The sister of Sharon Tate, a beloved actress killed by members of Charles Manson’s murderous cult in the late 1960s, criticized the prison release of Leslie Van Houten, saying that it’s likely she will kill again.
Van Houten was released on parole earlier this week after serving 53 years for the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
According to Van Houten’s attorney, she exited the California Institution for Women in Corona, near Los Angeles, on Tuesday and has since been transported to a “transitional living facility.” She’s required to serve “a three-year maximum parole term with a parole discharge review occurring after one year,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
Sharon’s younger sister Debra Tate expressed concern over Van Houten’s release in an interview for Friday’s episode of ABC’s “Nightline,” marking her first comments on the matter since she was granted parole.
“Is she a nice girl? No. Is she an animal? I think she was then, and I fear that she still is,” she said.
Van Houten said she first met Manson in the 1960s as she traveled along the California coast. She was just 19 years old when she helped the infamous Manson Family kill Los Angeles grocer LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969. The slayings came just one day after other Manson followers — without Van Houten — killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others.
In 1971, Van Houten was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the deadly LaBianca stabbings and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent and Jay Sebring.
She was sentenced to death for her crimes, but the sentence was commuted after a California Supreme Court decision briefly made capital punishment unconstitutional in the state.
“We’re talking about one of the most murderous cults in America. Is it worth giving that a free pass?” asked Debra, who has reportedly attended the parole hearings of all the Manson Family members. “There are a lot of people that I would give a free pass, but these people are not amongst them.”
In an interview with TMZ, Tate noted the victims’ families are terrified and blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for not pushing harder to keep Van Houten behind bars.
Newsom previously said he was “disappointed” by the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Van Houten.
