Leslie Van Houten will spend the next year at a halfway home as she learns to do things like drive a car and use a debit card.
The youngest Charles Manson family member is a free woman.
Leslie Van Houten has been "released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement on Tuesday.
She 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.
Earlier this year, victims' family members expressed their anger about Van Houten's possible release.
"To say the appellate court’s decision is a travesty of justice is a perverse understatement," Anthony DiMaria previously told Inside Edition. "When you look at the profound, horrific nature of her crimes and the historic scars she has dealt American culture, it is unconscionable that an appellate court would make amends for Leslie Van Houten."
DiMaria is the nephew of Jay Sebring, the revolutionary hair stylist and former boyfriend of Sharon Tate, who was murdered on the first night of Manson's killing spree.
In a 1994 interview, one-time homecoming queen Van Houten discussed why she fell under the influence of Manson.
“I seemed to want more living out of life than was expected of young girls at the time: drugs, sex, breaking away from the norm,” said Van Houten. “I think when my father left I was desperately seeking someone I could love.”
Van Houten’s lawyer Richard Pfeiffer previously told Inside Edition that if released, his client would move into transitional housing.
Van Houten is now doing just that and will spend the next year at a halfway home as she learns to do things like drive a car and use a debit card.
Pfeiffer also noted earlier this year that Van Houten had a master's degree and could become a motivational speaker.
"She's extremely remorseful she feels she let everybody down: herself, her family the victims by letting Manson take control of her," he told Inside Edition.
This news is already causing a great deal of anger, with a spokesperson for the LaBianca family calling it a "travesty."
Governor Newsom is also expressing his displeasure with the news of Van Houten's release, but says he will not attempt to appeal the court's decision.
