Lawyer says letter in Menendez brothers' last-minute quest for freedom could be a scam

FIRST ON FOX: While Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon told reporters that he will announce a decision Thursday afternoon on whether to seek resentencing for the murderous Menendez brothers, a lawyer for their uncle warns that they are “new” Evidence in the case could be fraudulent.

In an interview with People this week, Gascon said he didn't believe the brothers posed a “danger to society” and “probably haven't for a very long time.” Then he said in a statement Thursday that he will publicly announce his decision during a press conference at 1:30 p.m. local time.

Erik and Joseph “Lyle” Menendez burst into their parents' Beverly Hills mansion at 10:30 p.m. on August 20, 1989 and fired shotguns at them as they ate and watched television in the living room. They killed her father, former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez, and her mother, Mary “Kitty” Menendez.

WATCH ON FOX NATION: MENENDEZ BROTHERS: VICTIMS OR VILLAINS?

Erik and Lyle Menendez listen during their trial in the 1990s. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said his office will review new evidence in the brothers' murder. (Ted Soqui/Sygma)

They later told a therapist that they killed their father because they hated him and that their mother's murder was a “mercy killing,” according to court documents. They ran out of cartridges and had to go to the car to get more before hitting her with a fatal shot.

Last year in California, they turned to new laws to get out of prison, with a habeas petition arguing that they should have been convicted of manslaughter, not murder, and a petition to the office from Gascon asking for a resentencing.

To read the submission

Her appeal hinges on two key pieces of evidence: recently uncovered allegations that her father also molested Roy Rossello, a former member of the boy band Menudo, in the 1980s, and a letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano appeared in 2015, years after his death.

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An undated photo of the Menendez family as it appears on the screen during a panel discussion at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, June 2. Brothers Lyle and Erik were convicted of fatally shooting their parents in 1989. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Critics say Gascon's green light for resentencing would be controversial as he is up for re-election in less than two weeks and faces a strong challenge from independent candidate Nathan Hochman.

While two dozen relatives have publicly advocated for her release from prison despite facing life sentences without the possibility of parole, her uncle is opposed to any change in sentence, according to his attorney Kathleen Cady, a prominent victim advocate.

In a court filing Wednesday, she asked to file an amicus brief on behalf of Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez's brother.

LYLE MENENDEZ, WHO SHOT TO DEATH WITH BROTHER PARENTS, PLANS LIFE AFTER PRISON

Erik Menendez (center) and his brother Lyle are pictured in Beverly Hills on August 12, 1991. (MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Cady wrote to the judge that “over the last few days alone, I have received information from various sources that the letter is essentially a fraud.”

In a phone conversation with Fox News Digital, she declined to go into details but said she was willing to forward the evidence to Gascon's office.

“(The sources) claim they have evidence that would cast doubt on the veracity of this 'new evidence' presented by the defense in its habeas petition,” she said.

WATCH: Menendez brothers' family speaks out

Erik Menendez and his cousin both testified about mistreatment by Jose Menendez in the brothers' second trial after the first ended in a mistrial.

“And neither of them mentioned the letter,” Cady wrote. “While we certainly hope that the DA's office has conducted an analysis of the letter, it is much more likely that the letter, if written by Erik, was written in recent years and not before the murders, as the defense now claims suspected.”

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Pictured is a letter purportedly written by Erik Menendez and sent to his cousin Andy Cano eight months before the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez. (Supreme Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County)

She also noted testimony in court who said the brothers asked her to lie for them under oath.

“Given the defendants' attempts to suppress perjury, the 'new evidence' should be viewed with skepticism,” Cady wrote. “However, even at first glance, the 'new evidence' would not require instruction in imperfect self-defense.”

Cano testified in court that his cousin told him about the abuse when he was just 13 years old, but prosecutors downplayed the sexual abuse allegations, saying the brothers simply wanted to live a lavish lifestyle with their inheritance and pointed to everything they bought after the murders included a Porsche, Rolex watches and a restaurant.

Andersen, her uncle, agrees with prosecutors that the motive was greed.

THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS: MONSTER OR MISUNDERSTANDED?

The Menendez brothers – Erik (left) and Lyle – sit on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989. (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times)

The Menendez brothers are now both in their 50s. They were 21 and 18 years old at the time the murders.

According to her defense attorney Mark Geragos, the letter supports Cano's testimony. He has long maintained that the brothers' sexual abuse allegations were not taken seriously because of contemporary thinking, and he has repeatedly said that if they had been the “Menendez sisters” they would never have been convicted of murder in the first place .

Between 2005 and early this year, Geragos said, they exhausted all possible legal remedies and resigned themselves to the idea that they would never be released. Both were model prisoners during this time, he said.

MENENDEZ BROTHERS COME CLOSER TO FREEDOM FROM 'LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE' FOR PARENTS' MURDERS IN BEVERLY HILLS

Exterior view of the Menendez brothers' former mansion in 1989, overlooking the expansive pool. (Clark Fogg, retired Beverly Hills Police Department forensic scientist)

“You could pursue this in two ways,” he told reporters last week. “You could either just become a hardcore or unforgiving recidivist, or you could do what they did, which was create programs, mentor people, develop great programs, mentor people, go to college and get degrees.”

Gascon's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the authenticity of the letter.

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About two dozen family members who support reducing the sentence met with Gascon's office last week. The prosecutor has not met with Andersen or responded to his requests for information about the case, Cady said.

“Mr. Gascon has completely ignored our demands, and it's frankly insulting that the elected district attorney thinks it's OK to violate the Constitution,” she told Fox News Digital.

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The DA election has no bearing on the brothers' habeas petition, which Cady said should also be rejected.

“In all of this, Milton Andersen remains convinced that the harassment allegations were fabricated and false, and he believes that the jury returned the correct verdict and the correct sentence was imposed,” Cady said. “One of the concerns for him, and that should be true for everyone, was that during the trial the Menendez brothers tried to get two particular witnesses to lie on their behalf. And these witnesses testified and said, 'Yes. You asked us.' to lie for her.'”