in front of us, his surviving family. No one prepared us. There was no warning, no humanity – just shock and pain inflicted on people who have already endured decades of grief. Terry, who is battling cancer, came to court to support her family. No physical pain has ever kept her from being there for her nephews. But the display put on by the DA’s office pushed her past the brink. By early this morning, she was rushed to the hospital and remains in critical condition.
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.’ What happened was the opposite. The display was retraumatizing, completely avoidable, and we believe it was intentional. The District Attorney’s Office knew what the law required and deliberately chose to ignore it. We are holding them fully responsible for the profound pain we are suffering right now. The shock and heartbreak we feel cannot be put into words.
Mark Geragos objected to their cruelty and clear violation of Marsy’s law to protect us in real time. In response, Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian didn’t apologize. He didn’t show an ounce of concern. Instead, he smirked and said, ‘Are you done, Mr. Geragos?’ The level of disrespect was staggering. But it’s part of a disturbing pattern we’ve come to expect, especially from DA Hochman, who has repeatedly spoken to us with aggression and disdain and we will be holding him accountable.
We have tried to engage in good faith. We asked for a different contact in the DA’s victim services division after learning that Kathy Cady had been appointed as the Director of the division. Our objection stemmed from Kathy Cady having previously represented the only family member who opposed Erik and Lyle’s release, while she actively campaigned and endorsed DA Hochman during the election. Our concerns were viewed as an annoyance. No one was reassigned to us. And time and again, the message from this office has been clear: because we believe in mercy and rehabilitation, our pain doesn’t matter. The District Attorney seems to only care about victims’ rights when they align with his point of view.
Now, let us be crystal clear: our forgiveness for Erik and Lyle does not erase our grief. It does not mean we don’t mourn José and Kitty. It means we believe that people can grow. That trauma begets trauma. That cycles of abuse can and must be broken. It is not contradictory to hold love for those who were harmed and for those who caused harm, it is human. And yet this District Attorney’s Office seems determined to punish us for that humanity.
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. Instead, they have been determined to make this personal, and they have.
Our family is hurting. Terry may not recover from what was done to her – and to all of us – in that courtroom. We deserve better. We firmly believe that if the DA’s office had shown even an announce of consideration for us, as victims, we would not be hoping for one more day with Terry right now.
The post “Cruel” L.A. DA Should Be Removed From Menendez Brothers’ Case, Family Demands; Aunt In ICU After Photos Of Shotgun Killed Father Displayed In Court appeared first on Deadline.
