On Tuesday, Leslie Van Houten, a former follower of Charles Manson, was released from prison after serving a 53-year sentence, as confirmed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Van Houten’s attorney stated that she has been relocated to a transitional living facility. The department specified that she will be under parole supervision and will have a maximum parole term of three years, with a review scheduled after one year.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced last week that he would not intervene or seek to block Van Houten’s parole, after previously reversing her parole grant three times since assuming office. Erin Mellon, communications director for the Office of the Governor, expressed disappointment with the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Van Houten but stated that further action would be unlikely to succeed as the California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases, typically not based on fact-specific determinations.
Van Houten was 19 years old when she participated in the brutal murders of Leno LaBianca, a wealthy grocer, and his wife, Rosemary LaBianca, on August 10, 1969, at their Los Angeles residence. Both victims were stabbed to death, and the word “war” was carved on Leno LaBianca’s stomach.
In a 1994 interview with ABC News, Van Houten disclosed her involvement, mentioning that she and another Manson follower took Rosemary LaBianca into a bedroom where they heard the gruesome sounds of Leno LaBianca’s death. She reflected on the realization that they were taking the lives of people who loved each other. Van Houten explained that Charles “Tex” Watson, another follower, handed her a knife and instructed her to participate in the heinous act as Manson had commanded.
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Notably, Van Houten was not involved in the infamous “Manson family” murders of actress Sharon Tate and four others, which occurred at a different Los Angeles home the night before. While Manson himself did not physically commit the killings, he orchestrated his followers to carry them out. Manson passed away in prison in 2017.