Manson Family member Linda Kasabian dead at 73

Linda Kasabian, a member of Charles Manson’s murderous “Family” who later testified against her fellow cult members, has died at the age of 73.

Kasabian died on Jan. 21 at a hospital in Tacoma, Washington, and her body was later cremated, as TMZ first reported Tuesday. Her cause of death has not been revealed.

A death certificate obtained by the gossip site indicated that Kasabian had changed her last name to “Chiochios” in a bid to shield her identity and conceal her former affiliation with the notorious cult.

Kasabian took part in the Manson followers’ murderous spree during “two days of mayhem” in Aug. 1969 that left seven people dead, among them actress Sharon Tate, the eight-month-pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski.


Linda Kasabian, center, is shown at a press conference she held at end of her 18 days on stand as a prosecution witness in Sharon Tate Murder trial, Aug. 19, 1970, Los Angeles.
Kasabian, center, was offered immunity from the prosecution in exchange for agreeing to testify against Charles Manson and his other followers at their murder trial.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this 1969, file photo, Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case.
Manson denied ordering anyone to commit murder, but Kasabian’s testimony against him helped secure his conviction.
AP

After Charles Manson and his cult members were arrested and put on trial in the early 1970s, Kasabian was offered immunity in exchange for testifying against the defendants.

Over the course of 18 days, Kasabian detailed for the court how Charles “Tex” Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins shot and stabbed five people on Polanski and Tate’s property in the Benedict Canyon section of Los Angeles.

Among the dead were Tate, 25, and her unborn son, Paul; her former fiancé Jay Sebring, 26, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, also 26, her boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski, 37, and 18-year-old Steven Parent, a friend of Tate’s groundskeeper.


Combo image shows the five victims slain the night of Aug. 9, 1969 at the Benedict Canyon Estate of Roman Polanski. From left, Voityck Frykowski, Sharon Tate, Stephen Parent, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger.
The Manson Family’s deadly rampage in Aug. 1969 left seven people dead, including (L to R) Voityck Frykowski, Sharon Tate, Stephen Parent, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Aug. 20, 1970 file photo, Charles Manson followers, from left: Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, walk to court to appear for their roles in the 1969 cult killings of seven people.
Kasabian testified that she witnessed Manson followers (L to R) Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten take part in the killings of seven people over the course of two nights.
AP

On the second night of the murderous spree, Manson’s cohorts stabbed to death Leon and Rosemary LaBianca at their LA home.

Kasabian said from the stand that although she witnessed the slaughter and drove the getaway car during the LaBianca killings, she did not harm anyone.

Kasabian’s testimony helped prosecutors secure murder convictions against Manson and his co-defendants, who were all sentenced to life in prison.


This Aug. 14, 2017 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Charles Manson.
Manson died at age 83 in prison in 2017 after going into cardiac arrest.
AP

Manson died in prison in 2017 at age 83 after going into cardiac arrest following a battle with colon cancer.

The wild-eyed, diminutive 5-foot-6 cult leader was accused of ordering the killings to trigger a race war he believed was augured in the Beatles song “Helter Skelter,” after which he expected to take over power

Kasabian had reportedly lived in Tacoma with her daughter since the late 1980s.

During an interview with then-CNN host Larry King in 2009, Kasabian, who did not show her face, said she had been “on a path of healing and rehabilitation” — and claimed she felt guilty over the killings, unlike her former accomplices.