Ex-Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten paroled, leaves California prison

Leslie Van Houten, a Charles Manson follower who was convicted of the 1969 slayings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in California, was paroled Tuesday, after spending almost her entire adult life in prison.

At 19, she and other members of what became known as the Manson family, broke into the couple's home and stabbed them to death. It was a day after five others ― including Jay Sebring, a celebrity hairstylist who grew up in Michigan, and actress Sharon Tate ― were killed.

Van Houten did not participate in those killings.

But her parole reopens discussion about the death penalty, and, for Michiganders, memories of Sebring, who was born Thomas John Kummer. Killed at the age of 35, he garnered more fame in death than when he was alive, although he was a pioneering hair designer with a star-studded client list that included Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.

Hairdresser to the stars

Sebring, the oldest of four kids, was born in Fairfield, Alabama. His parents moved when he was a baby to a home on Ferris Street in Highland Park, just down the street from St. Benedict School in Highland Park. Sebring went to school there through eighth grade. Later, the family lived in a house in Detroit.

A documentary on Sebring, "Jay Sebring... Cutting to the Truth," was picked up by Shout! Studios in 2020. It tells the story of Sebring's pioneer methods in men's hairstyling and features interviews with Dennis Hopper, Nancy Sinatra and Debra Tate, Sharon Tate's sister.

More: Filmmaker planning true-crime, history documentary on Michigan killer John Norman Collins

More: Aretha Franklin's handwritten document found under couch cushion is valid will, jury rules

Initially, Van Houten was sentenced to death, but that was reduced to life in prison when capital punishment in California was outlawed. The Michigan Constitution bans the death penalty, leaving federal prosecution and sentencing as the only way for execution in the state.

Rashad Trice, 26, who recently was charged in Michigan with federal counts of kidnapping and kidnapping resulting in the death of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, could be sentenced to death. The girl's body was found last week in Detroit on after a search and a statewide Amber Alert.

A half-century in prison

Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence for her participation in the two infamous murders. She was released to parole supervision, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

Days earlier Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He said it was unlikely the state Supreme Court would consider an appeal. Van Houten, now in her 70s, received a life sentence for helping Manson’s followers carry out the Los Angeles slayings.

Van Houten was found suitable for parole after a July 2020 hearing, but her release was blocked by Newsom, who maintained she was still a threat to society. She filed an appeal with a trial court, which rejected it, and then turned to the appellate courts. The 2nd District Court of Appeals in May reversed Newsom’s rejection of her parole.

Troubles starting at 14

Van Houten, a former high school cheerleader and homecoming princess, saw her life spiral out of control at 14 following her parents’ divorce. She turned to drugs and became pregnant but said her mother forced her to abort the fetus and bury it in the family’s backyard.

Van Houten met Manson — who died in prison in 2017 of natural causes at age 83 ― at an old movie ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles, where he had established his so-called family of about 100 followers who lived an unconventional lifestyle and took mind-altering drugs.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com. The Associated Press, Free Press reporter Miriam Marini and Free Press archives contributed.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Killer Leslie Van Houten, a Manson family member, leaves prison