Patricia Krenwinkel - Tate-LaBianca Murders

Tate-LaBianca Murders

Patricia Krenwinkel was a participant in the infamous murders on August 9, 1969 at 10050 Cielo Drive, home of actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski. After fellow Family member Charles "Tex" Watson shot and killed teenager Steven Parent in his car in the estates' driveway, Watson, Susan Atkins, and Krenwinkel entered the house, surprising all inside. When mayhem ensued, Krenwinkel dragged coffee heiress Abigail Folger from her bedroom to the living room, fought with her, and stabbed her. When Folger tried to escape following the first round of stabbing, Krenwinkel was said to have chased Folger as she ran outside screaming. According to Krenwinkel, she pinned Folger to the ground and further stabbed her; the victim pleaded with her to stop by saying, "Stop, I'm already dead". Krenwinkel continued to stab her so brutally that Folger's white nightgown appeared red to police investigators the following day. After stabbing Folger, Krenwinkel went back inside and summoned Watson, who also stabbed Folger. During her trial, Krenwinkel said, "...I stabbed her and I kept stabbing her." When asked how it felt, Krenwinkel replied: "Nothing, I mean, what is there to describe? It was just there, and it was right."

On Manson's orders, Krenwinkel participated willingly in more killing the following night. Along with Manson, Watson, Atkins, Steve Grogan, Leslie Van Houten, and Linda Kasabian, Krenwinkel went to the home of Southern California grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. After Manson and Watson tied up the couple, Manson left, giving orders to Van Houten and Krenwinkel to join Watson and kill the LaBiancas. Leaving Manson, Atkins, Grogan and Kasabian in the car outside, the trio proceeded to torture and kill the couple. Mrs. LaBianca, who was being held in the master bedroom, could hear the screams and struggling of her husband, who was being held in the living room, as Watson began stabbing him. She began to struggle. Once again wielding a knife, Krenwinkel attempted to stab Rosemary LaBianca while Van Houten held her down. However, her weapon was a dull kitchen knife and she was unable to actually stab the struggling woman. She and Van Houten called to Watson, who came into the master bedroom and stabbed her with a bayonet the group had brought. They also then repeatedly stabbed her.

According to Watson's book, Will You Die for Me?, he carved the word "WAR" on the abdomen of Leno LaBianca's corpse, although the act is sometimes attributed to Krenwinkel. Watson further claims that while he was washing off the LaBianca's blood in the couple's shower, Krenwinkel repeatedly stabbed the dead Leno LaBianca and left a carving fork embedded in his abdomen and a small steak knife protruding from his neck. In an interview, Krenwinkel admitted to stabbing Mr. LaBianca with the fork and leaving it in his abdomen. Both utensils were taken from the LaBiancas' kitchen. Krenwinkel then wrote "DEATH TO PIGS" in blood on the wall, and "HeaLter SkeLTter" on the refrigerator. When later questioned, Krenwinkel claimed that the only thing going through her mind at the time was that "Now he won't be sending any of his children off to war." Before hitchhiking back to Spahn Ranch, the trio stayed a while in the LaBianca home—eating food, showering, and playing with the LaBiancas' two dogs. Meanwhile, Manson, Atkins, Kasabian, and Grogan drove around Los Angeles looking for someone else to kill, to no avail.