Episode 23: Leslie Van Houten Part 2

The Leslie Van Houten Story Part 2: Marauders in the desert, the way of the coyote, arrest, trial, rehabilitation and release.

Leslie has gone from flower-power, love-child hippie to marauding, violent outlaw running wild in the desert of Death Valley under the command of the Infinite Soul Charlie Manson.

Then it all comes crashing down. The Family is busted and crazy Sexy Sadie is telling anyone who will listen about their bizarre beliefs, lifestyle, and crimes, including the murder of Sharon Tate.

The trial is a circus and a freak show in every sense of the word, Charlie making wild demands and trying to stab the judge, Family members showing up with knives and snakes, Leslie, Katie and Sadie singing merrily with haunted spaced-out eyes, much of it televised.

Leslie gets up on the stand and says that sorry is only a five-letter word and she has no remorse. By the time guilty verdicts are read the defendants have shaved their heads bald and carved Xs into their brows.

Leslie is sentenced to death but California abolishes the death penalty. Then she is given a new trial. And another. She’s free for an instant but then put back in prison where she’d remain for over five decades despite being recommended parole, until 2023 when she is released at 73 years old.

Join us on a wild ride that captures the zeitgeist of America, the darkness of the sixties, and examines youth culture gone horribly wrong, and see the dark and terrifying journey of Leslie Van Houten come to an end.

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Creepy Amusement Park theme by Brandon Fiechter and Derek Fiechter, used by permission and with many thanks.

References:

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill

The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control And The Manson Family Mythos by Adam Gorightly

Helter Skelter: the True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi, and Curt Gentry

Manson in His Own Words: The Shocking Confessions of ‘The Most Dangerous Man Alive’ by Charles Manson and Nuel Emmons

The Garbage People: The Trip to Helter Skelter and Beyond with Charlie Manson and The Family by John Gilmore and Ron Kenner

The Family by Ed Sanders

(219) Leslie Van Houten, December 29, 1969, interviewed by Marvin L. Part - YouTube

(219) Leslie Van Houten Interviews - November 26, 1969 and November 28, 1969 - YouTube

(219) Leslie Van Houten 1977 Interview Part 1 - YouTube

Leslie Van Houten: A Friendship, Part 1 of 5 | HuffPost Latest News

Ex-Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after 53 years - BBC News