Ex-Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after 53 years

One of Charles Manson’s former followers, Leslie Van Houten, has been released on parole after serving more than five decades of a life sentence for two brutal murders. 

Van Houten, 73, was 19 when she was in the infamous cult – the “Manson family” led by leader Charles Manson. She took part in the murder of a LA grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary in 1969.

The killings took place just days after the cult members murdered the actress Sharon Tate and four others. 

Van Houten held down Rosemary LaBianca while someone else stabbed her. She later admitted that she stabbed Rosemary after she was dead. 

Her lawyer told the Associated Press that she left a women’s prison in California early on Tuesday morning. She is likely to be on parole for three years and hopes to get a job soon, her lawyer added.