Linda Kasabian's death ‘not a relief’ for model Ava Roosevelt who narrowly escaped Manson Family murders
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A model who narrowly escaped the Manson Family attack on Sharon Tate said Linda Kasabian's death has come as "no relief" to her. Ava Roosevelt, who was 19 at the time of the murders, said she was upset that Kasabian lived 50 years longer than her slain friend Tate, the 26-year-old pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski. Four others were also slaughtered inside the couple's Cielo Drive home.
Kasabian, a former member of the Charles Manson Family, went on to testify against him and the other cult members in exchange for immunity. She died on January 21 aged 73. In the summer of 1969, Kasabian participated in the murders of Tate and her friends. She admitted to witnessing the slayings but claimed she never physically harmed anyone. Kasabian eventually escaped prison time but helped send Manson to prison.
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Roosevelt, who was supposed to be at Tate's Cielo Drive home on the night of the murders, said Kasabian should have never been allowed to live as a free woman for the rest of her life. Roosevelt said Kasabian, along with all of the other cult members to aided the crimes, should have been sentenced to death.
"There is no sense of relief for me because she lived until 73. Sharon didn't get that chance" said Roosevelt, who was 21 at the time of Tate's death," Roosevelt said, according to The US Sun. "So maybe this is cruel what I’m saying but the justice system allowed her to exist for that many more years - fifty-plus more years - than Sharon. Linda and the rest of the Manson Family should’ve perished for their actions."
"I think that justice has not been done, and has not been served," she added. "These people should’ve been punished to the full extent of the law at the time, and had the death penalty not been commuted in California when it was, these people would've probably been dead by now. I’ve never felt any relief from any of the Manson deaths, including Charles Manson's - and this one is no different."
Who is Ava Roosevelt?
Ava Roosevelt was born on 11 March 1948 in Warsaw, Poland. She was previously married to William Donner Roosevelt, David Manson Weir II, John Charles Farrow and Count Michel Jacques Albanel de La Sabliere, according to her IMDb profile. She is known for being a socialite and a former model. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is a contributing writer at Opulence and the author of 'The Racing Heart'. She went to Columbia University.
Roosevelt has now said she is "angry" that Kasabian led a relatively full life while Tate, pregnant at the time, was brutally stabbed to death. She also said that she believes Kasabian should have been prosecuted even if she had not physically participated in the murders.
"When you exchange your information for immunity, it's basically an act to save yourself in some capacity, it isn't a noble act [...] she was just willing to rat on everyone to save her own behind," Roosevelt said. "She claims she didn't commit any of these crimes, but you have to carry something in your heart to be able to do something like this in the first place."
"I don't think any of the Manson Family can be truly rehabilitated - Linda included," she added. "And it makes me not only sad but incredibly angry that she was able to live out the term of her life when she was an accessory to such a horrific crime. Sharon didn't get that chance. Sharon would've lived and had multiple children, and what makes me angry is this woman was allowed to say, 'okay, we did all of this' and then she didn't have to die or die in jail. Even if you stay in the driveway and you hear what's happening you should call the police. She was just as culpable as anyone else. Whether these [Manson followers] lived in a cell or lived in a mansion, they lived. Sharon didn’t; and in my opinion, they shouldn’t have been allowed to either."
How Ava Roosevelt escaped the Manson Family attack
Roosevelt narrowly escaped from becoming the Manson Family's victim on August 8, 1969. During August 8-10, the attackers killed Tate and her unborn child, her companions Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, and Wojciech Frykowski, along with Steven Parent, Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary.
Roosevelt had been driving to Cielo Drive when the fuel light on the dashboard of her 1955 Silver Dawn began flickering, according to The US Sun. She assumed that her gas tank was almost empty and noticed that it was already 11.30 pm. Instead of going to Tate's house, she headed back home, realizing there were no gas stations nearby and her car could break down.
The Manson Family broke into Tate's house around 15 minutes after Roosevelt turned her car back toward the direction of home. She later found out that the tank of her car was actually almost full, but the glitch on her dashboard saved her life.
After she wrapped up a commercial shoot the next day, her manager approached her. "She was sheet-white," Roosevelt recalled. "She intercepted me as I was walking and just said, 'sit down.' So I did and she said, 'You know they're all dead, right?' And I said 'who is dead?', this was before the times of instant news, and she told me, 'They're all dead - Sharon, all of them.' I just couldn't believe it."
"No matter where my life takes me, I am thankful for every second that I'm alive," Roosevelt told Town&Country in the past. "I try to make the most out of every day."