Overview
- A parole panel preliminarily approved Patricia Krenwinkel at her 18th subsequent suitability hearing, a decision state officials confirmed after the hearing held Tuesday.
- The grant is not final because it must pass a 120-day legal review by the Board of Parole Hearings and then be sent to the governor for up to 30 days of review.
- Governor Gavin Newsom has twice reversed earlier parole approvals for Krenwinkel, most recently in October 2025, and prosecutors and victims’ family members say they will urge him to do so again.
- Krenwinkel, 78, has served about 56–57 years for seven first-degree murders from the 1969 Tate‑LaBianca killings and has a long record of clean discipline, college degrees and evaluations that found her low risk.
- If the governor reverses this decision, California law typically schedules another suitability hearing within 18 months and the outcome could affect how the state handles parole for elderly, long‑serving inmates.