Anthony DiMaria, Nephew of Man Murdered by Manson Family, Speaks Out Following Leslie Van Houten’s Release

Hours after former Charles Manson family member Leslie Van Houten was released from prison on Tuesday, the nephew of one of the Manson family’s victims spoke out against her release.

Anthony DiMaria, the nephew of murdered hairstylist Jay Sebring, told CNN on Tuesday night that his family and other victims’ families “strongly, vehemently disagree” with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to not fight a state appellate court’s decision to grant Van Houten parole after fighting previous attempts to allow her to leave prison.

Van Houten, 73, served 53 years in prison for taking part in the two-day killing spree in which the Manson family murdered seven people, including 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate and DiMaria's uncle Sebring.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Van Houten will “have a three-year maximum parole term with a parole discharge review occurring after one year.”

“Leslie Van Houten has always kind of propped herself up as a Manson follower, but she's anything but,” he said, per the outlet. “She is a cold-blooded killer in one of the most notorious murderer rampages in United States history.”

DiMaria said he’s worried about the precedent Van Houten’s release sets in California. “With her release now, any other violent criminal or killer whose crimes fall beneath the bar of Leslie Van Houten’s very extreme…crimes that also have historical impact, that opens the door for them,” he told CNN. “It is our fear that the floodgates in the California penal system will be unhinged.”

Van Houten was convicted, along with other members of the Manson “family,” of the brutal 1969 slayings of Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary. She was not present at DiMaria’s uncle’s killing, but was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the slayings of the LaBiancas.

At 19, Van Houten was the youngest member of the Manson family. Now 73, she had served her time at the California Institution for Women in Corona before her release Tuesday. 

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In total, Van Houten was granted parole five times since 2016 but had been blocked each time by the governor’s office.

However, Gov. Newsom declined to appeal Van Houten’s release once more, with spokesperson Erin Mellon telling PEOPLE he would “not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed.” 

Now, Van Houten is “so ready” to be out of prison, her attorney Rich Pfeiffer tells PEOPLE – despite the victims families’ disapproval.

“She has some computer skills from the job she had in prison,” Pfeiffer said, noting that she’s had multiple job offers. “She has got a master’s degree. She is very bright. She has got a lot of support from family and friends. She will do just fine.”