Menendez brothers family press conference, watch the live stream

1:30 p.m. PT — Bryan Freedmanthe attorney representing the extended Menendez family says the family is on its way to the Hall of Justice in LA. As victims of the Marsy Law murders, the family members can go to court to be heard… and they will all reaffirm their convictions Eric And Lyle should be released from prison.

1:25 p.m. PT — Kitty‘s niece — Karen VanderMolen – says she always believed in the story of Erik and Lyle… growing up she felt like something wasn’t right in her household. She adds that if Erik and Lyle were women, they would have received a much shorter sentence.

1:21 p.m. PT — Brian A. Andersen Jr. — KittyHis nephew – says he has known the Menendez brothers his entire life… and says he doesn’t believe his cousins are the villains the media makes them out to be.

If the trial had taken place today, the alleged sexual abuse they were dealing with would not have been dismissed and the outcome would have been very different, he says. Brian says that if Erik and Lyle were released, he would be happy to welcome them into his home with a tight hug and a place to sleep.

1:17 p.m. PT — Joan Andersen VanderMolen — Kitty Menendez’s 92-year-old sister — says it took her many years to come to terms with her sister’s murder … but the alleged abuse the Menendez brothers suffered changed her mind.

says Joan Eric And Lyle were abandoned by the people who were supposed to protect them – including Kitty. She says the world was unwilling to accept that boys could be sexually abused in the 1990s – now the world knows otherwise and its judgment needs to change.

1:12 p.m. PT — Jose Menendez‘s niece, Anamaria Baralthas read a statement from her mother – Jose’s sister – saying she can’t make it due to health reasons… but she supports Erik and Lyle and calls for the brothers’ release. She wants to hug her at least once in her life, the letter says.

1:07 p.m. PT — Mark Geragos mentioned Roy Rossello‘S Witness testimony and Erik’s letter to his cousin Andy as well as the Menendezs’ work behind bars to rehabilitate themselves… and they hope the prosecutor angers the brothers.

Pushing for their release from prison, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s family holds a press conference outside a Los Angeles courthouse… and TMZ broadcasts live.

Rosie O’Donnell is scheduled to speak in support of the Menendez brothers … and nearly two dozen family members have traveled from across the country to put pressure on the L.A. district attorney George Gascon to officially recommend that the notorious murderers be re-sentenced.

the Menendez family

Mark Geragos, Erik and Lyle’s defense attorney, will also speak… and three of the Menendez brothers’ cousins and an aunt will also grab the microphone.

Among the key new pieces of evidence the family is expected to discuss here is a letter Erik wrote just months before the brothers murdered their parents… in which Erik allegedly tells his cousin Andy Cano about the abuse he suffered and Lyle were exposed in the act to their father’s hands, Jose Menendez.

Menendez letter

Andy’s mother reportedly found Erik’s letter about nine years ago… and during the Menendez brothers’ trial, Andy testified that Erik had told him about his father’s alleged abuse when he was just 13 years old. Since Andy passed away in 2003, he obviously won’t be attending the press conference.

As we reported, prosecutor Gascón announced earlier this month that he was leaving his post Reevaluate evidence in the Menendez case … and the district attorney said he had heard of other abuse claims against Jose made by Menudo band member Roy Rosselló.

Erik and Lyle have been behind bars since 1990… They testified during their first trial that they had been abused by their father, which ended with a hung jury – but a judge refused to allow such testimony in the retrial – and they are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.