#11

Charles Manson

Charles Manson is an American criminal and cult leader.

He is ultimately responsible for the deaths of  9 people from 1968-1969 in the State of California.

Charles Milles Maddox was born on November 12, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born to a young Kathleen Maddox and paternity was unknown--sound like someone else we know?

It is believed that Charles' father was Colonel Walker Henderson Scott Sr. (whose name was actually Colonel; it's not an Army title) because Kathleen filed a paternity suit against him.

Before Charles was born, Kathleen marries William Manson in August 1934. William is put on Charles' birth certificate. Neither was a good parent and frequently left Charles to fend for himself. Kathleen's favorite pastime is drinking and she goes on days long drinking binges with her brother, Luther Maddox. Kathleen and William divorce in 1937.

In 1939, Kathleen Maddox Manson is drinking with a friend and decides to rob a wealthy acquaintance. Kathleen calls Luther to help, but it doesn't make a difference because they are both caught shortly after the robbery. Luther is sentenced to 10 years in prison and Kathleen to 5 years in prison. Five year old Charles is sent to live with relatives in West Virginia during this time.

Kathleen is paroled in 1942 and moves to Charleston, WV to be with Charles. By this time, Charles is already skipping school (at 8 years old?!) and Kathleen is falling back into old habits. Trying to make a new start, the Manson family moves to Indianapolis, IN. Kathleen begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and tries to turn her life around. Charles continues to skip school, though, and starts committing petty crimes around town. Kathleen meets a man named Mr. Lewis at an AA meeting and they marry in 1943. 

By 1947, Kathleen Maddox Manson Lewis is fed up with Charles' delinquency. She tries to locate a foster home for him but is unsuccessful. So she sends him to a Catholic school for male delinquents called the Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, IN. Charles runs away from the school several times but is always returned against his will. He eventually succeeds and decides to settle in Indianapolis. He rents a room & commits robbery in order to support himself. He is caught and is sent to a juvenile correctional facility in Omaha, NE. He lasts 4 days at the facility before he & a peer escape, stealing a car and a gun. They commit several robberies and eventually end up in Peoria, IL.

As you might imagine, Charles' friend comes from a long line of criminals as well. When they arrive in Illinois, the peer's uncle takes them on as interns and teaches them the ropes. After 2 weeks, Charles is caught again during a burglary. He was then sent to the Indiana Boys School, which was known as a very strict reform school. 

Things do not go well for Charles at his new home. He is allegedly raped by peers which he claims were encouraged by staff to do so. He is frequently attacked by his peers and eventually comes up with what he calls the "insane game" which is where he would flail his arms, scream, and make terrible faces in an attempt to convince his attackers that he was crazy. (source: Guinn, Jeff. Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson) True to form, Manson manages to escape in February 1951 and brings 2 peers with him. Manson and friends decide to head towards California and steal a car. They make it to Utah and are arrested because of the stolen car, as well as on suspicion of several robberies that had been committed along their path. Because driving a stolen car across state lines is a federal crime, Manson is in deep trouble now. He is sent to the National Training School for Boys in Washington, D.C. When he arrived at the school, Manson is evaluated and determined to be illiterate with an IQ of 109, which is only slightly above average. He was also deemed to be "aggressively antisocial" (source: Guinn) which we now associate with psychopathy and/or sociopathy. What this means is that Manson had very little to no moral conscience, impulsive behavior, and little insight into right versus wrong.

In October 1951, Manson is transferred to Natural Bridge Honor Camp which was considered a minimum security facility. His aunt visits and tells prison administration that if Manson were to be released to her, she would let him live with her and would help him get a job. Manson has a parole hearing set for February 1952 in order to take this offer into consideration. In January 1952, however, Manson is discovered raping a fellow prisoner at knife point. The possibility of parole is taken off the table at this point. Because of this, Manson is transferred to a federal prison in Petersburg, VA. His time here also does not go well as he commits 8 serious disciplinary infractions, 3 of which involved raping fellow male prisoners. He was then transferred to a maximum security prison in Ohio and his release date is set for his 21st birthday on November 12, 1955. Because of good behavior, Manson is released in May 1954 and he returns to WV to live with his aunt and uncle.

In January 1955, Manson marries Rosalie Jean Willis. Rosalie soon becomes pregnant and they decide to move to Los Angeles. They arrive in Los Angeles around July 1955 in a stolen car. This catches up to him around October 1955 and he is (once again) charged with driving a stolen car across state lines. Before his trial, he is evaluated by a psychologist and is recommended to receive probation. This is what ends up happening and Manson is sentenced to 5 years of probation. After this, he and Rosalie move back to Indianapolis. Manson is arrested there in March 1956 due to failure to appear in Court. His probation was thereafter revoked and he was sentenced to 3 years at Terminal Island Correctional Facility in San Pedro, CA.

During his time at Terminal Island, Rosalie gives birth to a son and names him Charles Manson Jr. He is frequently visited by both Rosalie and his mother Kathleen. But in March 1957, Rosalie stops visiting and Charles asks his mother why. Kathleen reports that Rosalie is now living with another man and is moving on from Charles. Charles was pissed to find this out. He decides to go stop Rosalie from doing this and attempts to escape, stealing a car. He was less than 2 weeks from a scheduled parole hearing. He was apprehended and given 5 additional years. Parole, believe it or not, was denied.

1958 rolls around and Manson receives parole in September. Rosalie also officially divorces Charles. By November 1958, Charles is involved in prostituting a 16 year old girl in order to get an income. He meets a young woman named Leona Stevens and marries her in 1959. It is believed that Charles married Leona because he had been charged with attempting to cash a forged check and he did not want her to testify against him. He pleads guilty and is sentenced to a 10 year suspended sentence and probation.
Manson travels to New Mexico, bringing Leona and another young woman with him. It is suspected that he forced the women to become sex workers in order to have an income. Manson is put under surveillance and is subsequently arrested on charges of sex trafficking. There is not enough evidence to hold him so he is soon released without charges. Manson realizes that he now has a target on his back & he flees the state, thus breaking the terms of his probation. Because of this, a warrant for his arrest was issued and he was formally indicted on the sex trafficking charges. He and the women are located & arrested in Laredo, TX in June 1960. Due to his probation being violated, it was revoked and his ten year sentence on the check forging conviction was activated. Believe it or not (note heavy sarcasm here), his appeals on the revocation of his probation are denied. In July 1961, he is transferred from the LA County jail to the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island in Washington State. He manages to befriend some fellow inmates and learns to play guitar here. Fun fact, he learns about the beliefs of Scientology and lists it as his official religion.
In 1963, Leona files for divorce from Manson. Divorce documents note that they have a son together, Charles Luther Manson...which is his second child named Charles. Weird.
In June 1966, Manson is transferred back to his old stomping grounds at Terminal Island Correctional Facility to prep for an early release. He was officially released on March 21, 1967.



After his release, Manson moves to Berkeley, CA where he rents an apartment and tries to re-integrate into society. He isn't very successful and ends up begging. He meets 23 year old Mary Brunner, who was working at a local library as an assistant. He charms Mary into letting him move in and then eventually persuades her to let 18 other women also move in to the home.
He manages to establish himself as a guru in the hippie-infested wasteland known as the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco. He spreads his message of free love along with ideology from both Scientology and The Process Church of The Final Judgment. Manson also manages to convince people that he is Jesus Christ and calls himself "Charles Willis Manson" which he said meant "Charles' Will Is Man's Son"; basically saying that his will was the same as Christ's. Ok, whatevs. He soon has a dedicated group of followers and begins calling them The Manson Family. Coincidentally, most of these followers are females that fell for his quote unquote charms.
In the summer of 1967, Manson gathers up a few of his most devoted followers and roams the Western US with them. They eventually settle on the outskirts of LA.

On April 15, 1968,  Mary Brunner gives birth to Manson's son and names him Valentine Michael Manson. She gives birth in an abandoned house with no legit medical care; the other women of the group helped through the labor and delivery.



It's now late spring of 1968. Two female Family members were hitchhiking and were coincidentally picked up by Dennis Wilson, a member of The Beach Boys. The women were taken back to Wilson's home and stayed there while Wilson went to the recording studio. When Wilson returned later, he was shocked to realize that there were now 12 strangers in his home, including Charles Manson. Manson persuades Wilson into letting them stay. In the time that the Family was there, they cost Wilson a lot of money. He ended up having to replace a car that they wrecked, around $21,000. He also paid for every member to have their gonorrhea treated. All in all, he spent about $100,000. Manson liked to sing and write songs with Wilson. Wilson liked Manson's material so much that he recorded several of his songs. Manson was paid by Wilson and other music industry executives for his material.

In August of 1968, the Family is kicked out of Wilson's home. They settle on Spahn Movie Ranch which was on the outskirts of LA. The Spahn Ranch was used as a set to film Western movies and TV shows, complete with an "Old West" town set-up. The owner of the Ranch, George Spahn, allowed the Family to live there rent-free in exchange for labor. George's idea of labor included sex with the women of the Family.




Before long, Charles Watson joins the Family at Spahn Ranch. Charles' nickname is Tex because of his pronounced accent. Tex becomes Manson's right hand man & is a big part of the Manson Family.

In early November 1968, Manson seeks out a secondary location for the family. He finds 2 adjoining ranches near Death Valley in CA. He charms the ranch owners into allowing the Family to settle there and soon they are the proud squatters at the Myers Ranch.
Around this same time, Manson hears the Beatles' White Album for the first time and is instantly mesmerized by it. He believed that the Beatles were backing up his theory that there would soon be a huge race war and that it was up to the Family to save those who were worthy aka young, white women. He believed that the Family were to be the soldiers in this war and would be the ones to start the war as well as the eradicators of the minority races.
Around January 1969, the Family decides to get serious about this upcoming race war (which Manson has cleverly named Helter Skelter, which is the title of a Beatles song) and start by moving out of Death Valley. The find a yellow house in Canoga Park, CA and Manson nicknames it The Yellow Submarine (see a pattern here?) Once here, the Family starts studying maps of the area and prepping vehicles in order to make their move in starting Helter Skelter. They also begin work on an album of their own, which would tell the world about their plans and urge followers to join them.


The beginning of the end starts on August 23, 1969. Manson goes to (what he believes is) the home of Terry Melcher, a Hollywood music executive. He was told that Melcher resided at 10050 Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills. Melcher had recently moved out but Manson was unaware of that. The new residents were Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate, a movie director & actress respectively. Manson is greeted at the front door by a friend of Tate's who happened to be at the home for a photoshoot. This person has no idea who Melcher is and instructs Manson to go out back to check the guesthouse. Manson goes to the guesthouse and is told that Melcher moved out some time ago and his current address is unknown. The occupants of the guesthouse tell Manson not to return to the property. He leaves, slightly irritated with the whole situation.

On May 18, 1969, Terry Melcher himself visits the Family at Spahn Ranch to hear them perform. Melcher can't be that impressed because even though he brought mobile recording equipment, he declined to record the Family.

By June 1969, Manson is growing a little antsy. He wants Helter Skelter to start sooner rather than later and ratchets up the Family's prepping.
Part of this preparation includes sending Tex Watson out to hustle and get some money for the Family. Tex hustles the wrong guy, a drug dealer named Bernard "Lotsapoppa" Crowe. Crowe threatens to come to Spahn Ranch and kill the Family so Manson goes to Crowe's apartment first and shoots him on July 1, 1969.
Manson (wrongly) believes that Crowe was a member of the Black Panther group so Manson immediately starts preparing the Family for a retaliatory attack. Fun fact: Crowe wasn't a Black Panther and wasn't killed so they got all worked up for nothing.




Around this same time, members of the Family befriend college professor Gary Hinman. Manson gets the notion in his head that Hinman is immensely wealthy (not true) and decides that he wants Hinman to officially join the Family so that Manson can control all of his wealth. On July 25, 1969, Manson sends several Family members over to Hinman's home to persuade him to join the Family. These Family members were Bobby Beausoleil, Mary Brunner (aka his baby momma), and Susan Atkins. Hinman resisted the group's advances and ended up being held hostage for 2 days. Manson gets irritated, thinking that this was going to be an "in and out" kind of situation. He shows up at Hinman's home to take care of business himself and slashes Hinman's ear off. He then tells Bobby Beausoleil to take care of the situation. Bobby stabs Gary Hinman to death and then draws a panther paw as well as the words "political piggy" on Hinman's wall.


Bobby Beausoleil was arrested on August 6, 1969 driving Hinman's car. He's obviously not a good criminal because police finds the murder weapon in the car with him.
Manson takes this a sign and tells the Family that it is now time for Helter Skelter to start.


Late on August 8, 1969, Manson tells Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to go to (what he still believes is) Terry Melcher's home, where he had previously went to find Melcher. He tells the Family to murder anyone they encounter as brutally as possible. When they arrived at the home, Tex cuts the telephone lines so that no one could call for help. As Tex is creeping around, a car pulls into the driveway. 18 year old Steven Parent is the driver and is startled when Tex leaps towards the car out of the bushes. Parent begs Tex not to hurt him but Tex fatally shoots Parent 4 times. Watson then approaches the home and cuts a window screen to gain access. Upon entering, the Family finds 4 occupants:

Sharon Tate, a famous actress who is 8 months pregnant. Married to Roman Polanski, famous director.


Jay Sebring, well-known hairstylist.


Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folger Coffee empire.


Wojciech Frykowski, a screenwriter & Folger's boyfriend.

The Family (minus Kasabian who is on guard duty outside) forces all of the occupants into the living room. Tex ties Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring by their necks and ties the other end of the rope to ceiling beams. Sebring protests about the treatment of the very pregnant Sharon Tate & gets shot for his interference. He is then stabbed to death by Tex.

Frykowski had been bound with a towel  (which, terrible choice for a binding) and soon manages to free himself. He runs towards the front door after being stabbed in the legs by Atkins. Tex catches Frykowski, pistol whips him several times, stabs him, and then shoots him twice. He pistol whips him so hard that the gun's handle ends up broken.

About this same time, Kasabian comes into the home after hearing horrifying screams and sheer chaos. She tells the Family that someone is coming in a vain attempt to stop the murders.

Folger uses all of the chaos as a distraction and manages to escape her bindings. She flees out the back towards the pool area. Krenwinkel chases her to the front yard where she finally catches her and stabs her, tackling her to the ground. Tex arrives on scene and finishes the job, stabbing Folger 28 times. Frykowski is (somehow, miraculously) still alive and is crawling across the front lawn. Tex sees him and decides to stop playing, fatally stabbing him 51 times.

Ok so quick recap: Frykowski has been stabbed to death, Folger has been stabbed to death, Sebring has been stabbed to death, and Parent has been fatally shot. Only Sharon Tate is still alive.

Tate begs the Family to spare her life in order to save her unborn child. She even offers herself as a hostage so long as her child will survive. There's still debate as to who did it, Atkins or Watson, but Tate is fatally stabbed to death along with her unborn baby.

On their way out, the Family wrote "pig" in blood on the front door. They walked back to Spahn Ranch, ditching their bloody clothes and the murder weapons alongside the road.

On the very next night, August 9, 1969, Manson tells six Family members to take a ride with him, he's going to show them how an efficient murder is accomplished because they were complete amateurs the night before.
Manson, Leslie Van Houten, Clem Grogan, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Tex Watson, and Patricia Krenwinkel take a lengthy drive around LA searching for the perfect target. After a while, Manson directs the group to 3301 Waverly Drive in Loz Feliz, a suburb of LA. Manson had attended a party at the home next door and had previously eyed this home. 3301 happened to be the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

Leno LaBianca, executive at a supermarket chain.
Rosemary LaBianca, boutique owner.



Everyone but Kasabian and Atkins enter the home upon Manson's instruction.
Leno is sleeping on the couch on the living room & is awakened by Manson pointing a gun at him. Tex ties Leno up while the women of the group find Rosemary in a bedroom. Manson tells the Family to cover their heads with pillowcases and secure the pillowcases with lamp cords. Manson leaves the home around this time, telling the Family to finish the job.
Tex begins stabbing Leno LaBianca with a bayonet, almost immediately killing him.
Rosemary LaBianca is fighting for her life, trying to fend off her attackers with the lamp attached to her neck. Tex subdues her by stabbing her several times and then each of the women take a turn.
Leno LaBianca was stabbed a total of about 26 times.
Rosemary LaBianca was stabbed a total of about 42 times. Thankfully, many of Rosemary's stab wounds were inflicted post-mortem.
The Family left a steak knife from the kitchen sticking out of Leno. 
Before leaving, the Family writes "Rise", "Death to pigs", and "Helter Skelter" on the refrigerator door in blood.

When Manson left the home, he returned to the car where Linda Kasabian, Clem Grogan, and Susan Atkins were waiting. He hasn't had enough fun yet so he drops the group off at a local apartment building to kill an acquaintance of the Family. Kasabian doesn't want to go through with the murder so she intentionally knocks on the wrong door. The group decides to abandon the plan at that time and leaves to walk back to Spahn Ranch. On their way out, Atkins poops in a stairwell. Gross but if that's the worst thing that happens, I guess that's ok.

Things go sideways for the Family when the Tate murder scene discovered. The deaths were covered on national news due to the celebrity status of their victims.
Law enforcement discover that the Tate murders also had bloody writing on the walls, which was very similar to the bloody writing found at the Hinman murder. The Los Angeles Police Department was notified of this similarity, but decided to ignore it thinking that the Hinman murder was just a drug-related incident.
William Garretson was investigated as a suspect of the Tate murders because he was the caretaker of the property and had been there the night of the murders. He denied hearing or seeing anything during a polygraph examination and was ruled out as a suspect.

19 hours after the LaBianca murders were committed, their bodies were discovered by Rosemary's 15 year old son. Police see the bloody writing on the walls of their home and realize that the writing ties into a Beatles album. They don't initially link the Tate-LaBianca murders and actually announce to the press on August 12, 1969 that the crimes are not connected.

On August 16, 1969, about 25 members of the Family (including Manson), were arrested by LA Sheriff's Department on suspicion of grand theft auto. At the time of their arrests, weapons were found on the Ranch and seized. Unfortunately, their warrant was mis-dated so all evidence seized was tainted and the group was released from jail.

On August 26, 1969, Donald Shea is murdered by Manson, Clem Grogan, and Bruce Davis on Spahn Ranch. It is suspected that he was murdered due to Manson being suspicious of Shea and believing him to be responsible for telling law enforcement about the auto thefts.

Eventually in October 1969, various law enforcement agencies around LA connected the dots between the Hinman murder and the Family. 
The Family is once again pursued for various auto thefts and property destruction. The Myers Ranch and Spahn Ranch are raided; about 2 dozen people plus Manson were arrested in connection to these crimes. Arresting officers had no idea that the Family was also under suspicion for the Hinman murder.



At one time, Manson had sought bodyguard help from members of a local motorcycle gang. When that connection was found and members of the gang questioned, there were quite a few people that suspected that the Manson Family had been involved in the Tate, LaBianca, and Hinman murders.

Then a friend of Susan Atkins reported to law enforcement that the Family was involved in all of the murders. Susan admitted to detectives that she was involved in the Hinman murder. She was then booked on those charges and transferred to another jail in Los Angeles. She told her bunkmates all about the Family's involvement in the murders and Manson's ultimate responsibility for everything.

So it all culminates on December 1, 1969. The LAPD announces to the press that warrants are out for the arrests of Tex Watson, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel in connection with the Tate murders. Detectives also suspected that Watson, Kasabian, and Krenwinkel were also involved in the LaBianca murders. As Manson and Atkins were already in custody, their involvement was not noted. Leslie Van Houten was also already in custody on the grand theft auto charges; her involvement in the murders had not yet been discovered.

Tex Watson was found and arrested in McKinney, TX.
Patricia Krenwinkel was found and arrested in Mobile, AL.
Linda Kasabian voluntarily turns herself in on December 2, 1969 in Concord, NH.

Things get even worse for the Family.
The gun that had been used in the Tate murders had been discovered by a neighborhood kid and was turned over to police. It was connected to the murders via ballistics testing.
The fingerprints of Tex Watson & Patricia Krenwinkel were identified at the Tate murder scene.
The Los Angeles Times publishes an article about the murders with details given by Susan Atkins.
The bloody clothing discarded by the Family after the Tate murders is located and turned over to the police. Unfortunately, the murder weapons were never discovered even after thorough searches.

The Family's trial begins on June 15, 1970 in Los Angeles.
The People vs. Charles Manson et al
Manson, Atkins, Kasabian, and Krenwinkel had all been charged with 7 counts of first-degree murder & 1 count of conspiracy to murder for the Tate & LaBianca murders. Leslie Van Houten was charged with 2 counts of murder and 1 count of conspiracy to murder for the LaBianca killings only.
The prosecution's main witness is Linda Kasabian and she is granted immunity for her testimony. A deal taking the death penalty off the table had been offered to Susan Atkins for her cooperation but that deal was later withdrawn.

Charles Manson is originally allowed to defend himself (how many times do I have to say that this is a terrible idea?! Never be your own attorney!) but that permission is withdrawn by Judge William Keene after Manson violates a gag order and submits numerous nonsensical pre-trial motions. Because of this, Manson files a a motion of prejudice against the Judge and the Judge is replaced by Judge Charles Older.

Testimony begins on July 24, 1970.
Manson arrives at the courthouse with an X carved into his forehead. Manson reports that he had done so because he had been "considered inadequate and incompetent to speak or defend [him]self" — and had "X'd [him]self from [the establishment's] world." (source: Bugliosi, Vincent with Gentry, Curt. Helter Skelter — The True Story of the Manson Murders 25th Anniversary Edition)


Seeing this, the female members of the Family also carve an X in their forehead over the weekend. Those Family members who were not in custody also followed suit shortly after.

The prosecution argues that Helter Skelter was Manson's main motive in committing all of the murders. Witnesses report that Manson wanted to start a race war and intentionally staged aspects of the crimes to incite African-Americans to start this war.

Throughout the trial, Family members would hang out around the Courthouse and generally cause distraction. In order to prevent this from happening further, the prosecution subpoenas Family members as witnesses so that they were not allowed to be in the courtroom while others were testifying. But the Family can't be easily subdued. Prosecutorial witnesses are threatened and some are physically harmed.

Manson felt like his defense attorneys weren't doing their job and requests to question a specific witness himself. The Judge denies his request; Manson leaps over the table and attempts to attack the Judge. He was subdued and arrested by the courtroom bailiffs. The female Family defendants who were present in the courtroom were also removed at that time because they stood up and began chanting in Latin.
There were just a lot of shenanigans at the trial and the Family was not going to help it go smoothly.

On November 16, 1970, the prosecution rests it's case. The defense files motions to dismiss which are denied. Three days later on November 19, 1970, the defense also rests it's case without calling a single witness. Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten begin screaming in disapproval and demand a chance to testify. In chambers, defense attorneys tell the Judge that the women were going to testify to their guilt and Manson's innocence. The Judge agrees that they do not need to testify, especially because it would be perjury in order to protect Manson.
Manson takes the stand to testify on November 20, 1970. He rambles on about how the music made him believe in the Helter Skelter race war and he denies ever telling the Family to commit murder.
After testimony, Van Houten's defense attorney Ronald Hughes disappears after going on a trip. A new defense attorney is appointed to represent her and present closing arguments but needs to be familiarized with the case, resulting in a 2 week delay. The trial resumes just before Christmas 1970.
The female Family defendants continue to disrupt the prosecution's closing arguments so they were banned from the courtroom for the remainder of closing arguments.

On January 25, 1971, the jury finds all defendants guilty of all charges.
In the penalty phase of the trial, the female Family members finally get their chance to testify. As suspected, they attempted to divert guilt away from Manson and claimed sole responsibility for the murders. This approach didn't work, however, because there were holes larger than dump trucks in their stories.
Manson is not done being weird yet either. He shaves all of his hair off because he claims that the Devil is always bald. Not long after, the female defendants also shave their heads.


The attempt to protect Manson by the female Family members failed & all 4 defendants are sentenced to death on April 19, 1971.

In a separate trial in December 1971, Manson is convicted of the murders of Ronald Shea and Gary Hinman. He is given a life sentence for these convictions.
Bruce Davis and Clem Grogan are also found guilty of Ronald Shea's murder.

On the same day, the badly decomposed body of missing defense attorney Ronald Hughes is found in Ventura County, CA. It is highly suspected--but never determined--that Hughes was murdered by the Family in retaliation for not allowing his client to testify.


Did you notice that Tex Watson was not one of the defendants in the trial? That's because he was arrested in Texas and fought extradition long enough that he was not able to be included in the trial. This didn't matter because he was still found guilty of murder and was also sentenced to death.

In February 1972, The People vs. Anderson case declares capital punishment (aka the death penalty) illegal in the State of California. This ruling automatically knocks the Family's sentences down to life in prison instead of the death penalty.

Manson (once again) does not make friends well in prison at San Quentin. His hippie speeches fall on deaf ears and he is not well liked. He is briefly a part of the Aryan Brotherhood but even they kick him out after a time. He eventually finds himself as another man's bitch. Karma.

On November 8, 1972, the body of James Willett was found by a hiker in Sonoma County, CA. Evidence at the scene leads investigators to believe that he was forced to dig his own grave and was then shot. His car is found parked outside of a home occupied by Family members and they are subsequently arrested. While investigating the house, the body of Lauren Willett, James' wife, is found in the basement. She had also been shot to death. The Willett's infant daughter was found alive and safe in the home.

On September 5, 1975, Family members Lynette Fromme (nicknamed Squeaky) attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford while the President was in Sacramento, CA. She was sentenced to life in prison because of her assassination attempt. Fromme's roommate and fellow Family member Sandra Good was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for communicating death threats.

In 1977, Clem Grogan points law enforcement to the location of Ronald Shea's body which had previously not been discovered. Because of this, Grogan is the only Family member involved in a Manson-directed murder to ever be paroled. He was paroled in 1985.

On November 16, 1978, Charles Manson requests parole and his request was denied (and probably met with a HELL NAW.)

Beginning in the 1980s, Charles completed several television interviews. The interviews were all conducted from the prison that he was being held at.
In a 1981 interview, Manson's X on his forehead is noted to have been turned into a swastika. Classy.



In 1984, a fellow prisoner doused Manson with paint thinner and set him on fire. He survived, but with severe burns on his body. The prisoner told authorities that he retaliated against Manson because Manson had made fun of his religious chants.

In December 1987, Squeaky Fromme escapes from prison in an attempt to go see Charles Manson. She had heard that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was eager to see him. She was captured and taken back to prison, though. She was eventually paroled on August 14, 2009.

In 1989, an interviewer remarks that he believes that Charles Manson is not insane after doing an interview with him. He believes that Manson just acted out (AND MURDERED PEOPLE) due to frustration. Yeah, right.

In 1997, Manson is found to have been trafficking drugs while locked up and is transferred to a different state prison.

In the years since the crimes and subsequent trial, various Family members and witnesses have recanted their initial statements and basically thrown Manson under the bus. There have been many conflicting stories as to whom exactly was responsible for the murders and what the reasoning was.

Around March 2008, law enforcement announced the discovery of several unmarked graves at Barker Ranch, which was a Family home for a period of time. Tex Watson denies that any murders occurred at the Barker Ranch during his time there. The grave sites were thoroughly excavated and found to contain no human remains.

In July 2008, Susan Atkins' parole request due to declining health was denied. This was the 18th time that parole had been denied for Atkins. She died of brain cancer on September 24, 2009.

In March 2009, a new photo of Charles Manson is released by corrections officials. He has not aged gracefully, to say the least.


Also in 2009, Manson is found to have a cell phone and has called people all over the US as well as in Canada. Prison officials cannot say for certain if he used the phone for criminal purposes...but probably because he's a career criminal and murderer.

Another glamour shot of Manson is released in 2011.


On April 11, 2012, Manson's 12th parole request was denied.
He had refused to attend this hearing as he had refused to attend previous parole hearings since 1997.
A parole hearing panel had claimed that Manson was suffering from paranoid delusional disorder and would be a danger to society if he were to be released. He had no insight into his own guilt, felt no remorse for his crimes, and had no regard for human suffering. On top of that, he had received 108 disciplinary infractions during his time in prison.
It was determined in 2012 that Manson would not be eligible for another parole review until 2027 when he would be 92 years old.

In 2014, Charles Manson gets engaged to 26 year old Star Burton. She had been a frequent visitor of Manson for about 9 years and was the creator of several websites maintaining Manson's innocence. A wedding license was obtained but was never filed. Rumor has it that Burton only wanted to marry Manson so that she could turn his body into a tourist attraction after death. Burton denies this and claims that the wedding did not occur due to an illness Manson had at the time.



On January 1, 2017, Manson is rushed to a local hospital after gastrointestinal bleeding is discovered. Little is known about what treatment Manson received; he is sent back to prison on January 6, 2017.

He was rushed to the hospital again on November 15, 2017.
Officials confirm on November 19, 2017 that Charles Manson has died of a cardiac arrest.

For some reason, there is a legal battle about who will be able to claim Manson's body for burial.
One of Manson's pen pals, Michael Channels, claims that he has will from Manson dated 2002 that leaves Manson's entire estate-including his body-to Channels.
Manson's grandson, Jason Freeman, also claimed Manson's estate.
Manson's alleged son Matthew Roberts (whom DNA ruled out as a biological match) claimed that he had a will dated 2017 that gives him rights to Manson's estate and body.
A Court determined on March 12, 2018 that grandson Jason Freeman could claim the body.

Throughout his life, Charles Manson released several music albums. None of his albums sold well.

If you're interested, Murderpedia (aka my favorite website) has copies of the coroner's reports from the murders as well as many photographs & investigation reports.

The Manson Family

Susan Atkins

Tex Watson

Leslie Van Houten

Patricia Krenwinkel

Linda Kasabian

Steven "Clem" Grogan

Bobby Beausoleil

Mary Brunner

Squeaky Fromme

Sandra Good