CNN
—

As the Los Angeles County district attorney weighs new evidence that could see Lyle and Erik Menendez released from prison after more than three decades, nearly two dozen of their family members are expected to speak on their behalf at a news conference Wednesday.

In 1996, the Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, in their Beverly Hills home.

Although they never denied killing their parents, both men maintained at their trial that they acted in self-defense and suffered years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Attorneys for the brothers have also argued that the judge overseeing the 1996 case did not allow much of the abuse defense evidence to be presented to the jury.

In 2023, attorneys representing the Menendez brothers filed a petition arguing that they should be granted relief from their prison sentences based on new allegations that speak to Jose Menendez’s alleged pattern of sexual abuse, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin hinting at abuse. he endured.

And they could soon get that chance, as Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón considers re-sentencing the brothers based on evidence presented in the 2023 petition. He announced earlier this month that there is no doubt that the brothers committed the murders, but his office is reviewing the evidence.

In an interview with ABC that aired Wednesday, Erik and Lyle’s cousin, Karen Vander MolenCopley, said she remembered seeing the boys’ behavior change over the years.

“When they were younger, you could tell there were two vibrant young kids, young boys who just got sadder and sadder over the years,” MolenCopley said.

After more than 30 years in prison, MolenCopley, one of those at the press conference, said she now believes Lyle and Erik should be released and allowed to come home to be with their families.

“That would be the best birthday present to give my mom… it would be to have her nephews at her house on her birthday on Thanksgiving.”

But an attorney for Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton Andersen, accused Gascón on Wednesday of betraying victims and their loved ones.

“The Menendez brothers’ cold-blooded actions devastated their family and left a trail of grief that has lasted for decades. Jose was shot six times and Kitty was shot 10 times, including a shot to the face after Erik reloaded,” the attorney, Kathy Cady, a retired prosecutor, said in a statement.

Andersen was never notified that Gascón had reassigned the case, nor was he told about a news conference in which the district attorney announced a second look at the case, according to Cady, who said the district attorney did not respond to her requests for a meeting.

“Sir. Andersen, like the families of all victims, has a constitutional right to be informed, to have his voice heard and to have his opinion considered in any decision regarding the case,” Cady said.

CNN has reached out to Gascón for comment.

On Sunday, Gascón posted an image on social media of the handwritten, undated letter that Menendez’s lawyers submitted as part of their petition.

In the letter, Erik Menendez wrote, “I tried to avoid Dad. It still happens Andy, but it’s worse for me now.

He continued, “I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in. I have to get it out of my mind.

“I know what you said before, but I’m scared. You just don’t know Dad like I do. He’s crazy!”

The image of the letter, which is on the public record, has since been removed from Gascón’s social media accounts — but the prosecutor addressed its possible significance in an interview with ABC that aired Wednesday.

The letter “is all about the abuse that was the cornerstone of their defense,” Gascón said. He told ABC that his office is expected to make a decision on the Menendez brothers’ punishment sometime this month.

The case has resurfaced following the release of the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story last month. Netflix also released a documentary this month about the Menendez case, in which both men discuss what led to the murders.

Former Los Angeles County Prosecutor Loni Coombs told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Wednesday that Gascón has said publicly that the documentary has generated many calls to his office about new evidence in the case.

“That new evidentiary motion had been on his desk for over a year, but it wasn’t until all the attention and spotlight came from this documentary that he now steps out and says, ‘I’m going to look at this. ” she said.

Society has changed the way it views sexual abuse against boys, she said.

“We understand it better. “We understand the dynamics of it, that sometimes it takes years for victims to be able to talk about the trauma,” she added.

Coombs described the timing of the district attorney’s decision to review the case as “a perfect storm,” noting that Gascón has already convicted 300 people in the county in the past year.

CNN’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this story.