LOS ANGELES — Charles Manson follower and convicted murderer Patricia Krenwinkel has been found suitable for parole, according to an announcement Thursday by state prison officials.
Krenwinkel, 74, is California’s longest-serving female inmate and was a participant in the 1969 murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate by the Manson “family,” among other killings carried out during the group’s rampage across Los Angeles.
“The tentative decision will be reviewed by (the Board of Parole Hearings) legal division which can take up to 120 days,” according to a statement by Terry Thornton, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “If the decision becomes final, the governor will have up to 30 days to review it.”
On Aug. 9, 1969, Krenwinkel joined the band of Manson acolytes who stormed the Benedict Canyon home shared by Tate, 26, and her movie director husband, Roman Polanski. Tate and four others were stabbed and shot. Krenwinkel testified to chasing coffee heiress Abigail Folger with a knife and stabbing her 28 times.
The next night, Krenwinkel and others killed Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, at their Los Feliz home. Krenwinkel and fellow Manson “family” member Leslie Van Houten held down Rosemary LaBianca as Charles “Tex” Watson stabbed Leno LaBianca.
Both homes had walls smeared with blood, and Krenwinkel used blood to scrawl the words “Death to Pigs.” She later testified at trial that her hand throbbed from stabbing one of the victims so many times.
Krenwinkel was sent to death row in 1971 after a Los Angeles jury convicted her of killing Tate and six others in the two-day rampage.
After the state’s highest court in 1972 ruled the death penalty unconstitutional, Krenwinkel’s sentence — along with those of other Manson followers — was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Her latest appearance before the parole panel was her 15th, Thornton said.
In 2016, Krenwinkel’s attorney made new claims that she had been abused by Manson or another person. Officials later rejected that bid for freedom.
Following Thursday’s announcement, Debra Tate, the sister of the slain actress, started a petition calling for Newsom to bar Krenwinkel’s release.
“For years this woman laughed about the murders in court and showed absolutely no remorse at all,” Tate wrote in the petition. “She admits she was not on drugs the nights of the murders & committed them to ignite a race war. Society cannot allow this serial killer who committed such horrible, gruesome, random killings back out & I am asking for your help by letting the parole board know that you do not want to see her get released by signing this petition.”
She encouraged the public to contact the governor’s office in opposition of Krenwinkel’s release.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the governor carefully reviews all parole decisions “to determine whether a parole grant is consistent with public safety.”
The Los Angeles Times reached out to a representative for Tate but did not immediately receive comment.
