Hollywood hairstylist’s family slams Charles Manson killer who slaughtered Sharon Tate for playing the victim

Patricia Krenwinkel, California’s longest-serving female inmate, has been denied parole after Governor Gavin Newsom ruled that the 77-year-old former Charles Manson follower remains a danger to society. 

Krenwinkel has been incarcerated for the last 56 years. She was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder for her participation in the Manson Family murders, which saw seven people slaughtered over two nights of terror in August 1969, including heavily pregnant actress Sharon Tate.

Her attorney, Keith Wattley, argued before the parole board that Krenwinkel should be released because she has taken full responsibility for her actions, poses no threat to society, and hasn’t committed a single rule violation in nearly six decades behind bars.

Krenwinkel was approved for release in May, but Gov. Newsom overturned the decision last week. Referring to a recent psychological evaluation, Newsom said that while the killer has made progress, she still ‘exhibits some deficits in self-awareness’ and continues to ‘externalize blame for her prior transgressions.’

The governor concluded that although Krenwinkel has made ‘commendable’ steps in her path to rehabilitation, she continues to pose an ‘unreasonable danger’ to society.

Krenwinkel’s attorney accused Newsom of choosing ‘politics over people’. 

But Anthony DiMaria – whose uncle, Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring, was among those butchered by Krenwinkel and her co-conspirators – told the Daily Mail he was relieved to see common sense prevail.

‘Our family appreciates the governor’s prudence in his rejection of the parole board’s decision. We witness year after year how Patricia Krenwinkel lacks insight into her horrific actions and how she persistently deflects blame,’ he said.

‘It’s just inconceivable that she props herself up as the victim in all of this, when she killed seven people and an unborn baby.’

DiMaria spoke at Krenwinkel’s hearing in May and delivered a blistering 13-page speech, pleading with the parole board to keep her behind bars indefinitely.

During his remarks, DiMaria accused Krenwinkel of deliberately rewriting her own history – portraying herself as a victim, a helpless follower under Manson’s control, rather than a willing participant driven by her own violent impulses.

He also condemned what he called Krenwinkel’s hypocrisy – profiting from the murders through books and documentaries that cast her as the victim – while refusing to speak openly at parole hearings or acknowledge the suffering of those she killed.

DiMaria renewed that criticism speaking to the Daily Mail on Wednesday, adding: ‘It’s ironically disturbing that after years of engaging in a ton of media projects, Krenwinkel declines to answer even a single question at her parole hearing.

‘It’s as if the world has been perversely twisted upside down – but, thankfully, the Governor’s decision is unswayed by the twisted tactics of inmate Krenwinkel and her attorney.’

Newsom’s decision marks the second time he has overturned a parole recommendation for Krenwinkel. In 2022, he similarly denied her release, stating she remained a public safety risk.

Krenwinkel was 21 at the time of the murders. She was originally sentenced to death, but that sentence was commuted to life in prison the following year, after California briefly abolished the death penalty.

Under state law, offenders who commit serious crimes under the age of 26 are entitled to special consideration during parole reviews. Still, Newsom said that Krenwinkel’s case fell short of meeting the threshold for release.

‘At the time of the crimes, Ms. Krenwinkel demonstrated hallmark features of youth, which diminished her culpability under youth offender laws,’ Newsom wrote in a letter released by his office.

However, he noted that while she has made an effort toward rehabilitation, the ‘mitigating factors are outweighed by negative factors that bear on her risk for future dangerousness.’

‘I have concluded that the evidence in Ms. Krenwinkel’s case demonstrates that she lacks the requisite insight she needs to be safely released,’ Newsom wrote.

The decision was met with sharp rebuke by Krenwinkel’s attorney, Keith Wattley, who accused Newsom of political posturing and failing to take into account the abuse she suffered at the hands of Manson.

‘Newsom’s reversal of Pat’s grant has nothing to do with the record of how much she’s changed or the risk she presents. It is 100 percent political, directly contrary to the evidence and the controlling law,’ Wattley said in a statement sent to the Daily Mail.

‘The Governor has unfortunately chosen politics over people… I’ve represented thousands of people serving life sentences, and I’ve seen them complete those sentences in many ways, some by heart attack and some by being beaten or stabbed to death in prison, but death by politics is especially tragic.’

Krenwinkel has appeared before the Parole Board 16 times over the course of her 56 years behind bars.

On August 8, 1969, under the instructions of Charles Manson, Krenwinkel, along with Charles ‘Tex’ Watson and Susan Atkins, broke into the Benedict Canyon home of actress Sharon Tate, armed with knives and a gun.

They were instructed to do something ‘witchy’ and make it as gruesome as possible.

Tate, 26, who was eight and a half months pregnant, had invited Jay Sebring and friends Wojciech Frykowski, 32, and Abigail Folger, 25, to keep her company that night while her husband, director Roman Polanski, was away filming in Europe.

Manson, who for years had been preaching paranoid prophecies of an impending race war, plotted a series of murders he believed would be blamed on black militants – triggering the collapse of society he longed for.

Sebring, Tate, Frykowski, and Folger were all stabbed and shot multiple times. Their bodies were mutilated. Tate’s unborn son was also killed. A fifth victim, 18-year-old Steven Parent, was shot dead in the driveway.

Krenwinkel admitted in court to stabbing coffee heiress Abigail Folger 28 times. Folger hauntingly pleaded with Krenwinkel to show mercy, crying with her last breaths: ‘Stop! I’m already dead.’

The following night, Watson and Krenwinkel led another group to the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. The couple was slain in a similarly horrifying fashion.

Krenwinkel also confessed to stabbing Leno Labianca and writing ‘Helter Skelter,’ ‘Rise’ and ‘Death to Pigs’ on the walls of the couple’s home with his blood.

It’s unclear when Krenwinkel will next be eligible for parole. Under California law, the next hearing can be set between three and 15 years after a denial, depending on the board’s decision.

Newsom has previously blocked parole for other former Manson followers.

Leslie Van Houten was released from prison in 2023 after 53 years, when a state appeals court reversed the governor’s decision to block her parole.

Tex Watson, now 79, has been denied parole 18 times. His next hearing is scheduled for October 2026.

Speaking in a rare interview in July, Watson predicted that Newsom would block Krenwinkel’s release.

‘It’s hard for me to get excited for Patricia, since Governor Newsom will probably be running for president in 2028, and will deny her request because of politics,’ he said. ‘Her Manson connection continues to keep her in prison.’

He also shared that he doesn’t expect to ever see the outside world again.

‘I’m almost 80 years old,’ he said. ‘Not that I’ve lost faith! All things are possible through Christ, but I’ve learned to be content or at peace, bond or free.’