Featured Image Credit: Los Angeles Times/Getty Images/NBC Los Angeles
Topics: True Crime, US News, Menendez Brothers
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: True Crime, US News, Menendez Brothers
The aunt of Lyle and Erik Menendez, Terry Baralt, has been found unresponsive just a matter of days after breaking her silence for the first time in 35 years of their imprisonment.
Last week, Baralt, 85, spoke out publicly for the first time as she issued a plea for her two nephews to be released from prison following their conviction of first-degree murder for the 1989 fatal shooting of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez.
Speaking to ABC News on Saturday (12 April), Baralt - who is the only surviving sister of José - urged: "It's time.
"Thirty-five years is a long time. It's a whole branch of my family erased. The ones that are gone and the ones that are still paying for it, which were kids."
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Speaking about the Menendez brothers, she continued: "For everybody, this is a story. For me, it's very personal. Those kids, they're like the boys that I didn't have."
Their aunt also shared that she is worried she won't live long enough to see Erik and Lyle leave prison due to her colon cancer diagnosis.
"It is a concern," she said. "I have tried to go see them as much as I can, but it's hard because I live in New Jersey and I'm 85. I don't have that much time."
And now, a day after the initial ABC interview, which featured eight family members showing their unanimous support for the release of the brothers, it has been reported by PEOPLE that Bryan Freedman, a lawyer representing the Menendez family, confirmed that Baralt was 'rushed to the hospital and remains in critical condition' on Sunday (13 April).
TMZ reports that the 85-year-old was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Los Angeles, with a further statement from the Menendez family confirming that she was found unresponsive, according to ABC 7.
Taking aim at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in his statement, Freedman claimed that the 'disturbing and reckless decision' to show 'an unredacted, graphic image of José Menendez’s lifeless body' had 'retraumatised family members in attendance and led to the hospitalisation of' Baralt.
The images were reportedly showed last week in court, the family said in their statement.
It continued: "No one prepared us. There was no warning, no humanity - just shock and pain inflicted on people who have already endured decades of grief.
"The display was retraumatizing, completely avoidable, and we believe it was intentional. The District Attorney's Office knew what the law required and deliberately chose to ignore it."
In a statement to TMZ, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said: "To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologise for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo."
They also released another statement on Sunday (13 April), which said: "We never intend to cause distress or pain to individuals who attend a court hearing. We understand the nature of the evidence of these heinous double murders was deeply emotional.
"However, by design, these hearings are intended to be a place where the truth, no matter how painful, is brought to light. That truth starts with the abject brutality and premeditation of the murders themselves.
"To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo.
"We remain committed to ensuring future proceedings move forward with the dignity, respect and transparency this case deserves. We caution anyone attending a hearing in person to be prepared for some of the difficult details and images surrounding these tragic circumstances."
Tyla has reached out to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for further comment.