Cousins of Menendez brothers say they would welcome them if judge frees them

Erik and Lyle Menendez. File picture: California Dept. of Corrections/AP

Several cousins of Erik and Lyle Menendez have told the brothers’ resentencing hearing that they should be released after serving nearly 30 years in prison for the murder of their parents, and that they would welcome them into their homes.

The brothers did not show any apparent emotion during most of the evidence as they appeared by videolink, but appeared to chuckle when one of their cousins, Diane Hernandez, told the court that Erik Menendez received A+ grades in all his classes during his most recent semester in college.