When Lyle and Erik Menendez made a court appearance virtually Monday morning, it was the first time in decades that some members of the public and media hoped to see and hear from the brothers who were sent to prison as young men in their 20s.
The Menendez brothers, who are serving life sentences of life without the possibility of parole for murdering their parents, Kitty and Jose, were supposed to appear via video conferencing for their status hearing, but they were not visual in the live video feed, according to NBCLA’s Investigative Reporter Eric Leonard, who was inside the courtroom Monday morning.
It’s not clear what happened, but even before the hearing started, there were connection issues.
But some members of the media as well as 16 people who won a public lottery to get a seat inside the Van Nuys courtroom heard from the brothers as Lyle and Erik Menendez confirmed they were able to hear the judge while logging in from their San Diego prison.
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"We've had video access the entire time," one of the brothers was heard saying when asked whether they could hear the audio.
There were no cameras in the courtroom, but sketch artists provided drawings.
“It was definitely a light atmosphere,” Leonard said. “People from the Menendez family – there were a lot of smiles. There were a lot of braces.”
The sisters of Jose and Kitty Menendez also testified during the hearing, once again pleading for the release of the brothers through resentencing. If resentencing is granted, the brothers would be receiving lighter sentence, immediately eligible to be released on parole.
“This is the first time the brothers were in a courtroom in a long time,” Mark Geragos, the brothers’ defense attorney said.
Geragos, who had hoped to bring the brothers home by Thanksgiving, said he’s now hopeful they can be released after resentencing or sometime sooner.
