In 2012, Watson disputed a request to release recordings of conversations with his attorney. The recordings became part of a bankruptcy proceeding involving the deceased attorney's law firm. Members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said they believed the recordings might contain clues about unsolved murder cases involving the Manson family. Watson asked the presiding judge to allow police to listen to the tapes but not take possession of them. The LAPD did acquire the tapes, which allegedly contained Watson confessing to other murders, but reported that they did not contain any new information. In September 2014, Richard Pfeiffer, an attorney for Leslie Van Houten, said that he was considering subpoenaing the tapes to look for information that might help Van Houten in her next parole hearing.