• Anthony DiMaria’s Letter To Gavin Newsom, Re:Krenwinkel

Monthly Archives: August 2022

Anthony DiMaria’s Letter To Gavin Newsom, Re:Krenwinkel

Sunday, August 21st, 2022

Dear Governor Gavin Newsom,

My name is Anthony DiMaria, nephew of Jay Sebring (one 8 killed by Patricia Krenwinkel and the so-called Manson family…. I include Sharon Tate’s unborn son among the 8 victims).

My family and I ask that you reverse parole of inmate Krenwinkel due to the rare, severe, egregious nature of her crimes as defined In Re Lawrence, minimization and lack of insight into her atrocities as defined In Re Shaputis and the convicted killer’s current dangerousness to society.

As defined In Re Lawrence, in rare and particularly egregious cases, the fact that the inmate committed the offense can provide an indication of the inmate’s potential for future danger, despite strong evidence of rehabilitation in the record. (Lawrence, supra, 44 Ca1.4th at pp. 1181, 1211, 1213-14.)

On the nights of August 8th and 10th, 1969 Patricia Krenwinkel’s victims unspeakably suffered 7 gunshots, 169 stabbings, bludgeoning, torture and mutilation. Ms. Krenwinkel horrified the nation splattering messages in her victims’ blood (“Healter Skelter”, “Death to Pigs”) at her crime scene thus inciting the entire Helter Skelter legacy that has caused permanent historical scars as evidenced in the horrific murders of Vivian French and Jason Sweeney (which I’ll address later in this plea).

MINIMIZATION/IN RE SHAPUTIS

After decades of rehabilitation, Patricia Krenwinkel still minimizes and lacks insight into her crimes. At her last hearing the petitioner posits “I’ve spent the last 50 years really looking at how I ever got involved in that kind of a thing, allowing other people to make decisions for me, to think for me.” [pp.59 ll. 22-25]

Then, “I had psychiatrists that I worked with to try and locate what would allow me to ever allow someone to take over my life like that.” [p.42 l.24]

“I just kept accepting and allowing myself to go along for the ride.” [p.28 ll.2-4]
-Governor, these statements from the petitioner are glaring, shocking and a hell of a way to characterize the killings of seven people and an unborn child.

As I stated at the May 26 parole, “At today’s hearing, Ms. Krenwinkel describes ‘allowing’ and ‘allowed’ as in ‘I allowed these things to happen’ & ‘I allowed to lead me in this direction.’

After having lived with the loss and suffering caused by Patricia Krenwinkel for decades – any use of the words “allow”, “allowed”, “allowing” is quite disturbing and lacks any crumb of insight into these crimes.” Frankly Governor Newsom, these statements are perverse and sociopathic.

As established In Re Shaputis, even when an inmate states that her conduct is “wrong” and that she feels some remorse for the crime, her failure “to gain insight or understanding into either her violent conduct or her commission of the commitment offense” provide “some evidence in support of the Governor’s conclusion that petitioner remains dangerous and is unsuitable for parole.” (In re Shigemura (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 440, 453-454 citing In re Shaputis (2008) 44 Ca1.4th 1241, 1260.)

CURRENT DANGER TO SOCIETY

If ever murders could be described as “Crimes of the Century,” Ms. Krenwinkel’s actions embody this heinous standard. The unspeakable number of stab wounds, mutilations, Ms. Krenwinkel’s threats smeared in her victims’ blood of DEATH TO PIGS and HELTER SKELTER on the walls at her crime scene terrified the nation. Patricia’s obscene behaviors throughout her trial not only spit on the memory of her victims and tormented our families, but directly created the destructive Manson family mystique, causing permanent scars on American history.

The severity of her actions are so profound that her lethal legacy has been influential in similar horrific murders well after her incarceration.

Detective Don Ryan describes the crime scene of Vivian French’s murder March 7, 1977: “As I entered the residence I could hear ‘The Pigs Are Coming’ song that was playing over and over again. When we walked in, I observed a white female, later identified as Vivian French, lying on her back. She was nude and I noticed what appeared to be a black handled knife in her right side just above the breast. I noticed on the wall there were some things written in blood: ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘All Pigs Must Die’…”

“HELTER SKELTER” & “ALL PIGS MUST DIE” – the same words written by Patricia Krenwinkel in her victims’ blood at the LaBianca crime scene.

On May 30, 2003, Jason Sweeney was murdered by four teenagers, ages 15 to 17. The weapons used to massacre the young man were a hammer, a hatchet, and several large rocks. At one point during the attack there was a hammer blow so severe that it remained protruding from Jason’s skull, as he continued to fight for his life.

During the trial, the teenaged killers testified listening to “Helter Skelter” over and over repeatedly for several hours before committing the murder. “Helter Skelter”…

The prosecuting attorney, Jude Conroy, stated, “It is really amazing that teenagers in Philadelphia, Memorial Day weekend, are attuned to the whole Helter Skelter mythology. It’s a sad testament to the twisted, brutal legacy those murders have left behind such that it attracts 15, 16, 17-year-olds. Over forty years later. 3,000 miles across the country. It is a powerful legacy.”

Charles Manson did not write HELTER SKELTER in blood, Patricia Krenwinkel did. Patricia Krenwinkel is the author that ignited what would become an endless cultural cancer with sinister and deadly consequences even as you read this Governor.

The nexus of current dangerousness, and the threat of Patricia Krenwinkel and her crimes to society today — direct, symbolic and cultural — is permanent, malignant and CURRENT.

Governor Newsom, as you acknowledge the rare, severe nature of Patricia Krenwinkel’s crimes as defined in Lawrence, her minimization and lack of insight as addressed in Shaputis and her current dangerousness to society- we ask that you reject parole for Patricia Krenwinkel.

Sincerely,
Anthony DiMaria