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Possible new evidence has surfaced in the Manson Family murders and police are poised to hear it for the first time, according to documents obtained by NBC4. In a letter dated March 19, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck requested "eight hours or so" of audio recordings between attorney Bill Boyd and his then-client Charles "Tex" Watson, according to a U.S. bankruptcy filing. Watson, the former right-hand man of Charles Manson, is currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1969 Manson Family murders. Although the LAPD has yet to receive the recordings, police believe the interviews could contain information...

(CNN) -- Charles Denton "Tex" Watson, one of the chief participants in the Manson Family murders in the summer of 1969, will stay in prison at least another five years, the California Board of Parole Hearings announced Wednesday. Watson, 65, was denied parole for the 16th time, the board said, and will not be considered again until 2016.

A Charles Manson follower has been ordered to remain in prison after parole board officials rejected her claim she was a changed woman. The two-member panel said the viciousness and notoriety of Patricia Krenwinkel's crimes outweighed her efforts at rehabilitation behind bars. Krenwinkel, now 63, wept and apologised during the hearing, but officials said the deaths of seven people in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders 'remained relevant'.

On Monday, we asked, in the context of the Southern Poverty Law Center conflating Constitutionalists with haters, if a video warning law enforcement to cue their behavior in citizen encounters off of bumper stickers could either chill free speech or endanger Americans expressing political sentiments. We followed up yesterday asking if video co-narrator/former ATF Special Agent in Charge James Cavanaugh was a credible SPLC spokesperson. Here’s someone—a leading “respected” academic and activist who agrees with “Waco Jim” and the SPLC about the armed political right: "It's racist, it's armed, it's hostile, it's unspeakable," she said. "White people armed, demanding an...

CHINO, Calif. — A parole board has denied freedom for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten for the 19th time. Van Houten was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the August 1969 slayings of wealthy grocers Leno and Rosemary La Bianca. That was one night after actress Sharon Tate and four others were killed. Van Houten did not participate in the Tate slayings. She was incarcerated at the California Institution for Women at Frontera, the same prison where another Manson follower, Patricia Krenwinkle, is imprisoned. Susan Atkins, the third woman convicted of murder in the crimes directed by cult leader...

CHINO, Calif. (KABC) -- She was convicted in one of the most notorious murder cases in Los Angeles history, and on Tuesday, former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten faces her 19th parole hearing. It may be her best chance yet for release. She was just 19 when she joined members of the Manson cult in the killings of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has rejected a recommendation to parole a member of Charles Manson's cult who was convicted of taking part in killings more than four decades ago. Bruce Davis is serving life sentences for two 1969 slayings, although he was not involved in the infamous murders by Manson followers of actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles. The governor in a letter made public on Monday reversed a January decision by the state parole board, saying the murders were "especially heinous." "I believe his release would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society at this time,"...

Bruce Davis, a member of Charles Manson's murderous cult who participated in two killings, was recommended for parole Thursday after nearly four decades in prison. The 67-year-old Davis has been in prison since 1972 after being convicted in the murders of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea. Attorney Michael Beckman, who represented Davis at the parole hearing, said Davis acknowledged for the first time that he shared responsibility for the crimes, even though he didn't kill anyone himself. "He said, 'I was as responsible as everyone there,'" Beckman said. The recommendation by a two-member panel of the Board...

<p>Susan Atkins, who committed one of modern history's most notorious crimes when she joined Charles Manson and his gang for a 1969 killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles and put her in prison for the rest of her life, has died. She was 61.</p>

Manson follower Susan Atkins dies at 61 Atkins and Charles Manson appear in court on Oct. 13, 1970, in Santa Monica to enter pleas in the July 27, 1969, stabbing death of musician Gary Hinman, 34, at Hinman's Topanga Canyon home. (Associated Press) Susan Atkins, who committed one of modern history's most notorious crimes when she joined Charles Manson and his gang for a 1969 killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles and put her in prison for the rest of her life, has died. She was 61. Atkins died at the Central California Women's facility in Chowchilla on Thursday night,...

Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins, who admitted killing actress Sharon Tate 40 years ago, has died. She was 61. California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Atkins, who suffered from brain cancer, had been in hospice care in recent days. Thornton said Atkins died late Thursday night at a prison hospital in Chowchilla where she had been moved when she became ill. Early this month, she lost her final bid for parole.

People don't always get what they deserve in this world, so it is gratifying to see when someone does. It happened Wednesday when a California parole board insisted that Susan Atkins, a 61-year-old amputee with incurable brain cancer, live her few remaining months in prison rather than the embrace of her loved ones. This may sound like pointless excess inflicted on someone whose crime, committed 40 years ago, is ancient history. But even to mention Atkins without first mentioning her victims is an affront. In 1969, she repeatedly thrust a knife into an innocent woman who was eight and a...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Susan Atkins, a follower of mass killer Charles Manson convicted nearly four decades ago in some of the most notorious murders in U.S. history, lost her 18th bid for release on Wednesday. Atkins -- terminally ill with brain cancer and, according to her attorney, paralyzed over much of her body -- was denied her freedom by the California Parole Board after a hearing at the prison where she is being held. Now 61, Atkins was convicted in 1971 of taking part in seven "Manson Family" murders, including that of heavily pregnant actress Sharon Tate, the wife...

Forty Years After Gruesome Cult Killings, Susan Atkins is Paralyzed, Near Death Charles Manson follower and convicted mass murderer Susan Atkins is expected to appear in person today to plead for parole so she can die outside of prison, but officials said her condition is on an "hour by hour" basis.

Lynette Fromme, convicted of the attempted assassination of President Ford in '75, has been released from prison, a prison spokeswoman says.

These days, it is difficult to recognize the face of Susan Atkins, a notorious murderer from the Charles Manson cult. Still imprisoned, she's now gravely ill with brain cancer and asking for mercy that she did not give her victims. It was Atkins who held down pregnant actress Sharon Tate while she was stabbed 16 times. Atkins described the crime in blood-curdling detail at a parole hearing 16 years ago. "She asked me to let her baby live," Atkins said at the time. " I told her I didn't have mercy for her." Manson ordered Atkins and other "family" members...

[the program originally aired yesterday (Friday, 8/7/09) at 10 PM ET, but will re-air tonight (Sat, 8/8/09) at 10 PM ET and repeat at 2 AM and 4 AM ET very early Sunday morning, at least according to my cable TV program guide -etl] "On the Record" host Greta Van Susteren hosts "Summer of Evil: The Manson Murders" on FOX News Channel. Forty years ago, a two-night murder rampage in Los Angeles by the followers of an aspiring rock star and cult leader named Charles Manson terrified the Hollywood community and made headlines across the world. In the last four...

Friday, August 7, at 10 p.m. ET/Replay 1 a.m. ET "On the Record" host Greta Van Susteren hosts "Summer of Evil: The Manson Murders" on FOX News Channel. Forty years ago, a two-night murder rampage in Los Angeles by the followers of an aspiring rock star and cult leader named Charles Manson terrified the Hollywood community and made headlines across the world. In the last four decades, the savage murders of a beautiful actress named Sharon Tate and six others at the hands of a "family" of hippies have taken on mythical proportions. The story that shocked the world has...

LONDON, Aug 2 — They were the murders that ended the 1960s, the decade of love, in a bloodbath that shocked the world. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the killing of Hollywood actress Sharon Tate and her friends by Charles Manson's "Family", the gang member whose testimony convicted the killers has revealed for the first time her full involvement in the crimes. On the night of Aug 9, 1969, Linda Kasabian was sent by Manson with three other members of his Family — Tex Watson, Susan Atkins and Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel — to break into Tate's home. There they...

Manson follower Susan Atkins, with six months to live, granted parole hearing June 5, 2009 Last year, doctors diagnosed Susan Atkins with terminal cancer, prompting a failed bid by the convicted murderer and Charles Manson follower to receive a "compassionate release" from state prison. But Atkins, who gained infamy for her role in the 1969 slayings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and others in a bloody two-night rampage in Los Angeles, may get one last chance to convince state parole officials she should no longer be kept behind bars. Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Thursday...