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Menendez brothers’ attorney wants convictions expunged, cites letter as new evidence

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(KTLA) — Erik and Lyle Menendez have two new pieces of evidence backing their claim their father was sexually abusing them, according to their attorney Mark Geragos. This comes in the wake of an explosive new documentary airing on Peacock titled “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.”

In the documentary, former Menudo member, Roy Rosselló, claims the band’s manager Edgardo Diaz introduced him to Jose Menendez in New York.

“When I got in the limousine, I see Menendez looking at me as if he wanted to devour me,” Rosselló says. He later adds, “Jose Menendez was a monster.”

Rosselló claims he was at Jose’s house where Menendez gave the teen a glass of wine and told him to drink all of it. Rosselló suspects the drink was drugged. He says Menendez then took him to a room.

Erik and Lyle Menendez
This 1992 file photo shows double murder defendants Erik and Lyle Menendez, from left to right, during a court appearance in Los Angeles. (Credit: MIKE NELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

“I couldn’t react, because I had no control over my body,” he says. “After that, I woke up in the hotel” with no recollection of how he got there.

In an interview with KTLA, Geragos said information from the documentary is just one piece of new evidence supporting the brothers’ claims against their father. The other is a recently discovered letter Erik wrote to a cousin — months before the brothers shot their parents — in which he says his father was molesting them.

The legal filing obtained by KTLA includes a purportedly handwritten note from Erik to his cousin Andy Cano who reportedly died in 2003.

Excerpt of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Menendez case which includes a note purportedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin. (KTLA)

“I’ve been trying to avoid dad,” the note reads. “It’s still happening Andy but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it … I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy … Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.”

Geragos said both pieces of evidence show that the exclusion of abuse in the second trial was wrong and thinks if the jury had heard all the evidence, the brothers wouldn’t be in jail. When asked what he wants, Geragos said he wants the brothers’ record expunged.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office told KTLA in a written statement, “We have received the habeas petition in the Menendez matter, and it’s currently under review.”

Geragos said he has yet to hear from the DA’s office. He expects to hear from the filmmakers soon.

This article mentions sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Crime

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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