Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Ryan has ordered prosecutors to explain within 30 days why the murder convictions of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez should not be re-examined, citing newly surfaced evidence that could have influenced the original verdicts. The order responds to a May 2023 habeas corpus petition that introduced an unpublished 1988 letter in which Erik accused his father of sexual abuse and a separate declaration from former Menudo singer Roy Rossello alleging he, too, was raped by record executive José Menendez in the 1980s. Ryan wrote that the material, if presented to jurors, might have altered the outcome of the brothers’ 1996 trial, where they were found guilty of murdering their parents at the family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989. The Menendez brothers were initially sentenced to life without parole, but a resentencing ruling in May reduced their terms to 50 years to life, making them eligible for a state parole hearing in August. Should the court grant habeas relief, outcomes could range from a new trial to further sentence reductions or even release.