Krenwinkel Wins Preliminary Parole Approval

A California parole panel has preliminarily approved Patricia Krenwinkel for release, but the decision is not final and remains subject to legal review and action by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Krenwinkel received the preliminary approval Tuesday. According to the department, parole decisions are proposed until they complete review by the Board of Parole Hearings and the governor. The decision is expected to reach Newsom after legal review; he will then have 30 days to reverse it, according to the reported process. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said it would urge Newsom’s office to keep Krenwinkel imprisoned. Newsom reversed a previous parole decision in October 2025, saying her progress in prison did not outweigh concerns about the potential danger she posed to the public. He also cited what he described as insufficient insight into factors that contributed to her crimes. Krenwinkel, now 78, has spent 56 years in prison for her role in the 1969 murders of seven people in Los Angeles. She was convicted in 1971 alongside other members of the group led by Charles Manson.