Charles Manson disciple Leslie Van Houten was granted parole on Thursday after 46 years in prison, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
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“It really should have happened a long time ago”, he said. She stabbed Mrs. LaBianca in the lower back several times.
Tate’s sister, Debra has fought against the release of Manson and his followers including Van Houten, although Van Houten was not involved in the Tate murders.
The recommendation for Van Houten’s parole has shocked and saddened the surviving daughter of the La Bianca couple and their extended family, who pleaded with the panel not to release her.
Manson, now 81 and serving a life sentence, directed his mostly young, female followers to murder seven people in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war between whites and blacks. Jerry Brown for final approval, according to the Times.
On Thursday, Van Houten described in graphic detail for the panel how she helped secure a pillow over the head of Rosemary La Bianca with a lamp cord and hold her down while another member of the “Manson family” began stabbing the woman in her home. She was not directly involved in the murders of actress Sharon Tate and four others the previous night.
“The Manson family are terrorists, albeit homegrown”, he said.
A former homecoming queen, Van Houten was the youngest Manson follower to be convicted of murder.
Van Houten, Pfeiffer said, had counseled fellow inmates, earned a master’s degree in humanities from California State University, taken numerous courses and been a model prisoner.
The panel’s decision will be reviewed administratively by the state’s Board of Parole Hearings for up to 120 days, then be sent to Gov.
Leslie Van Houten was originally sentenced to death on November 3, 1971 for two counts of first-degree murder for the August 10, 1969 homicides of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca and conspiracy to commit murder in the August 9, 1969 deaths of Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Sharon Tate Polanski, and Thomas Jay Sebring.
The 66-year-old was given the ruling by the California Board of Parole at a Chino prison where she has lived for decades.
Leslie Van Houten, in prison for two murders as a member of Charles Manson’s cult, confers with attorney Richard Pfeiffer during a visit to the Board of Parole Hearings.
Van Houten was sentenced to death, but re-sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the death penalty was unconstitutional.
“We disagree with the board’s decision and will evaluate how we plan to proceed”, said Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
FILE- In this June 5, 2013, file photo, Leslie Van Houten appears during her parole hearing at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif. She was retried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1978. Family member Bruce Davis, who was not involved in those killings, has been recommended for parole, but it was blocked by the governor.
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Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is seen during a hearing before the California Board of Parole Hearings at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif., Thursday, April 14, 2016.
