U.S.

Leslie Van Houten, follower of cult leader Charles Manson, released from California prison

July 11, 2023 / 1:18 PM PDT / AP

Watch: Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released on parole

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Van Houten "was released to parole supervision."

Leslie Van Houten reacts after hearing she is eligible for parole during a hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 at the California Institution for Women in Corona, Calif. Van Houten, the youngest of Charles Manson's murderous followers, was granted parole by a California board Wednesday. (Stan Lim/Los Angeles Daily News via AP, Pool)

Her release comes days after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, received a life sentence for helping Manson's followers carry out the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.

Susan Denise Atkins, (left), Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten,(right), laugh after receiving the death sentence, later commuted to life in prison, for their part in the Tate-LaBianca killing at the order of Charles Manson. Bettmann

She was released from prison in the early morning hours and driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.