Fifty years on, the killings, orchestrated
by hippy cult leader Charles Manson and
largely carried out by his female followers,
have lost none of their power to terrify and
astonish. Six people, including Sharon’s
unborn child, died at her house, and two
more were slaughtered the following
night. The murders marked the end of the
freewheeling idealism of the 1960s, bringing
fear and paranoia into Hollywood and
darkening America’s sense of itself.
The anniversary predictably triggered a rush
of new films, books andTVdocumentaries,
but for Sharon’s younger
sister, Debra, no
reminders are necessary.
“I live with it every day,”
she says. “I understand
why it still resonates, why
people still talk about it,
but I don’t need anyone
to explain it to me.”
If anything, the
fascinationwith Manson’s
dofficejobina LosAngeles suburb to follow
Manson after meeting
him by chance.
Sharon’s house guests
that night were Abigail
Folger, heiress to a
coffee fortune, her
raffish Polish lover,
Wojciech Frykowski, who
had written scripts for
Roman, and celebrity
hairdresser Jay Sebring.
The Polanskis had
chosen their house
carefully, seeking both
privacy and proximity
tothe happening
Hollywood scene, but
also a cosiness that
would suit their new life
asa family. A former
occupant, actress
Candice Bergen, later
remembered the place
as‘surrounded by tall,
pinetreesandcherry blossoms, with
-covered rail fences and a cool mountain
grown over with flowers; it snuggled
ainst a hillside – a gingerbread hideout
hung high above the city’.
son, a would-be musician who thought
ould be ‘bigger than the Beatles’, saw
ouse and its occupants as symbolic
aloof show business establishment
hadfailedtorecognise his genius.
Inthe driveway, his
murderousenvoysfirst
encountered18-year-
oldStevenParent,a
friendoftheestate’s
caretaker.Watsonshot
himdeadatthewheel
ofhiscar,beforeleading
AtkinsandKrenwinkel
armedwithknives,
inside.Theslaughter
thatensuedwasbeyond
aginingsofanyhorrorfilmdirector.
ailwasstabbed 28 times,Wojciech
51 timesandfinished
offwitha bullet.Jay
andSharonweretied
togetherwitha three-
ply rope looped over a
beam and knotted around
their necks. Jay was then
stabbed seven times
and shot in the head.
Sharon, the last to die,
dressed in floral pyjamas,
was stabbed 16 times,
pleading for the life of her
child.
“Sharon was a beautiful
person in every way,” says
Debra, 67, whose fine
features uncannily echo
those of her actress sister.
“She was kind and loving,
and it would never havehatred
hen
n 2017,
ctually
or him.
SHE told me if she
hadn’t become an
actress, she’d have
liked to have been
a psychologist.
D fi l h had an
w what
hinking,
lped
er way
usiness.
bra TateSOURCE: MAGAZINE FEATURES18