LOS ANGELES : Death Penalty to Be Sought in Menendez Case
Prosecutors said Tuesday they will seek the death penalty against two brothers accused in the shotgun slayings of their parents, and a Superior Court judge assigned the case to the judge who presided over the Rodney G. King beating trial.
Neither Lyle nor Erik Menendez showed any emotion as Deputy Dist. Atty. Lester Kuriyama said: “The people will be seeking the death penalty.” The two are accused of killing Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion Aug. 20, 1989.
The brothers stood handcuffed as Judge Lance Ito named Judge Stanley Weisberg to hear the trial in Van Nuys Superior Court. Weisberg presided over the Simi Valley trial of four police officers accused of beating King, where not guilty verdicts last April 29 sparked the Los Angeles riots.
Because the grand jury’s indictment against the Menendezes included special allegations of multiple murder and lying in wait, prosecutors could have either sought the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
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