Woman’s Day New Zealand – August 26, 2019

thevictims,buthewasthe

mastermind.

Bornin 1934 toa teenage

mother– whoatonepoint

soldhimfora pitcherofbeer

• Mansonwasbothcharming
  andtyrannical.Afterspending
  severalyearsinprisonfora
  stringofcrimesfromtheft
  toforgery,hewashedupin
  SanFranciscoinlate1967.

Killercult

At33,hewasolderthanmost

oftheflowerchildrenhanging

aroundthehippiemeccaof

Haight-Ashbury,andManson,

a diminutive1.57mtall,used

hisnaturalcharismatoamass

a groupoffollowers– mostly

young,white,middle-class

womenwhofelteitherbored

orisolatedfromtheirfamilies.

Manyofthemfollowed

Mansonwhenheheaded

downthePacificcoasttoLos

Angeles,findinga baseatan

all-but-abandonedranchon

the outskirts of the city. More

followersjoinedhimthere

andbeforelonghehad 100

devoteesintheirteensand

early20s,allenjoyingthe

copiousamountsofLSD,

magicmushroomsandfree

lovethattheswinging’60s

hadbestoweduponthem.

Manson’scult– calledThe

Family– hungonhisevery

word,andhehadplentyof

them.He’dinterpretedthe

lyricsofTheBeatles’“Helter

Skelter”asaninvitationto

begina racewar,andit wasn’t

hardtotalkhisdisciplesinto

hismasterplanofbrutally

murderinga numberof

Hollywood’swealthyelite

andframingit onLA’sAfrican

Americancommunity.

Andsoit wasthatthe

TateandLaBiancamurders

tookplace– a barbarickilling

spreethatspelledtheend

oftheinnocenceofthe’60s,

replacingit withthechilling

notionthateven“goodgirls

from good homes” were

Hewasoriginally

ntencedtodeath,but

thedeathpenaltywas

ruledunconstitutional

in 1972 andMansonwa

resentencedtolifein

prison. He died in 2017.

justa fewmovesaway

fromcommitting

unspeakablecrimes.

Mansondiedinprison

twoyearsago,aged83.

SusanAtkinsdiedinprison

in2009,aged61.TexWatson,

now73,PatriciaKrenwinkel,

now71,andLeslieVan

Houten,now 69 (whotook

partintheLaBiancamurders

butnottheTatemurders)are

allstillbehindbars.Linda

Kasabian,now70,whoacted

aslookoutforthekillers,

becametheleadwitnessfor

theprosecutionandwas

givenimmunity.Afterthe

trialshechangedhername

andwentintohiding,until

a documentarycrewfound

herin2009,destituteand

livingina trailerpark.

Sevenpeopleperishedover

thetwonightsthatManson’s

“Family”ranamokinLA,each

onedyinginterrorandrobbed

oftheirfutureontheorders of

a man they’d never met.

SharonTatewouldnever

gettoholdherfirstborn

childorfulfilthepotential

ofherpromisingcareer.

HeryoungersisterDebra

Tate,66,however,hastaken

comfortfromMargotRobbie’s

portrayaloftheactress.

“Shemademecrybecause

shesoundedjustlikeSharon,”

saysDebra.“Thetoneinher

voicewascompletelySharon

andit justtouchedmeso

muchthatbigtears[started

falling].Thefrontofmyshirt

waswet.I actuallygottosee

mysisteragain...nearly 50

yearslater.

“Shedidsucha damngood

jobthat,forme,personally,

thevisitwasa littleshort.

I hadSharonbackinfront

ofmeagain,andit wastoo

short a visit.” #

PATRICIA

KRENWINKEL

LESLIE

VAN HOUTEN

TEX

WATS O N

“THE FAMILY”

LINDA

KASABIAN

CHARLES

MANSON

PICTURES: ALAMY, AP, AUSTRALSCOPE, BACKGRID, GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK.

Woman’s Day 29