LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 — The Texan who married Manson family killer Susan Atkins says his wife stabbed him during a prison visit because she was jealous of attention he was giving one of her murder partners, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Donald “Flash” Laisure, a self-proclaimed billionaire, wrote a letter to an NBC reporter dated Nov. 30 claiming that Atkins stabbed him shortly after their marriage in September 1981, Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay said.

“Apparently Atkins was jealous because of the attention he was paying to Leslie Van Houten,” Kay said. “Apparently he was talking to her in the visiting room on occasion and Atkins was upset about that.”

The television network turned the letter over to the district attorney’s office, Kay said.

A spokesman at the women’s state prison in Chino, where Atkins and Van Houten are serving life sentences for the 1969 slayings of actress Sharon Tate and four others, disputed the stabbing charge.

“It’s not true,” Dennis Martel said. “We have never had anybody report that to us or have any staff person witness such an action.”

Kay said Laisure, 52, has filed for divorce. Laisure, who said before he married Atkins, 34, that he would spend millions to win her freedom, said Fidel Castro signed his divorce papers Feb. 13.

Atkins is scheduled to appear for a fifth parole hearing today. Her attorney could not immediately be reached to comment.

Kay said he will use the letter as evidence against Atkins.

“It will be very damaging to her parole chances,” Kay said. “It shows Susan is up to her old tricks again… She’s stabbed people before, and now she’s stabbing her husband.”

He added that Laisure described her as “scary” and that she admitted killing Tate and two others.