Mass murder cult follower Leslie Van Houten granted parole

By KwakMin-jung Posted : September 8, 2017, 06:47 Updated : September 8, 2017, 06:47

Leslie Van Houten who was 19 years old at the time of murder voluntarily partook in murdering innocent victims and watching them die. Van Houten was granted parole on Wednesday, but the families of the victims opposed to releasing a dangerous murderer into the society. [Courtesy of Pixabay]


Charles Manson began a cult in California known as the Manson Family with his followers in the late 60s. Manson and his followers went on the killing sprees for a month from July 1969 at four different locations and committed nine murders. Manson was found guilty of seven counts of murders in December 1971. His followers including Leslie Van Houten were convicted in the same year. Van Houten was 19 years old when she partook in violently murdering Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Van Houten was originally not chosen by Manson to partake in the murder but she asked for permission to go and participate. She stabbed Rosemary LaBianca in her lower back and buttocks over a dozen times. She later claimed that the stab wounds were inflicted post-mortem. 

Van Houten was initially sentenced to death but the state of California Supreme Court ruled against the practice of death penalty in 1972. She was later resentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole.

The very same Leslie Van Houten who was a follower of Charles Manson and partook in gruesome murders was granted parole Wednesday by the parole board of California. She was granted parole last year but the decision was overturned by California governor Jerry Brown. Brown will have to decide whether to overturn the parole grant again or not in 30 days.

Even though Van Houten's lawyers claim that she has been a model prisoner and it should be taken into an account, prosecutors and the families of the victims, who were mercilessly murdered, voiced out strongly opposing that it is not a good idea to a murderer who willingly partook in stabbing and watching the victims die. 

Leslie Van Houten is now 68 years old. Her cult leader and patriarch of the Manson Family, Charles Manson, is now 82 years old. He is serving a life sentence at California's Corcoran State Prison. 














Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
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