distancefromthemain
residence.Watsondidn’t
wantanywitnessestowhat
wasabouttohappen.He
pulledouthisgunand
mercilesslyshottheteenager
fourtimes.It wasmerelyan
appetiserfora maincourse
ofunimaginablebrutality.
Insidethehouse,Sharon
andherfriendswerenodding
offwhenWatson,Atkinsand
Krenwinkelburstin,hell-bent
onmurder.
Watsonwokeuponeof
theguestsbykickinghim
intheheadandsaying,“I’m
thedevil.I’mheretodothe
devil’sbusiness.”
AbigailFolgerwasstabbed
28 times.VoytekFrykowski
wasshottwice,struckover
thehead 13 timesandstabbed
51 times.JaySebringwas
stabbedseventimesand
shotonce.Sharonwasthe
lasttodie.“Please,please
don’tkillme,I don’twant
todie.I justwanttohave
mybaby,”shepleadedtoher
killer,SusanAtkins.
“Lookb***h,youmight
aswellfaceit rightnow,
you’regoingtodie,”Atkins
replied.Sharonwasstabbed
16 timesandherunbornbaby,
alreadynamedPaulafterher
father,diedwithher.Asa
partingshot,Atkinsdipped
herfingerinSharon’sblood,
tastedit,thenscrawled“PIG”
onthewall.
At9amthefollowing
day,a maidarrivedatthe
propertytoanhorrificscene.
ThebutcheredbodyofVoytek
Frykowskiwaslyingonthe
frontlawn.Tenmetresaway
undera firtreewasAbigail
Folger.Inthelivingroomwere
SharonandJay,tiedtogether
bya ropearoundtheirnecks
andhungovera ceilingbeam.
Bloodwaseverywhere.
Thepolicewhoarrived
soonaftercouldn’tbelievethe
savagerythathadtakenplace
inside the Polanski compound- andit wasn’toveryet.
Thefollowingevening,in
theupmarketsuburbofLos
Feliz,groceryexecutiveLeno
LaBianca,44,andhiswife
Rosemary,38,werebrutally
murderedintheirownhome.
Rosemarywasstabbedwith
a knife 41 times.Lenowas
punctured 12 timeswitha
bayonet,andtheword“WAR”
wascarvedintohisabdomen.
Thekillersusedthe
LaBiancas’bloodtoscrawl
“Rise”and“DeathtoPigs”on
thewallsand“healterskelter” - a misspellingofTheBeatles’
song“HelterSkelter”– onthe
fridgedoor.
ThekillingsrockedLos
Angelestoitscore.Convinced
theywerenextona heinous
hitlist,manycelebrities
immediatelywentoutand
boughtguns.Despitethe
risingpanicinthecity,the
policewerebaffled.Theories
aboutthemurderersranged
from the mafia to the Polish
secretpoliceandevento
RomanPolanskihimself.
Then,threemonthsafter
themurders, 24 peoplewere
arrestedforcartheftand
arson.TheyincludedCharles
MansonandSusanAtkins.
Whileshewasawaitingtrial,
Atkinsboastedtoa fellow
inmateaboutkillingSharon
Tate.Shealsovowedthat
Hollywoodheavyweights
ElizabethTaylor,Richard
Burton,TomJones,Steve
McQueenandFrankSinatra
werenextonthelist.
It washerundoing.Soon
theLApolicehadallthe
peopleresponsibleforthe
TateandLaBiancamurders
incustody,andtheworld
learnedhowa crazedcult
leader,whobelievedhewas
JesusChrist,hadbrainwashed
a groupofmostlymiddle-class
youngwomenintobecoming
cold-bloodedkillers.
CharlesMansonhadnot
personally slayed anyof
“Margotdidsucha damngood
job,”saysSharon’ssisterDebra
(above),whowasbroughttotears
by the actress’ performance.haronwasexpecting
herfirstchildwith
usband Roman (left)Stolenfuture:The
doe-eyedbeauty
wasexcitedto
become a mother.SUSAN
ATKINS28 Woman’s Day