50 YEARS LATER

Manson Family Murderer Leslie Van Houten Recommended for Parole, for Fifth Time

Leslie Van Houten, who narrowly escaped a death sentence for her part in the 1969 cult murders, recommended for parole for the fifth straight year.

A former follower of cult leader Charles Manson has been recommended for parole for the fifth time in as many years after spending more than a half-century behind bars for her part in the 1969 Manson Family killings. Leslie Van Houten, 72, was convicted of murder after admitting to having stabbed Rosemary LaBianca 14 times. She went through three trials: The first led to a conviction and death sentence but was overturned because her lawyer abandoned her; the second produced a hung jury; and the third another conviction for murder and a sentence of seven years to life, with the possibility of parole. That possibility still seems remote, however, despite the California Board of Parole Hearings finding her fit for release. Van Houten has been denied parole four times before, twice by former Gov. Jerry Brown and twice by Gavin Newsom, the current governor, who said last year that she still posed “an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time.”