California Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday blocked parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, who is serving a life sentence for the 1969 murder of a Los Angeles couple who were stabbed to death with knives and a fork.
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Newsom's decision reversed a panel's recommendation that Van Houten, 72, be freed after spending half a century behind bars.
She "currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time," Newsom wrote in his rejection letter. The governor acknowledged that Van Houten had "shown increased maturity and rehabilitation" in prison but added that "gaps in insight" continue to make her a risk to the public.
Van Houten was a 19-year-old teenage runaway when she helped other cult members fatally stab Los Angeles grocery store owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, at Manson's direction.
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The murderers used a carving fork to write the word "WAR" on Leno LaBianca's stomach as he lay dying from 26 stab wounds, according to trial testimony. The Manson acolytes then used the couple's blood to write "Death to pigs" on the walls.
One day earlier, Manson followers, without Van Houten, had murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others at her home in Benedict Canyon.
Van Houten has had 21 parole hearings since 1982, with five panels recommending her release since 2016. Newsom and previous Gov. Jerry Brown have shot down each of her bids for freedom.
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Van Houten's attorney, Rich Pfeiffer, said his client had a spotless prison record and accused Newsom of blocking her parole over concerns about his own "political future." He added that Van Houten was a "good person."
Manson died of natural causes in 2017 while serving a life sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report