Follower of cult leader Charles Manson released from California prison
LOS ANGELES — Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.
Van Houten was released to parole supervision, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
She left the California Institution for Women in Corona in the early morning hours and was driven to transitional housing, her lawyer, Nancy Tetreault, said.
“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this real,” Tetreault said.
Days earlier, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He said it was unlikely the state Supreme Court would consider such an appeal.
Van Houten, now in her 70s, received a life sentence for helping Manson’s followers carry out the August 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary. The LaBiancas were killed in their home, and their blood was smeared on the walls afterward. Van Houten later described holding Rosemary LaBianca down as others stabbed her. Then, Van Houten said, she picked up a knife and stabbed the woman more than a dozen times.
The slayings happened the day after Manson followers killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. Van Houten, who was 19 at the time, did not participate in the Tate killings.
Van Houten is expected to spend a year at a halfway house, learning basic skills such as how to drive a car, go to the grocery store, and get a debit card, Tetreault said.
Van Houten hopes to get a job, Tetreault said. She earned a bachelors and a masters degree in counseling while in prison and worked as a tutor for other inmates.
Cory LaBianca, Leno LaBianca’s daughter, said her family was heartbroken by the possibility that Van Houten could be released.