Who were Leno and Rosemary LaBianca?
LENO LABIANCA and his wife Rosemary played a tragic part in the infamous story of the Charles Manson family.
In July 2023 Leslie Van Houten – the youngest member of the bloodthirsty cult – was released after spending more than half a century in prison for their gruesome double murder.
Who was Leno LaBianca?
Leon LaBianca was born Pasqualino Antonio LaBianca in Los Angeles, California.
His parents were Italian immigrants and his father, Antonio, owned two grocery businesses called Gateway Ranch Markets and State Wholesale Grocery Company.
Leno had two older sisters called Emma and Stella.
He had three children with his first wife, Louise, but the pair divorced in 1955.
LaBianca then met his second wife Rosemary while she was working as a waitress.
The couple got married in 1960 in Carmel, California.
Who was Rosemary LaBianca?
Rosemary LaBianca was born in Arizona.
Her birth name was Ruth Katherine Elliott but after her mother and father divorced her mum, unable to take care of her, put her up for adoption.
She was adopted age eight by a couple who named her Rosemary.
Rosemary married a man named Frank Struthers in 1953 and they welcomed two children – Suzan and Frank – together.
They divorced in 1956 and four years later Rosemary married Leno.
What did Leno LaBianca do for a living?
Leno followed in his father Antonio’s footsteps and was the owner of a chain of grocery stores.
He was made president of both his dad’s grocery companies after Antonio died in 1951.
Later in life, Leno bred and raced thoroughbred horses.
In 1967, he and Rosemary launched a successful high-end women’s clothing store.
What happened to Leno and Rosemary LaBianca?
Leno and Rosemary were sleeping at home when members of the Manson family entered their house and murdered them both.
The killings took place in the early hours of August 10, 1969, just over 24 hours after the deaths of actress Sharon Tate and four others.
Van Houten, who was 19 at the time, said she and other cult members stabbed the LaBiancas to death and smeared blood over their walls.
They used the couple’s blood to write “Healter Skelter” on the fridge – a misspelled reference to The Beatles song Helter Skelter.
Manson used the phrase to describe his goal of an apocalyptic scenario in which all white people would be slaughtered, sparking a race war.
They also wrote “Rise” and “Death to pigs” in blood on the walls.
Leno and Rosemary’s killers are thought to have played with their dogs while they lay dead, before showering in their bathroom and leaving the house.
Rosemary’s son and daughter discovered the couple dead the next day.
Five people – Van Houten, Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Tex Watson – were each tried and convicted for their roles in the murders.
Originally, each defendant received a death sentence – but in 1972, the Supreme Court of California ruled the laws were unconstitutional.
Why did Manson pick the LaBianca’s house?
The Manson gang randomly selected the LaBiancas for execution, though they had allegedly attended a party at a house next door to their home the year before the murders.
None of the Manson family had never met the LaBiancas before but they believed their murders would help kick off the race war they sought to start.
How many times was LaBianca stabbed?
The LaBiancas were both stabbed dozens of times.
Rosemary had been knifed a total of 41 times, and was also choked with a lamp cord.
The killers, who continued to stab her long after she was dead, had put a pillowcase over her head throughout the horrific ordeal.
Leno, meanwhile, was left with a carving fork sticking out of his stomach and had the word “war” carved into him.
Is the LaBianca house still standing?
Yes, the LaBianca house is still standing and is still lived in.
The home has been sold multiple times since the LaBiancas died there.
The property, located at 3301 Waverly Drive in the Los Feliz neighbourhood, was listed in 2022 for $2.2million.
Where are Leno and Rosemary LaBianca buried?
Rosemary’s body was cremated and scattered at sea, at the request of her daughter Suzan.
Leno, meanwhile, was buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery, in LA, next to family members.