Name: Catherine Irene Gillies Date of Birth: 8/2/1949 Date of Death: 06/29/2018 Place of Birth: Santa Cruz, California Place of Death: Cave Junction, Oregon Cause of Death: Cancer AKA: Cappy, Cathy Myers, Capistrano Whereabouts: Oregon † Recent Pictures: Catherine Gillies Today Image Gallery: Catherine Gillies Gallery Archive: Catherine Gillies
Catherine Gillies joined the family sometime in 1968. In the summer of ’69 she volunteered to go with the Tate/LaBianca killers on both nights, but Manson ordered Cathy to stay.
Catherine was one of the family members present when John “Zero” Haught killed himself playing Russian roulette. The police ruled Haught’s death a suicide, however there are indications that Haught may have been murdered. No fingerprints were found on the gun, not even Haught’s own prints and the gun was fully loaded at the time of death.
An anonymous source told the L.A Times that he was there when Haught died. He claimed Haught didn’t kill himself but was shot by one of the girls.
It is reported that to this day Cathy is still upset she was not chosen to go with the killers and she still supports her brothers and sisters in prison.
Today Catherine is divorced, has 4 children (2 sons / 2 daughters) and lives † somewhere in Oregon.
Catherine Gillies died of cancer on June 29, 2018 in Cave Junction, Oregon.
Nancy Pitman is a former member of the Manson Family. Nancy first met the Manson family trough her friend Deirdre Lansbury, the daughter of actress Angela Lansbury.
Nancy was with Manson when Manson instructed Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian to go with Tex Watson to Sharon Tate’s house at Cielo Drive and to “do whatever Tex says”.
There are rumors that Nancy and Manson went to Sharon Tate’s house right after the murders to tamper with the crime scene. This is in line with the police report: “It appeared to investigating officers that someone had handled the victim, as in moving her from one location to another and the blood from the stab wounds had been smeared over other parts of the body.”
Nancy Pitman was described by district attorney Vincent Bugliosi as a tough, vicious little girl, filled with hostility that was just waiting to erupt. According to a commenter who knew Nancy ” She was NOT vicious. She was a sweet little girl, and I adored her.” However Nancy probably would have felt hostility towards the district attorney.
Fromme, Cooper and Pitman in jail
Nancy is connected to the James and Lauren Willett murders.
James and Lauren Willett were associates of the Manson family.
After the Tate/LaBianca murder trial Nancy Pitman, Priscilla Cooper and a pair of ex-convicts named Michael Monfort and James Craig, moved into a cabin in Guerneville along with James and Lauren Willett and their infant daughter Heidi
In 1972, the decapitated body of James Willett was found in a shallow grave with his hand sticking out of the ground. later the body of his wife, Lauren was discovered buried in the crawl space of a house in Stockton.
Nancy Pitman, Michael Monfort, James Craig, Priscilla Cooper and Lynnette Fromme were arrested for the murder of James and Lauren Willett.
Michael Monfort pled guilty to both murders. Nancy pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Lauren Willett. Nancy received a 5 year jail sentence of which she served 18 months. While incarcerated Nancy married Michael Monfort.
Name: Susan Denise Atkins Date of birth: 05/07/1948 Date of death: 09/24/2009 Cause of death: Brain cancer Place of birth: San Gabriel, California AKA: Sadie Mae Glutz, Sexy Sadie Archive: Susan Atkins Children: Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz Image Gallery: Susan Atkins Gallery
“Sexy Sadie, what have you done – You made a fool of everyone”
Early Life
Susan Atkins, known within the Family as Sexy Sadie, was a member of the Manson Family. Susan Atkins was born on May 7, 1948, in San Gabriel, California. She was the second of three children born to alcoholic parents, and grew up in Northern California. After she dropped out of high school to support herself (her mother died when Atkins was 15 and her father abandoned the family), Atkins moved to San Francisco and became a topless dancer.
In early 1967, while staying with friends, Susan Atkins met Charles Manson. Atkins settled with the Manson Family at their Southern California ranch, where she gave birth to a son, whom Manson named Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz. (The child was eventually removed from Atkins’s and later adopted)
The Hinman Murder
Atkins was a participant in the murder of Gary Hinman. On July 25, 1969, Manson told Robert Beausoleil, Susan Atkins, and Mary Brunner to pay Gary Hinman a visit. According to Beausoleil they went to Hinman because Hinman had sold Beausoleil 1000 tabs of bad mescaline and Beausoleil wanted his money back.
However according to statements made to the police the motive to visit Hinman was because the Manson Family needed money for their move to the desert and Manson thought Hinman had money.
Someone in the group suggested going to Santa Monica and kidnap Terry Melcher and holding him for Ransom.
At this time, the name of Gary Hinman was brought up and Charles Manson stated, “Yeah, he’s single and owns that house and probably has stocks and lots of money.”
When Beausoleil asked Gary Hinman for money, Gary told Beausoleil that he didn’t have any money. Gary then was held captive for 3 days. According to Danny Decarlo Beausoleil had knocked Gary around for 3 or 4 hours. Later on Charles Manson and Bruce Davis stopped by. Manson had a sword on him and struck Gary in the head, slicing of a piece of his ear while Davis pointed a gun at Hinman. Atkins and Brunner tried to stitch up Gary’s face with a needle and dental floss.
The ordeal finally ended when Beausoleil stabbed Gary twice in the chest. Gary didn’t die immediately and made loud gurgling sounds so Atkins and Brunner took turns smothering Gary with a pillow.
After Gary died Beausoleil wrote the words “Political Piggy” and drew a paw print on the wall in Gary’s blood, in an attempt to make authorities think the Black Panthers committed the murder.
Before the trio left they covered Gary’s body with a blanket, took his bagpipes and two pink slips for his cars and took the cars to Spahn Ranch.
When the cops later examined the crime scene they found blood in the living-room, on the hall floor between the living-room, bath and kitchen, and on the walls, floor, and ceiling of the kitchen.
On the night of August 8, 1969, Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Cielo Drive property, Watson climbed a telephone pole near the gate and cut the phone line to prevent telephone access from the house. At this point it was after midnight, August 9, 1969.
Telephone Pole Near The Gate
Just then, headlights approached. Watson ordered the women to lie in the bushes. He then stepped out and ordered the approaching driver to halt. Eighteen-year-old student Steven Parent had been visiting the property’s caretaker, William Garretson, who lived in the property’s guest house. Watson first lunged at Parent with a knife, giving him a defensive slash wound on the palm of his hand, then shot him four times in the chest and abdomen.
Steven Parents Car
The group then proceeded to the main house. Watson told Kasabian to keep watch down by the gate. Watson cut the screen of a window and entered through the window, and let Atkins and Krenwinkel in through the front door.
They found Frykowski sleeping on the living room couch. Watson kicked him in the head. When Frykowski asked him who he was and what he was doing there, Watson replied: “I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”
Atkins and Krenwinkel searched the house and found Tate, Sebring and Folger and forced them to the living room. Watson began to tie Tate and Sebring together by their necks with rope and slung the rope up over one of the living room’s ceiling beams. Sebring’s protested to the rough treatment of the pregnant Tate. Watson then shot Sebring and stabbed him seven times.
Frykowski’s hands had been bound with a towel. Freeing himself, Frykowski began struggling with Atkins, who stabbed at his legs with the knife with which she had been guarding him. As he fought his way toward and out the front door, onto the porch, Watson caught up with Frykowski and struck him over the head with the gun multiple times, stabbed him repeatedly, and shot him twice.
Around this time, Kasabian was drawn up from the driveway by “horrifying sounds”. In an effort to stop the massacre, she falsely told Atkins that someone was coming.
Meanwhile, Folger had escaped from Krenwinkel and fled out a bedroom door to the pool area. Krenwinkel ran after Folger, caught her, stabbed her, and tackled her to the ground. Watson joined Krenwinkel and they stabbed Folger 28 times. In the meantime Frykowski struggled across the lawn. Watson went over to Frykowski and then stabbed him to death. Frykowski was stabbed a total of 51 times.
In the house, Tate pleaded to be allowed to live long enough to have her baby, and even offered herself as a hostage in an attempt to save the life of her unborn child. Susan Atkins told Tate as she begged, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don’t feel a thing about it.” At this point either Atkins, Watson, or both killed Tate (testimonies vary). Tate was stabbed 16 times. Watson later wrote that as Tate was being killed, she cried for her mother.
Using the towel that had bound Frykowski’s hands, Atkins wrote “pig” on the house’s front door in Tate’s blood.
Imprisonment
Atkins was arrested in October 1969 for her involvement in the murder of Gary Hinman. At that point, the police did not know who was responsible for the Tate-LaBianca murders. But Atkins implicated herself in jail, when she is said to have admitted to cellmates that she stabbed Ms. Tate, tasted her blood and used it to write “Pig” on the front door of the house.
In October 1969, the entire Manson Family was arrested, and they were later tried for the murders. The series of trials was circus-like, and the defendants’ bizarre behavior became a striking trait of the proceedings.
On March 29, 1971, Atkins was sentenced to death, later the sentence was reduced to life in prison. Atkins died on September 24, 2009 at age 61. A year before her death Atkins received a diagnosis of brain cancer and had a leg amputated. At the time of her death, Atkins was California’s longest-serving female inmate.
Name: Sandra Collins Good Date of birth: 02/20/1944 Place of birth: San Diego, California AKA: Blue, Sandra Collins Pugh, Sandy Whereabouts: California
Sandra’s house at Lake County burned down during the 2015 California wildfire Archive: Sandra Good Recent Pictures: Sandra Good Today Image Gallery: Sandra Good Gallery
Sandra Collins Good is a long-time member of the Manson Family and a close friend of Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme. Good’s Manson Family nickname is “Blue”, which was given to her by Charles Manson to represent clean air and water.
Good joined the Manson Family in 1968 and a few months later went off with them when they moved to a new home at Spahn Ranch.
Despite her association with Manson and his followers, Good did not take part in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders because she was in jail at the time for using stolen credit cards. However, Good said she respected those who committed the murders and demonstrated her support for Manson during his trial by shaving her head and carving an X on her forehead.
In 1975, Good and another Manson devotee, Susan Murphy, were indicted for conspiracy to send threatening letters through the mail by a Federal Grand Jury in Sacramento in connection with death threats against more than 170 corporate executives who Good believed were polluting the earth. Good was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Good was paroled in early December 1985, after having served 10 years. Unlike many of the Family members, Good still professed total allegiance to Manson. A condition of her parole was that she could not return to California.
After her parole ended, Good moved to Hanford, California, near Corcoran State Prison, to be closer to Manson, although she was not allowed to visit him. In 1996, Good and George Stimson began a pro-Manson website on which they claimed to have a real source of Manson thought.
Sandra Good With Her Son Ivan Pugh
Good has a son named Ivan Pugh. Various men have been named as the father, most notably Joel Pugh, who was found dead in a London hotel room under suspicious circumstances. However Good and Fromme have both cited Beausoleil as Ivan’s father. Ivan has visited rxstr.com in the past and has left several comments on this website, in one comment Ivan acknowledges that Beausoleil is his biological father. Today Ivan is a respected chef and entrepreneur.
Today Sandra Good an George Stimson live a quiet life in California.
Catherine Louise “Gypsy” Share is a former member of the Manson Family. Of all the members of the Manson Family, Catherine Share had the most unconventional background.
She was born in France during World War II of a Hungarian father and a French mother, who were members of the French resistance against the Nazi occupiers. Both of her parents committed suicide while she was very young and she was placed in an orphanage. At the age of 8, she was adopted and taken to Los Angeles by an American couple.
When Share was 16, her adoptive mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer, killed herself. Catherine dropped out of college and roamed California. She got a role in the adult film The Ramrodder (1969) and soon became involved with the star of the film, a handsome and talented musician named Bobby Beausoleil. It was Bobby who introduced Catherine to Manson. Catherine Share became so enamored with Manson and his message that she became a recruiter for the family, bringing both Linda Kasabian and Leslie Van Houten into the family.
While not involved in the murders, Share and several others were charged with conspiracy to attempt to dissuade a witness from testifying when they tried to give Barbara Hoyt, a Manson family member, a lethal dose of LSD so that she couldn’t testify against Manson.
On August 21, 1971, Share, Como, Mary Brunner and two other associates of Manson robbed a Los Angeles gun store, stealing some 150 firearms, but they set off a police alarm. After a shootout with the police, they were arrested, and Share herself had three bullet wounds. She revealed in her confession that they had planned to to hijack a 747 airplane and take the passengers hostage in order to secure the release of Manson and other Family members. She was sentenced to five years in prison.
Following her release in 1975, she disassociated herself from the Family and sought surgical treatment to remove the “X” that she and others had carved into her forehead on Manson’s orders during his trial. She and Como were married for a while, but she was arrested again for participating in a credit card scam. She was imprisoned again for a few years. Afterwards, she cleaned up her life and has kept a low profile. She remarried and became a born again Christian. Today Catherine lives a quiet life somewhere in Texas.
Van Houten, a one-time homecoming princess, participated in the killings of Leno La Bianca and his wife Rosemary a day after other Manson family members murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969.
Van Houten was born on August 23, 1949, in Los Angeles. She grew up in a middle-class family along with an older brother and two adopted siblings. Her mother and father divorced when she was 14. She began taking LSD and hashish around age 15, running away for a time but returning to complete high school. At 17, she became pregnant and was forced by her mother to undergo an abortion. Van Houten’s mother informed her sometime later that the procedure could not be referred to as an abortion as the fetus was too far along. Van Houten stated that after this event, she felt very removed and harbored intense anger toward her mother. She had a period of interest in yoga and took a year-long secretarial course, but became a hippie, living at a commune.
After a few months in a commune in Northern California, Van Houten met Catherine Share and Bobby Beausoleil and moved in with them and another woman during the summer of 1968. The four broke up after jealous arguments, and Share left to join Charles Manson’s commune. Van Houten, then aged 19, followed Share. At this time, she phoned her mother to say she was dropping out and would not be making contact again.
LaBianca Murders
On Manson’s orders, Van Houten participated in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Along with Manson, Watson, Atkins, Grogan, Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian, Van Houten went to the home of Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, on Waverly Drive. After Manson and Watson tied up the couple, Manson left, giving orders to Van Houten and Krenwinkel to go with Watson and to do whatever he said. Watson told Van Houten and Krenwinkel to take Mrs. LaBianca into a bedroom and kill her. Leaving Manson, Atkins, Grogan and Kasabian in the car outside, the trio proceeded to kill the couple.
Van Houten and Krenwinkel tied up Mrs. LaBianca with a lamp cord and put a pillowcase over her head. Mrs. LaBianca, who was being held in the master bedroom, could hear the screams and struggling of her husband who was being held in the living room as Watson began stabbing him while he pleaded for his life. She began to struggle. Van Houten ran for Watson in the other room; he told her “to do something.” Krenwinkel got a fork from the kitchen and stabbed Mr. LaBianca with it. Once again wielding the knife, Krenwinkel stabbed Rosemary LaBianca while Van Houten held her down. However, the knife bent and she was unable to actually stab the struggling woman. Van Houten and Krenwinkel called to Watson, who came into the master bedroom and gave Van Houten a knife. Van Houten then repeatedly stabbed Rosemary LaBianca in the back. According to testimony from the Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, Mr. LaBianca suffered 47 stab wounds.
Van Houten stabbed Rosemary’s lower back over a dozen times. Van Houten later told Dianne Lake that she had stabbed someone who was already dead. The autopsy indicated that some of the 47 stab wounds Rosemary suffered had been inflicted post-mortem.
Van Houten was arrested in December 1969. Unlike other members of the Family, Van Houten provided a great deal of information. Using the Manson family nicknames during interviews with police, Van Houten helped identify who had actively participated in the Tate and LaBianca murders, and who had been there but not killed anyone, thereby indicating that Kasabian was a crucial witness. Van Houten implicitly admitted to direct knowledge of the LaBianca murders in police interviews.
Van Houten’s lawyer Ronald Hughes disappeared while on a camping trip during a recess from the Tate/LaBianca trial in November 1970. His body was found in March 1971, but due to the severe decomposition of his body the cause of death could not be determined. No one has been charged in connection with his death.
Vincent Bugliosi wrote in his book Helter Skelter that Sandra Good claimed that Manson family members had killed 35 to 40 people and that Hughes was the first of the retaliation murders. Attorney Stephen Kay stated that the last thing Manson said to Hughes was “I don’t want to see you in the courtroom again” and Hughes was never seen again alive.
On March 29, 1971, Van Houten was convicted of murder. Van Houten was sentenced to death. she was the youngest woman ever condemned to death in California. No death row for female prisoners existed so a special unit was built. The death sentences were automatically commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court’s People v. Anderson decision resulted in the invalidation of all death sentences imposed in California prior to 1972.
“I’m the devil and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”
Charles Denton Watson, also known as Tex Watson, was a member of the Manson family. On August 9, 1969, Watson and other Manson followers murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four other people at a house in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles. The next night, Watson traveled to Los Feliz, Los Angeles, and participated in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, as part of Manson’s Helter Skelter vision. Watson was found guilty of murder and imprisoned in 1971.
Donald Shorty Shea Murder
Somewhere between August 26 and 28, Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Steve Grogan, Bill Vance, Larry Bailey, and Bruce Davis asked Shea to come with them to get some auto parts. Shea was in the drivers seat, Grogan sat behind Shea, Watson sat next to Shea in the passenger seat and Davis sat behind Watson. Manson, Vance and Bailey followed them in another car. After Watson gave a sign, Grogan hit Shea over the head with a pipe wrench and Watson stabbed Shea several times. Shea managed to get out of the car. He then was surrounded by the gang and they brutally stabbed him to death. Grogan later said that Shea was so strong it took all of them to kill him.
According to Bruce Davis and Steve Grogan, both Bill Vance and Larry Bailey were participants in Shea’s murder. However Vance and Bailey were never prosecuted for Shea’s death.
The Tate Murders
On the night of August 8, 1969, Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Cielo Drive property, Watson climbed a telephone pole near the gate and cut the phone line to prevent telephone access from the house. At this point it was after midnight, August 9, 1969.
Just then, headlights approached. Watson ordered the women to lie in the bushes. He then stepped out and ordered the approaching driver to halt. Eighteen-year-old student Steven Parent had been visiting the property’s caretaker, William Garretson, who lived in the property’s guest house. Watson first lunged at Parent with a knife, giving him a defensive slash wound on the palm of his hand, then shot him four times in the chest and abdomen.
Steven Parents Car
The group then proceeded to the main house. Watson told Kasabian to keep watch down by the gate. Watson cut the screen of a window and entered through the window, and let Atkins and Krenwinkel in through the front door.
They found Frykowski sleeping on the living room couch. Watson kicked him in the head. When Frykowski asked him who he was and what he was doing there, Watson replied: “I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”
Atkins and Krenwinkel searched the house and found Tate, Sebring and Folger and forced them to the living room. Watson began to tie Tate and Sebring together by their necks with rope and slung the rope up over one of the living room’s ceiling beams. Sebring’s protested to the rough treatment of the pregnant Tate. Watson then shot Sebring and stabbed him seven times.
Frykowski’s hands had been bound with a towel. Freeing himself, Frykowski began struggling with Atkins, who stabbed at his legs with the knife with which she had been guarding him. As he fought his way toward and out the front door, onto the porch, Watson caught up with Frykowski and struck him over the head with the gun multiple times, stabbed him repeatedly, and shot him twice.
Around this time, Kasabian was drawn up from the driveway by “horrifying sounds”. In an effort to stop the massacre, she falsely told Atkins that someone was coming.
Meanwhile, Folger had escaped from Krenwinkel and fled out a bedroom door to the pool area. Krenwinkel ran after Folger, caught her, stabbed her, and tackled her to the ground. Watson joined Krenwinkel and they stabbed Folger 28 times. In the meantime Frykowski struggled across the lawn. Watson went over to Frykowski and then stabbed him to death. Frykowski was stabbed a total of 51 times.
In the house, Tate pleaded to be allowed to live long enough to have her baby, and even offered herself as a hostage in an attempt to save the life of her unborn child. Susan Atkins told Tate as she begged, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don’t feel a thing about it.” At this point either Atkins, Watson, or both killed Tate (testimonies vary). Tate was stabbed 16 times. Watson later wrote that as Tate was being killed, she cried for her mother.
Using the towel that had bound Frykowski’s hands, Atkins wrote “pig” on the house’s front door in Tate’s blood.
LaBianca Murders
In the early morning hours of August 10, 1969, Manson and Watson entered the LaBianca house. They awoke Leno LaBianca at gunpoint and tied his hands. Leno was then asked if there was anyone else in the house. He told them that his wife was in the bedroom. Manson went to the bedroom and awoke Rosemary. Manson and Watson reassured the couple that they wouldn’t be hurt, and were just being robbed. After collecting all the cash in the house, Manson ordered Watson to take Rosemary back to her bedroom where Watson placed a pillowcase over her head, wound a lamp cord around her head, and gagged her. He told her to stay quiet and remain in the room. Watson returned to the living room and Manson then left the house. Manson then send Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel to the residence.
Watson began stabbing Leno repeatedly only stopping briefly when Leno started screaming. Rosemary, hearing her husband screams, began screaming and flailing around the room. Krenwinkel and Van Houten called Watson for help. Watson left the badly bleeding Leno in the living room and entered the bedroom to find Rosemary swinging the lamp still attached to the cord used to gag her. Watson, Krenwinkel and Van Houten then stabbed Rosemary to death. Rosemary was stabbed 41 times.
Leno was still alive when Watson came back to the living room and the stabbing resumed. After Watson finished stabbing Leno one of the family members carved the word “WAR” into Leno’s stomach. Krenwinkel then stabbed him a number of times and left a carving fork protruding from his stomach and a steak knife from his throat. The girls then wrote messages in Leno’s blood. “Death to pigs” and “Rise” were written on the living room wall and “Healter Skelter” (they mispronounced Helter Skelter) was written on the refrigerator door.
After the murders, the Family members remained at the house. Some ate food from the LaBianca’s refrigerator, played with the couple’s dogs and showered before hitchhiking back to Spahn Ranch.
Plot Twist
Suzan LaBerge, Rosemary LaBianca’s daughter, has been one of Watson’s closest friends behind bars after bonding over their shared beliefs as born-again Christians. She visits, writes and has even advocated for his release.
Coincidence (or not)
Before the murders Suzan LaBerge and Watson lived an estimated 200 feet apart in nearby apartments in Los Angeles for six months prior to Watson’s move into Spahn Ranch. Suzan’s then boyfriend was a member of the motorcycle gang Straight Satans that often visited Spahn Ranch. Manson Family member Danny DeCarlo also was a member of the Straight Satans.
Name: Lynette Alice Fromme Date of birth: 10/22/1948 Place of birth: Santa Monica, California AKA: Squeaky, Red Whereabouts: New York Archive: Lynette Fromme Recent Pictures: Lynette Fromme Today Image Gallery: Lynette Fromme Gallery
Lynette Alice “Squeaky” Fromme is an American would-be assassin best known for attempting to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford in 1975. A member of the infamous Manson family, she was sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination attempt and released on parole on August 14, 2009, after serving 34 years.
Fromme was born Lynette Alice Fromme in Santa Monica, California on October 22, 1948. Fromme was a child performer, touring with a song and dance troop called the Westchester Lariats. After high school, Fromme moved to Venice Beach, where she met Charles Manson.
Fromme wasn’t involved in the Tate/LaBianca murders that landed Manson in prison, but she was handed a life sentence after pointing a gun at former President Gerald Ford in 1975. Throughout her years in prison, Fromme corresponded with Manson, and she was one of the followers who didn’t denounce Manson.
In highschool Fromme befriended Phil Hartman, who later gained fame on shows like Saturday Night Live and the The Simpsons. Later on Fromme briefly dated Bill Siddons, who went on to be the road manager of The Doors.
Fromme had a special place in the family, according to Paul Watkins, no one but Manson was allowed to sleep with Fromme.
Fromme escaped from jail in 1987 but was found wandering the countryside just a few miles away. Officials at the time investigated whether Fromme had escaped jail after hearing that Manson had become ill.
Lynette Fromme is connected to the James and Lauren Willett murders. James and Lauren Willett were associates of the Manson family.
After the Tate/LaBianca murder trial Nancy Pitman and Priscilla Cooper, and a pair of ex-convicts named Michael Monfort and James Craig moved into a cabin in Guerneville along with James and Lauren Willett and their infant daughter Heidi
In 1972, the decapitated body of James Willett was found in a shallow grave with his hand sticking out of the ground. later the body of his wife, Lauren was discovered buried in the crawl space of a house in Stockton.
Michael Monfort, James Craig, Priscilla Cooper, Nancy Pitman and Lynnette Fromme were arrested for the murder of James and Lauren Willett.
Michael Monfort pled guilty to both murders. Nancy Pitman pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Lauren Willett. Lynette Fromme was released for lack of evidence.
Mary Brunner is a former member of the Manson Family. Brunner met Charles Manson shortly after moving to California, at age 21 in ’67. Brunner has become known as the first member of what would become the Manson family.
After Brunner met Manson, she left her job, hit the road with Manson, and the family was born. On April 1, 1968, Mary gave birth to Valentine Michael Manson, aka “Pooh Bear”, the son of Charles Manson.
Brunner was a participant in the murder of Gary Hinman. On July 25, 1969, Manson told Robert Beausoleil, Susan Atkins, and Mary Brunner to pay Gary Hinman a visit. According to Beausoleil they went to Hinman because Hinman had sold Beausoleil 1000 tabs of bad mescaline and Beausoleil wanted his money back.
However according to statements made to the police the motive to visit Hinman was because the Manson Family needed money for their move to the desert and Manson thought Hinman had money.
Someone in the group suggested going to Santa Monica and kidnap Terry Melcher and holding him for Ransom.
At this time, the name of Gary Hinman was brought up and Charles Manson stated, “Yeah, he’s single and owns that house and probably has stocks and lots of money.”
When Beausoleil asked Gary Hinman for money, Gary told Beausoleil that he didn’t have any money. Gary then was held captive for 3 days. According to Danny Decarlo Beausoleil had knocked Gary around for 3 or 4 hours. Later on Charles Manson and Bruce Davis stopped by. Manson had a sword on him and struck Gary in the head, slicing of a piece of his ear while Davis pointed a gun at Hinman. Atkins and Brunner tried to stitch up Gary’s face with a needle and dental floss.
The ordeal finally ended when Beausoleil stabbed Gary twice in the chest. Gary didn’t die immediately and made loud gurgling sounds so Atkins and Brunner took turns smothering Gary with a pillow.
After Hinman died Beausoleil wrote the words “Political Piggy” and drew a paw print on the wall in Gary’s blood, in an attempt to make authorities think the Black Panthers committed the murder.
When the cops later examined the crime scene they found blood in the living-room, on the hall floor between the living-room, bath and kitchen, and on the walls, floor, and ceiling of the kitchen.
On August 8, 1969, a week after Hinman was found dead, Brunner and Sandra Good were arrested for using stolen credit cards in a department store. While Brunner and Good were in police custody, Charles Tex Watson and other family members committed the Tate/LaBianca murders.
Brunner and Susan Atkins were subsequently charged along with Bobby Beausoleil for the murder of Gary Hinman. Brunner later received immunity from prosecution to testify against both Beausoleil and Atkins.
After the Manson Family went to prison in 1971, Brunner and others hatched a bizarre hijacking plan to force Manson’s release, but they were all arrested and jailed. Brunner was convicted and received a sentence of 20 years to life, She was sent to the California Institution for Women, where Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel were serving their sentences for their participation in the Tate-LaBianca murders. Brunner disappeared from the public eye after being paroled in 1977.
Today Mary Brunner lives a quiet life somewhere in Wisconsin.
Patricia Krenwinkel was a member of the Manson Family. Krenwinkel was a participant in the infamous murders on August 9, 1969 at 10050 Cielo Drive, home of actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski.
Patricia Krenwinkel was born in Los Angeles, California. She attended University High School and then Westchester High School, both in the Los Angeles area. Patricia was often bullied at school by other students, suffered from low self-esteem, and was frequently teased for being overweight and for an excessive growth of body hair caused by an endocrine condition.
After her parents divorced, seventeen-year-old Krenwinkel remained in Los Angeles with her father until she graduated from High School. For a time she taught Catechism and considered becoming a nun.
She met Charles Manson in Manhattan Beach in 1967, along with Lynette Fromme and Mary Brunner. Krenwinkel said that she had slept with Manson the first night they met, and that he was the first person who told her she was beautiful. Mesmerized by Manson’s charisma and starved for attention, she decided to go to San Francisco with him.
As the Manson Family grew, Krenwinkel and the others went on a drug- and sex-filled 18-month tour of the American west in an old school bus. She would later recount an idealized version of The Family’s early days: “We were just like wood nymphs and wood creatures. We would run through the woods with flowers in our hair, and Charles would have a small flute”.
In the summer of 1968, Krenwinkel and fellow Family member, Ella Jo Bailey, were hitchhiking around Los Angeles when Beach Boy member and drummer, Dennis Wilson, picked them up. After being invited to his home while he continued on to a recording session, Krenwinkel and Bailey contacted the Family and told them of their new crash pad. When Wilson returned later that evening, he found Manson and the rest of the Family eating his food, sleeping in his bedrooms, and partying inside and outside his home. The encounter with Dennis Wilson would eventually lead to the death of Sharon Tate and her friends.
The Tate Murders
On the night of August 8, 1969, Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Cielo Drive property, Watson climbed a telephone pole near the gate and cut the phone line to prevent telephone access from the house. At this point it was after midnight, August 9, 1969.
Telephone Pole Near The Gate
Just then, headlights approached. Watson ordered the women to lie in the bushes. He then stepped out and ordered the approaching driver to halt. Eighteen-year-old student Steven Parent had been visiting the property’s caretaker, William Garretson, who lived in the property’s guest house. Watson first lunged at Parent with a knife, giving him a defensive slash wound on the palm of his hand, then shot him four times in the chest and abdomen.
Steven Parents Car
The group then proceeded to the main house. Watson told Kasabian to keep watch down by the gate. Watson cut the screen of a window and entered through the window, and let Atkins and Krenwinkel in through the front door.
They found Frykowski sleeping on the living room couch. Watson kicked him in the head. When Frykowski asked him who he was and what he was doing there, Watson replied: “I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”
Atkins and Krenwinkel searched the house and found Tate, Sebring and Folger and forced them to the living room. Watson began to tie Tate and Sebring together by their necks with rope and slung the rope up over one of the living room’s ceiling beams. Sebring’s protested to the rough treatment of the pregnant Tate. Watson then shot Sebring and stabbed him seven times.
Frykowski’s hands had been bound with a towel. Freeing himself, Frykowski began struggling with Atkins, who stabbed at his legs with the knife with which she had been guarding him. As he fought his way toward and out the front door, onto the porch, Watson caught up with Frykowski and struck him over the head with the gun multiple times, stabbed him repeatedly, and shot him twice.
Around this time, Kasabian was drawn up from the driveway by “horrifying sounds”. In an effort to stop the massacre, she falsely told Atkins that someone was coming.
Meanwhile, Folger had escaped from Krenwinkel and fled out a bedroom door to the pool area. Krenwinkel ran after Folger, caught her, stabbed her, and tackled her to the ground. Watson joined Krenwinkel and they stabbed Folger 28 times. In the meantime Frykowski struggled across the lawn. Watson went over to Frykowski and then stabbed him to death. Frykowski was stabbed a total of 51 times.
In the house, Tate pleaded to be allowed to live long enough to have her baby, and even offered herself as a hostage in an attempt to save the life of her unborn child. Susan Atkins told Tate as she begged, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don’t feel a thing about it.” At this point either Atkins, Watson, or both killed Tate (testimonies vary). Tate was stabbed 16 times. Watson later wrote that as Tate was being killed, she cried for her mother.
Using the towel that had bound Frykowski’s hands, Atkins wrote “pig” on the house’s front door in Tate’s blood.
LaBianca Murders
On Manson’s orders, Krenwinkel participated willingly in more killing the following night. Along with Manson, Watson, Atkins, Grogan, Van Houten, and Linda Kasabian, Krenwinkel went to the home of Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, on Waverly Drive. After Manson and Watson tied up the couple, Manson left, giving orders to Van Houten and Krenwinkel to go with Watson and to do whatever he said. Watson told Krenwinkel and Van Houten to take Mrs. LaBianca into a bedroom and kill her. Leaving Manson, Atkins, Grogan and Kasabian in the car outside, the trio proceeded to kill the couple.
Krenwinkel retrieved a knife from the kitchen drawer. She and Van Houten tied up Mrs. LaBianca with a lamp cord and put a pillowcase over her head. Mrs. LaBianca, who was being held in the master bedroom, could hear the screams and struggling of her husband who was being held in the living room as Watson began stabbing him while he pleaded for his life. She began to struggle. Van Houten ran for Watson in the other room; he told her “to do something.” Krenwinkel got a fork from the kitchen and stabbed Mr. LaBianca with it. She used a rag to dip in his blood and wrote on the walls. Once again wielding the knife, Krenwinkel stabbed Rosemary LaBianca while Van Houten held her down. However, the knife bent and she was unable to actually stab the struggling woman. She and Van Houten called to Watson, who came into the master bedroom and gave Van Houten a knife. Van Houten and Watson stabbed her to death. According to testimony from the Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, Mr. LaBianca suffered 26 stab wounds and 14 puncture wounds.
Krenwinkel was arrested in Mobile, Alabama on December 1, 1969. The following day, Krenwinkel was indicted for seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. At the end of the nine-month trial, Krenwinkel was convicted of all counts and sentenced to death on March 29, 1971.
During a 2004 parole hearing, when asked who she would place at the top of the list of people she has harmed, Patricia Krenwinkel responded, “Myself.” She was denied parole following that hearing because, according to the panel, Krenwinkel still posed an “unacceptable risk to public safety”.
Following the 2009 death of fellow Manson gang member, Susan Atkins, Krenwinkel is now the longest-incarcerated female inmate in the California penal system.
Name: Linda Darlene Kasabian Date of birth: 06/21/1949 Place of birth: Biddeford, Maine AKA: Yana the Witch, Linda Drouin, Linda Christian Archive: Linda Kasabian Whereabouts: Washington State Recent Pictures: Linda Kasabian Today Image Gallery: Linda Kasabian Gallery
Linda Kasabian was part of the Manson Family, then she became the star witness against them. She was the key witness in District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi’s prosecution of Manson and his followers for the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Linda Kasabian joined up with the Manson Family after splitting up with her husband at the time, in July 1969 about a month before the Tate- Labianca murders. She brought her daughter Tanya with her to the Manson hangout at Spahn Ranch.
Linda was the driver of the getaway car on both nights of the murders. She did not participate in any of the killings. While at the Tate residence, she stood guard at the gate while the killings were going on. She heard the victims scream for their lives, and ran up to the house to see a beaten, stabbed, shot, and dying Wojciech Frykowski in which she told him “Sorry” just before he collapsed. She also witnessed Steven Parent getting shot to death prior to Tex, Susan, and Patricia entering the Tate residence.
On the second night of the Manson Family murder spree Kasabian dropped off Watson, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten at the LaBianca residence. While the Labiancas were being slaughtered Manson ordered Kasabian to drive to a Venice Beach apartment complex. Manson then ordered Kasabian, Atkins and Grogan to participate in the murder of an aspiring actor, Saladin Nader. Kasabian had met Saladin a few days earlier while Kasabian and Sandra Good were hitchhiking.
They entered the apartment complex, Atkins and Grogan waited with a knife and gun in hand, prepared to kill but Kasabian purposely brought Atkins and Grogan to the wrong apartment. When the occupant answered, Kasabian apologized and excused herself, preventing the crime.
Two days after the LaBianca murders, Kasabian fled from the Manson Family, and eventually returned to her mother’s home.
Kasabian, Manson, and four other members were indicted for the murders. In her first day at trial, she was shown crime scene photos. “I don’t have to look at the pictures,” she said. “It’s in my head.”
Kasabian was given immunity after she turned witness for the prosecution during the infamous 1970 trial. During the trial, she was repeatedly threatened by members of the Manson Family, told ‘you’re killing us’ by Atkins and was the target of a throat-cutting gesture from Manson himself.
After the trial, Kasabian bounced around states trying to find stability, but has been arrested for indecent exposure, DUI and meth possession. Kasabian now lives a low key life somewhere in Washington State. Reportedly Kasabian was relieved to hear that Charles Manson had died.
Kathryn Lutesinger is a former member of the Manson Family. Kathryn, also know as “Kitty”, was introduced to the family in ’69 by boyfriend Bobby Beausoleil.
At the time Lutesinger was pregnant and carrying Beausoleil’s child. Manson treated Lutesinger badly because Manson felt Lutesinger was trying to lure Beausoleil away from the family.
Beausoleil was arrested for the Hinman murder on 6 August 1969. During the Tate-Labianca trial, Kathryn floated in and out of family. She was arrested in November of ’71, for aiding the escape of family associate Kenneth Como, but charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.
Kathryn moved on with her life and became a teacher. Today she is retired and lives a peaceful life.
Name: Daniel Thomas Decarlo Date of birth: 06/20/1944 Place of birth: Canada AKA: Danny, Donkey Dan First wife: Miriam R Decarlo Marriage Date: 29 Feb 1968 Divorce Date: 2 Apr 1975 Archive: Danny Decarlo Whereabouts: Hawaii Children: Son Dennis born ’68, Daughter Gina born ’72
Gina DeCarlo was the daughter of Danny and Sherry Cooper. Gina DeCarlo died in 1991 at age 19 in a car accident. Image Gallery: Daniel Decarlo Gallery Recent Pictures: Danny Decarlo Today
Danny Decarlo met Manson through the motorcycle gang “The Straight Satans”. DeCarlo enjoyed the Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll at Spahn’s Ranch so he became a regular fixture.
DeCarlo’s main duty was taking care of the family’s weapons. Decarlo was arrested with the rest of the Manson Family on the August 16th Spahn Ranch raid. Later that month, after learning about Shorty Shea’s murder, Decarlo left the family and moved to L.A.
In 1970 Decarlo testified against Manson and the Family during the Tate/Labianca murder trial. After the trial Decarlo moved to Canada with Sherry Cooper.
Later Decarlo moved around. Decarlo has resided in Hawaii and California. Today Decarlo lives somewhere in Hawaii.
Name: Barbara Jeanne Hoyt Date of birth: 12/27/1951 Date of death: 12/03/2017 Cause of death: Kidney Failure Archive: Barbara Hoyt Recent Pictures: Barbara Hoyt Today Image Gallery: Barbara Hoyt Gallery
Barbara Hoyt is a former member of the Manson Family. Hoyt was a witness in District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi’s prosecution of Manson and his followers for the Tate-LaBianca murders, one of the highest-profile murder trials in history.
During the Tate/LaBianca murder trial Ruth Ann Moorehouse tried to poison prosecution witness and fellow Manson family member Barbara Hoyt.
Barbara was unsure about testifying and the family offered Hoyt an all expense paid trip to Hawaii if Barbara agreed not to testify. Barbara agreed.
Ruth and Barbara took the trip to Hawaii where Ruth laced Barbara’s hamburger with ten hits of LSD. Barbara survived and was determined to testify against the family.
Barbara died on December 3, 2017 due to kidney failure.
Spahn Ranch, built in 1920, also known as Spahn’s Movie Ranch, was a ranch used for filming Western movies and TV-shows. Episodes for Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, and Zorro were filmed at Spahn’s Ranch.
Spahn Movie Ranch was the home of the Manson Family during the Tate/LaBianca murders. In late 1969, Robert Hendrickson filmed the Manson Family at Spahn Ranch for his Oscar nominated documentary Manson.
By 1968, when Manson arrived at the ranch, George Spahn was 80 years old and nearly blind. Spahn allowed out-of-work stuntmen and ranch hands to live on the property in return for labor. Manson and his followers fit right in and did chores and helped run the horse-rental business, George Spahn primarily made money by renting horse rides through the property.
But at the ranch several ranch hands disapproved of the new tenants, repeatedly warning Spahn about Manson. A ranch hand named Donald “Shorty” Shea, would eventually be killed by members of the family.
Raid
On August 16, 1969, around 6:00 am, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department raided Spahn Ranch. They were looking for stolen cars not knowing they had the Tate/LaBianca killers in reach. The sheriff’s report states they found Manson hiding beneath the building marked “Saloon”. Manson was laying face down in the dirt between the foundation timbers. As he crawled out and stood up a stolen credit card fell out of his pocket. Manson and most of the family members were arrested and booked at the Malibu police station.
Police also seized and impounded vehicles at the property, mostly VW dune buggies, a couple of motorcycles and, most importantly, a 1959 Ford (registration plate GYY 435). The Ford had provided transportation for the Tate and La Bianca murders.
In September, 1970, a wildfire destroyed all of Spahn Movie Ranch’s sets and structures. After the fire, George Spahn moved back to North Hollywood, to live with the wife he had left years before. Today the site is part of California’s Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino recreated Spahn Ranch for the upcoming movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Burt Reynolds was originally cast as George Spahn, but he passed away weeks before he was scheduled to shoot his scenes. The film was originally scheduled to be released on August 9, 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Tate murders, before Sony changed the release date to July 26, 2019.
Name: Ruth Ann Moorehouse Date of birth: 1952
Ruth was born in 1952 not 1951 as most claim AKA: Ouisch, Rachel Susan Morse, Ruth Ann Smith,
Ruth Ann Heuvelhorst First Husband: Edward Heuvelhorst Obituary Children: 1 Daughter, 2 Sons,
Several Grandchildren and a cute little dog Whereabouts: Minnesota
Ruth lives under her marital name from her third husband Archive: Ruth Ann Moorehouse Recent Pictures: Censored for privacy reasons Image Gallery: Ruth Ann Moorehouse Gallery
Ruth Ann Moorehouse, also known as Ouisch, was a member of the Manson family. She met Manson for the first time when her father, Deane Moorehouse, a former minister, picked up three hitchhikers, Charles Manson, Lynette Fromme and Mary Brunner and brought them home.
Manson immediately took a liking to young Ruth. Manson hatched a plan to get Ruth alone. The next day Manson picked up Ruth not too far from her home. They drove to Mendocino, went to the beach and had sex in Manson’s van. While Manson and Ruth were at Mendocino Ruth’s parents had reported her as a runaway. The cops found them. Manson tried to dissuade the cops not to take Ruth and Manson was subsequently booked for interfering with an arrest.
Manson desperately wanted Ruth to join the “Family” but because of Ruth’s young age Manson recognized the potential trouble he would get if he took her with him. Manson told Ruth she could come with him if she was married and was “her own woman”. In May 1968, then 16-year-old Ruth married a 23-year-old bus driver named Edward Heuvelhorst in an effort to become emancipated. One day after the marriage Ruth left Edward and joined the Family.
According to Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s book, Helter Skelter, Ruth’s father, Deane Moorehouse, went to Spahn Ranch to kill Manson for stealing his daughter. “He ended up on his knees worshiping him.”
Ruth Ann’s Father in 1999
During the Tate/LaBianca murder trial Ruth tried to poison prosecution witness and fellow Manson family member Barbara Hoyt. This incident came to be known as the “Honolulu hamburger caper.”
Barbara was unsure about testifying and the family offered Hoyt an all expense paid trip to Hawaii if Barbara agreed not to testify. Barbara agreed. Ruth and Barbara took the trip to Hawaii where Ruth laced Barbara’s hamburger with ten hits of LSD. Barbara survived and was determined to testify against the family. Ruth along with four other family members were charged with attempted murder. The charge was later reduced to conspiracy to dissuade a witness from testifying.
In ’71 the five family members were given a 90 day jail sentence. Ruth, almost 9 months pregnant, failed to appear at the sentencing hearing and fled to her sister in Carson City, Nevada, to avoid giving birth in jail. Four days after her arrival Ruth gave birth to a daughter. In ’75 the FBI located Ruth in Sacramento. The FBI did not arrest her but did inform Sacramento authorities who subsequently picked her up on the long-standing warrant.
On November 4, 1975 Ruth again appeared in court to be sentenced. The Judge did not give Ruth any jail time, instead he ruled that because she was abandoned by her father and “thrown willy-nilly into the Manson cult” she could go free with time served.
From The Los Angeles Times, 1975:
Ruth Ann Moorehouse, still wearing a bandage over plastic surgery she underwent to remove the forehead X that had marked her as a member of the Manson family, Tuesday made a brief and tearful court appearance in Los Angeles.
With Moorehouse at his side, unsuccessfully trying to fight back her tears, Fitzgerald (Ruth’s lawyer) told the judge that she did not appear for sentencing because she was nine months pregnant at the time.
“The ‘family’ told her she had to shave her head and that she had to have her baby in jail.” Fitzgerald explained “And she wanted none of that.”
Today Ruth lives a quiet life somewhere in Minnesota.
On April 22, 1968, nine nude hippies were arrested in Ventura County, Manson was one of them. The picture above is Charles Manson’s iconic Ventura County mug shot.
The mug shot later became the cover of Life magazine as well as the cover of the Charles Manson album Lie: The love and terror cult. The same mug shot is also used for t-shirts and other Manson collectibles, even to this day.
Below is the Herald Examiner newspaper article about the incident. I typed it out for convenience. Scroll down for a photo of the original newspaper article.
Nine Nude Hippies Arrested; Found Huddled Around Bonfire
The Los Angeles Herald Examiner. April 23, 1968.
Nine hippies were arrested and five others were released after they were found sprawled nude around a bonfire near their disabled bus above Little Sycamore Canyon in the Bass Rock area, sheriff’s deputies said.
Deputies said they found the group of hippies Sunday night after spotting their bus stuck in a deep ditch along Deer creek Mountain Road, just above Bass Rock, located about five miles south of Point Muga.
The 1952 bus had been reported stolen in San Francisco April 12, according to deputies. One of the hippies, identified as Mary Brunner, of Topanga Canyon, was booked on suspicion of endangering the life and health of a child, after deputies said they found her week old son, Steven (Michael Brunner), improperly dressed and shivering in the near freezing temperatures.
Miss Brunner claimed she delivered the child on the floor of a home with the help of a friend.
The infant was placed in protective custody of Ventura County General Hospital where his condition today was reported satisfactory.
The alleged driver of the bus, Charles Manson, 34, whose address was unknown, was booked on suspicion of grand theft auto and having two driver licenses in his possession.
Three others, Brenda McCann (Nancy Pitman), 18, Ella Sinder (Ella Jo Bailey), 23, and Mark Damion (nr 26), 21 , all of Topanga Canyon, were jailed on a charge of disorderly conduct and not having proper identification.
Booked on a charge of possessing fictitious and fraudulent prepared driver licenses were Sadie Glutz (Susan Atkins), of Los Angeles; Diana Bluestein (Dianne Lake), 20, of Malibu, Susan Scott (aka Stephanie Rowe nr 13), 23, and Bruce Van Hall (Bruce Hall nr 9), 22, both of Hollywood.
Deputies said the group was apparently driving back into the canyon when the bus became stuck in the deep ditch along the roadway about a quarter-mile east of Highway 1.
The Barker Ranch is located inside Death Valley National Park in eastern California. Used as a mining and recreational property from the 1940s to the 1960s, it is infamous due to its association with Manson and his Family.
The Barker Ranch was built in the 1930’s by Butch and Helen Thomason. Looking for Gold they left the city to mine in the Panamint Range. Often times homesteaders during the early 20th century would move to the desert for the dry air, solitude, and pleasant winter weather.
Sometime during the 1950’s the Thomason’s sold the ranch to Arlene Barker who moved to California from Oklahoma. The Barkers added additional structures to the ranch property. This included a concrete swimming pool, fences, and an array of other comforts.
In 1968, Charles Manson learned about the isolated Myers Ranch from Gillies. Agreeing that the ranch would likely meet their needs, the Manson Family began a move to the ranch. The buildings at Barker Ranch being in better condition, the Family ended up at Barker Ranch, approximately half a mile down the road from Myers Ranch.
The Inyo County sheriff department, captured the Manson Family in raids on October 10 and October 12, 1969. Manson was caught hiding under the bathroom sink. At the time of the arrest the cops were unaware of the magnitude of their find. They wanted to arrest the persons responsible for vandalism within Death Valley National Monument further north, unaware that they had arrested the persons responsible for the Tate/Labianca murders.
Due to a fire in May 2009, most of the main structure has been destroyed with only the concrete and rock portion of the cabin still standing. Today the remnants of the ranch belong to National Park Service.
Wilson talks about Manson in a 1968 interview. Click image to enlarge
Charles Manson made the news even before the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders. Here’s Beach Boy Dennis Wilson talking about Charles Manson and the family girls in an interview in 1968, a year before the murders.
“I told them about our involvement with the Maharishi and they told me they too had a guru, a guy named Charlie who’d recently come out of jail after 12 years. His mother was a hooker, his father was a gangster, he’d drifted into crime when I met him I found he had great musical ideas. We’re writing together now. He’s dumb, in some ways, but I accept his approach and have learnt from him. He taught me a dance. The Inhibition. You have to imagine you’re a frozen man and the ice is thawing out. Start with your fingertips, then all the rest of you, then you extend it to a feeling that the whole universe is thawing out.”
The Hitchhikers
In 1968 Dennis Wilson picked up two hitchhikers, Patricia Krenwinkel and Ella Jo Bailey. Later Dennis noticed the same two girls hitchhiking again. This time he took them to his home at Sunset Boulevard. Dennis then went to a recording session. When he returned he was met in his driveway by Charles Manson. Dennis became fascinated by Manson and his followers. The Manson Family lived with Dennis for a period of time at his expense, costing Dennis up to $100,000 in money, cars, clothes, food and penicillin shots for the Family’s persistent gonorrhea.
A Recipe For Murder
1. Patricia Krenwinkel and Ella Jo Bailey meet Dennis Wilson.
2. Charles Manson is introduced to Dennis Wilson.
3. Dennis Wilson meets Charles “Tex” Watson.
4. Dennis Wilson introduces Tex Watson to Charles Manson.
5. Dennis Wilson introduces Terry Melcher to Charles Manson.
6. Terry Melcher and girlfriend Candice Bergen live at 10050 Cielo Drive.
7. Manson tried to set up a record contract with Terry Melcher.
8. Dennis Wilson and Terry Melcher cut ties with Manson.
9. Terry Melcher and Candice Bergen move out of Cielo Drive.
10. Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate move in to 10050 Cielo Drive.
Name: Dianne Elizabeth Lake Date of birth: 2/28/1953 Place of birth: Hennepin, Minnesota AKA: Snake, Dianne Bluestein Archive: Dianne Lake Recent Pictures: Dianne Lake Today Image Gallery: Dianne Lake Image Gallery
While the country was still reeling from the news of a two-day murder spree across Los Angeles that left seven people dead, a then-16-year-old girl named Dianne Lake was learning first-hand details about the 1969 slayings that would change her life forever.
While Lake was still very young, her parents embraced the hippie lifestyle and brought their young daughter with them to Wavy Gravy’s Hog Farm Commune in southern California. It was while living there that Lake met Charles Manson at a party in Topanga Canyon.
Manson immediately took a liking to the 14-year old auburn-haired beauty and it was not long before she became a permanent fixture on the black magic bus. she joined the Manson Family with her parents permission.
The Family moved to Spahn Ranch and Lake lived the commune hippie lifestyle, rummaging through dumpsters for food and taking care of the horses on the ranch. Lake was closest with Lynette Fromme, Susan Atkins would often give her a hard time. This changed when Lake was tasked with delivering Atkins’s baby. When the baby boy was born Manson asked Lake to cut the umbilical cord with her teeth.
In October of 1969, Lake was arrested with the Family in the Barker Ranch raid. In December, after two months in jail, Lake broke her silence and she provided the District Attorney with loads of incriminating evidence against Manson and the Family.
A year later, at age 17 and after being institutionalized, Lake found herself in front of Manson, this time in an L.A. courtroom, testifying against him.
Once the trial was over and first-degree murder convictions were returned against Manson, Lake tried to move forward with her life — marrying, raising three children and earning a master’s degree in education.
Name: Sharon Marie Tate Polanski Date of Birth: 01/24/1943 Date of Death: 08/09/1969 Place of Birth: Dallas, Texas Place of Death: Cielo Drive, Los Angeles Cause of Death: Multiple Stab Wounds Place of Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery Website: sharontate.net Documents: Autopsy Report
During the ’60s, Tate played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood’s most promising newcomers.
Tate’s early life was one of constant moving as her father served in the military. When she lived in Italy, she was voted “Homecoming Queen” of her high school. After being an extra in a few Italian films, Sharon moved to Hollywood. Her first big break came when she was cast as the shapely bank secretary in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies.
She made her film debut in 1961 in Barabbas. She was seen next in 1966 with the occult-themed Eye of the Devil. Her most remembered performance was in the 1967 cult classic, Valley of the Dolls. Tate’s last film, Twelve Plus One , was released posthumously in 1969.
Tate became close friends with her Valley of the Dolls costars, Patty Duke and Barbara Parkins. Parkins later served as Sharon’s Maid of Honor when she married Roman Polanski in 1968.
The Barbie Doll Malibu Barbie was based on Sharon Tate’s character in Don’t Make Waves (1967).
Tate and Sebring
Jay Sebring
Jay Sebring was introduced to Sharon Tate at a party in Los Angeles in 1964. They fell in love and started dating. The relationship lasted for about two years. Tate went to London in 1966 to work on The Fearless Vampire Killers with director Roman Polanski. Polanski wrote in his autobiography that the two bonded during an LSD trip one night, and by dawn, they were in love.
Tate ended her relationship with Sebring over the phone. Sebring immediately traveled to London to win her back, however Tate decided to be with Polanski. Eventually Sebring and Polanski became friends. After Sebring and Sharon parted as a couple they continued to see each other as close friends. It was no secret that Sebring was still in love with Sharon and he stayed in love with her until the day he died.
Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
On January 20, 1968, Tate married Roman Polanski in London. The star-studded wedding was followed by a reception at the Playboy club, a Supreme’s concert, and a honeymoon in the Alps.
While Tate reportedly wanted a traditional marriage, Polanski remained promiscuous and described Tate’s attitude to his infidelity as “Sharon’s big hang-up”. Polanski was never faithful to Tate. Not when they were dating, and not after they were married.
He reminded Tate that she had promised that she would not try to change him. Tate accepted Polanski’s conditions, though she confided to friends that she hoped he would change. Peter Evans quoted Tate as saying, “We have a good arrangement. Roman lies to me and I pretend to believe him.”
The couple returned to Los Angeles and quickly became part of a social group that included some of the most successful people in the entertainment industry, including Warren Beatty, Jacqueline Bisset, Joan Collins, Mia Farrow, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Kirk Douglas, Jim Morrison, Steve McQueen, Peter Sellers and record producer Terry Melcher and his girlfriend, actress Candice Bergen.
Sharon Tate at 10050 Cielo Drive
10050 Cielo Drive
Tate became pregnant near the end of 1968. On February 12, 1969, Polanski and Tate signed a lease for the house on 10050 Cielo Drive. They moved in three days later.The house previously had been occupied by their friends Terry Melcher and Candice Bergen.
In March of 1969, Tate flew to Italy to film Twelve Plus One. After completing the movie, Tate joined Polanski in London.
A journalist asked Tate in a late July interview if she believed in fate, to which she replied, “Certainly. My whole life has been decided by fate. I think something more powerful than we are decides our fates for us. I know one thing — I’ve never planned anything that ever happened to me.”
When Tate returned from London, Polanski, who was still in Europe, asked Wojciech Frykowski if he and Abigail Folger would stick around until Polanski came back from Europe. Abigail and Wojciech decided to stay with Tate at the Cielo Drive residence, who was in the eighth month of her pregnancy.
Last Day: August 8, 1969
On August 8, 1969, Tate was two weeks from giving birth.
Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech and Abigail Folger went to dinner at El Coyote, a Mexican restaurant. After diner the four returned to Cielo Drive. Wojciech fell asleep on the living room couch, Abigail retired to her bedroom to read a book, while Jay sat and talked with Sharon in her bedroom.
That same night Charles Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
Pregnant Tate Was The Last To Die
Tate pleaded to be allowed to live long enough to have her baby, and even offered herself as a hostage in an attempt to save the life of her unborn child. Susan Atkins told Tate as she begged, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don’t feel a thing about it.” At this point either Atkins, Watson, or both killed Tate (testimonies differ). Tate was stabbed 16 times. Watson later wrote that as Tate was being killed she cried for her mother.
Sharon Tates Funeral
Tate’s unborn son was named Paul Richard Polanski. Tate’s tombstone bears both Paul’s name and her own. Sharon Tate and her unborn baby are buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, beside her mother and sister.
Sharon Tates Grave Stone
The last book Tate read was Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” which she convinced Roman Polanski would make a great film one day. Polanski’s film Tess (1979) is dedicated simply “For Sharon”.
Sharon Tate With Her Dog Prudence
Cielo Drive Survivor: Sharon Tate’s Dog Prudence
There were several dogs present at the time of the murders in the Cielo Drive house, most notably Sharon’s Dog Prudence. Roman Polanski bought puppy Prudence for Sharon after Wojciech Frykowski accidentally ran over Sharon’s Yorkshire terrier, Sappy, on the driveway of Cielo Drive.
The morning after the murders Prudence was found hiding in a closet. Prudence was adopted by Sharon Tate’s mother and sister. Unfortunately, 10 years after Sharon was murdered, Prudence was killed in a car accident. Debra Tate, Sharon’s sister, accidentally ran over Prudence in the driveway of her parents house.
Name: Thomas John Kummer AKA: Jay Sebring (Professional Name) Date of Birth: 10/10/1933 Date of Death: 08/09/1969 Place of Birth: Birmingham, Alabama Place of Death: Cielo Drive, Los Angeles Cause of Death: Gunshot and Multiple Stab Wounds Place of Burial: Southfield, Michigan Documents: Autopsy Report
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Sebring was the son of an accountant, Bernard Kummer, and his wife Margarette. He grew up with one brother and two sisters in a middle class home in Southfield, Michigan.
After graduating from Southfield High School in 1951, Sebring joined the Navy for four years, and during this time served in the Korean War. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he changed his name to Jay Sebring: Jay, after the first initial of his middle name, and Sebring after the famous Florida car race.
Lady’s Man
Sebring was considered a lady’s man and took numerous women to his residence in the Hollywood Hills. Sebring had a fetish, he loved to tie women up with a small sash cord and if they agreed, he would whip them, after which he would undress them and have sex. He was a well-known user of cocaine, staying high on the drug most of the time.
Sebring put on a big front, living in a large house with a butler, an expensive foreign car and at times hosting expensive parties. It is believed that all of these actions were to impress potential backers of his corporation. During the homicide investigation detectives discovered that in fact Sebring’s capital resources were “very limited.”
Celebrity Hairstylist
At a time when barbers charged $1 or $2 for a haircut, Sebring charged $25 to $50 and more. His clients included Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, Jim Morrison, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Henry Fonda. Sebring flew to Las Vegas once a month to cut Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr’s Hair. At Kirk Douglas’ request, Sebring did the hair-styling for the movie Spartacus.
Bruce Lee
Jay received Martial Arts lessons from Bruce Lee. Sebring passed a videotape of Lee on to a client , William Dozier, the producer of the television show Batman. Dozier gave Lee the part of Kato on the Green Hornet which set off Bruce’s acting career.
Sebring himself had occasional acting roles. One was a cameo in a Batman episode where he played the part of Mr. Oceanbring, a character based upon himself. Sebring also appeared in a 1967 episode of The Virginian, playing a frontier barber.
The House With a Dark History
The House With a Dark History
Sebring was fascinated by a house on 9860 Easton Drive in Benedict Canyon. The house had a dark history. Sebring purchased the home in 1963 in part because of its dark Hollywood history. Sharon Tate often visited the house and even lived at the house for some time.
The house once belonged to famed actress Jean Harlow and MGM producer Paul Bern. On September 5, 1932, Paul Bern killed himself in the house. Paul Bern was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head and what appeared to be a suicide note. The official cause of death was ruled a suicide but there have long been rumors that Bern’s death was actually a murder staged to look like a suicide.
Three more people would die at the house, two other people committed suicide in the Easton Drive home and one person drowned in the pool.
Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring
Sharon Tate
Sebring was introduced to Sharon Tate at a party in Los Angeles in 1964. They fell in love and started dating. The relationship lasted for about two years. Tate went to London in 1966 to work on The Fearless Vampire Killers with director Roman Polanski. Polanski wrote in his autobiography that the two bonded during an LSD trip one night, and by dawn, they were in love.
Tate ended her relationship with Sebring over the phone. Sebring immediately traveled to London to win her back, however Tate decided to be with Polanski. Eventually Sebring and Polanski became friends. After Jay and Sharon parted as a couple they continued to see each other as close friends. It was no secret that Sebring was still in love with Sharon and he stayed in love with her until the day he died. Polanski would later say that despite Sebring’s lifestyle, he was a very lonely person, who regarded Tate and Polanski as his family.
Roman Polanski and Jay Sebring
Last Supper
On the night of August 8, 1969, Jay Sebring took Sharon, Abigail Folger and Wojciech Frykowski to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, El Coyote. When the four returned to Cielo Drive, Wojciech fell asleep on the living room couch, Abigail went to her bedroom to read a book and Sharon and Jay went to the master bedroom.
That same night Charles Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
Tate Residence 10050 Cielo Drive
Death
Watkins, Atkins and Krenwinkel entered the Cielo Drive residence just after midnight. Atkins and Krenwinkel searched the house and found Tate, Sebring and Folger and forced them to the living room. Watson began to tie Tate and Sebring together by their necks with rope and slung the rope up over one of the living room’s ceiling beams. Sebring protested to the rough treatment of the pregnant Tate. He was then shot by Watson, who kicked him several times in the face, breaking his nose and eye socket. Watson then stabbed Sebring seven times.
Jay Sebring died defending the woman he loved.
Funerals for Tate and Sebring took place on the same day. Steve McQueen gave the eulogy at Sebring’s funeral.
Sebring is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.
Name: Abigail Anne Folger AKA: Gibbie Date of Birth: 08/11/1943 Date of Death: 08/09/1969 Place of Birth: San Fransisco Place of Death: 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles Cause of Death: Multiple stab wounds Place of Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery Documents: Autopsy Report
Abigail Anne Folger was born to Peter Folger, chairman of the Folger Coffee Company, and Inez Mejia, the daughter of a prestigious California land grant family. Abigail attended the Catalina School for Girls in Carmel, California, graduated from Radcliffe College with honors, and received a graduate degree in Art History from Harvard.
Abigail worked a series of jobs in art galleries, book stores, and magazine publishers in New York City. It was at a bookstore party that Abigail met Polish author Jerzy Kosinski who introduced her to Wojciech Frykowski. Wojciech couldn’t really speak English but both he and Abigail were fluent in French. Abigail and Wojciech moved from New York to Woodstock Road in Hollywood, where they rented a home owned by “Mama” Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas.
Abigail supported Frykowski, paying for the rent at the Woodstock address and supplying him with money for his drug habit which included marijuana, hashish, mescaline, MDA and cocaine. Abigail also used these drugs.
Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger
Cielo Drive
By mid-1969, Abigail and Wojciech moved in to Sharon Tate’s house at Cielo Drive to house-sit while Roman and Sharon went to Europe to work on different film projects. It was during this time that the tension between Wojciech and Abigail increased.
Abigail saw her psychiatrist, Marvin Flicker, M.D., for one hour a day, five days a week. Her standing appointment was 16:30 each day. She discussed her use of drugs and her disappointment with Frykowski. Doctor Flicker stated that he thought she was almost ready to leave Frykowski.
Sharon returned from filming her final movie, The 13 Chairs. Roman asked Wojciech if he and Abigail would stick around until Roman came back from Europe. Despite the tension in their relationship Abigail and Wojciech decided to stay with Sharon, who was in the eighth month of her pregnancy.
Last Supper at El Coyote
On the night of August 8, 1969, Jay Sebring took Sharon, Abigail and Wojciech to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, El Coyote. When the four returned to Cielo Drive, Wojciech fell asleep on the living room couch, Abigail went to her bedroom to read a book and Sharon and Jay went to the master bedroom.
That same night Charles Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
Death
Shortly after midnight, Susan Atkins passed by Abigail’s bedroom. Abigail thought Atkins was a friend of Sharon and, looking up from her book, smiled and waved to her.
Abigail Folgers Bedroom at Cielo Drive
A few moments later Atkins came into Abigail’s bedroom and forced Abigail into the living room. Jay Sebring protested to the rough treatment of the pregnant Tate. Watson then shot and stabbed Sebring. Chaos ensued. Wojciech freed himself while Patricia Krenwinkel and Abigail started wrestling.
After being stabbed multiple times Abigail ran down the hall in an effort to escape. Krenwinkel ran after Abigail, caught her, stabbed her, and tackled her to the ground. Watson joined Krenwinkel and they stabbed Abigail 28 times. According to Watson, Abigail pleaded them to stop stabbing her, saying, I give up, you’ve got me, I’m already dead.
Abigail was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, California on August 13, 1969.
Name: Wojciech Frykowski Date of Birth: 12/22/1936 Date of Death: 08/09/1969 Place of Birth: Lodz, Poland Place of Death: 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles Cause of Death: Multiple stab wounds and gunshots Place of Burial: Lodz, Poland Documents: Autopsy Report
Wojciech (pronounced “Voytek”) was the son of entrepreneur Jan Frykowski. He had two brothers, Jerzy Kajetan and Maciej. Wojciech graduated from the Textile Technicum in Lodz, Poland, and then the Textile Department at the Lodz University of Technology. In November 1958, Wojciech married model Ewa Maria Morelle, who in 1959 gave birth to their son Bartłomiej. Wojciech came to the United States in the hope of making a writing career.
Frykowski was a native of Poland and had lived in England, France, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He met Abigail Folger in New York and accompanied her to San Francisco and then to Los Angeles. He had no means of support and lived off of Abigail Folgers fortune.
He was an extrovert and gave invitations to almost everyone he met to come visit him at his residence. Narcotic parties were the order of the day, and the parties continued on into the early morning hours.
According to Polanski’s 1984 autobiography, “Roman,” Polanski was working the door at a school dance and refused Wojciech entry due to his reputation as a troublemaker. The two almost came to blows but a few weeks later they met in a bar and Wojciech bought Roman a drink, talked, and became friends.
In New York, Polish author Jerzy Kosinski introduced Wojciech to Abigail Folger. Wojciech couldn’t really speak English but both he and Folger were fluent in French. Wojciech and Abigail moved from New York to Woodstock Road in Hollywood, where they rented a home owned by “Mama” Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas.
Abigail Folger supported Frykowski, paying for the rent at the Woodstock address and supplying him with money for his drug habit which included marijuana, hashish, mescaline, MDA and cocaine. Folger also used these drugs.
Wojciech Frykowski & Abigail Folger
By mid-1969, Wojciech and Abigail moved in to Sharon Tate’s house at Cielo Drive to house-sit while Roman and Sharon went to Europe to work on different film projects. It was during this time that the tension between Wojciech and Abigail increased. Abigail told close friends that she was intent on leaving Wojciech.
Sharon returned from filming her final movie, The 13 Chairs. Roman asked Wojciech if he and Abigail would stick around until Roman came back from Europe. Wojciech and Abigail decided to stay with Sharon, who was in the eighth month of her pregnancy.
Death
Wojciech and Abigail joined Sharon and Jay Sebring for dinner at El Coyote, a Mexican restaurant. After diner the four returned to Cielo Drive. Wojciech fell asleep on the living room couch, Abigail retired to her bedroom to read a book, while Jay sat and talked with Sharon in her bedroom.
That same night Charles Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
They found Wojciech sleeping on the living room couch. Watson kicked him in the head. When Wojciech asked him who he was and what he was doing there, Watson replied: “I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”
During the killing spree Wojciech was shot twice, hit on the head with a gun multiple times and stabbed a total of 51 times.
Wojciech fought so hard for his life that his killers commented on how tough he was.
Wojciech Frykowski’s body was cremated on August 22, 1969 in Los Angeles, and the ashes were buried at the Old Cemetery at Ulica Ogrodowa in Lodz, Poland.
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murder victims of the Manson Family. In 1958, Leno LaBianca met Rosemary while she was working as a waitress. The two fell in love and were married in 1960 in Carmel, California. In 1968 Leno bought the home at 3301 Waverly Drive that he had grown up in from his mother and settled in with Rosemary and her son, Frank.
In the summer of 1969, a number of odd occurrences frightened the LaBiancas. The couple noticed when they returned from being away, items from their home were missing and their dogs were outside the house when they had been left inside. It was later learned that Manson and the Family had creepy-crawled several houses in the area while the residents were away.
Charles Manson’s Waverly Drive Backstory
1966. While incarcerated at Terminal Island Prison Charles Manson met flamboyant producer Phil Kaufman. After Kaufman’s release from prison he hooked up with Manson. Kaufman spent most of his time crashing at the house of his friend, Harold True. Manson regularly visited Kaufman there, Manson even stayed a week at Harold’s house. Harold lived at 3267 Waverly Drive. The next door neighbors at 3301 Waverly Drive were Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
Arriving Home
On August 9, 1969, the LaBiancas, along with Rosemary’s daughter, Suzan, drove to Lake Isabella to pick up Rosemary’s son Frank, who was spending a week vacationing with a friend. Frank was having such a good time that the LaBiancas decided to let him stay another day. At around 9 p.m., Leno, Rosemary and Suzan left Lake Isabella and headed back to Los Angeles. Around 1 p.m., the LaBiancas arrived in Los Angeles. After dropping off Suzan at her apartment, they stopped at a newsstand. Leno, a regular customer, was recognized by the newsstand owner, who readied a copy of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. They briefly discussed the Tate murders. Talk of the Tate murders disturbed Rosemary. After arriving home, Rosemary retired to her bedroom, while Leno fell asleep in the living room while reading the sports page.
Murder
In the early morning hours of August 10, 1969, Manson and Watson entered the LaBianca house. They awoke Leno LaBianca at gunpoint and tied his hands. Leno was then asked if there was anyone else in the house. He told them that his wife was in the bedroom. Manson went to the bedroom and awoke Rosemary. Manson and Watson reassured the couple that they wouldn’t be hurt, and were just being robbed. After collecting all the cash in the house, Manson ordered Watson to take Rosemary back to her bedroom where Watson placed a pillowcase over her head, wound a lamp cord around her head, and gagged her. He told her to stay quiet and remain in the room. Watson returned to the living room and Manson then left the house. Manson then send Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel to the residence.
Watson began stabbing Leno repeatedly, only stopping briefly when Leno started screaming. Rosemary, hearing her husband screams, began screaming and flailing around the room. Krenwinkel and Van Houten called Watson for help. Watson left the badly bleeding Leno in the living room and entered the bedroom to find Rosemary swinging the lamp still attached to the cord used to gag her. Watson, Krenwinkel and Van Houten then stabbed Rosemary to death. Rosemary was stabbed 41 times.
Leno was still alive when Watson came back to the living room and the stabbing resumed. After Watson finished stabbing Leno one of the family members carved the word “WAR” into Leno’s stomach. Krenwinkel then stabbed him a number of times and left a carving fork protruding from his stomach and a steak knife from his throat. The girls then wrote messages in Leno’s blood. “Death to pigs” and “Rise” were written on the living room wall, and “Healter Skelter” (they mispronounced Helter Skelter) was written on the refrigerator door.
After the murders the Family members remained at the house. Some ate food from the LaBianca’s refrigerator, played with the couple’s dogs and showered before hitchhiking back to Spahn Ranch.
Plot Twist
Suzan LaBerge, Rosemary LaBianca’s daughter, has been one of Watson’s closest friends behind bars after bonding over their shared beliefs as born-again Christians. She visits, writes and has even advocated for his release.
Coincidence (or not)
Before the murders Suzan LaBerge and Watson lived an estimated 200 feet apart in nearby apartments in Los Angeles for six months prior to Watson’s move into Spahn Ranch. Suzan’s then boyfriend was a member of the motorcycle gang Straight Satans that often visited Spahn Ranch. Manson Family member Danny DeCarlo also was a member of the Straight Satans.
Name: Donald Jerome Shea AKA: Shorty Date of Birth: 09/18/1933 Date of Death: August 1969 Place of Birth: Massachusetts Cause of Death: Multiple stab and chop wounds Place of Burial: Angeles Abbey Memorial Park Documents: Autopsy Report
Donald “Shorty” Shea moved to California to pursue a career in acting, but mostly worked as a horse wrangler at Spahn Ranch and as a bouncer at a topless bar. Although he occasionally obtained temporary employment elsewhere, he always returned to Spahn Ranch. “Shorty” actually stood about six feet 4 inches tall and weighed more than 200 pounds.
When Charles Manson and the Family first moved to Spahn’s Movie Ranch, Shea initially co-existed with them peacefully but, in time, Charles Manson began to look down on Shea because Shea married a black woman. Shea began to complain about Manson and the family to George Spahn. Eventually Shea planned to help George Spahn remove the Family from the Spahn Ranch when their brushes with the law grew out of control.
Shorty Shea (left) at Spahn Ranch
Murder
Somewhere between August 26 and 28, Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Steve Grogan, Bill Vance, Larry Bailey, and Bruce Davis asked Shea to come with them to get some auto parts. Shea was in the drivers seat, Grogan sat behind Shea, Watson sat next to Shea in the passenger seat and Davis sat behind Watson. Manson, Vance and Bailey followed them in another car. After Watson gave a sign, Grogan hit Shea over the head with a pipe wrench and Watson stabbed Shea several times. Shea managed to get out of the car. He then was surrounded by the gang and they brutally stabbed him to death. Grogan later said that Shea was so strong it took all of them to kill him.
According to Bruce Davis and Steve Grogan, both Bill Vance and Larry Bailey were participants in Shea’s murder. However Vance and Bailey were never prosecuted for Shea’s death.
Motive
Several motives are given for Shea’s murder. On August 16, 1969, the Sheriffs Department raided Spahn Ranch. They were looking for stolen cars not knowing they had the Tate/LaBianca killers in reach. Manson was convinced that Shea ratted on the Family and Manson blamed Shea for the raid.
Another suggested motive for Shea’s death was “bad blood” which existed between Shea and Manson. According to Windy Bucklee, Shea’s cousin , Manson never got over a beating he got from Shea. “The fact that Shea beat the shit out of Manson was the reason, I’m quite sure, that Shea always remained on Manson’s bad side,” Bucklee said. “I know he never forgot that.” And Manson reportedly resented the fact that Shea was married to a black woman.
Donald Shea with wife Magdalene Fuery
Barbara Hoyt testified that after Manson’s release from jail after the raid, he said that Shea was responsible for the sheriff’s raid and that Shea was trying to get the Manson family kicked off of the Spahn Ranch. Hoyt also testified that one night in August 1969 she heard screaming. She heard many loud screams coming from down by the creek. She recognized the screams as coming from Shea. Hoyt never saw Shea again after that night.
Shea’s Remains Discovered
Shea’s remains were discovered in December 1977 when Steve Grogan agreed to tell authorities the location of the body. Grogan was granted parole after the discovery of Shea’s remains in exchange for his cooperation.
Shea is buried in a community plot in Angeles Abbey Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.
In 1994, the house at 10050 Cielo Drive was demolished. But the memory of what happened there in the early morning hours of August 9, 1969, endures. Actress Sharon Tate (eight-and-a-half months pregnant), celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski, and recent high school graduate Steven Parent were brutally murdered by members of the Manson Family.
History
The house was built in the late forties for French actress Michèle Morgan. The house was similar to the house which sat on its own plateau directly below 10050, 10048 Cielo Drive, which was called the Twin House. The properties were built at the same time.
By the end of World War II, Michèle Morgan had returned to France and in 1946 actress Lillian Gish moved in 10050 Cielo Drive with her mother while filming Duel in the Sun (1946).
Rudolph Altobelli, a talent manager, bought the house in the early 1960s and often rented the house out. Residents included celebrities like Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon, Henry Fonda, George Chakiris, Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Candice Bergen and Terry Melcher
Charles Manson, Dennis Wilson and Terry Melcher
In the summer of 1966, Altobelli leased the Cielo Drive house to music producer Terry Melcher (the son of Doris Day) and actress Candice Bergen, whose time at the house would set the tragic events of August 9, 1969 into motion.
Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson had befriended Charles Manson. Dennis Wilson was so impressed by Manson’s charisma and musical talent that he introduced Manson to producer Terry Melcher and pressed Melcher to land Manson a record deal. Manson auditioned for Melcher but Melcher was not impressed and declined to sign Manson. After witnessing Manson getting in a fight with a drunk at Spahn Ranch both Wilson and Melcher ended their friendship with Manson.
Not long after ending his friendship with Manson, Melcher and Bergen moved out of Cielo Drive. On February 12, 1969, Roman Polanski and his pregnant wife Sharon Tate signed a lease for the house on 10050 Cielo Drive. They moved in three days later.
The Tate Murders
Contrary to popular belief, Terry Melcher and Candice Bergen were never the targets of the August 9 murder spree carried out by Manson’s followers. Manson knew very well that Melcher moved out of Cielo Drive.
On the night of August 8, 1969, Manson told Tex Watson to take some of the girls and to go to “that house where Melcher used to live” and to “totally destroy everyone inside, as gruesome as you can” and Manson told Watson to “leave a sign, something witchy”. Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to Cielo Drive.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Cielo Drive property, Watson climbed a telephone pole near the gate and cut the phone line to prevent telephone access from the house. At this point it was after midnight, August 9, 1969.
Just then, headlights approached. Watson ordered the women to lie in the bushes. He then stepped out and ordered the approaching driver to halt. Eighteen-year-old student Steven Parent had been visiting the property’s caretaker, William Garretson, who lived in the property’s guest house. Watson first lunged at Parent with a knife, giving him a defensive slash wound on the palm of his hand, then shot him four times in the chest and abdomen.
Steven Parents Car
The group then proceeded to the main house. Watson told Kasabian to keep watch down by the gate. Watson cut the screen of a window and entered through the window, and let Atkins and Krenwinkel in through the front door.
They found Frykowski sleeping on the living room couch. Watson kicked him in the head. When Frykowski asked him who he was and what he was doing there, Watson replied: “I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”
Atkins and Krenwinkel searched the house and found Tate, Sebring and Folger and forced them to the living room. Watson began to tie Tate and Sebring together by their necks with rope and slung the rope up over one of the living room’s ceiling beams. Sebring’s protested to the rough treatment of the pregnant Tate. Watson then shot Sebring and stabbed him seven times.
Abigail Folgers Bedroom at Cielo Drive
Frykowski’s hands had been bound with a towel. Freeing himself, Frykowski began struggling with Atkins, who stabbed at his legs with the knife with which she had been guarding him. As he fought his way toward and out the front door, onto the porch, Watson caught up with Frykowski and struck him over the head with the gun multiple times, stabbed him repeatedly, and shot him twice.
Around this time, Kasabian was drawn up from the driveway by “horrifying sounds”. In an effort to stop the massacre, she falsely told Atkins that someone was coming.
Meanwhile, Folger had escaped from Krenwinkel and fled out a bedroom door to the pool area. Krenwinkel ran after Folger, caught her, stabbed her, and tackled her to the ground. Watson joined Krenwinkel and they stabbed Folger 28 times. In the meantime Frykowski struggled across the lawn. Watson went over to Frykowski and then stabbed him to death. Frykowski was stabbed a total of 51 times.
In the house, Tate pleaded to be allowed to live long enough to have her baby, and even offered herself as a hostage in an attempt to save the life of her unborn child. Susan Atkins told Tate as she begged, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you are having a baby. You are going to die and I don’t feel a thing about it.” At this point either Atkins, Watson, or both killed Tate (testimonies vary). Tate was stabbed 16 times. Watson later wrote that as Tate was being killed, she cried for her mother.
Using the towel that had bound Frykowski’s hands, Atkins wrote “pig” on the house’s front door in Tate’s blood.
Sharon Tate at 10050 Cielo Drive
Michele Morgan at 10050 Cielo Drive
Roman Polanski at Cielo Drive
Roman Polanski at Cielo Drive
In a photo published in Life magazine days after the murders, Roman Polanski sits on the veranda, next to the front door that has been covered with his wife’s blood. According to the photographer, Julian Wasser, Polanski wanted the Polaroid shots to be given to a psychic to track down the then-unknown killers.
Nine Inch Nails “Le Pig” Studio at 10050 Cielo Drive
Nine Inch Nails – The last resident of Cielo Drive
The last resident of the original house was Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Reznor began renting the house in 1992 for a reported $11,000 a month, and set up a recording studio in the house. The studio, dubbed “Pig”, a reference to Susan Atkins writing “Pig” in Tate’s blood on the front door of the house, was the site of recording sessions for most of the Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral. Reznor moved out of the house in December 1993, explaining “there was too much history in that house for me to handle.” Reznor took the front door of the house with him when he moved out and installed it at the New Orleans headquarters of his record label, Nothing Studios, which had been converted from a funeral home.
Demolition of 10050 Cielo Drive
Demolition
In 1994, the original house was demolished. A new house was build on the property called Villa Bella, with a new street address of 10066 Cielo Drive. The owner of the property as of 2013 is Hollywood producer Jeff Franklin.
Sharon Tate With Her Dog Prudence at the Cielo Drive Swimming Pool
Cielo Drive’s Survivors: The Dogs (and cats, a lot of cats)
There were several dogs present at the time of the murders in the Cielo Drive house, most notably Sharon’s Dog Prudence. Roman Polanski bought puppy Prudence for Sharon after Wojciech Frykowski accidentally ran over Sharon’s Yorkshire terrier Sappy on the driveway of Cielo Drive.
After the murders Prudence was adopted by Sharon Tate’s mother and sister. Unfortunately, 10 years after Sharon was murdered, Prudence was killed in a car accident. Debra Tate, Sharon’s sister, accidentally ran over Prudence in the driveway of her parents house.
Fun fact: There was a population of about 26 cats on the Cielo Drive property.
Sharon Tate having fun at Cielo Drive with her dog PrudencePolice Remove Dogs From Cielo Drive. The two puppies Were Found Hiding in a Closet
Debra Tate:
After the murders, police found the two puppies hiding in a closet. “They were scared to death, We took Prudence home and found a home for Tom. I wouldn’t leave him behind.”
The Dog on the right is Rudi Altobelli’s Weimaraner Christopher
Debra Tate:
“I’ve been told that people want to know what happened to Prudence. I accidentally ran over Prudence in my parent’s driveway and killed her. It was awful! I was leaving after a visit, backing out of the driveway and I didn’t realize that she’d run outside. I was twenty six when this happened so it was ten years after Sharon died. So now you know –Prudence is with Sharon.”
Sharon’s Mother Doris Tate Holds then senior Prudence
Sharon Tate with Prudence at Cielo Drive
Cielo Drive Images
Jay Sebrings Porsche and Abigail Folgers Firebird at Cielo Drive
Sharon and Prudence. Notice Abigail Folger’s Salmatier Tom Behind The Chair
Tate Master BedRoom Cielo Drive
Cielo Drive Back Yard
Cielo Drive Swimming Pool
Tate Master BedRoom Cielo Drive
Wojciech Frykowski and Sharon Tate Pregnant
Cielo Drive Guest Room Abigail Folger
Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring at 10050 Cielo Drive
Sharon Tate and Patty Dukes Russian Wolfhound
Tate Cielo Drive Kitchen
Candice Bergen Talks About Living At Cielo Drive (Click To Enlarge)
