One of Charles Manson’s famous and murderous followers may be set free after spending 45 years behind bars. Leslie Van Houten, the youngest cult follower at just 19-years-old was not one of the participants in the iconic Sharon Tate massacre of 1969; though she did participate in another series of grizzly slayings the following day, August 9th, which claimed the lives of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Her role in the murders including holding down the victims and tying one up with electrical cord while the other cult members attacked and stabbing Rosemary over 14 times and using her blood to write messages on the wall. Van Houten has since claimed that Rosemary was already dead when she stabbed her.
The California State Parole Board has denied Leslie Van Houten’s parole requests 19 times in the past, but on Thursday, April 14, the Parole Board and the California Institution for Women in Chino recommended that she become eligible to be set free. Both parties noted that she has been nothing short of an exemplary inmate with no violent outbursts other than the LaBianca Murders, which have since been blamed on hallucinogenic drugs and the feeble mind of an impressionable teenager. They even note that Van Houten has sought out education while behind bars and has earned herself several degrees.
This does not mean that Van Houten will actually be set free. She still has to face a second parole board hearing and go in front of Gov. Jerry Brown, who will ultimately decide her fate. Brown previously denied another Mansion Family member’s request for parole in 2014. Van Houten has been in prison since she was 19, and now she’s 66 – which some have said is more than the maximum sentence for an accessory to murder.
Sharon Tate’s sister, Debra, and Leno & Rosemary’s children have launched a petition to try and keep Leslie Van Houten behind bars. The petition already has 4,182 signatures and you can be one of them by clicking here.
[Washington Times] [LA Times] [ABC NEWS]
