Leslie Van Houten

Leslie Van Houten
Mug shot taken in May 1999
Born
Leslie Louise Van Houten

(1949-08-23) August 23, 1949 (age 75)
Altadena, California, U.S.[3]
Other namesLouella Alexandria, Leslie Marie Sankston, Linda Sue Owens and Lulu
Criminal statusReleased on parole
Conviction(s)First degree murder (2 counts)
Conspiracy to commit murder
Criminal penaltyDeath; commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 7 years[1][2]

Leslie Louise Van Houten (born August 23, 1949) is an American convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by aliases such as Louella Alexandria, Leslie Marie Sankston, Linda Sue Owens and Lulu.[citation needed]

Van Houten was arrested and charged in relation to the 1969 murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Van Houten was convicted and sentenced to death, but a 1972 California Supreme Court ruling found the death penalty unconstitutional, resulting in her sentence being commuted to life in prison. Her conviction was overturned in a 1976 appellate court decision which granted her a retrial. Her second trial ended with a deadlocked jury and a mistrial. At her third trial in 1978, she was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy and sentenced to seven years to life in prison.[2] After spending 53 years in prison that included two dozen parole hearings and parole rejections by two California governors, Van Houten was paroled in 2023.[4]

  1. ^ Transcript of Subsequent Parole Consideration Hearing. State of California. Hearing September 6, 2017. Transcribed September 16, 2017. Accessed October 10, 2017. Acquired through California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Request for Parole Suitability Hearing Transcript Archived October 12, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Manson follower Leslie Van Houten granted parole in notorious murders". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Sanders, Ed; The Family, p. 74
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference parole was invoked but never defined (see the help page).