- Leslie Van Houten was a member of the murderous Manson Family cult.
- She participated in the infamous LaBianca Murders in Los Angeles.
- In July of 2023, Leslie was released from prison after serving 53 years.
Convicted murderer and former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten spent over 50 years behind bars before being released in California on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Back in 1971, she was convicted of 2 first degree murder counts for her participation in the infamous, violent deaths of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles in 1969. At the time of her release, she had served 53 years of a life sentence for her role in the grisly murders of the grocer and his wife.
According to CBS News, the now-73-year-old was released early in the day and transported to a transitional housing facility. Leslie finally received parole after years of repeatedly being shot down by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who finally relented. Newsom had pushed back on her release on three previous occasions.
Amid news of her release after more than half a century in prison, here’s what to know about Leslie Van Houten.
Leslie Van Houten was the youngest of Charles Manson’s followers
Leslie was just 19 years old when she took part in a series of murders committed in the name of notorious serial killer Charles Manson during the summer of 1969 in Los Angeles. Click here to see pics of Charles, who died in November of 2017 at the age of 83.
She’s been very open about the time she spent with the Manson Family
The former Manson follower has confessed to murdering both Leno La Bianca and his wife Rosemary in their home in August 1969, during the summer she joined Manson’s cult. At a parole hearing in 2016, she revealed she helped hold the woman down while another cult member stabbed her over and over. Then Leslie stabbed Rosemary 12 times. However, Leslie was not with the cult when they famously murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate, along with four other victims, in a Benedict Canyon massacre.
Leslie was the youngest woman ever sentenced to death in California during the 1971 Charles Manson trial
Leslie was convicted in the initial Manson trial and sentenced to death. However, all the executions in California were halted in 1972 after the California Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Leslie was granted a new trial where her defense to first degree murder was diminished responsibility. In that trial, the jury failed to agree on a verdict. It was at a third trial that Leslie was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole — which she was granted before being released in July of 2023.
Leslie has put her time in prison to good use
The convicted murderer has been incarcerated for more than 50 years and in that time has earned college degrees and has reportedly acted as a model prisoner at the California Institution for Women in Chino, according to Fox News. According to TMZ, she also became religious and expressed remorse over the horrific LaBianca murders.
Leslie endured severe trauma prior to joining Manson’s cult
The parolee was a former high school homecoming princess and a cheerleader, before she dropped out of school and joined the serial killer’s cult. Leslie has testified that she joined the cult after she began doing drugs to cope with the trauma of her parents’ divorce and her teen pregnancy, during which her mother forced her to have an “induced miscarriage.”