Newsom rejects parole recommendation for Manson follower

Manson family member Patricia Krenwinkel — who broke into the home of a Los Angeles grocer, stabbed him and wrote "Helter Skelter," "Rise" and "Death to Pigs" on the walls with his blood — has been denied parole by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

- BY CLARA HARTER

REED SAXON Associated Press

GOV. Gavin Newsom did acknowledge efforts by Patricia Krenwinkel, shown in 2011, to improve herself.

Krenwinkel, 77, was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder for participating in the Manson family slayings of pregnant actor Sharon Tate and six others during a two-day killing rampage in 1969. In May, the California Parole Board granted her parole, but this week Newsom overruled that decision, stating that she still poses an unreasonable danger to society.

Krenwinkel has appeared before the Parole Board 16 times over the course of her 56 years in custody, which makes her the longest-serving female inmate in California. She was initially sentenced to death, but that was reduced to a life sentence when the California Supreme Court overturned all death sentences before 1972.