Member of the Manson cult, Susan Atkins, died Thursday night at the Central California Women's facility at 61.

Atkins committed one of history's most notorious crimes together with other members of Charles Manson's cult when they killed actress Sharon Tate and six other people during a bloody rampage in Los Angeles over two nights in 1969.

Atkins confessed to the killing of Tate, the eight month pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski, by stabbing her 16 times. Atkins was 21 at the time of the murder. After stabbing Tate to death, she killed four other house guests at the time. Atkins also was convicted in the earlier murder of music teacher Gary Hinman.

Following these killings, Atkins was sentenced to life imprisonment and had been receiving medical care at the prison's nursing facility over the past year. Atkins served 38 years of her life sentence.

According to reports from LATImes Atkins was in 2008 diagnosed with brain cancer.

While in prison, Atkins became a born again Christian and apologized for her role in the crimes. Prison staff endorsed her release at a hearing in 2005, but she was denied parole for the 13th time.

Religion California