Sept. 6 (UPI) — A California commissioners panel recommended parole for Leslie Van Houten, the youngest follower of Charles Manson convicted in a slew of murders in 1969, on Wednesday, state officials said.
One year after rejecting her parole the first time, California Gov. Jerry Brownmust review her case and decide whether to approve her release.
Van Houten, now 68, was 19 when she joined other Manson family members in the murders of supermarket executives Leno LaBianca and Rosemary LaBianca in 1969. She was not directly involved in the murders of actor Sharon Tate and four others the previous night.
Van Houten was sentenced to death in 1971, but California overturned the death penalty one year later. The conviction was also overturned because her attorney died before the trial was completed. Another trial ended in a hung jury and finally in 1978, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Wednesday was her 21st time before a parole board.
