ANAMARIA Baralt is the daughter of Carlos Baralt, a lifelong friend of José Menendez and the executor of his estate.
She is a fierce campaigner for Erik and Lyle Menendez’s release and has joined in on the fresh calls for their freedom inspired by the discovery of an old letter from Erik. Here’s everything you need to know about Anamaria.
Campaigning for the Menendez brothers
Not much is known about Anamaria’s early life, but her father met José while they were children in Cuba.
Carlos remained close friends with José, after marrying his older sister Teresita.
When José was murdered by Erik and Lyle, Carlos became the executor of his estate and claimed that the brothers’ father was planning to remove them from the will.
Since Erik and Lyle’s incarceration, Anamaria has campaigned for their release.
She told the US Sun: “My father loved José, but even when he was alive, he didn’t fight to keep them in jail.”
She added that she had signatures from “pretty much every” relative of Kitty and José Menendez, in support of their release.
The Menendez brothers’ crime
On August 20, 1989, the Menendez brothers murdered their parents Kitty and José in their family home.
While it was initially thought that their parents were murdered by the mob, Erik confessed to his therapist, Dr Jerome Oziel, that the brothers were behind the killing.
Dr Oziel’s mistress, Judalon Smyth, informed the police of the shocking revelation and the brothers were arrested.
The brothers alleged in court that they had been victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their father and said that they feared what their father might do if they spoke out against him.
Eventually, they were handed life sentences without the possibility of parole and have spent their lives in prison since.
Netflix and the Menendez brothers
Interest in the Menendez brothers surged after Ryan Murphy’s Netflix drama Monsters landed on the streaming platform.
The series dramatized the events of the two brothers’ lives, but Anamaria felt that the show didn’t properly depict Lyle.
She said: “The portrayal of Lyle as this rage-fueled, fly-off-the-handle, aggressive personality is so far off the mark of his personality.
“When I spoke to Lyle the other night, I said, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard you raise your voice.’ And he agreed.”
The brothers are hoping for another chance at freedom, after the recovery of a letter that details Erik’s alleged abuse by José.
The letter was found by Erik’s aunt, Marta Cano, and was addressed to her son, Andy.
