The extended family of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have been imprisoned since being convicted of the 1989 murders of their parents, said they are hurt and disappointed after Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman rejected their bid for a new trial.

Attorneys for the brothers, who were sentenced to life without parole for shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty, to death at their Beverly Hills, California, home, said new evidence of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez emerged, and that the brothers had the support from most of their extended family.

But Hochman filed an informal response Feb. 21, urging the Los Angeles County Superior Court to reject a habeas petition filed by the brothers' attorneys in 2023 that seeks a reexamination of their case that centers in part on the sexual abuse allegations.

Hochman, a Republican, defeated Democrat incumbent George Gascón in November to become the first GOP district attorney for LA County in 12 years. During a news conference Feb. 21, He cast doubt on the evidence of abuse and said it was not pertinent to the case.

“Sexual abuse in this situation may have been a motivation for Erik and Lyle to do what they did, but it does not constitute self-defense,” Hochman said.

Family members said Hochman lacked the understanding and sympathy that Gascón had for the alleged sexual abuse the brothers experienced before they gunned down their parents, the New York Post reported Thursday.

“The relationship is absolutely different,” Tamara Goodell, a cousin of the brothers, said Thursday afternoon during a webinar. “Gascón seemed much more open to modern thought processes of the law today and what compassion looks like and what does trauma informed practice look like.

“Very honestly, what we heard from the LA DA’s office the other day felt very disparaging. It felt like a continuation of the narrative from 1989 and very honestly, it was very frustrating.”

Anna Maria Baralt, another cousin, said she wasn’t surprised by Hochman’s decision but called his rhetoric harmful to other victims of sexual abuse.

“The danger of presenting that 1990s narrative under today’s law – laws and modern understanding of trauma – is that it ignores how far we have come in recognizing the long-term effects of abuse and the systemic barriers that keep victims silent,” she said, according to the Post.

“Today we understand that trauma rewires the brain and shapes a person’s actions and decisions in ways that were not fully appreciated decades ago.”

Lyle and Erik Mernendez, who are 57 and 54 respectively, have also asked the court to be resentenced, a pardon from Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, and eligibility for parole based on evidence of rehabilitation and good behavior in prison, according to the Post. On Wednesday, Newsom reportedly directed the state's parole board to investigate whether the brothers pose an "unreasonable" public safety risk if released from prison.

“We are incredibly grateful that Gov. Newsom is paying attention to this case,” Baralt said. “This, for our family, is a huge sigh of relief that someone in a seat of power is paying attention to what we have seen up close since Erik and Lyle have been incarcerated.”

A resentencing hearing for the brothers was scheduled for last month but postponed until March 20-21 because of wildfires that were ravaging LA. Gascón recommended last year the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life.