Report: Charlie Manson Seriously Ill In Bakersfield Hospital
BAKERSFIELD (CBS SF/AP) -- Infamous serial killer Charles Manson has been taken from Corcoran State Prison to a local hospital in Bakersfield, according to news reports Tuesday afternoon.
Both the Los Angeles Times and TMZ reported Manson had been moved to the hospital. A source told the Los Angeles Times that Manson was seriously ill.
The nature of Manson's illness was not known, but Corcoran does have an on-site medical care facility. State prison officials said they would "not disclose inmate movements for safety and security reasons."
The 82-year-old Manson led his followers on a bloody rampage that terrorized Los Angeles during two August nights in 1969. The so-called 'Manson Family' killed seven people including pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger and Leon and Rosemary La Bianca.
Prosecutors said that Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war that he believed was foretold in the Beatles' song "Helter Skelter." He was sentenced to nine concurrent life sentences for the murders.
Just last week, a two-member parole panel delayed making a decision on whether to release a 'Manson Family' member -- accomplice Patricia Krenwinkel -- who is the longest-serving female inmate in California.
Parole board spokeswoman Vicky Waters said in an email that the panel postponed a decision on whether to recommend freeing Krenwinkel "because they felt information discussed at the hearing was cause for an investigation."
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The hearing will be continued once the investigation is concluded, she said.
Sharon Tate's sister, Debra Tate, said the parole officials told her the hearing was likely to be postponed about six months while they research to see if Krenwinkel meets the criteria for having battered women's syndrome.
Krenwinkel's attorney, Keith Wattley, confirmed that account but did not comment on the postponement.
"She totally minimized her actions and blamed everything on other people the whole hearing," Tate said.
Tate said she didn't buy the concept that Krenwinkel was a victim because she was free to leave at any time and participated in murders two nights in a row.
"We all have to be accountable for our actions. I don't buy any of this stuff. She was there because she wanted to be there. Nobody held a gun to her head," Tate said.
The decision to delay by the panel came after the 69-year-old Krenwinkel was previously denied parole 13 times, most recently in 2011.
Krenwinkel acknowledged during her trial that she chased down and repeatedly stabbed Folger, the 26-year-old heiress of a coffee fortune, at Tate's home and helped kill grocer LaBianca and his wife the following night.
Los Angeles County prosecutors say Krenwinkel carved the word "war" into Leno LaBianca's stomach then wrote "Helter Skelter" in blood on the couple's refrigerator.
Krenwinkel was initially sentenced to death, but the California Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty in 1972.
Gov. Jerry Brown has the power to block the release of inmates if parole is granted. He previously stopped the parole of Manson followers Leslie Van Houten, 67, and Bruce Davis, 74.
Krenwinkel became the state's longest-serving female inmate when fellow Manson follower Susan Atkins died of cancer in prison in 2009.
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