Timeline of the Menendez brothers murder case

LOS ANGELES – Prosecutors in Los Angeles will announce their decision on whether to seek resentencing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989 and are serving life sentences with no chance of parole.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said there was no doubt that the brothers killed their parents in Beverly Hills and that the couple had admitted to the murders. However, the brothers have argued that they committed the crimes in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.

Gascón said a re-examination of the case is appropriate given a renewed understanding and compassion for victims of sexual abuse.

The brothers were convicted in 1996.

The case hit the headlines again after Netflix released a true crime documentary and drama.

Here's a look at the timeline of the case:

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August 1989: Jose Menendez, an executive at RCA Records in Los Angeles, and his wife Kitty Menendez are shot to death in their Beverly Hills mansion.

March 1990: Lyle Menendez, then 21, was arrested. Eighteen-year-old Erik Menendez turned himself in a few days later. They are charged with first-degree murder.

July 1993: The Menendez brothers are tried, each by their own jury. Prosecutors argued that they killed their parents for financial reasons. The brothers' lawyers did not dispute that the couple killed their parents, but argued that they acted in self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

January 1994: Both jurors reach an impasse.

October 1995: The brothers' retrial begins, this time with a single jury. Much of the defense evidence regarding the alleged sexual abuse will not be considered in the second trial.

March 1996: Jurors convict both brothers of first-degree murder.

July 1996: The brothers are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

May 2023: Lawyers for the Menendez brothers ask the court to reconsider the conviction and sentence in light of new evidence from a former member of the boy band Menudo who said he was raped by Jose Menendez when he was 14. They also present a letter that Erik wrote about his father's abuse before the murders.

September 2024: Netflix releases the crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” a nine-part series about the murders.

Oct. 4, 2024: Gascón says his office is reviewing new evidence in the case.

Oct. 16, 2024: Multiple generations of Menendez brothers' family members hold a press conference advocating for their release from prison. Relatives say the jury that sentenced them to life in prison without parole in 1996 was part of a society unwilling to hear that boys could be raped.

Oct. 24, 2024. Prosecutors plan a news conference to announce their decision on whether to recommend resentencing.