Menendez brothers’ case back in court, aunts testify on their behalf

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) -- Erik and Lyle Menendez’s infamous case was back in front of a judge Monday, with the brothers listening in on the phone during a status hearing regarding the their habeas corpus petition, which was filed last year for a review of new evidence not presented at trial.

Judge Michael Jesic allowed testimony from two of the brothers' aunts -- their mother's sister, Joan VanderMolen, and their father's sister, Terry Baralt -- due to health concerns.

The aunts "both made impassioned pleas with the judge to send the brothers home," defense attorney Mark Geragos told reporters after the hearing, calling it a "moving experience."

"No child should have to endure what Eric and Lyle had at the hands of their father," VanderMolen said to the judge. "It breaks my heart that Kitty knew and did nothing about it."

VanderMolen, who turns 93 on Tuesday, said she loves her nephews and lamented that "they never knew if tonight was the night they would be raped. ... No child should have to live day by day knowing that at night their dad would come and rape them. ... It's unconscionable."

VanderMolen, however, acknowledged her brother opposes the siblings' release.

The 85-year-old Baralt said, "We miss those who are gone, but we miss the kids, too. I would like to see leniency. Thirty-five years is a long time. They have rehabilitated and done lots of good things."

Asked by the prosecution if she knew what the brothers had done, she calmly replied that they killed their parents.

Jesic pushed back the next scheduled hearing -- which is regarding the brothers' resentencing recommendation -- from Dec. 11 to Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

Jesic said he needs time to go through 17 boxes of files on the case and said he wants to give the newly elected Los Angeles district attorney, Nathan Hochman, ample time to get up to speed.

Hochman, who is set to take office on Dec. 2, said in a statement that the delay "will provide me with sufficient time to review the extensive prison records, transcripts of two lengthy trials and voluminous exhibits, as well as consult with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and victim family members. I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all the facts and the law to reach a fair and just decision, and then defend it in court."

Geragos told reporters, "By Jan. 30 or 31, we're hoping that by the end of that, or sometime sooner, that we will, in fact, get the brothers released."

Monday's hearing was delayed 40 minutes due to challenges with trying to get Lyle and Erik Menendez to be available in court via video. After several attempts, the brothers were able to listen to the proceedings on the phone.

A lottery drawing was held for 16 public seats in the courtroom. Dozens of members of the public arrived early in the morning to wait for a chance to witness the hearing.

The case began in 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family's Beverly Hills home. The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, but prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in mistrials. In 1996, after the second trial -- during which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence -- the brothers were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole.

Two new pieces of evidence are at the center of the brothers' habeas corpus petition.

One is allegations from a former member of the boy band Menudo, who revealed last year that he was raped by the brothers' father, Jose Menendez.

The second piece is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but the letter -- which would have corroborated the cousin's testimony -- wasn't found until several years ago, according to the brothers' attorney.

As the habeas corpus petition moves through the courts, the brothers have two other potential paths to freedom.

One path is through resentencing. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced last month he was recommending the brothers' sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The DA's office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison, and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Shortly after Gascón's announcement, he lost his race for reelection to Hochman. The incoming DA said he plans to read through the evidence before showing his support for resentencing.

The other possible path to freedom is the brothers' request for clemency, which they've submitted to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Last week, Newsom said he'll defer to Hochman's "review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."

ABC News' Alex Stone, Matt Gutman and Ashley Riegle contributed to this report.

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