Member of Charles Manson’s murderous cult, 81, has parole hearing postponed after he appeared in podcast called ‘The Lighter Side of Serial Killers’: Serving life for his role in killing musician, 34, and Hollywood stuntman, 35, in 1969

The parole hearing for a member of Charles Manson’s murderous cult has been postponed after he appeared on a true crime podcast.

Bruce Davis, 81, has been serving a life sentence since 1972 for his role in the murders of musician Gary Hinman, 34, and Hollywood stuntman Donald ‘Shorty’ Shea, 35.

He appeared on the podcast The Lighter Side of Serial Killers after giving two telephone interviews in February and April 2023 about his Christian faith and the upcoming book he is writing in prison.

Davis even wrote a Christmas card for Keith Rovere, a former prison chaplain, where he expressed his excitement about his upcoming parole hearing on January 18.

But this was postponed until August 8 after his podcast appearance when he said commissioners raised concerns in favor of the release.

“I have yet to hear the podcast,” Davis said Fox News digital. “Does it sound like I’m glorifying Manson or my crimes?”

He spoke to Rovere twice last year and said: ‘He wanted my help and the help of my followers to ask him questions about his past to jog his memory in looking for stories for the book.’

The pair talked about how Davis first met Manson and his time at the cult’s ranch in Los Angeles, as well as stories about the other members in Manson’s life.

He described the sect leader as a “small, undersized person” with enormous influence over his followers.

“I know the dark side,” Davis told Rovere in a phone call from San Quentin State Prison.

“I would never say no to Charlie because I wanted to be his favorite guy.”

He later spoke about his parole hearings and how the relatives of the murdered victims were present.

“After I was found fit, the next time I went to the board, the district attorney went and picked up all these victims,” Davis said.

‘The victims’ relatives had never been interested in coming to my hearings before.

‘But this time they showed up and my lawyer was shocked, ‘oh my goodness, they’ve got all these people’.

“I kind of freaked out about him.”

But he said they didn’t talk about his crimes, but about how Manson attracted a cult following and members were usually high on drugs.

“I know I don’t know everything,” he added. “And there will be questions that push something and bring back something that is part of the story that I rejected.”

Davis has been in prison for 51 years since he was convicted of the 1969 first-degree murder of Hinman and Shea.

He said he attacked Shea with a knife and held a gun on Hinman while Manson cut Hinman’s face with a sword.

“I wanted to be Charlie’s favorite guy,” he said during a 2014 parole hearing.

After the murders, other members of the cult wrote “political pig” in his own blood on the wall of Hinman’s home.

There were six other murders committed by the Manson cult in 1969. Members stabbed, beat and shot young actress Sharon Tate, who was heavily pregnant, in her Hollywood Hills home on August 8, 1969.

They also killed her friends, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski and teenager Steven Parent, who had been visiting an acquaintance in the estate’s guesthouse.

The next night, Manson and some of his followers struck again, this time killing wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary at their home.

Davis was recommended for parole seven times between 2010 and 2021, but this was blocked by three successive California governors.

Parole panels have repeatedly decided that Davis no longer poses a risk to public safety, citing his age and good behavior.

But his release was blocked by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrats Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom.

In 2019, Newson said Davis has yet to demonstrate he has “a comprehensive understanding of how he came to participate in such extreme violence.”

“As a result, I do not believe he has the current judgment and skills to refrain from violent situations in the future if released.”

The board granted Davis parole again in 2021, but Newsom again overturned the commissioner’s decision.

In July 2022, officials denied him parole and he was not scheduled to be eligible until 2025, but his application was approved for an administrative review the following year.

His eligibility hearing was postponed by parole officials on January 18, and California Department of Corrections records show it was rescheduled for August 8.

Podcast host Rovere said the decision came after the commissioners learned of the episode with Davis.

“If the parole board felt uncomfortable just doing a podcast, who knows what they’ll think,” he said.

‘Most of the people I talk to are not believers and not religious. I don’t impose it on them, but that is my personal basis.

“It’s mostly about making a positive change in their lives, because no one else is doing it.”

Davis was convicted of the two murders along with Manson and another follower, Steve Grogan.

Grogan was released on parole in 1985 after leading police to Shea’s buried body. Robert Beausoleil, 72, convicted in Hinman’s death, remains in prison.

Manson died in prison on November 19, 2017 at the age of 83.

Manson followers Leslie Van Houten, 70; Patricia Krenwinkel, 71; and Charles “Tex” Watson, 73, are in prison for Tate’s murders. Their co-defendant, Susan Atkins, died in prison of cancer in 2009.

DailyMail.com has contacted the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for comment.