HELTER SKELTER

Former Manson Follower, 77, Recommended for Parole Again

After 54 years in prison, one of the last Manson Family murderers to remain incarcerated could be released.

Patricia Krenwinkel, a Manson Family member involved in the 1969 murder spree that left seven people dead, has been recommended for parole by a panel of the California parole board, The New York Times reported. Now 77, Krenwinkel has been incarcerated at the California Institution for Women in Chino since 1971. After meeting Charles Manson in 1967, Krenwinkel—then known as Katie—was one of six followers to participate in a series of 1969 attacks, including the murder of actress Sharon Tate in Los Angeles, who was eight months pregnant at the time. During the two-night spree, Krenwinkel participated in six more murders, stabbing Folgers Coffee heiress Abigail Folger 28 times. Though she was initially sentenced to death row, Krenwinkel’s sentence was reduced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the state supreme court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972. Of the seven participants, three, including Manson, have died, and only Krenwinkel and Charles “Tex” Watson remain incarcerated; the others have been paroled. Before the ruling on May 30, Krenwinkel had been denied parole 15 times. She was recommended for parole in 2022, but California Governor Gavin Newsom warned she “still poses an unreasonable danger to society” and denied her parole. Now, her fate again rests in Newsom’s hands, as the preliminary recommendation will be reviewed by the legal decision Board of Parole Hearings, then sent to the governor’s desk for final approval.