Story highlights
Charles Denton "Tex" Watson was up for parole for the 16th time
He was convicted in 1971 for his part in all seven Manson family murders
His death sentence was commuted after a 1972 state court decision
Correction: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the role played by Leslie Van Houten in the 1969 Manson Family killings. Van Houten was convicted of murder in the deaths of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca and conspiracy to commit murder in the Tate killings.
Charles Denton “Tex” Watson, one of the chief participants in the Manson Family murders, will stay in prison at least another five years, the California Board of Parole Hearings announced Wednesday.
Watson, 65, was denied parole for the 16th time, the board said, and will not be considered again until 2016.
Watson was convicted of seven counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in a two-day killing spree that occurred in Los Angeles in the summer of 1969.
Five people, including actress Sharon Tate, were killed at Tate’s residence the night of August 9, 1969, by Watson and fellow Manson Family members Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel. The following night, restaurant owner Leno La Bianca and his wife, Rosemary, were slain in their home by Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, accompanied this time by group leader Charles Manson.
All five received the death penalty, but the sentences were commuted to life imprisonment after a California court decision abolished capital punishment.
Watson has been housed at Mule Creek State Prison since 1993, according to the parole board.