Heartbreaking letter Erik Menendez wrote months before murdering parents

Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing

Last year, the lawyer of the Menendez brothers filed a petition to vacate their murder convictions in light of a harrowing a letter written by Erik, just months before he and Lyle violently murdered their parents at their Los Angeles home.

What did Lyle and Erik Menendez do?

Back in 1989 - following years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their own father - Lyle and Erik fired a number of close-range shotgun bullets at their parents, José and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menendez.

Despite claiming they were away from the property at the time and alleging that the 'mafia' were likely to blame for the killings, police began to suspect the boys' involvement in the crime when they began extravagantly spending their wealthy inheritance.

It was only after investigating authorities obtained tape recordings of Erik confessing to the murders to his therapist that the brothers were put on trial.

The televised court case became a national sensation, during which the pair claimed they'd acted in self-defence, breaking down in tears whilst recounting the vile sexual acts their father would put them through.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1994 (Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)

The brothers' testimonies were supported by several other members of their family, who were blindsided when, in 1994, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Campaigns for release

Since their sentencing, millions of followers of the Menendez brothers' disturbing story - as well as viewers of the latest addition to Netflix's Monsters series, which is inspired by the crime - have appealed for their release from prison.

And whilst their campaigns initially didn't appear to have had an effect, Lyle and Erik's lawyer last year filed a new petition for their release after several new pieces of evidence supporting their case came to light.

New evidence

Amongst the new information which has come to light in recent years, is a letter that Erik Menendez wrote back in 1988, eight months before he and Lyle murdered their parents.

The letter was discovered was their aunt, Marta Cano - sister of José Menendez - and addressed to her son, their cousin Andy, with whom Lyle and Erik had a close-knit relationship.

Erik Menendez wrote a letter prior to murdering his parents (California Department of Corrections)

Both Marta and Andy testified at their trial.

The letter included details of the heinous sexual abuse - including rape - that Erik had been suffering at the hands of his own father.

"I’ve been trying to avoid dad," the heartbreaking note read. "It’s still happening Andy, but it’s worse for me now.

"I can’t explain it. He [sic] so overweight that I can’t stand to see him. I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy.

"Every night, I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind."

The Menendez brothers' defence team believes that this should warrant a new trial, arguing that the letter is key information that prosecutors didn't have during their original trial.

Lyle and Erik still hope for an overturn in their convictions, though the LA County District Attorney's Office has yet to decide if they will retry the pair.