The Menendez brothers' aunt made emotional admission about their imprisonment before being hospitalised
Just days before being found unresponsive at a Los Angeles hotel, Lyle and Erik Menendez' aunt spoke out on her nephews' widely-debated imprisonment for the very first time.
In the years since the pair were jailed for the gruesome 1989 murder of their parents José and Kitty Menendez in a shock televised trial, José's sister Terry Baralt has avoided speaking to the press about their sentencing.
Her nephews admitted in court to having shot their mother and father at close range, claiming to have been emotionally, physically and sexually abused since their childhood years.
Despite claiming that their crime was spurred by desperation to avoid their parents' torture, the Menendez brothers were handed life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1996.
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The case somewhat re-emerged in popular culture last year following the release of Ryan Murphy's true-crime Netflix drama Monsters.
A mass of cult followers have since called for Lyle and Erik's release, claiming that if their case went to trial today, the end result of their punishment would have been drastically different.
The Menendez brothers also subsequently requested that their sentence be reviewed on the grounds of alleged new evidence - a plea granted by Los Angeles prosecutors. The resentencing hearing was later pushed back a number of times, but is said to go ahead on 17 April.
Among those to have spoken out is the pair's 85-year-old aunt, Baralt.
After maintaining her silence for 35 years, the pensioner - who is the only surviving sister of José Menendez - told ABC News last week that 'it's time' for her nephews to be freed.
"Thirty-five years is a long time," she told the news outlet. "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."
Adding of the case, 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."
Baralt went on to express her concern that she wouldn't live long enough to see Lyle and Erik released, having been diagnosed with colon cancer. "It is a concern," she confessed.
"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."
Tragically, days after her interview, Baralt was 'rushed to hospital' and remains in 'critical condition', as per a statement released by the family's lawyer Bryan Freedman.
According to TMZ, she was found unresponsive in her LA hotel room.
Freedman alleged that Baralt's health scare was prompted by the 'disturbing and reckless decision' of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office to show 'an unredacted, graphic image of José Menendez’s lifeless body' in court last week which ''retraumatised family members in attendance'.
"No one prepared us," the lawyer's statement hit out. "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."
The District Attorney’s Office responded in a statement to TMZ: "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."
Another statement later released added: "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."
The latest message continued: "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."
The photo in question was not new to the public, and had featured in a Netflix documentary about the brothers.
Topics: Menendez Brothers, US News, True Crime, Crime, News
Rhianna Benson