Menendez brothers' family say 85-year-old aunt hospitalized after authorities show horrific crime scene photos 'without warning'

The family of the Erik and Lyle Menendez is claiming the District Attorney’s Office ‘retraumatized’ their aunt Terry Baralt by showing crime scene images in court 'without a warning'.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is being blamed for a family member of the Menendez brothers being in hospital in a critical condition.

This comes ahead of the brothers upcoming resentencing hearing that could see the pair out of prison.

Erik and Lyle Menendez, now 54 and 57, have been in prison for over 30 years after being convicted for the 1989 murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in their home in Beverly Hills, California.

The two brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in a second trial in the case, after the first ended in a hung jury when both Erik and Lyle detailed the sexual abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of their father.

The Menendez brothers have bee in prison for over 30 years(Ronald L. Soble / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

In the second trial, prosecutors argued the brothers had killed their parents to try and benefit from their wealth, and the jury was convinced. The pair were ultimately sentenced to life in prison in 1996.

The brothers’ legal team is now calling for the District Attorney’s office to be removed from the case for their ‘cruel action’.

85-year-old Baralt, who is the sister of Jose Menendez, ended up in hospital as a result of seeing crime scene photos of her brother without warning in court on Friday (April 11), the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition has claimed.

The coalition is a family-ran effort to see the brothers released from prison.

In a united statement, the family said: “We will not let what happened on Friday stand.

“We are taking formal action and demanding that the District Attorney’s Office be removed from this case. They have shown again and again that they are incapable of handling this process with the fairness, care, or neutrality required by law.

“This wasn’t just cruel It was a clear violation of our rights under Marsy’s Law, which guarantees victims the right ‘to be treated with fairness and respect for their privacy and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse throughout the criminal justice process.”

The Menendez brothers’ lawyer has condemned the District Attorney’s office for the incident (Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)

Speaking to Deadline over the weekend, lawyer Bryan Freedman added: “As counsel for the victim’s family members. I was appalled that without so much as a warning to allow them the option to avoid further distress, the DA callously decided to re-traumatize the family by needlessly showing insensitive photos on screen in their court presentation.”

The family went on to accuse the attorney’s office of deliberately choosing to ‘ignore the law’ in order to display the crime scene photos.

The crime scene photo was not new to public view and was previously featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers.

UNILAD has contacted the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for comment.