Patricia Krenwinkel, the former girlfriend and devoted follower of Charles Manson, could be released from prison after a California parole panel recommended her freedom.
Now 78, Krenwinkel has spent 56 years behind bars for her role in the brutal 1969 Los Angeles murders of seven people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate and coffee heiress Abigail Folger.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Tuesday that she had received a preliminary parole grant.
The agency stressed that the decision is not yet final. “All grants of parole are proposed decisions and become final only after a thorough and comprehensive review by the Board of Parole Hearings and the Governor,” it said.
Once the parole board’s legal review is complete, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will have 30 days to determine whether to block the recommendation.
Newsom used that power last year to stop Krenwinkel’s release, arguing that she had “not developed sufficient insight into the causative factors of her crime and her triggers for antisocial thinking and conduct [in] the context of maladaptive relationships,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles County prosecutors said they intend to again ask the governor’s office to reject the recommendation and keep Krenwinkel at the California Institution for Women.
If Newsom overturns the parole decision, Krenwinkel would be eligible for another hearing within 18 months.
Patricia Krenwinkel, 78, received a preliminary parole grant on Tuesday. She is pictured appearing in court in 2011
Krenwinkel, pictured at center, was part of Charles Manson’s notorious Family and was convicted in the 1969 Los Angeles murders of seven people. She is shown entering court in 1971 with co-defendants Susan Atkins and Leslie Van Houten, each wearing an X carved into the forehead
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom previously intervened to stop Krenwinkel’s release last year
Krenwinkel is now California’s longest-serving female prisoner. She was 19 when she joined the commune, gang and cult built around Manson, an influential figure whose followers would later become associated with a series of notorious killings.
Among the victims was Sharon Tate, the eight-months-pregnant wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was murdered on August 8, 1969.
The attackers also killed Tate’s guests: Folger, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski. Steven Parent, a teenager visiting someone in the estate’s guesthouse, was also found dead.
Krenwinkel has testified that she pursued Folger before stabbing her more than 20 times. She also acknowledged using the victims’ blood to scrawl political phrases, including “Death to Pigs,” across the walls.
The following evening, Manson and several followers, including Krenwinkel, carried out another attack. Wealthy supermarket owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, were killed in their home.
Krenwinkel was initially sentenced to death for the seven murders. Her punishment was later changed to life in prison after the US Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the death penalty was unconstitutional.
At one court appearance, Krenwinkel arrived with fellow defendants Leslie Van Houten and Susan Atkins, each displaying an X carved into the forehead—an act associated with Manson.
Actress Sharon Tate was eight months pregnant when she was stabbed to death by members of the Manson Family, including Krenwinkel
Wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, were murdered by Manson and several followers, including Krenwinkel
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Krenwinkel, right, admitted in court that she used her victims’ blood to write political messages like ‘Death to Pigs’ on the walls of Tate’s home
Debra Tate, Sharon’s sister, has since become an outspoken advocate for keeping Krenwinkel and other former members of Manson’s cult behind bars.
She noted in an online petition in 2016 that Krenwinkel personally carved the word ‘WAR’ into Leno LaBianca’s belly and wrote the disturbing messages on the walls.
‘She has admitted that was not a direct order from Charles Manson or anyone else – it was her own idea,’ Debra wrote.
‘For years, this woman laughed about the murders in court and showed absolutely no remorse at all,’ she continued.
‘Society cannot allow this serial killer who committed such horrible, gruesome, random killings back out.’
But Krenwinkel’s attorneys claim she has participated in extensive therapy and group counseling to confront her experiences as both a perpetrator and survivor of violence, arguing she had been abused by Manson, Los Angeles Magazine reports.
Krenwinkel’s attorneys argue she was abused by Charles Manson (pictured in 1969)
Krenwinkel is now the longest-serving female inmate in the Golden State
They noted she was just a teenager when she came under Manson’s influence and was searching for belonging.
Manson then ‘exploited that vulnerability through manipulation, drugs and psychological abuse,’ the lawyers from UnCommon Law said in a statement.
‘Over the decades since, Pat has worked to understand how she became capable of causing such profound harm and to take responsibility for the consequences of her actions,’ lawyer Keith Wattley said.
He went on to celebrate the parole board’s decision.
‘At a time when parole decisions are increasingly compromised by politics, this finding offers a glimmer of hope: Proof that the Board can uphold the law, recognize decades of rehabilitation and make decisions grounded in evidence,’ Wattley argued.
‘Now, the governor must respect these decisions and allow Pat to come home.’
Newsom’s choice on whether to allow Krenwinkel to go free now comes just three years after his previous decision to deny Van Houten parole was overruled by an appellate court.
‘More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims’ families still feel the impact,’ he lamented in a statement at the time.
Other former Manson Family members Charles Denton ‘Tex’ Watson and Bobby Beausoleil remain behind bars.
Manson, Atkins and Bruce Davis, meanwhile, have died in custody.