Patricia Krenwinkel, California’s longest-serving female inmate convicted in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders, remains imprisoned after Newsom blocks parole.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has reversed a parole board’s decision to release Patricia Krenwinkel, a former follower of cult leader Charles Manson and one of the perpetrators of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
In a decision issued Oct. 13 and obtained by Fox News, Newsom wrote that Krenwinkel, now 77, « lacks the requisite insight she needs to be safely released. »
« Ms. Krenwinkel has engaged in productive introspection », the governor’s order says, quoting the psychologist who evaluated her, « but she exhibits some deficits in self-awareness, such as a tendency to externalize blame for her prior transgressions. »
Newsom said he agreed those factors remain relevant to her current risk and concluded that, despite her « commendable » progress, she « currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released. »
Krenwinkel was 21 years old when she joined other members of Manson’s so-called « Family » in two nights of killings that left seven people dead, including actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant.
According to the governor’s summary of the case, Krenwinkel and others fatally stabbed Tate’s friend Abigail Folger, and helped restrain or attack several of the victims. The following night, the group murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, leaving phrases such as « Death to Pigs », « Rise », and « Healter [sic] Skelter » written in blood around their home.
