‘Monsters’ star Cooper Koch supports convicted Menendez brothers in court at resentencing hearing
At least one familiar face was spotted at Lyle and Erik Menendez’s pivotal resentencing hearing this week.
Cooper Koch, who portrayed the younger Menendez brother in Ryan Murphy’s 2024 Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” was seen walking into California court on Friday morning, captured by Fox Local.
Koch, 28, was spotted walking toward the Van Nuys Courthouse with his partner, Stuart McClave, alongside Erik’s wife, Tammi Saccoman, and stepdaughter, Talia Menendez.
Erik wed his wife in the waiting room of Folsom State Prison in 1999.
The “Swallowed” actor became an outspoken champion for the Menendez brothers’ release after portraying Erik in last year’s Netflix series. Actor Nicholas Alexander Chavez played the older Menendez brother.
In October, shortly after the then-Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón called for the brothers’ resentencing, Koch released a statement in support of them.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude and hope for the progress we’ve seen today,” the actor wrote on his twin brother’s Instagram Story at the time. “Gascón’s recommendation has ignited a renewed sense of possibility that Lyle and Erik could finally be released after decades behind bars.”
Read more on the Menendez brothers’ case
- Menendez brothers reveal hopes for life after prison — and what they really thought of Netflix’s ‘Monsters’: ‘People were educated’
- Menendez brothers feeling ‘hope’ for first time in decades ahead of parole hearing: ‘A new thing for us’
- Gavin Newsom sets date for Menendez brothers’ final parole hearing as he weighs clemency
- Menendez brothers will get a shot at freedom after long court battle
“But, this journey is not over,” he added. “There are still critical steps ahead: the judge must endorse the resentencing, and, if that happens, the parole board must recognize the time they have served as fitting for the crime.”
“Our voices, our unwavering support, remain crucial — not just for the brothers to ensure their release, but also for every victim of sexual abuse fighting to be heard,” Koch said. “I hope to see Erik and Lyle soon. Free from all of this.”
Loch this past February after Gascón’s successor, District Attorney Nathan Hochman, opposed the Menendez brothers’ request for a new trial.
“I am deeply troubled by the statement made today by District Attorney Nathan Hochman,” the “Monsters” actor wrote on his brother’s Instagram.
“It is still my firm belief that the Menendez brothers did not receive a fair second trial and all of the evidence that supported their claims of sexual, psychological, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their mother and father were not considered,” he added.
“I remain hopeful that there is still a path forward that will lead to their freedom,” he noted, “so I encourage all of their supporters to keep their voices strong.”
Lyle and Erik Menendez are both currently serving life sentences for murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, with a shotgun in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
The pair were arrested in 1990, and Lyle, now 57, and Erik, now 54, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1996.
Lyle and Erik, who claim they killed their parents after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of their father, filed petitions to have their sentences re-evaluated in May 2023 following new alleged evidence in the case.
Besides Koch, Kim Kardashian has also served as an outspoken advocate for the brothers’ release.
