While brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez are pushing for their freedom, one man who investigated their double murder case believes their life sentences should be upheld. 

“If they were brought to trial again today, they would be found guilty,” Clark Fogg, a retired senior forensic specialist with the Beverly Hills Police Department, told Fox News Digital. 

Joseph Menendez, who goes by his middle name Lyle, and Erik were convicted of shooting their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez, to death in their Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, mansion in 1989.

They were ordered to serve life in prison in 1996, but they have recently been seeking reduced sentences.

LYLE MENENDEZ, WHO SHOTGUNNED PARENTS TO DEATH WITH BROTHER, PLANS FOR LIFE AFTER PRISON AMID NEW APPEAL

“The jury’s, you know, the judgment came down that they are to remain in prison for the rest of their life. … We have the best judicial system, you know, anywhere in the world,” Fogg said. “And we have to abide by that and abide by what a jury feels and what the judge feels is appropriate based upon not only this case, but other cases.”

A new Netflix true crime drama, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” has sparked a range of opinions on its accuracy and portrayal of the real story from decades ago. 

Fogg believes the show is “totally inaccurate” and “based on facts that did not happen.”

MENENDEZ BROTHER, WHO GUNNED DOWN PARENTS, SLAMS NEW SHOW FOR ‘DISHONEST PORTRAYAL’

Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989.  (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times)

Erik Menendez published his own statement through his wife Tammi Menendez on X, saying the show creates “a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show.” 

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women,” Erik said in his statement shared by Tammi. 

Fogg believes the brothers’ motive for the murders had to do with “greed and money.”

“Why did they even have to kill their mom in the first place?” Fogg said. “If you killed Mr. Menendez separately from her, she would end up getting the inheritance, right? So they had to eliminate both of them in order to have the inheritance.”

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Fogg investigated the Menendez brothers’ case in 1989. He took photos and preserved evidence at the crime scene, attended the autopsies and took the stand during both trials. When speaking with Fox News Digital, he painted a horrific picture of the crime scene. 

“One of the detectives had to actually hold a golf umbrella over my head as I was taking photos because, every so often, things would be falling from the ceiling,” Fogg said. “It comes down to one thing. The reason why they’re in jail is that they killed their mother and father brutally, not poison them, but shotgun them to death to a point that they were all over the ceiling. … That’s how brutally they were murdered.”

Fogg, who has spent 40 years working in law enforcement and has conducted over 30,000 crime scene investigations, said he had 44 rolls of film from the Menendez crime scene.

“It looked like Mrs. Menendez was trying to get away because there was blood on the bottom of the soles of her shoe. … Even at that point, they kept on killing her with, you know, gunshot blasts, one after another.”

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This 1992 file photo shows double murder defendants Erik, right, and Lyle Menendez, left, during a court appearance in Los Angeles. (Mike Nelson/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2023, lawyers for the Menendez brothers announced the discovery of a letter written by Erik Menendez to a cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the murders, in which he goes into detail about the ongoing abuse by their father.

“I’ve been trying to avoid dad,” Erik writes in the letter. The brothers claim this letter supports their original testimony during the first trial, alleging the abuse. 

Fogg questioned the authenticity of the letter. 

“We’re talking about his cousin dying, you know, two decades ago and then this letter mysteriously popping up,” Fogg said. “So, my questions are, is this letter valid? Have they done a paper analysis on it? Have they done an ink analysis to determine whether or not the ink is actually dating from the 1980s?”

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Lyle, left, and Erik, right, are pictured in recent mugshots from 2023. After years apart, they were moved into the same housing unit at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego in 2018, according to the New York Daily News. (California Department of Corrections)

Relatives of the brothers have recently spoken out in support of their freedom.

“We are virtually the entire extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez. We are 24 strong and today we want the world to know we support Erik and Lyle,” family members wrote in a statement that Tammi Menendez posted to X in response to the new Netflix series. “We individually and collectively pray for their release after being imprisoned for 35 years. We know them, love them, and want them home with us.”

Ryan Murphy, co-creator of the Netflix series, told the Los Angeles Times, “I think it’s faux outrage. I think that this story, this Netflix series, is the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years because it’s getting people to talk about it, and it’s getting people to ask the questions that are important.”

A separate documentary about the brothers, “The Menendez Brothers,” is scheduled to premiere on Netflix Oct. 7. The film will “offer another perspective — that of the brothers themselves, provided in all-new audio interviews,” according to a press release. 

Fogg believes the brothers remain behind bars for good reason. 

“They’re in jail, and they’re in jail for life without possibility of parole for one thing and one thing only,” Fogg said. “You don’t murder your parents. You don’t murder anybody, period.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When London Breed was elected as San Francisco’s first Black woman mayor, it was a pinch-me moment for a poor girl from public housing whose ascension showed that no dream was impossible in the progressive, compassionate and equitable city.

But the honeymoon was short-lived as a COVID-19 pandemic shuttered stores and tech workers retreated to home offices. Tent encampments surged and so did public drug use.

Breed now finds herself in a pricey campaign as she battles for a second term.

The moderate Democrat faces four main challengers on the Nov. 5 ballot, all fellow Democrats, who say Breed has squandered her six years in office. They say she allowed San Francisco to descend into chaos and blamed others for her inability to rein in homelessness and erratic street behavior, all while burglarized businesses pleaded for help.

Her closest competitors appear to be Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor and venture capitalist who is the most conservative of the group, and Daniel Lurie, an anti-poverty nonprofit founder and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who has pumped at least $6 million of his own money into his first bid for mayor.

The other two are Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors, the most liberal of the candidates, and Ahsha Safaí, a city supervisor and former labor organizer.

Streets have become cleaner and homeless tents much harder to find, but the daytime shooting in September of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in a popular central shopping district reignited the public safety issue.

“Even though San Francisco is seen as this kind of West Coast liberal icon, the city has experienced a series of episodes that challenge that, and that puts voters into kind of a testy mood,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University.

McCuan added that he thinks Breed still has the advantage, but “she’s just got difficulties around her.”

The Nov. 5 vote in a presidential election year is happening amid a national debate on public safety and a statewide vote on a tough-on-crime proposition that would, if approved, reclassify some misdemeanor theft and drug crimes as felonies.

Voters concerned over crime ousted progressive San Francisco prosecutor Chesa Boudin in a rare recall in 2022, and across the bay this year, the Oakland mayor is facing a recall election due in part to crime concerns.

In an interview, Breed, 50, said San Francisco is turning a corner — thanks to her hard work — and voters she meets are upbeat.

She championed a pair of successful public safety ballot measures in the March primary to expand police powers and compel some people into drug treatment. She ordered a crackdown on homeless tent encampments following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said bans on outdoor sleeping are allowed. Reported crime is down.

“We laid the groundwork, and now people are reaping the benefits of our infrastructure projects, the capacity we built and the technology we’re using to combat crime,” Breed said, adding that voters “know that someone’s in charge and making it happen.”

Farrell challenged that notion at a meeting with voters at a boisterous gastropub on a recent evening, saying Breed failed to maintain the streets he cleared of tents when he was interim mayor in 2018. Farrell, 50, was a city supervisor who served in the role for six months following the death of Mayor Ed Lee.

He envisions a San Francisco where police feel respected and older residents don’t have to hire private security when the city has a $15 billion annual budget.

“San Franciscans, given the state of our city right now, want not only a change of leadership, but a sense of direction for the city,” Farrell said in an interview this week.

Lurie, 47, says voters deserve a true public servant and that as a political outsider, he has the experience to overhaul corrupt government bureaucracy.

Voters are “desperate, desperate for someone that is going to come in there and bring accountability,” Lurie said.

As founder of the nonprofit Tipping Point Community, he says, he built tiny cabin shelters and permanent subsidized housing at a fraction of the cost and time that it would take City Hall.

Breed, Farrell and Lurie all have strong ties to wealthy business donors.

Lurie leads in fundraising with more than $13 million, including $1 million from his mother, businesswoman Miriam Haas, to an outside committee supporting his candidacy. Breed has collected more than $4.6 million, including $1.2 million from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, while Farrell has raised $3.5 million.

All three candidates also carry baggage.

Breed is embroiled in an unfolding scandal over financial mismanagement in the Dream Keeper Initiative, her marquee racial equity program for Black communities. The mayor says the program does good work.

Farrell has been accused by opponents of dodging campaign contribution limits by pooling staff and office costs with a campaign he established in support of a ballot measure, which can accept unlimited donations. Farrell says he is following the law.

And critics of Lurie say the affordable housing project his nonprofit built cannot be replicated citywide because it used a construction method opposed by local labor unions and required massive private investment. Lurie says naysayers will naysay.

San Francisco elects its mayor using a ranked choice voting system that could yield a winner who did does get the most first-place votes. It also can encourage unusual alliances between rival candidates and, indeed, this week Farrell and Safaí agreed to ask their supporters to make the other their No. 2 pick.

Breed won election as mayor in June 2018 to serve out the remainder of Lee’s term and was reelected in 2019 to a full term that has lasted five years instead of the typical four after voters changed the election calendar to line up with presidential contests.

What’s your experience biking in Denver?

For me, it can be difficult to find the right words to describe the joys of biking around the Mile High City and rolling onto an undiscovered trail in our beautiful Colorado.

It has reconnected me to a feeling of freedom from my childhood that has done wonders for my mental and physical health. While life On Two Wheels has changed my life for the better, it has also come with lots of challenges and opportunities to learn.

Several years ago, I gave up my car to see if I could become a daily bike commuter in Denver, racking up thousands of miles of lessons learned and joining the thousands of others who do the same.

And from sailing through the city on the easy days to trudging through the crazy snow days – I still find myself doing silly things and feel a responsibility to grow as a rider and shine a light on the issues and dangers other folks on two wheels experience in Denver and across Colorado.

Every single day when I roll into Denver7 News, I reflect on the close calls with drivers and other cyclists and wonder if other riders are experiencing the same.

News coverage needs more voices from people who experience Denver infrastructure on two wheels and that’s where you come in. As more and more people hop onto bikes – especially with the rise of e-bikes – Denver7 wants to hear your experiences rolling around our communities that were built for vehicles.

• What are your pain points?
• Where do you have the most close calls?
• What issues do you see the most while riding in Denver?
• In terms of trails, bike lanes and infrastructure: What is Denver getting right and wrong?
• What can we do to make biking more inclusive?
• Who in the biking community needs a shout out?
• How has cycling changed your life?
• For drivers: What interactions with cyclists stress you out?

I want to highlight your experiences biking in Denver and share the challenges when biking is not just for fun, but a primary form of transportation. There are two ways to share your story.
You can call Denver7’s On Two Wheels voicemail hotline at 303-832-0207 and tell me what’s grinding your gears or share a positive angle to biking.Please leave your name and contact info, along with your message.

You can also email us at on2wheels@denver7.com.

Denver7

On Two Wheels aims to dive deeper into the unique hazards when biking in Denver and across Colorado, but to also share the good things and lift up the amazing people who take up cycling to get stronger and feel better about their mental health.

I will also be up front about my own mistakes and attempts to try and keep calm on my own two wheels when things get a little crazy out there on the trails.

As we Denver7 launches On Two Wheels, I hope you check out this half-hour program below that introduces you to seasoned Denver riders who share their honest experiences on our trails and roads, so we can all get to where we’re going in one piece.

Watch the special report in the video player:

Biking dangers in Denver: Close call stories ‘On Two Wheels’