LOS ANGELES — In 1969, 20-year-old Linda Kasabian came to California to find God. Instead, she found Charles Manson.
Just weeks after joining his ragtag “family” of lost and damaged souls, Kasabian was entwined in the brutal bloodbath that became known around the world as the Tate-LaBianca murders. Actress Sharon Tate and six others were killed under orders from Manson during a two-night rampage that would terrify Los Angeles and bring the 1960s to an abrupt and grisly end.
Kasabian, who went on to serve as the chief prosecution witness in the sensational 1970 trial that sent Manson and three followers to prison for life, died Jan. 21 at a hospital in Tacoma, Wash., the Washington Post reported. The Post obtained a copy of her death certificate, which identified her as Linda Chiochios, one of various names she used after the Manson trials. No cause was listed. She was 73.
