Menendez brothers' family blames LA DA for aunt's hospitalization: report

LOS ANGELES - The family of Erik and Lyle Menendez is slamming the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office after their aunt, Terry Baralt, was reportedly found unresponsive in her Los Angeles hotel room.

TMZ reports 85-year-old Terry Baralt, who is battling colon cancer, was taken to the hospital. Her condition is unknown.

This comes after a judge on Friday ruled to move forward with a re-sentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers.

SUGGESTED: Menendez brothers: Judge rules resentencing hearing can move forward

What we know:

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón supported the re-sentencing. However, the new DA, Nathan Hochman, does not support it. 

During a daylong hearing Friday, a prosecutor argued that the siblings should not be set free until they show "insight" into their crimes.

Hochman -- who attended much of the Friday court session but did not speak -- announced last month that his office will oppose the release of the brothers, saying then, "Our position is that they shouldn't get out of jail."

SUGGESTED: Menendez brothers: Prosecutors who support resentencing sue LA County, Hochman

In separate hearings, the California State Parole Board is also analyzing the case, and the three decades the brothers have spent in prison. They will make their recommendations to the governor so he can decide whether or not to grant the brothers clemency.

The backstory:

Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted in 1996 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in Beverly Hills. Their defense claimed self-defense due to years of alleged abuse, while prosecutors argued the murders were financially motivated.

In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers' allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father -- a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, eight months before the August 1989 killings, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.

SUGGESTED: Gavin Newsom announces when Menendez brothers' will have Parole Board hearing

Interest in the case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.

What's next:

The re-sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin next Thursday, April 17 in Van Nuys.