Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison on parole

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten has been released on parole after serving more than half a century in prison over her role in the notorious LaBianca murders. 

Van Housten’s attorney, Nancy Tetreault, said her client left the California Institution for Women in the city of Corona, which is near Los Angeles, early Tuesday morning and was taken to transitional housing. She is expected to remain there for about a year to learn various life skills such as going to a grocery store and obtaining a debit card. 

Her release comes after the state parole board recommended it, finding that she had expressed remorse for her actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) rejected the recommendation, arguing that Van Houten is still a danger to society, but a state appeals court reversed his decision in May. 

Newsom decided late last week that he would not contest the appeals court’s ruling to the state supreme court despite being “disappointed” with it.

Van Houten was a member of the “family” of followers that Manson brought together for his cult in the late 1960s. She participated in the murders of grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969, along with other Manson family members. 

She has described her actions as having held Rosemary down with a pillowcase over her head while others stabbed her and then stabbing Rosemary herself. 

Other members of the cult, not including Van Houten, had killed actress Sharon Tate and four others the night before. 

Van Houten was initially sentenced to death for her actions, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after California abolished the death penalty in 1972. 

The state parole board has recommended Van Houten for release multiple times since 2016, but her parole had been rejected each time by Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) before him. 

Van Houten is the first former Manson family member who was convicted in one of the murders to be released from prison. Fellow members Tex Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel remain in prison. 

Charles Manson died in prison in 2017 from natural causes at age 83. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.