Claim: Susan Atkins was a California inmate.

Susan Denise Atkins -LRB- May 7 , 1948 September 24 , 2009 -RRB- was a convicted American murderer who was a member of Charles Manson 's `` Family '' . Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California , over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969 . Known within the Manson family as Sadie Mae Glutz or Sexy Sadie , Atkins was convicted for her participation in eight of these killings , including the most notorious , the `` Tate/LaBianca '' murders . She was sentenced to death , which was subsequently commuted to life in prison . Atkins was incarcerated from October 1 , 1969 , until her death -- a period exactly one week short of 40 years . At the time of her death , Atkins was California 's longest-serving female inmate .