New L.A. D.A. Says Menendez Brothers Lawyer’s ‘Narrative Is Absolutely Wrong’

The Menendez brothers lawyer’s “narrative is absolutely wrong,” according to the new Los Angeles District Attorney.

Newly sworn-in Nathan Hochman told Deadline he has “begun the process” of diving into previously confidential files around the 1989 shotgun killings of the brothers’ parents, José and Kitty–and claimed their defense counsel, top lawyer Mark Geragos, has been wrong to say their allegations of sexual abuse by their parents were not taken into account.

The brothers are awaiting a decision by a judge on whether they will be resentenced, which would end their life without parole terms and replace them with sentences which offer them some possibility of freedom. They will have a hearing on it at the end of January.

Hochman’s predecessor as district attorney had indicated that he would seek a lesser sentence for the brothers. But Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, had to wait to see if the new district attorney viewed their case as favorably as his predecessor. Hochman, a political moderate who had pledged to give the case an in-depth review, has now said while he does have sympathy for the pair, he views the “narrative” from their lawyer Mark Geragos, that the brothers were victims of sexual abuse who were not given a fair trial, as overly simplistic.

In an interview with Deadline, he said:“Knowing the Geragos narrative is absolutely wrong, the issues that we’ll be looking at for the trial will be whether or not the these two young men faced an immediate threat to their life?”

He added, “I mean, I’ve been doing this for 34 years, I’ve seen it. The media is in search of simple narratives, conflicting narratives, and so it adopted the Geragos narrative. Which was very smart, very creative. It’s basically that the trial was all about sexual abuse, that their response was because of sexual abuse.”

He was referencing claims from the brothers that their crimes came about after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Hochman added: “It’s that a conviction was only attained because the evidence of sexual abuse didn’t occur in the second trial, but occurred in the first trial, and therefore that the underlying conviction is wrong and should be fixed. Very simple narrative. What makes it a little bit more complicated? And that’s why the media would have to do additional work. No offense to your profession.”

He said he will invite Geragos to his office when he gets up to speed with the files. Geragos did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from the Daily Beast on Friday.

“I’ve gotten access now to more and more of the files that were confidential, the transcripts from the actual trials,” he said. “We’re looking through the testimony, as opposed to the highlights of testimony that people have been happy to share. We’re looking at the law dealing with resentencing as well as the law dealing with the habeas situation.”

He said Geragos can “come in and make any level presentation he wants.”

“I’ll make the same offer to any victim family member if they want a personal audience with me,” he said.

Hochman did offer himself some room for maneuver, saying that the judge in the case will have huge discretion, and that “rehabilitation” is one of the factors he will be able to consider. And he suggested that he would present “options” rather than a single recommendation to the judge, saying, “So, we’re going to go through all that evidence and weigh all the factors and ultimately come to the judge and say, to the judge, here’s all the records. Here are your options. And make sure that whatever decision is ultimately made is the best-informed decision possible.”

His predecessor, George Gascón, pointed out in October that the brothers’ age at the time of the double slaying—aged 21 and 18—would make them eligible for immediate parole if they were to be resentenced.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has so far declined to grant a clemency petition for the brothers, despite their attorneys petitioning him to. The Democrat said he’ll allow Hochman to review the case before he weighs in.