Cooper Koch ‘grateful’ for Kim Kardashian’s reform efforts for Menendez brothers

Netflix’s Monsters star Cooper Koch has revealed he’s “grateful” that Kim Kardashian organised for him to visit the real-life Menendez brothers in prison. 

Following the release of the controversial but popular dramatisation of the Menendez brothers’ crime and subsequent trial in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Kardashian and the star of the series visited the pair at the Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility, in San Diego, California, this September.

According to TMZ, the Golden Globe nominee visited alongside Kardashian, as well as the legal advocate’s sister Khloe, mother Kris Jenner, and film producer Scott Budnick. The visit would later form the basis of Kardashian’s personal essay for NBC News, where she urged the legal system to reconsider their life sentences.

In a new interview with Paper Magazine, Koch said that he “will owe her for the rest of my life” for organising that meeting, given that the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting their parents in 1989. 

After being asked about what it was like to go to their prison with The Kardashians star to visit the Menendez brothers, Koch said: “It was very surreal. It was a pretty crazy day. All I can say is that I am just so grateful for her, and I will owe her for the rest of my life that she made that happen – and so quickly. 

“Through my stylist Jamie, she called me, and within two hours a plan was already in place. She called me on Monday and then we went on Saturday,” he explained of the logistics. 

“Her passion for prison reform and incarcerated individuals is so inspiring. I’m forever grateful to her for that experience and for including me. That day, and then watching the entire show with my friends and family, were the two best days so far.”

Along with the support of the criminal justice reform advocate, the brothers are now facing a re-sentencing hearing. 

On a 25 November status hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said the resentencing date has been rescheduled for 30 January. It was originally scheduled for 11 December, but Jesic cited his reasons for changing the date to allow the new district attorney time to review the case.