Leslie Van Houten, a former follower of Charles Manson, listens as former Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay (not seen) describes the 1969 killing scene during a parole hearing on June 28, 2002, at the California Institution for Women in Corona, Ca SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court has denied a potential bid for freedom by Leslie Van Houten, a Charles Manson follower serving a life sentence for her role in the murder of a Los Angeles grocer and his wife in 1969.The high court on Wednesday refused to hear Van Houten’s appeal of a lower court ruling last December that denied her petition for a review.
That petition had challenged what it deemed as denial of due process by Gov. Gavin Newsom in reversing a 2020 parole board recommendation.
The petition also said Newsom had refused to provide documents indicating when the board referred the case to him and argued that there was a "strong possibility" that he exceeded a 30-day time limit for review.Van Houten, now 72, is serving her life sentence for helping Manson and other cult members kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969.
She was 19 when she and other followers fatally stabbed the LaBiancas and smeared their blood on the walls.The slayings came the day after other Manson followers, but not Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others.