Leslie Van Houten was "released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced on Tuesday.
Fury is growing over the decision to release one of the women who participated in the infamous Manson murders.
Leslie Van Houten was "released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced on Tuesday.
Now, friends and family of the victims of the two-night murder spree are speaking out.
Ava Roosevelt, then an up-and-coming model and close friend of victim Sharon Tate, had been driving to Tate's home on the night that Manson's followers murdered the actress.
"I don't get it. I'm very angry about it," Roosevelt tells Inside Edition.
Roosevelt never made it to Tate's home that night because her car had mechanical problems, an inconvenience that may have ultimately saved her life.
"It was just incomprehensible to to imagine," Roosevelt says of the murders. "Nobody could understand why this beautiful woman, Sharon, who was pregnant, was stabbed like 56 times."
Roosevelt admits she is still haunted by the murders and what happened to her friend that night.
"I really am very sad," says Roosevelt. "It doesn't go away."
Also speaking out is Anthony DiMaria. He is the nephew of Jay Sebring, the revolutionary hair stylist and former boyfriend of Tate who was also murdered on the first night of Manson's killing spree.
"It's a feeling of helplessness," says DiMaria. "Leslie Van Houten is a cold-blooded killer in one of the most notorious murder rampages in United States history."
Van Houten was the youngest member of the infamous Manson Family when she participated in the second night of his Los Angeles killing spree, which became known as the Tate-LaBianca murders.
The night after Manson's followers savagely murdered actress Sharon Tate, her unborn baby and four others, the cult leader targeted Los Angeles grocery store tycoon Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary.
Manson and his followers broke into the couple's home and then started stabbing them to death.
Van Houten later admitted to holding down Rosemary LaBianca as she begged for her life.
The convicted murderer had been sentenced to death following her trial, and then had that sentence commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole following California's decision to abolish the death penalty.
Her release comes after an appellate court ruling reversed an earlier decision by Governor Gavin Newsom, who rejected parole for Van Houten in 2020.
Van Houten had been recommended for parole five times before finally being released on Tuesday.
Her lawyer, Richard Pfeiffer, says Van Houten worked to earn this parole.
"The reason she's paroled is because she's done so much positive work for herself and others," Pfeiffer says.
Van Houten is now living in transitional housing at an undisclosed location, and may soon enter the job market.
She received a master's degree while in prison and Pfeiffer says she already has job offers from community colleges.
