On January 21, Linda Kasabian, a key prosecution witness in the 1970-71 trial of notorious cult leader Charles Manson, passed away at a hospital in Tacoma, Washington.
The death certificate obtained by TMZ confirmed her passing, and her body was subsequently cremated. The certificate noted that she had changed her last name to “Chiochios” to protect her identity after dissociating herself from the Manson Family.
Kasabian was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony, which was instrumental in convicting Manson and several of his followers of murder. She participated in the two nights of violence that Manson and his followers carried out in 1969, during which seven people were killed in Los Angeles.
During her testimony, which lasted for 18 days, Kasabian provided graphic details of how the slayings were carried out under Manson’s direction.
She described how Charles “Tex” Watson drove her, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins to the home of filmmaker Roman Polanski in Benedict Canyon. She also testified that Watson, Krenwinkel, and Atkins killed five people, including Polanski’s pregnant wife, Sharon Tate.
Kasabian was present during the bloodshed, but she did not physically harm anyone. She also drove the group on the second night of the Manson murders, during which Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were killed in their Los Angeles home.
In the end, Kasabian’s testimony played a crucial role in convicting Manson and his accomplices of the murders, resulting in life sentences for all of them.
Manson himself died in prison in 2017 at the age of 83 due to complications from colon cancer.
Linda Kasabian was 73 years old at the time of her death.