State Board Recommends Release of Manson Follower Who Killed Pregnant Actress Sharon Tate, 6 Others

Convicted killer Patricia Krenwinkel, 74, is California’s longest-serving female inmate

On Thursday, a California board recommended parole for a Charles Manson follower who participated in killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others during a two-day murder spree in 1969.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that the Board of Parole Hearings’ tentative decision concerning convicted killer Patricia Krenwinkel, 74, will be reviewed by the board’s legal division within four months. If it is approved and finalized, Governor Gavin Newsom will have a month to review it.

Krenwinkel — who is the state’s longest-serving female inmate — was with other Manson family followers when they broke into Tate and movie director husband Roman Polanski’s Los Angeles home and killed the pregnant actress along with four others. Krenwinkel testified that she chased socialite and coffee heiress Abigail Folger, 25, and stabbed her 28 times, the Los Angeles Times reported. Folger’s boyfriend was also murdered.

The following night, Krenwinkel and fellow cult members fatally stabbed Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. In both slayings, Krenwinkel used the victims’ blood to scribble “Death to Pigs” on the wall.

Though Krenwinkel was initially sentenced to death in 1971, her sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the state overturned the death penalty in 1972.

Krenwinkel has claimed Manson abused and sex trafficked her

Governor Newsom has previously denied parole for Leslie Van Houten. Van Houten, 72, who was 19 when she participated in killing the LaBiancas, unsuccessfully appealed her case to the state supreme court after Newsom denied her parole. The state board has recommended parole for Van Houten on five instances.

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[Featured image: AP Photo]