The sister of Kitty Menendez, the mom infamously killed in 1989 by sons Lyle and Erik Menendez, grew emotional on Wednesday as she talked about the essential context missing from the trial that found the brothers guilty of murder: that both had been serially molested by their father.

The whole world was not ready to believe that the boys could be raped, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, 92, said.

But she said shes seen societal attitudes change in the decades since the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole for gunning down their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday with more than 20 relatives, VanderMolen called for their convictions and sentencing to be reconsidered in light of new evidence and better public awareness about the effects of child sexual abuse.

The evidence of their fathers abuse would not only be admitted in court, it would provide essential context for why they acted as they did. No jury today would issue such a harsh sentence without taking their trauma into account, she said.