Van Houten Denied Parole for 12th Time
Parole was denied a 12th time Thursday to former Charles Manson Family member Leslie Van Houten, convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 stabbings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
In a hearing at the California Institution for Women in Frontera, the state Board of Prison Terms found that Van Houten was unsuitable for parole but said she would be eligible again in a year, said spokeswoman Liz Tanaka.
Manson and several of his followers were convicted of murdering actress Sharon Tate and four friends at the actress’ Benedict Canyon home on Aug. 9, 1969.
The following night, Van Houten and two other Manson Family members stabbed the LaBiancas to death in Los Feliz. At both locations, the murderers wrote messages on walls using the victims’ blood.
Before Thursday’s hearing, Leno LaBianca’s first wife, Alice LaBianca of Newport Beach, wrote to the board, asking them to deny Van Houten parole.
Speaking out for the first time since her ex-husband’s murder, Alice LaBianca wrote that “compassion should be given to the victims of murder and not the killers.” Her four children grew up fatherless because of the Manson-led murders, she stated.
She could not be reached for comment Thursday.
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