Manson follower dies after parole is denied

SUSAN ATKINS, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson whose remorseless witness stand confession to killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate in 1969 shocked the world, has died. She was 61 and had been suffering from brain cancer.

Atkins’s death comes less than a month after a parole board turned down the terminally ill woman’s last chance at freedom on September 2. She was brought to the hearing on a gurney and slept through most of it.

California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said that Atkins died late on Thursday night. She had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008, had a leg amputated and was given only a few months to live.