Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after 53 years

July 2024 · 2 minute read

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Charles Manson devotee Leslie Van Houten was sprung from a California prison Tuesday morning after spending the last 53 years behind bars.

Van Houten, who was hit with a life sentence for her role in two infamous murders, “was released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Van Houten’s freedom comes days after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be paroled even though he was disappointed in the court’s decision.

Van Houten was convicted for helping Manson and other followers in the killings of Leno LaBianca, a Los Angeles grocer, and his wife Rosemary in 1969. The couple was killed in their home,with their blood smeared on the walls afterward.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, later admitted to holding Rosemary LaBianca down with a pillowcase as others stabbed her. She then stabbed the woman more than a dozen times.

She was previously recommended for parole five times since 2016, but Newsom and ex-Gov. Jerry Brown shot them all down.

Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten was released from prison Tuesday. AP
Van Houton spent 53 years in prison for her role in the Manson murders. AP

But a state appeals’ ruling paved the way for her to walk out of prison in May when they ruled she should be released.

“She’s just grateful that people are recognizing that she’s not the same person that she was when she committed the murders,” her attorney Nancy Tetreault previously said.

Tetreault confirmed her client was let go early Tuesday morning and taken to transitional housing.

Charles Manson died in prison in 2017 of natural causes after he was imprisoned for almost half a century. AP

The LaBianca family expressed disappointment in the impending release.

“My family and I are heartbroken because we’re once again reminded of all the years that we have not had my father and my stepmother with us,” LaBianca’s daughter, Cory LaBianca, told the Associated Press Friday.

“My children and my grandchildren never got an opportunity to get to know either of them, which has been a huge void for my family,” the 75-year-old relative said.

Charles Manson died in prison in 2017 of natural causes after he was imprisoned for almost half a century locked up. He was 83. 

With Post wires

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