Cousin of Manson family murder victim slams paroled cult member as a ‘psychopath’

The cousin of Gary Hinman – the Manson Family’s first victim – has spoken out against the release of cult member Leslie Van Houten, calling it a misjustice and an affront to her late loved one’s memory.

Labeling Van Houten a ‘psychopath’, 86-year-old Kay Hinman made this and several other statements while discussing the convicted killer’s controversial Tuesday release with NewsNation, more than 50 years after her relative’s brutal stabbing.

Van Houten – who was a lonely and mentally damaged 19-year-old from Los Angeles when she met Manson – served 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two of the infamous murders, and was the youngest member of the ‘Family’ cult.

Now 73, Manson ‘was released to parole supervision’,  the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed, after escaping a death sentence back in the 70s – when the state’s Supreme Court did away with capital punishment.

Aside from seeing Van Houten and several other killers spared, the move was bolstered by the fact officials decided to keep parole on the table for death penalty recipients – a decision now being felt by victims’ family more than 50 years later.

: 

Now 73, Van Houten – who was a lonely and mentally damaged 19-year-old from Los Angeles when she met Manson – served 53 years of a life sentence for her participation in two of the infamous murders, and was the youngest member of the ‘Manson Family’ cult

Gary Hinman – who introduced then-aspiring musician Charles Manson to the Beach Boys in the late 60s – was stabbed to death by Manson follower Bobby Beausoleil in 1969, and would have been 88 were he alive today

‘Do you buy any of the argument that Leslie Van Houten has been a model prisoner and is fully rehabilitated and isn’t a danger to society?’ NewsNation’ Ashleigh Banfield at one point asks Hinman during the five-minute sitdown.

‘No, I don’t,’ the California senior goes on to respond, before providing what she billed as proof of Van Houten’s lack of humanity – citing a jailhouse interview in which she was asked if she felt sorrow or shame for the death of one of her two victims, Rosemary LaBianca.

‘In 1976, Leslie was asked if she was remorseful,’ the senior recalls, visibly emotional.

‘Her answer was “sorry is just a five-letter word.”

‘Leslie is a psychopath’.

At another point, Hinman cites other characteristics of Van Houten that she viewed as damning – such as how during her trial in 1971, she appeared unrepentant, as well her now notorious giggling during testimony covering her part in the 1969 killings of 44-year-old LA man and his wife. 

‘The psychiatrist at one of her trials said she is a schizotype who represses her emotions, and demonstrates a joyless coldness and sense of alienation,’ Hinman says, adding, ‘and Psychopaths cannot be cured.’

The interview – Hinman’s first televised appearance since a California court approved Van Houten’s fifth parole review – comes less than a day after Hinman told DailyMail.com that Van Houten’s release could open the door for the future release of four other cons currently doing time for Manson-related killings.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, she said: ‘This is opening the door for the other four. I can’t believe the courts would do that – how can they override the governor? ‘

The interview – Hinman’s first TV spot since a court approved Van Houten’s fifth parole review – comes less than a day after Hinman told DailyMail.com that Van Houten’s release could open the door for the release of other cons currently doing time for Manson-related killings

That statement came shortly after California Governor Gavin Newsom – who in the past contested prospective paroles for Manson family members – voiced his intent to not appeal the state Supreme Court’s sensation decision in a brief statement. 

Van Houten’s victims included LA couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca (above), who were killed on August 9, 1969, by Van Houten, Manson, and four other accomplices

Manson – who died in jail in 2017 – led a cult of disaffected young people in the 1960s, and dispatched his followers to murder Los Angeles’ rich and famous in 1969

That statement came shortly after California Governor Gavin Newsom – who in the past contested prospective paroles for Manson family members – voiced his intent to not appeal the state Supreme Court’s sensation decision in a brief statement.

The statement expressed Newsom’s apparent disappointment over the decision.

Released July 7, it read: ‘More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims’ families still feel the impact.’

Speaking to Banfield Wednesday, Hinman – whose cousin was the one to introduce Manson, then an aspiring musician, to Brian Wilson and other members of the Beach Boys in 1968 – called the decision ‘devastating to friends and family.’

She laments: ‘I’ve worked so hard to keep the Manson killers in jail, so it’s very discouraging.

‘They all got the death penalty, and they left off two words when they took the death penalty away: “Without parole”.’

She adds: ‘Many states put “Without parole” on there when they did away with the death penalty, but not California.’

Van Houten (right) was the youngest of the Manson Family – a white-supremacist cult that struck fear into the hearts of millions of Californians during the late 60s and early 70s

Van Houten was found guilty of first degree murder in 1971, and initially given a death sentence, however, after the Californian Supreme Court deemed the penalty unconstitutional in 1972, this was reduced to a life sentence with eligibility for parole.

After her 13th parole rejection, already in 2008, Van Houten took legal action on the basis that the decision was made purely on evidence from her crimes.

However, she continued to not be recommended for parole until 2016.

Her fifth recommendation, in November 2021, was overruled like the previous four, and a request for review was rejected the following year.

But on May 30 2023, an appeal court set aside the parole denial, ruling in Van Houten’s favor. 

The decision was made based on her ‘extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends, favorable institutional reports, and, at the time of the Governor’s decision, had received four successive grants of parole.’