Manson remains in hospital

LOS ANGELES — Mass murderer Charles Manson remained alive Friday, authorities said, but details of the illness that brought him to a Bakersfield hospital remain unclear.

Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the department would only say that Manson was still living but could not provide any further details.

Kern County Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Smallwood told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week that Manson is at a local hospital.

In January, Manson, 83, was rushed to Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield for what authorities at the time would describe only as a serious medical problem. He was returned to prison a few days later.

Manson’s health problems come as Gov. Jerry Brown is deciding whether to grant parole to one of his followers.

Leslie Van Houten was recommended for parole by a panel of state commissioners in Chino.

It was the 21st time that Van Houten, 68, has appeared before a parole board, and the second time that commissioners found her suitable for release.

Brown rejected her parole last year, concluding that Van Houten — the youngest member of Manson’s so-called family — posed “an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison.”