As Lyle and Erik Menendez await their parole hearing set for August after serving more than three decades for the shotgun murders of their parents in Beverly Hills, the attorney for another convicted murderer linked to high-profile Los Angeles killings offered some advice to the brothers.
Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, now in her 70s, is now out on parole after serving 53 years for helping Manson and other cult followers in the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.
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WATCH HEREVan Houten’s lawyer Nancy Tetreault said the push to get Van Houten be released on parole was a “battle” while she and Van Houten both acknowledge she committed a “terrible crime.”
After decades of therapy and rehab programs, Van Houten appeared before a parole board a total of 25 times. Although she was denied 20 times, in the final five hearings, the board finally granted her parole.
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SIGN UP The board’s approval still didn’t free her as Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newom vetoed the board’s decision.
“The governor kept saying, ‘I reverse because I still don’t know what motivated her to commit those terrible murders at the behest of Charles Manson,’” Tetreault said.
When an appeals court overruled Newsom, Van Houten was finally allowed to be released on parole.
“Two of the three justices agreed there was nothing more she could do, that every measure found her to be no longer a risk of danger to the public,” the attorney said.
While a judge approved the resentencing of the Menendez brothers this month, making them immediately eligible for parole, the attorney cautiously warned a chance at parole does not necessarily mean the green light.
“Now they have to appear before the parole board, and the parole board has a very different question to answer. Are they currently dangerous? Are they safe to let out of prison?” Tetreault said.
The lawyer said the Menendez brothers’ rules violations may hurt their chances as their comprehensive risk assessment also noted Lyle and Erik posed a moderate risk of committing violence if released.
“Leslie on the other hand had 30 risk assessments over the years, all of which were low,” Tetreault said about her client.
Even with a low risk assessment, Van Houten had to appear before a parole board 25 times, which is why Tetreault thinks the Menenez brothers will have a hard time as well.
“I think they will have an easier path to parole, certainly than Leslie, because Charles Manson was just such a stigma,” the attorney said. “But I do think they have some work ahead of them.”
If the parole board denies the brothers parole in August, their next hearing may be anywhere from three to 15 years down the road.
And even if the brothers are granted parole, Tetreault said it may be tough getting the governor to sign off on their release as he has the opportunity to overturn the parole board’s decision.
