BREAKING NEWS: Manson family killer Leslie Van Houten, 73, is released from prison after serving 53 years of a life sentence
- Leslie Van Houten walked out of a prison in California on Tuesday
- She was herded into temporary housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said
- It comes after Governor Gavin Newsom said he would not grant parole
Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison on Tuesday after serving 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two of the infamous Manson murders.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Van Houten was “released under parole supervision” and herded to temporary housing.
The convicted killer is expected to spend about a year in temporary housing where she will learn basic skills such as going to the grocery store and getting an ATM card, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.
“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this is real,” the lawyer said.
Van Houten’s release comes just four days after Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight an appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He said it was unlikely the state Supreme Court would consider an appeal.
Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison on Tuesday after serving 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders
The 73-year-old was serving a life sentence for helping Charles Manson’s followers carry out the 1969 murder of Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary. Manson is pictured above
Newsom had rejected Van Houten’s parole three times before while in office, but a state appeals court in May overruled his most recent parole denial.
The 73-year-old was serving a life sentence for aiding Charles Manson’s followers in the 1969 murder of Leno LaBianca, a Los Angeles grocer, and his wife Rosemary.
Van Houten was 19 when she and other cult members stabbed the couple as part of Manson’s deranged plan to spark a race war by terrifying Los Angeles with a killing spree.
She has shared how she held Rosemary when she was killed before stabbing her 16 times in the stomach.
The killings occurred the day after followers of Manson killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. Van Houten took no part in the Tate murders.
Van Houten was first sentenced to death for her crimes, but her sentence was reduced to life in prison after the death penalty was outlawed in California in 1972.
The Manson family would claim at least seven more victims, including pregnant actress Tate and coffee heiress Abigail Folger.
Manson died of natural causes in prison in 2017 at the age of 83 after nearly half a century behind bars.
This is an evolving story