The Menendez brothers’ Aunt Joan on why they must be released: “They have been used and abused, and there seems to be no end to it”

Joan Vander Molen, Kitty Menendez’s older sister may be 92 years old, but she’s no good at punching or kicking. The white-haired matriarch of the Menendez family is a loyal and outspoken supporter of Erik And lylesince 1990, when they were accused of killing their parents with a shotgun in a private room of their Beverly Hills home. Now she hopes that they can be released from prison thanks to last week’s announcement by the Los Angeles district attorney, George Gascon, that he was reviewing new evidence in the case.

In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, VanderMolen reveals intimate details about how she and her sister grew up, and although one can never truly know what is going on in another person’s mind, her revelations about her father they are the closest thing we can get to understanding why Kitty didn’t leave Jose Menendez, even though Erik and Lyle testified to years of sexual and physical abuse. Of course, this incident has become the subject of renewed interest because of two Netflix releases: Ryan Murphyscripted series and a new documentary from the director Alejandro Hartmann. Excerpted from VFmy conversation with VanderMolen…

Vanity Fair: Thank you for agreeing to talk with me. I know that you have been through a lot.

Joan VanderMolen: You might say so. It’s always difficult [to talk about Erik and Lyle]. I care a lot about them. I’m shaking right now thinking about it.

If you don’t mind my question, could you say more about what’s bothering you?

The reality is that they are in their current situation. They don’t deserve any of this. They have been used and abused and there seems to be no end to it.

The prosecutor said he was reviewing the habeas corpus filed by Erik and Lyle’s attorneys. Are you hopeful that perhaps there is some sort of ending on the horizon?

Of course. I have for a long time. Since day one.

They were arrested 34 years ago. That’s a long time to keep hope.

Correct. It’s not fair.

I rewatched some of the footage from the trial and after all these years, it still blows my mind.

That doesn’t even say how I felt when the second trial took place and no defense was allowed. There was no trial. Everything their lawyers said was suppressed. [Leslie Abramson] can’t get anything [admitted into evidence]. It’s like the abuse never happened. It’s not fair at all. I don’t know how the jury reached its verdict after such a crazy trial.

Courtesy of Netflix.

Did you talk to Leslie Abramson at that time about what was going on?

I just told her that the work she was doing was amazing. And for her to be shot down like that. Judgment [Stanley] Weissberg shoot her down too.

What did she say? Do you remember?

Are not. I just told her I loved her and she told me she loved me too. That’s it. She was a wonderful woman, and she did the best she could and then some of it was not recognized by the courts.

When was the last time you talked to Lyle or Erik?

Last week.

What are they doing?

They are hopeful. That’s all I can say is hope. We all do. I could cry thinking about the years that have passed, and here they are.

How often do you talk to them?

Oh, often. Weekly.

Their lives would be very different if they were released…

Well, they will have to adjust to their current position. It’s scary. But you know, they also don’t intend to spend their whole lives in prison.

His daughters, Diane and Kathleen, testified about Jose’s abuse. Diane said she told Kitty that Lyle told her that Jose was touching his private parts, but Kitty didn’t believe her. Kathleen said that Jose would send the children to their rooms and that no one was allowed near the hallway when he was alone with Erik or Lyle.