KENNEWICK — A woman who conspired to kill former Richland beauty queen Sharon Tate was released from prison this week after more than 50 years.
Leslie Van Houten, now 73, was serving a life sentence for her role in helping followers of Charles Manson stab to death two people a day after Tate, who became a movie actress, and four others were killed in her Los Angeles, Calif., mansion, in 1969.
Van Houten was not at Tate’s home when she was killed but was convicted of conspiracy for the death of Tate and four others at the home she shared with her husband, film director Roman Polanski.
Tate, 26, was 8 1/2 months pregnant with her first child. Her husband film director Roman Polanski was working in Europe.
Tate was the last to be killed that night, begging for the life of her unborn child. She was stabbed to death and her blood was used to write the word “Pig” on the front door of the Polanski and Tate home.
The next night Van Houten was one of the Manson cult members who killed Leno LaBianca, a Los Angeles grocer, and his wife, Rosemary.
Tate’s sister, Debra Tate, has opposed the parole of any of the Manson followers convicted of murder, including Van Houten.
“My fight to keep the remaining Manson cult murderers in prison continues,” she posted on Saturday in an update to a Change.org petition opposing Van Houten’s release. “Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Bobby Beausoleil and Bruce Davis continue to ask to be paroled.”
Manson died a prisoner in 2017.
Van Houten is likely to be on parole for about three years, according to The Associated Press.
Van Houten parole
Since 2016 Van Houten has been recommended for parole five times, with California governors rejecting parole each time.
But after Newsom’s latest decision to reject her parole, saying she offered inconsistent and inadequate explanations for her involvement with Manson, the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles ruled 2-1 to reverse Newsom’s decision, writing there is “no evidence to support the Governor’s conclusions” about Van Houten’s fitness for parole.
“Van Houten has shown extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends, favorable institutional reports, and, at the time of the Governor’s decision, had received four successive grants of parole,” the judges wrote.
The dissenting judge argued that there was some evidence Van Houten lacked insight into the heinous killings.
Debra Tate’s petition said that Van Houten placed a pillowcase over Rosemary LaBianca’s head and tied it with a lamp cord and also held her down when she was stabbed. She also says that Van Houten stabbed her in the lower back several times.
“For years she showed no remorse at all for her actions,” according to the Change.org petition. “When asked during her trial if she ever cried about the murder of Rosemary LaBianca she replied: ‘Cry for her death? Why? … She’s not the only person who has died.’”
Sharon Tate in Richland
Sharon Tate lived in Richland from 1955 to 1959, after the Tate family moved to Richland when the dad, Paul Tate, was assigned to Camp Hanford to work in Army intelligence.
She attended Chief Joseph Junior High, and then Columbia High School (now Richland High) from September 1958 to October 1959.
She won the title Miss Autorama Tri-Cities in 1958, and a year later Miss Richland for Atomic Frontier Days. But the 16-year-old had to give up her title just two weeks later when her father received orders to be stationed overseas.
The family later returned to the United States, and Tate’s first acting role was as a secretary on TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
Her first starring role was as Jane in the film “Tarzan.” Her film credits also include “Valley of the Dolls,” “Eye of the Devil,” “The Wrecking Crew” and “The Fearless Vampire Killers.” The latter was directed by Polanski.
