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(LOS ANGELES) — A cousin of Lyle and Erik Menendez is slamming Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, accusing him of being “hostile, dismissive and patronizing” to the family and asking for him to be removed from the case.

The cousin, Tamara Goodell, said Hochman’s conduct “eroded any remaining trust” in the DA’s office and she wants the case turned over to the attorney general’s office.

During Hochman’s Jan. 2 meeting with over 20 Menendez family members who want the brothers released, the relatives emotionally shared their “ongoing trauma and suffering,” Goodell said in a letter last week to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division. But she said Hochman “proceeded to verbally and emotionally re-traumatize the family by shaming us for allegedly not listening to his public press briefings.”

Hochman’s “hostile, dismissive, and patronizing tone created an intimidating and bullying atmosphere, leaving us, the victims, more distressed and feeling humiliated,” she said.

Goodell alleged Hochman focused on how he was treated rather than the victims.

“The lack of compassion was palpable, and the family left feeling not only ignored but further intimidated and revictimized,” she said.

Goodell cited her rights as a victim under Marsy’s Law — California’s bill of rights for victims — specifically noting it states that a victim is entitled “to be treated with fairness and respect” and be “free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse.”

One day after that initial meeting with Hochman, Goodell said she and her son met with Hochman, other prosecutors in the DA’s office, the brothers’ attorney and the family’s attorney — and she said she left that meeting feeling “disregarded and disrespected.”

Goodell said when she raised concerns about the DA’s office’s impartiality, Hochman “became visibility agitated, dismissive and aggressive.”

Goodell said her son witnessed the DA’s “abusive, belittling, and unprofessional conduct, further compounding the emotional toll on our family.”

Goodell also alleged that Hochman said the brothers’ attorney “has represented ‘horrible people.” “This inappropriate remark reinforced his bias,” Goodell said.

Besides asking for Hochman to be removed and the case turned over to the attorney general’s office, Goodell said she wants Hochman “held accountable” for his behavior.

She said she also wants Kathleen Cady — who was appointed by Hochman as director of the DA’s Bureau of Victim Service — removed from the case and “a new, unbiased” representative assigned to victim services.

Cady was formerly the attorney for Milton Anderson, the one Menendez relative pushing to keep the brothers in prison. Anderson died last week.

Goodell said that when she brought up her concerns about Cady in the second January meeting, “Hochman coldly dismissed me,” and “interrupted me, speaking in a condescending and hostile manner.”

Hochman said in January that Cady is “walled off from the Menendez case.”

The DA declined to comment on Goodell’s letter.

The Menendez brothers are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were 21 and 18, respectively, at the time, admitted to the murders but claimed they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.

The brothers are pursuing three possible paths to freedom.

One is a request for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The governor announced in February that he’s ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day risk assessment investigation into whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.

Another path is a habeas corpus petition the brothers filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial. Hochman in February asked the court to deny the habeas corpus petition, arguing the new evidence wasn’t credible or admissible, and saying their claims of sexual assault do not justify killing their parents in self-defense.

The third is resentencing.

In October, then-LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he was recommending the brothers’ sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The DA’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Hochman, who became DA in December, is expected to release his position on resentencing imminently. He is holding a press conference at 10 a.m. local time Monday.

ABC News’ Kaitlyn Morris contributed to this report.

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(MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, PA) — A Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon with five people aboard, according to the Federal Aviation Authority.

The small aircraft went down near a retirement village south of Lancaster Airport, the Manheim Borough Police Department told ABC News.

The plane had just departed from the airport shortly before it crashed, authorities said during a briefing on Sunday evening, adding that the plane might have skidded about 100 feet after it first made contact with the ground.

No one was hurt on the ground, officials confirmed.

All five passengers were transported to Lancaster General Hospital, where trauma and emergency teams were at the ready to provide care, according to hospital spokesperson.

Two of the patients were later transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s burn center by PennSTAR flight crews, the spokesperson said, and one patient was transported there by ground ambulance. Two patients remain hospitalized at Lancaster General as of Sunday night, they added.

The plane crash occurred around 3 p.m., according to the FAA, which said it will investigate. The National Transportation Safety Board is also monitoring the situation

According to audio from Air Traffic Control, the pilot told the Lancaster Airport control tower that his plane “has an open door we need to return for landing.”

ATC then cleared the plane to return, but a few seconds later the controller told the plane to “pull up,” the audio revealed.

Images taken by witnesses and shared with ABC News showed flames and smoke billowing from the crash site in Lititz, Manheim Township.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro posted a statement on X.com saying, “Our team at @PAStatePolice is on the ground assisting local first responders following the small private plane crash near Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township. All Commonwealth resources are available as the response continues, and more information will be provided as it becomes available.”

Information will be released as it becomes available, the NTSB said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil — a leader in Columbia University’s encampment movement — on Saturday night, claiming that his student visa had been revoked, according to attorney Amy Greer in a statement to ABC News.

However, Khalil is in the United States on a green card and not on a student visa, Greer said Sunday.

Despite informing agents about his legal status, ICE detained him, she said.

At one point during a phone call with agents, they hung up on Greer, a representative of her law firm told ABC News.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin addressed Khalil’s arrest on Sunday night, saying, “On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student. Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

“ICE and the Department of State are committed to enforcing President Trump’s executive orders and to protecting U.S. national security,” she added.

Secretary of State Marc Rubio also shared an article about Khalil on Sunday night and posted on X, “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”

Greer is challenging Khalil’s arrest but has been unable to locate where he is being held, she said.

“Overnight we filed a habeas corpus petition on Mahmoud’s behalf challenging the validity of his arrest and detention,” she said. “Currently we do not know Mahmoud’s precise whereabouts.”

Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant and a U.S. citizen, was unable to find him at an ICE facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he was purportedly transferred, Greer said — adding that he might have been transferred to Louisiana.

“ICE’s arrest and detention of Mahmoud follows the U.S. government’s open repression of student activism and political speech, specifically targeting students at Columbia University for criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza,” she said. “The U.S. government has made clear that they will use immigration enforcement as a tool to suppress that speech.”

The arrest occurred just days after President Donald Trump took to social media threatening to defund universities that allowed “illegal protests” and claiming “agitators” will be sent back to their home countries.

“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump posted on Truth Social on March 4.

Columbia released the following statement on Sunday: “There have been reports of ICE around campus. Columbia has and will continue to follow the law. Consistent with our longstanding practice and the practice of cities and institutions throughout the country, law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including University buildings.”

“Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community,” the statement continued.

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