Judge rules Menendez brothers’ bid for freedom through resentencing can continue

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik and Lyle Menendez’s resentencing hearings can continue despite opposition from the Los Angeles County district attorney, a judge ruled Friday.

Former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón asked a judge last year to change the brothers’ sentence from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. That would made them immediately eligible for parole because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.

But Gascón’s successor reversed course. Nathan Hochman submitted a motion last month to withdraw the resentencing request.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge was set to decide Friday whether to proceed with resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents, in light of Los Angeles' new district attorney opposing their release after 30 years behind bars.

The brothers appeared in court over Zoom but hadn't made any public statements through the first two hours of Friday's proceeding.

They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ages 18 and 21 after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

While the defense argued they acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

Los Angeles County's previous progressive district attorney, George Gascón, sought resentencing for the brothers before he lost reelection to tough-on-crime candidate Nathan Hochman in November. Gascón had asked a judge to change the brothers' sentence to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for release under California law because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.

But last month, Hochman submitted a motion to withdraw that request, saying he did not support the brothers' resentencing because they did not “fully recognize, acknowledge, and accept complete responsibility” for their crime.

The hearing Friday was to decide whether to allow prosecutors to withdraw their resentencing motion. If that request is granted, the judge also will decide whether to proceed independently with the brothers' resentencing hearings, which are tentatively scheduled for April 17 and 18.

Deputy district attorney Habib Balian said Friday that the key issue with Gascón’s resentencing petition was that it did not fully address rehabilitation and missed key elements of the original crime committed.

“What does it mean? To learn from your mistakes and truly understand that you were wrong,” Balian said.

Balian presented evidence and video clips of the brothers' testimony from the first trial to demonstrate instances where they “hunkered down in their bunker of deceit, lies, and deception.”

He said the brothers killed their parents out of greed when they learned they would be taken out of the will, citing psychiatrist's notes that he said showed “this was not self-defense.”

The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called the presentation a “dog and pony show” and said it was “nothing more than political cover” as a result of Hochman defeating Gascón in the district attorney’s race.

“They have authorized the denial of sexual abuse,” Geragos said of the prosecution’s presentation.

Geragos argued the judge had full authority to proceed with resentencing under a California law passed in 2023 that allows a court to recall a sentence and initiate resentencing at any point in time.

Geragos also objected to Balian including a photo of the deceased and bloody Menendez parents in his presentation, which he said “retraumatized” family members and victims. The brothers' cousin Anamaria Baralt and aunt Terry Baralt were among the family members who were in the courtroom.

The family's relationship with Hochman has soured. Most of the brothers' extended family supports their resentencing.

Tamara Goodall, a cousin of the brothers, submitted a complaint with the state asking that Hochman be removed from the case, citing his bias against the brothers and alleging he violated a law meant to protect victims' rights.

Hochman had a “hostile, dismissive and patronizing tone” in meetings with the family and created an “intimidating and bullying atmosphere," Goodall wrote.

In their response to the district attorney's motion to withdraw the resentencing request, attorneys for the Menendez brothers questioned whether Hochman had legitimate reasons for doing so or was influenced by “a change of political winds.”

The attorneys pointed out that Hochman demoted Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford, the two deputy district attorneys who filed the original resentencing motion. Theberge and Lunsford have since filed lawsuits against Hochman alleging harassment, discrimination and retaliation for their work on the Menendez brothers case.

“The law requires fairness, not personal vendettas," Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, said in a statement.

Without resentencing, the brothers would still have two other pathways to freedom. They have submitted a clemency plea to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has ordered the state parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if they are released. The parole board is scheduled to hold its final hearings June 13.

The brothers also submitted a petition for habeas corpus in May 2023 asking the court to grant them a new trial in light of new evidence presented. Hochman's office also filed a motion opposing the petition.

Attorney Mark Geragos exits for a lunch break during a hearing regarding the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

People form a line outside the Van Nuys West Courthouse before a hearing regarding the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Media stage outside the Van Nuys West Courthouse before a hearing regarding the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Attorney Mark Geragos arrives for a hearing regarding the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Attorney Mark Geragos arrives for a hearing regarding the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections via AP, File)

BERLIN (AP) — U.S. envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for another round of talks intended to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted in downtown Berlin by a photographer for German news agency dpa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days.

“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation late Saturday.

Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

“The chance is considerable at this moment, and it matters for our every city, for our every Ukrainian community,” Zelenskyy said. “We are working to ensure that peace for Ukraine is dignified, and to secure a guarantee — a guarantee, above all — that Russia will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control and abandon its bid to join NATO among the key conditions for peace — demands Kyiv has rejected.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told the business daily Kommersant that Russian police and national guard troops would stay in parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan — a demand likely to be rejected by Ukraine as U.S.-led negotiations drag on.

Ushakov warned that a search for compromise could take a long time, noting that the U.S. proposals that took into account Russian demands had been “worsened” by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.

“We don’t know what changes they are making, but clearly they aren’t for the better,” Ushakov said, adding: “We will strongly insist on our considerations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has spearheaded European efforts to support Ukraine alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said Saturday that “the decades of the ‘Pax Americana’ are largely over for us in Europe and for us in Germany as well.”

He warned that Putin's aim is “a fundamental change to the borders in Europe, the restoration of the old Soviet Union within its borders.” “If Ukraine falls, he won’t stop,” Merz warned on Saturday during a party conference in Munich.

Putin has denied plans to restore the Soviet Union or attack any European allies.

As peace efforts continued, Russia and Ukraine exchanged another round of aerial attacks.

Ukraine’s air force said overnight Russia launched ballistic missiles and 138 attack drones at Ukraine. In its daily report, the air force said 110 had been intercepted or downed but missile and drone hits were recorded at six locations.

Zelenskyy said Sunday that hundreds of thousands of families were still without power in the south, east and north-east regions and work was continuing to restore electricity, heat and water to multiple regions following a large-scale attack the previous night.

The Ukrainian president said that in the past week, Russia had launched over 1,500 strike drones, nearly 900 guided aerial bombs and 46 missiles of various types at Ukraine.

“Ukraine needs peace on decent terms, and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. These days will be filled with diplomacy. It’s very important that it brings results,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 235 Ukrainian drones late Saturday and early Sunday.

In the Belgorod region, a drone injured a man and set his house ablaze in the village of Yasnye Zori, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Uryupinsk in the Volgograd region, triggering a fire, according to the regional governor, Andrei Bocharov.

In the Krasnodar region, the Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Afipsky, where an oil refinery is located. The authorities said that explosions shattered windows in residential buildings but didn’t report any damage to the refinery.

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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland.

In this grab from a video provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Friday, Dec 12, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy records a video at the road entering of Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)