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If you are writing in crime genre, whether true crime or fiction, you have undoubtedly heard of Charles Manson and the Family, a group of killers who terrorized LA in 1969.  Many still wonder what type of hold Charles Manson had on his followers so they would become blood thirsty butchers on his orders.  

The following notes were taken from a History Channel Documentary: Helter Skelter, October 7, 2007.

August 9, 1969, the LA PD received a call of a multiple homicide at the home of Sharon Tate, an actress, and her husband, Roman Polanski, a director.  The first body was found in a car in a driveway.  There were two more bodies on the lawn the front door was emblazoned with the word PIG, written in blood.  Inside the house, police found the body of a very pregnant woman and a man. 

The following night, police responded to a call to the LaBianca residence, where husband and wife were found with multiple stab wounds.  The crime scenes were linked by  their similarities: writing in blood on the wall and extreme overkill, with over 170 stab wounds and seven victims.  The macabre scene of terror scared the entire community.

Charles Manson was a leader of a hippy commune, with followers who dropped out of society and were heavily involved in the use of psychedelic drugs.  Manson was arrested in October 1969 on suspicion of auto theft. While in custody, Susan Atkins, told inmates about the murders.  Police now had an idea of who committed the crimes, but little idea of why.

Vincent Bugliosi, the State’s prosecutor, studied Manson’s past, finding petty crimes and repeated stints in jail. Meeting with the Family members, Bugliosi found mindless robots completely devoted to Manson’s teachings and directions.  The creepy crawl was a game devised to frighten citizens of Beverly Hills. Family members would break into homes and rearrange furniture while residents slept.  

Bugliosi sought indictments on Manson and five family members.  Atkins became the star witness, gaining leniency in exchange for her confession of her involvement in the Tate-LaBianca murders.  Atkins gave a full account of the murder sprees, including the selection of the victims, hand picked by Manson.

The motive for the murders was scrawled on the walls in the LaBianca home, in blood were the words: Helter Skelter, taken from The White Album by The Beatles. Manson believed The Beatles predicted a race war between whites and blacks, but the Family needed to ignite the fires of hatred.  Each member of the Family had an underlying hostility to society, a hatred of conformist and the upper class white man so Manson’s teachings were readily embraced.

Susan Atkins recanted her testimony, refusing to testify against Manson and the other members of the Family.  The prosecutin then looked to Linda Kasabian, a witness to the murders; she remained outside of the house during the slaughter.  

On July 24, 1970, Charles Manson appeared in court with an X carved on his forehead.  Family members gathered in court, emulating his every move; including carving X’s in their foreheads the next day.  Many feared the Family’s retribution for Manson’s incarceration, including Bugliosi who was put on a death list.  

Manson basked in the limelight.  He was unpredictable and defiant in court.  The defense offered no witnesses, other than the co-defendants who took the stand to claim Manson had no involvement in the murders.  The jurors delivered a guilty verdict after ten days of deliberation. Bugliosi asked for the death penalty in all four cases. 

During the penalty stage the women all pointed to Linda Kasabian as the mastermind of the murders and reiterated Manson’s innocence. Nonetheless, the jury sentenced all four defendants to death.  Tex Watson was later tried and found guilty on seven counts of murder in the first degree. Watson was also sentenced to death. In 1972 the State Supreme Court of California abolished the death penalty and the prior death sentences were converted to life sentences.

Manson continues to fascinate today.  He has never asked forgiveness nor admitted feeling any guilt for his actions.