Patricia Krenwinkel parole grant awaits review

California prison authorities said Patricia Krenwinkel, a Charles Manson follower imprisoned for nearly six decades for murder, has been preliminarily granted parole in a decision that still must be reviewed before becoming final.

Krenwinkel, 78, was convicted on seven counts of murder for her role in the August 1969 killings of actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles. Officials with the California prison department said all parole grants are proposed decisions until a review by the Board of Parole Hearings and the governor.

It is the third time Krenwinkel has been approved for parole. California Governor Gavin Newsom most recently blocked parole in 2025, saying she still posed an unreasonable danger to society.

Krenwinkel was originally sentenced to death with Manson and other followers. Her sentence became life in prison after California declared capital punishment unconstitutional in 1972, invalidating existing death sentences. Manson died in custody in 2017 at age 83.