Who Is Leslie Van Houten? Charles Manson's Youngest Follower Granted Parole

Leslie Van Houten, the 68-year-old American murderer who was serving a life sentence in relation to the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca was granted parole by a California parole board on Wednesday. It was the 21st time that Houten appeared before the parole board.

The parole decision will now be reviewed by the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, who may decide to modify, approve or uphold the decision, and in case any action isn't taken, Van Houten’s parole would stand.

LaBianca’s nephew Louis Smaldino was particularly miffed and opposed the decision of granting any parole to the Manson family. “No member of the Manson family deserves parole, ever. She is a total narcissist and only thinks of herself and not the damage she has done,” he said.

Van Houten who was 19-years-old when she was convicted of brutally murdering supermarket executive Leno and his wife Rosemary LaBianca, was arrested a couple of weeks after the incident and later convicted at the Charles Manson trial.

Being the youngest defendant at the original trial that took place, it was speculated that Van Houten could receive a recommendation for mercy, which she subsequently lost as she giggled during the testimony about the murders. After this incident, she was sentenced to death in March 1971 along with Manson and two others, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel, and became the youngest woman that was ever sentenced to death in California.

The execution, however, was halted in 1972 because of a Supreme Court ruling which stated that the death penalty was unconstitutional in 1972. In 1977, Van Houten was awarded a retrial which was rendered pointless as the jury could not agree upon a verdict. A third trial was then awarded to Van Houten where she was first set free on bail but later found guilty again. It was during this third trial that she was asked to serve a life sentence with a possibility of parole.

Van Houten was the youngest member of the “Manson Family,” that terrorized California in the late 1960’s. Its cult leader Charles Manson was convicted and found guilty of seven murders in 1971, including that of actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant at the time.

Van Houten, who was born in a middle-class church going family in Los Angeles was traumatized after her parents got divorced when she was 14. She later became pregnant when she was 17 years old. She later dropped out of school and adopted a hippie lifestyle and started living in a commune.

It was at this commune in Northern California that she started living with Catherine Share and Bobby Beausoleil. Van Houten then later joined Manson’s cult at the age of 19 with her roommate, Share. According to a report in the Independent, Houten was influenced by Manson because she was captivated by his appeal and regarded him as Jesus Christ.

Post her arrest after the La Bianca murders in December 1969, Van Houten provided adequate information about the Manson family. She also helped identify the people who were responsible for killing Tate after which she admitted to having knowledge of the LaBianca murders. Today, after more than four decades of imprisonment, Van Houten has turned out to be a model prisoner and has also earned several college degrees while serving her time.

This is not the first time that Van Houten’s parole is hanging by a thread. Her application was over ruled by the Governor last year too, because she had failed to explain how a first rate teenager from a fairly privileged family turned into a merciless killer, after she was granted parole by a similar panel at the California Institution for Women in Chino, California.

At the hearing, Van Houten spoke about pinning down Rosemary La Bianca and stabbing her multiple times. "I don't let myself off the hook. I don't find parts in any of this that makes me feel the slightest bit good about myself," she said in her hearing, as reported by TIME.

However, Van Houten’s lawyer put Share on the stand in Los Angeles this week, so as to increase the parole chances. Share then shared with the parole board that Van Houten was very young and vulnerable at the time she joined the cult. She also mentioned how Manson threatened to have her (Share) tortured and killed if she tried to leave. "Some people could not leave. I was one of them that could not leave," said share, TIME reported.

Share ended her testimony by saying that she regretted encouraging Houten to join the cult.

However, there have been arguments and petitions from both the Tate and LaBianca families, over the years, against granting parole to her or any other Manson follower who was responsible for the killings.

None of the convicts of the murder trial have been freed with Van Houten being the first one who was granted parole.

While Susan Atkins, a woman involved in the killings died in jail in 2009, Charles Manson, the mastermind, now 82, remains in custody, currently serving multiple life sentences in California State Prison in Corcoran, California.