CALIFORNIA – In a split ruling Tuesday, a California state appeals court panel reinstated a grant of parole for former Charles Manson disciple Leslie Van Houten who was convicted as a participant in two grisly homicides in 1969. The judgment overturns an earlier decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to block her release, according to KESQ.
Newsom previously rejected parole for Van Houten in 2020. It’s unclear if Newsom will request that California Attorney General Rob Bonta petition the state Supreme Court to block her release. Bonta’s office referred questions to Newsom’s office, which didn’t respond to queries about possible next steps, KTLA reported.
Van Houten was 19 when she and other Manson cult disciples stabbed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca to death in August 1969. The murderers carved up Leno’s body and used the victim’s blood to write “Helter Skelter” on the refrigerator and “Rise” and “Death to Pigs” on walls. The convicted killer is currently 73-years-old.
The LaBianca murders came the day after other Manson followers, absent Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in a luxurious home in Benedict Canyon, in the west-central part of the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, bordering Beverly Hills. Film director Roman Polanski — currently exiled in France — shared the home with Tate, but was not present when the murders occurred.
The grisly homicides spread fear across Los Angeles and captivated the nation. The killings became the topic of numerous books and television features. One book written by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry was actually titled, “Helter Skelter.”
The term “Helter Skelter” originated as the title of a song performed in 1968 by the Beatles. It was interpreted by cult leader Manson as a message predicting inter-racial war in the U.S.
Newsom said that Van Houten still poses a danger to society, saying she offered an inconsistent and inadequate explanation for her involvement with Manson at the time of the killings.
However, two of the appellate judges see it differently. The Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles ruled 2-1 to reverse Newsom’s decision. The court said there is “no evidence to support the Governor’s conclusions” about Van Houten’s fitness for parole.
“Van Houten has shown extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends, favorable institutional reports, and, at the time of the Governor’s decision, had received four successive grants of parole,” the judges wrote. “Although the Governor states Van Houten’s historical factors ‘remain salient,’ he identifies nothing in the record indicating Van Houten has not successfully addressed those factors through many years of therapy, substance abuse programming, and other efforts.”
The lone dissenting judge agreed with Newsom that Van Houten’s petition to be released should be denied, arguing that there was some evidence Van Houten lacked insight into the heinous killings, KTLA reported.
Van Houten’s attorney, Nancy Tetreault, said she expects Newsom to request that Bonta ask the state Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision. This process could potentially take several years.
Furthermore, Bonta will likely request a stay of the appellate court’s ruling, according to Tetreault. The high court could order Van Houten’s release while it decides on whether to grant the stay.
“I will, of course, vigorously oppose any stay,” Tetreault said. “And they could let her out during that process.”
As of 2017, Van Houten was housed at the California Institution for Women in Corona, CBS News reported.
