Fifty-three years after the bloodbath that shook Hollywood to its core, one of Charles Manson’s most infamous followers finally walked free. Leslie Van Houten, now 73, was released from a California prison on July 11, marking the first time any of the killers involved in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders has ever been paroled.
Van Houten wasn’t at the Sharon Tate home the first night. But the following evening, she allegedly helped hold down Rosemary LaBianca while others stabbed the grocery store owner’s wife. Then, according to trial testimony, she picked up a knife and stabbed her more than a dozen times.
For decades, her parole was repeatedly denied. California governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom both blocked her release. But just last week, Newsom said he wouldn’t fight her freedom anymore.
She had earned degrees in counseling while behind bars and led rehabilitation programs for other inmates.
The Manson story still haunts America. The twisted guru, who died in prison at 83, sent his devoted followers to slaughter actress Sharon Tate — eight and a half months pregnant — and her friends inside her Hollywood Hills home. They also killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the next night, randomly chosen by Manson himself.
Other killers remain locked up. Patricia Krenwinkel, 75, was recommended for parole last year, but Newsom reversed it. Charles “Tex” Watson, 77, who led the Tate attack, has been denied parole repeatedly.
Susan Atkins died in prison in 2009.
The victims’ families have fought every step of the way. Sharon Tate’s sister Debra has spent decades attending parole hearings, demanding the killers stay behind bars. Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski all lost their lives that night.
Young Steven Parent was just visiting a guesthouse when he was shot dead.
As for the other Manson players, they’ve scattered or stayed silent. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who pointed a gun at President Gerald Ford, now lives quietly in New York. Linda Kasabian, the key witness who was granted immunity, died earlier this year at 73 in Washington state.
Van Houten’s release leaves the public wondering — is this the beginning of more freedom for the Manson family, or the end of a long, painful chapter in American crime history?
