1 of 6 Leslie Van Houten in 1971 Photo: AP 2 of 6 Leslie Van Houten in December 1969 Photo: George Brich/AP 3 of 6 Leslie Van Houten in 1976 Photo: John Malmin, Los Angeles Times/Via Wikipedia 4 of 6 Leslie Van Houten (right) and two other women from the Manson “family”, 1970 Photo: George Brich/AP 5 of 6 Picture of Leslie Van Houten from 1999 Photo: Wikipedia 6 of 6 Leslie Van Houten in the year 2017 Photo: Stan Lim/AP
She could be the first out of prison
Leslie Van Houten, a follower of Charles Manson, was released from a California prison on Tuesday (11) after serving more than 50 years in prison for her involvement in two murders.
Van Houten “has been cleared for parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
She left prison in a town near Los Angeles in the early hours of the morning and was placed in temporary accommodation, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.
“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this is real,” Tetreault told the Associated Press.
The governor retired
Days earlier, Gov. Gavin Newsom had announced that he would not be appealing a court decision that found Van Houten could continue to serve his sentence on probation.
According to her attorney, she is expected to spend about a year in a transitional home learning basic skills like driving, shopping and getting a debit card.
The Crimes of Charles Manson
Van Houten, now in her 70s, was sentenced to life in prison for her part in the August 1969 murder of Los Angeles businessman Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary.
The couple were killed in their home and their blood was smeared on the walls. In court, Leslie described first holding Rosemary LaBianca with a pillowcase over her head while others stabbed her, and then stabbing the woman herself about 15 times.
The day before, Manson supporters had killed actress Sharon Tate and four of her guests. Leslie was not involved in this crime.
Charles Manson died in prison of natural causes in 2017 at the age of 83 after spending almost half a century behind bars.