Patricia Krenwinkel, convicted in the 1969 Manson family murders that killed seven people across Los Angeles, was granted parole for a third time on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

The California Board of Parole Hearings found the 78-year-old suitable for release at her 18th suitability hearing, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed, according to MyNewsLA. Krenwinkel is California's longest-serving female inmate.

Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed her two previous parole grants. He reversed a May 2022 recommendation that October and reversed a May 30, 2025, grant on Oct. 13, 2025.

The preliminary decision now faces a 120-day review by the Board of Parole Hearings. Because Krenwinkel's conviction involves murder, Newsom then has an additional 30 days to allow or reverse it.

Krenwinkel did not appear at the Oct. 7 hearing. She is held at the California Institution for Women in Corona.

Los Angeles County District Attorney's prosecutors told the Los Angeles Times they would encourage the governor's office to keep Krenwinkel behind bars.

Debra Tate, sister of murder victim Sharon Tate, has led opposition to Krenwinkel's release for years. In a Change.org petition that has collected more than 100,000 signatures since 2016, Tate wrote: "Society cannot allow this serial killer who committed such horrible, gruesome, random killings back out."

Keith Wattley, Krenwinkel's attorney and executive director of the nonprofit UnCommon Law, said the decision showed the board can recognize decades of rehabilitation and make evidence-based decisions. He urged Newsom to let the parole stand.

In his October 2025 reversal, Newsom acknowledged Krenwinkel had earned multiple college degrees and maintained a strong disciplinary record in prison, according to MyNewsLA. He concluded those factors were outweighed by the danger she posed to the public.

Krenwinkel was convicted in 1971 on seven counts of first-degree murder. She participated with Charles "Tex" Watson and Leslie Van Houten in the Aug. 9, 1969, killings of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski and Steven Parent at a Benedict Canyon home. The following night, the group killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca at their Los Feliz home.

She originally received a death sentence. It was reduced to life in prison after the California Supreme Court invalidated all death sentences before 1972.

Fellow Manson follower Van Houten was released in July 2023 after a state appellate court overruled Newsom's attempt to block her parole. She has completed supervised release. Other former followers, including Watson and Robert Beausoleil, remain in prison. Charles Manson, Susan Atkins and Bruce Davis died in custody.

If Newsom reverses the Oct. 7 decision, Krenwinkel would be scheduled for another hearing within 18 months.