The Los Angeles district attorney set to preside over the fate of the Menendez brothers warned his supporters — who include Kim Kardashian— to not understand the facts and the law in question.

The 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, the brothers’ parents, in posh Beverly Hills electrified the nation once again after the Netflix release. monstersdramatized version of Ryan Murphy’s story in September and released an accompanying documentary in which the brothers spoke from behind bars.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman told the Daily Beast that he had not watched the two Netflix shows that sparked calls for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez, but said he feared people would were misinformed by them. and misleading news coverage of the case. He said he was committed to getting “this one right.”

“I just didn’t want to see them because what’s the point?” Hochman said in an interview with the Daily Beast. “It’s not like I’m watching the movie. I’d rather read the book.”

“I have some vague memories of the case from 30 years ago, and that’s all the more reason why I feel compelled to … really dig into the facts,” he continued, “because, you know, the accounts in newspapers are often grossly inaccurate as to what the true facts of a case appear to be.”

Hochman also cautioned against relying on the legal opinions of celebrities like Kardashian, who visited the Menendez brothers in prison with actor Cooper Koch (who played Erik in the Netflix series). Kardashian later wrote a essay arguing for the release of the brothers.

Hochman, 60, will be sworn in as Los Angeles County District Attorney on Dec. 2 after defeating incumbent George Gascón in a landslide this month’s elections.

The Republican-turned-independent, who ran as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, will be immediately confronted with what to do with the brothers, who shot their parents in their family home in August 1989. After separate trials, they were convicted together. of murder and conspiracy and sentenced to life without parole.

One of Gascón’s last acts in office was to ask a judge to sentence the brothers again to 50 with the possibility of parole, which would make them eligible for immediate release. But he admitted that his own office was divided whether the brothers deserved to be free. The judge in question set the date for December 11putting it at the top of Hochman’s agenda.

However, the incoming prosecutor has signaled that course may change, making the Menendez brothers’ outlook that much more complicated.

“This (case) is a high priority,” Hochman said. “Every time a particular case gets this level of attention, it’s even more important to get it right.”

Pundits, celebrities and Netflix fans seemed convinced the brothers would be released in time for Thanksgiving with their wives and families. last month, Murphy, the producer of the Netflix show and Rosie O’Donnell, who has friend the brothers all predicted that the brothers would be home for the holidays or “within 30 days.”

But Hochman says the case is complicated and the paths to freedom unpredictable.

Indeed, the brothers, now 56 and 53, would need a Christmas miracle to spend the holidays as free men — though they face three separate paths to freedom, two of which go through ambitious Democratic Gov. of California. Gavin Newsom.

The first way involves a habeas corpus petition filed by the brothers’ lawyers in May 2023. The brothers claim they killed their parents in self-defense after years of sexual and psychological torture, but because most of their witnesses and evidence were excluded by the judge in their community. try, it deserves a new one. Their lawyers insist a 1988 letter to a cousin proves the boys feared for their lives, while another sexual abuse allegation leveled against Jose Menendez by a former member of the boy band Menudo corroborates their allegations.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan will hold a hearing on November 26 to consider this petition. He might make a decision, but is more likely to request another hearing to weigh the evidence. A new trial would require substantially new evidence that would change the course of justice in this case, which is a high bar.

The second way is for the brothers to be resentful. Gascón recommended in October that their sentences be reduced to 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole, which would make them immediately eligible for release — if a judge agrees and the California Parole Board agreement. Gascón argues that the brothers served 34 years as model prisoners, no longer pose a threat to society, and that their age (and accumulated trauma) at the time of the murders should be considered mitigating circumstances.

A resentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11, and attorneys for the brothers plans to bring at least six witnesses from the Department of Corrections to testify about their rehabilitation.

Some 24 family members incl the brothers’ wives and elderly relatives of both Jose and Kitty Menendez support resentment and release. Only one family member, Milton Anderson, Kitty’s brother, strongly opposes their freedom.

If Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic agrees to the sentence, a parole hearing would be set. The California Parole Board is appointed by Governor Newsom and its recommendations are subject to his approval. Newsom could agree to or deny parole — or ask for further review.

The third path involves the brothers’ plea to Newsom for clemency. Some observers believe the governor is unlikely to accept this request because of his future political ambitions — conservative or independent voters may resent leniency in this case.

Other insiders note that Newsom has no deadline to respond, cannot seek re-election as governor at the end of his current term, and could still choose to act with compassion at any time.

“What matters are the facts. What matters is justice and fairness,” Newsom said said about the case. “Don’t treat them worse because they’re celebrities, certainly don’t treat them better because they’re celebrities.”

A native of Beverly Hills, Hochman grew up less than a mile from the leafy street where Lyle and Erik, then 21 and 18, shot and killed their parents.

As a young Ivy League and Stanford-educated prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office, Hochman watched his brother’s first trials stall in a courtroom across the street from his downtown LA office.

Since their 1996 murder and conspiracy convictions, Hochman says he hasn’t kept up with the case. But once he takes office, Hochman has vowed to work “extremely quickly” and with “an open mind” to review Menendez’s confidential files and “is not looking for delay for delay’s sake.”

Meanwhile, buses and looky-loos gathers daily at Menendez’s crime scene; many visitors say they know the facts after watching Netflix shows. Many firmly believe their dramatized version of events: the brothers were sexually and physically abused by their parents and deserve to be released after 34 years behind bars.

Hochman counters that the Menendez case is “a perfect example of people jumping to conclusions based on a very limited analysis of the facts and almost no knowledge of the majority of the law.”

He plans to approach his review as a former prosecutor and former criminal defense attorney — with an appreciation for each side of the case.

“You want to get this one right,” he said.

Editor’s note: Ben Sherwood has followed the Menendez story since 1989, when he began working at ABC News and was assigned to help cover the saga with an award-winning team from Prime Time Live.