232
T
he naked, bloody body of
actress Sharon Tate was
sprawled across her living
room floor, a cross slashed into her
eight-month-pregnant belly. The
26-year-old movie star had been
stabbed 16 times. A rope around
her neck connected her to the body
of 35-year-old celebrity hairstylist
Jay Sebring. On the front door of
the house on Cielo Drive, just north
of Beverly Hills, the word “PIG”
was written in Tate’s blood.
The bodies of Tate, Sebring, and
four others were discovered by the
housekeeper in the rented home offamed director Roman Polanski
on 9 August 1969. On the house’s
front lawn lay the bodies of coffee
fortune heiress Abigail Folger and
Wojciech Frykowski, a financier
and actor. In the driveway, Steven
Parent, a teenager, was found shot
to death in his car.
The crime appeared senseless,
and police were baffled as to the
motive, with some speculating the
deaths were part of a satanic ritual.
The next night, however, a wealthy
couple, the LaBiancas, were
butchered in similar fashion in the
nearby Los Feliz neighbourhood.
Initially, the second murders
were believed to be the work of a
copycat. By the end of the summer
of 1969, however, the killers would
be exposed as the followers of cult-
leader Charles Manson.Free love prophet
Two years before the murders,
Manson was a 32-year-old aspiring
musician who had spent half of his
life in prison for theft and other
crimes. Following his release on
21 March 1967, he moved to San
Francisco where he established
himself as a spiritual guru. Manson
was charismatic, with an almost
hypnotic ability to manipulate.
Preaching a free-love philosophyTHE MANSON FAMILY
Charles Manson wielded a spiritual
and sexual influence over the Family,
most of them young women. He would
sleep with the women, then offer them
to other men in exchange for favours.that included some of the religious
ideas he studied in prison, Manson
soon established a group of mostly
female followers.Early followers
While living in Berkeley, California,
Manson met a 23-year-old college
graduate named Mary Brunner,
who later gave birth to Manson’s
son, Valentine Michael. Manson
moved into Brunner’s home and
soon 18 other women were sharing
the property. Among them was
19-year-old hippie Leslie Van
Houten, who later played a
significant role in the “Family’s”
Los Angeles murder spree.
Towards the end of the summer
of 1967, Manson and some of his
followers piled into a converted
school bus and travelled the
country, partying and doing drugs.
Among the women who joined
Manson was 19-year-old Susan
Atkins, a California native.IN CONTEXT
LOCATION
California, USTHEME
Cult death plotsBEFORE
1955 Jim Jones founds the
Peoples Temple cult, which
ends with the mass murder-
suicide of 918 people in
Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978.AFTER
1986–89 Believing that he has
magical powers, drug dealer
Adolfo Constanzo and his
followers kill over 25 people in
Mexico as human sacrifices.1989 Leader Jeffrey Lundgren
orders his followers to murder
the Avery family – for showing
“disloyalty” to the cult – on his
Kirtland, Ohio, farm.1997 The 39 members of the
Heaven’s Gate cult commit
mass suicide in the belief that
this will grant them entry to
a passing UFO.It was fun tearing up the Tate
house... people were running
around like chickens with
their heads cut off.
Tex Watson230_237_Manson_Family.indd 232 02/12/2016 15:04
233
In late spring 1968, Manson formed
a brief friendship with Beach Boys’
singer Dennis Wilson. While Wilson
was driving around Southern
California, he picked up two of
Manson’s followers, who were
hitchhiking, and brought them to
his house. One of the followers was
20-year-old Patricia Krenwinkel.
The next day, when Wilson
returned to his home following a
recording session, Manson met him
in the driveway. Inside, a dozen of
Manson’s followers occupied the
house. Wilson was fascinated byManson and allowed the group to
stay. He spent up to $100,000
(£390,000 today) in money, food, and
clothing for them. Wilson was
impressed with Manson’s musical
talent and the two wrote a few
songs together. Wilson also
introduced Manson to music
contacts, including Doris Day’s son,
record producer Terry Melcher, who
owned the home rented by Tate and
Polanski. Melcher, however, did not
advance Manson’s career as much
as Manson had hoped. Soon,
Manson’s violent tendencies and ❯❯See also: The Wild Bunch 150–51 ■ Ted Bundy 276–83 ■ The Assassination of Rasputin 312–15MURDER CASES
The Manson family was a group
with no real organizational structure.
Manson’s magnetic personality was at
the core of every relationship that drew
people into the group.I gave myself up to him and
in return for that he gave me
back to myself. He gave me...
faith in myself.
Susan AtkinsTex Watson was
Manson’s crazed right-hand
man. A former honour student,
he led the killings at Cielo
and Waverly.Bobby Beausoleil
murdered Gary Hinman during
a drug deal. He was not a family
member but regularly hung
out with Manson.Lynette “Squeaky”
Fromme kept a vigil outside
the courthouse, although
she was not involved
in the murders.Linda Kasabian was
an accomplice in the Tate-
LaBianca murders. Her remorse
led her to testify against
Manson. She described the
murders in detail.Charles MansonRuth Ann Moorehouse
was 16 when she ran away
with Manson. She was charged
with the attempted murder
of Barbara Hoyt.Leslie Van Houten
at 19 was the youngest
family member involved
in the murders.Patricia Krenwinkel
was devoted to Manson.
She participated in the Tate-
LaBianca killings. She stabbed
Abigail Folger dozens
of times.Susan “Sexy Sadie”
Atkins first met Manson at a
house party in 1967. She was
involved in eight of
the murders.Mary Brunner was
an accomplice in the Hinman
killing. She was the first woman
in the family to bear one of
Manson’s children.Sandra “Blue” Good
wanted to be at the Tate
murders. She carved a cross
into her forehead in support
of Manson at his trial.Steve “Clem” Grogan
was a ranchhand, drug user,
and friend of the family,
convicted in the LaBianca
and Shea killings.230_237_Manson_Family.indd 233 02/12/2016 15:04