Leslie Van Houten, who was convicted along with other members of Charles Manson‘s cult in the 1969 killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, was granted parole Wednesday by a panel of state commissioners in Chino.
Van Houten attended Monrovia High School in the late 1960s. Her mother was also a Monrovia school teacher, who once told a court that “Les” was a “feisty” girl, according to a report by Frank Girardot on Aug. 5, 2009.
“At Monrovia High School, Van Houten was sophomore class princess at homecoming. She was a cheerleader. Early in 1968, Leslie ‘dropped out of the straight world,’” her mother recalled.
The ball is now in Jerry Brown’s court where he could overturn the parole like he did the last time Van Houten was up for parole.
Her attorneys said she was 19 when she took part in the crimes, and that she has been a model prisoner. But any release has been strongly opposed by the families of the victims as well as prosecutors and many others, according to a report in the LA Times.
A 150-day review process will begin by state officials reviewing the granting of parole.
