American Serial Killers

It was 41 years ago this weekend that a group of young people led by Charles Manson sent a wave of terror through the hills and valleys of the Los Angeles area.

Manson, then 34, and a group of followers known as the Family were convicted for killing seven people, including Hollywood starlet Sharon Tate, who was more than eight months pregnant with husband Roman Polanski’s son.

On Aug. 8, 1969, Manson instructed Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten to kill everyone at the L.A. home rented by Tate. Later that day, Manson instructed his followers to strike again. Members entered the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and killed the couple.

The gory slayings left the public stunned. The group was given life sentences. They have spent most of their adult lives behind bars, some claiming they have renounced their devotion to Manson.

“These are sociopaths,” says Tate’s sister Debra Tate, 57. “They’re no less violent today then they were then.”

One Family member faces the parole boards again this year and another – not associated with the Tate-LaBianca murders – is about to be released.

“These are five of 168,000 offenders in our custody,” says Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation in Sacramento, Calif. “There’s no special treatment that they get just because of who they are. Manson is in the same unit as Sirhan Sirhan (who assassinated U.S. Sen Robert F. Kennedy). They’re not the only high-profile offenders we have.”

Here is a list of a few people involved and where they are now:

Charles Manson, 75
Currently locked in California State Prison in Corcoran. He dreamed of becoming a musician and now plays his guitar in his cell or the dayroom, says Thornton. He has been denied parole 11 times. His next hearing is in 2012.

Susan Atkins, 62
Also known as Sadie Mae Glutz, she confessed to stabbing Tate to death. In May 2008, she filed for a “compassionate release” after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given six months to live. Her request was denied. In September, she was transferred to the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla because it provides a higher level of medical care. She is in serious but stable condition, Thornton says. Her next parole hearing is Sept. 2. She is the longest-serving female inmate in the state.

Patricia “Katie” Krenwinkel, 62
She actively participated in both murders. She has been called a model prisoner at the California Institution for Women in Frontera, earning a degree and teaching inmates how to read. She has been denied parole 12 times.

source: People.com