Parole Recommended for Charles Manson Follower Patricia Krenwinkel

LOS ANGELES, CA — A state parole board panel on Friday recommended parole for Patricia Krenwinkel, a former follower of Charles Manson. Krenwinkel, now 77, is serving a life sentence for her involvement in the infamous 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders.

Krenwinkel was convicted in 1971 on seven counts of first-degree murder. She participated in the brutal killings alongside fellow Manson family members, Charles “Tex” Watson and Leslie Van Houten. The murders included the slayings of actress Sharon Tate, who was seven months pregnant, and four others on August 9, 1969, as well as the subsequent murders of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca the following day.

Originally sentenced to death, Krenwinkel’s punishment was later commuted to life in prison following a California Supreme Court ruling that invalidated all death sentences imposed prior to 1972. The recommendation by the parole board panel is not final; it must be reviewed by the full Board of Parole Hearings and Governor Gavin Newsom, a process that may take up to 150 days, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

In May 2022, a parole board panel also recommended Krenwinkel for parole, but Governor Newsom reversed that decision in August of the same year.