Van Houten Loses 15th Parole Bid

A two-member panel of the state parole board refused Thursday to release former Manson cult member Leslie Van Houten, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1969 deaths of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Feliz. It was the 15th time her parole had been denied.

Although the commissioners praised Van Houten’s spotless disciplinary record at the California Institution for Women in Corona and her work tutoring inmates, they said they would wait a year and review her record.

Van Houten, 57, was not involved in the murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and her houseguests at the beginning of the Charles Manson cult’s notorious crime spree.

But her eyes filled with tears when she expressed remorse for the deaths of the LaBiancas. She addressed the members of the victims’ families who opposed her release at the hearing.

“It’s very hard to know there’s never going to be a way to make it OK. I just want them to understand that when they voice their sorrows, I’m listening,” she said.