Additional Coverage:
- Former Charles Manson follower is recommended for parole (nbcnews.com)
Patricia Krenwinkel, a follower of Charles Manson, has been recommended for parole for a second time. The 77-year-old Krenwinkel is serving a life sentence for her involvement in the infamous 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
A California parole board made the recommendation on Friday. The decision now awaits review by the Board of Parole Hearings and Governor Gavin Newsom, who rejected Krenwinkel’s initial parole recommendation in 2022. This review can take up to 150 days.
Krenwinkel was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder for her role in the killings of actress Sharon Tate and four others, as well as Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the following night. The murders were part of what prosecutors described as Manson’s attempt to incite a race war.
This was Krenwinkel’s 16th parole hearing. She had been denied parole 14 times before her first recommendation in May 2022.
Krenwinkel, who was 19 when she met Manson, has testified that she left her life behind to follow him under the false belief of a romantic relationship. Instead, she was subjected to abuse and manipulation.
During the LaBianca murders, Krenwinkel wrote messages in the victims’ blood on the walls.
Originally sentenced to death along with Manson and other followers, Krenwinkel’s sentence was commuted to life with the possibility of parole in 1972 following a change in California law. She is currently California’s longest-serving inmate. The governor’s office has not yet commented on the parole board’s recommendation.
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- Former Charles Manson follower is recommended for parole (nbcnews.com)