The new Los Angeles district attorney, who is expected to preside over the fate of the Menendez brothers, has warned his supporters, including Kim Kardashian…that they may not understand the facts and the law of the case.

The 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, the brothers’ parents, in upscale Beverly Hills once again electrified the country after the Netflix release. MonstersRyan Murphy’s dramatized version of the story, in September, and released a companion documentary in which the brothers spoke from behind bars.

New Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman told The Daily Beast that he hasn’t watched the two Netflix shows, leading to a clamor of calls for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez, but said he was concerned people might have been misinformed by them. and misleading media coverage of the case. He said he was determined to get “this one right.”

“I just didn’t want to see them, because what’s the point?” Hochman said in an interview with the Daily Beast. “It’s not like I’m going to watch the movie. I prefer to read the book.

“I have some vague memories of the affair from 30 years ago and this is all the more why I feel obliged to delve into the facts,” he continued, “because that, you know, newspaper articles are often wildly inaccurate about what the facts say. what the actual facts of a case look like.

Hochman also cautioned against relying on the legal opinions of celebrities like Kardashian, who visit the Menendez brothers in prison with actor Cooper Koch (who played Erik in the Netflix series). Kardashian later wrote a essay pleading for the release of the brothers.

Hochman, 60, will be sworn in as Los Angeles County district attorney on Dec. 2 after defeating incumbent George Gascón in a match landslide elections this month.

The Republican-turned-independent, who ran as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, will immediately face the question of what to do with the brothers, who shot their parents to death in their family home in August 1989. After separate mistrials, they were convicted together. of murder and conspiracy and sentenced to life without parole.

One of Gascón’s last acts in power was to ask a judge to re-sentence the brothers to 50 years with the possibility of parole, which would make them eligible for immediate release. But he admitted his own office was divided over whether the brothers deserved to be released. The judge in the case set the date for December 11putting it at the top of Hochman’s agenda.

The new prosecutor, however, has signaled that he may change course, which would make the Menendez brothers’ prospects much more complicated.

“This (case) is a high priority,” Hochman said. “Any time a particular case receives this level of attention, it’s even more important to get it right.” »

Pundits, celebrities and Netflix fans seemed confident the brothers would be released in time for Thanksgiving with their wives and families. Last month, Murphy, the producer of the Netflix series and Rosie O’Donnell, who made friends the brothers all predicted they would be home for the holidays or “within 30 days.”

But Hochman says the matter is complicated and the paths to freedom are unpredictable.

Indeed, the brothers, now aged 56 and 53, would need a Christmas miracle to spend the holidays as free men, even though they have before them three distinct paths to freedom, two of which involve the politically ambitious Democratic governor of California. Gavin Newsom.

The first way involves a habeas corpus petition filed by the brothers’ lawyers in May 2023. The brothers claim they killed their parents in self-defense after years of sexual and psychological torment, but because most of their witnesses and evidence to that effect were excluded by the judge during their joint meeting. trial, they deserve a new one. Their lawyers insist that a 1988 letter sent to a cousin proves the boys feared for their lives, while another sexual abuse complaint filed against José Menendez by a former member of boy band Menudo corroborates their allegations .

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan will hold a hearing on November 26 to consider the request. He could make a decision, but he is more likely to request another hearing to evaluate the evidence. A new trial would require substantially new evidence that would change the course of justice in this case, which is a high bar.

The second way is for brothers to be felt. Gascón recommended in October that their sentences be reduced to 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole, which would make them immediately eligible for release — if a judge agrees and the California Parole Board agrees. agreement. Gascón argues that the brothers served 34 years as model prisoners, that they no longer pose a threat to society, and that their age (and increased trauma) at the time of the crimes should be considered mitigating circumstances.

A resentencing hearing is scheduled for December 11 and the brothers’ lawyers project to bring at least six witnesses from the Department of Corrections to testify about their rehabilitation.

A few 24 family members, including the brothers’ wives and elderly parents of José and Kitty Menendez support the resentencing and release. Only one family member, Milton Anderson, Kitty’s brother, strongly opposes their freedom.

If Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic accepts a resentencing, a parole hearing would be set. The California Parole Board is appointed by Governor Newsom and its recommendations are subject to his approval. Newsom could accept or reject granting parole — or request further review.

The third way involves the brothers’ request for pardon from Newsom. Some observers say the governor is unlikely to grant this request due to his future political ambitions: conservative or independent voters may be unhappy with the leniency in this case.

Other insiders note that Newsom has no deadline to respond, that he cannot seek re-election as governor at the end of his current term, and that he could still choose to act with compassion at any time .

“What matters are the facts. What matters is justice and fairness,” Newsom said. said about the case. “Don’t treat them worse because they’re celebrities, and certainly don’t treat them better because they’re celebrities.”

A Beverly Hills native, Hochman grew up less than a mile from the leafy street where Lyle and Erik, then 21 and 18, shot their parents.

As a young Ivy League and Stanford-educated prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hochman watched the brother’s first trials end in a stalemate in a courtroom across the street from his downtown office. Los Angeles.

Since their convictions for murder and conspiracy in 1996, Hochman says he hasn’t followed the case. But upon taking office, Hochman promised to work “extremely quickly” and with an “open mind” to review Menendez’s confidential files and “not to seek delay for the sake of it.”

Meanwhile, the buses and the lookouts flock daily to the scene of Menendez’s murder; many visitors say they know the facts after watching Netflix shows. Many firmly believe their dramatized version of events: the brothers were sexually and physically abused by their parents and deserve to be freed after 34 years behind bars.

Hochman counters that the Menendez case is “a perfect example where people reached conclusions based on a very, very limited review of the facts and virtually no knowledge of most of the laws.”

He plans to approach his review as a former prosecutor and former criminal defense attorney, appreciating each side of the case.

“You want to get this one right,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Ben Sherwood has been following the Menendez story since 1989, when he began working at ABC News and was assigned to help cover the saga with an award-winning team of PrimeTime Live.