* 1934-11-12 in Cincinnati/Ohio
+ 2017-11-19 in Bakersfield/California
Appendix:
Sandra "Sandy" Good (English) - (
Bildervideo)
Virginia "Ginny" Good (English) - (
Bildervideo)
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (German)
-
Charles Manson was an American criminal, guru, artist and assassin.
Famous was the Manson Family, founded by him after the Summer of Love in '67, who made contact with the Californian cultural establishment after phases of wandering life (school bus) and creative activity and in the house of Dennis Wilson (Beach Boys) and then on the Spahn Movie Ranch (Bonanza) settled down.
Many political and cultural activists arrived there as visitors, including Terry Melcher (son of Doris Day), Neil Young, Meat Loaf, Anita Hofman and Cass Elliot.
It is unclear whether and what contacts existed with later murder victims.However, over time, there was a further escalation of mental attitudes, increased drug use,
paranoia, contact with criminal biker gangs, possibly also to satanic cults and a progressive armament.
Manson wanted to turn hippies into "slippies" and start a kind of revolution (Helter Skelter).
He oriented himself to biker gears and Rommel's Afrika Korps.
Manson had stolen Dune Buggies armored (to the "Dune Buggy Attack Battalion")
and other retreats in the desert explored.
He also said he could receive secret messages from backwards played Beatles' albums.
All of this happened before real-world heavy demonstrations and riots in Los Angeles and
other US cities, when entire neighborhoods went up in flames!
This escalation culminated in the assassination of actress Sharon Tate and some of her friends
by the Manson Family and the very next day in the murder of the LaBianca couple.
The Manson Family also killed for drug trafficking and the removal of witnesses.
It is still unclear how many people the family has on their "score" and when they began to kill.
Estimates range from 10 to 40 murders.
So at their former whereabouts there were large-scale corpse searches again and again.
For example in 2008, when tracking dogs struck repeatedly, but no corpses could be found -
but that does not mean anything, because a lot of time has passed and Manson should have buried the bodies deeply.
I. The youth of Charles Manson
Charles Manson was born on 1934-11-12. His father was not present and at war for a few years.
His mother led a restless life as a thief. Maybe she was also a prostitute.
Charles Mansons mother wanted to escape her strict Christian parents.
So Manson grew up with his grandparents or was cared for by other people.
Due to the harassment of his environment, he was renitent at school and eventually came to
so-called "reform schools". In these schools he learned to steal and to use force.
Manson was also influenced by his uncle who was a kind of "Mountain Man".
Although his uncle loved nature, he was also very violent and rejected education as something
belonging to the urban Yankees.
Manson also dealt with spiritual things and learned to manipulate
his social environment.
So Manson had little formal education and his physique was short.
But instead he developed natural intelligence and street smartness.
He developed instincts like an animal, as he once said.
Manson also benefited from a certain musicality, which he acquired as a child at church,
although he otherwise did not believe in going to church.
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| Young Charles Manson |
Charles Manson now entered a vicious circle of crimes and prison sentences. At the end of the 1950s, he was sentenced to prison for forgery and other crimes, which lasted until 1967. The year and the place would later play a major role: Manson was released at the exact moment when the Summer of Love broke out in San Francisco. This would play a major role in his future life.
Before that, he had learned the usual rules and power games in prison from failed World War II participants. He also played a role in mind games and learned to play the guitar from a criminal. This would also play a major role. Manson now considered his prison environment to be his family and only left prison reluctantly.
II. Formation of the Manson Family
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Kathryn Lutesinger, Sandra Good;
Ruth Moorehouse, Lynette Fromme, Nancy Pitman |
When Manson got caught up in the Summer of Love, he initially met young women by chance who wanted to escape middle-class life. Manson - who hardly saw any women during his long prison sentence - was now happy to have a family again. The new group grew larger and Manson gradually allowed men to join in so that he could protect the group.
The group hung around the area for a while until Charles Manson swapped his VW bus and other belongings for a black school bus. The emerging family, which was actually only called that later, drove through California in this bus, which later became famous. It was comfortably furnished inside.
They practiced drug use and free love, so that some of the women became pregnant.
But Manson wanted more. Although he didn't have a good education, he had an instinct for the situation and a certain musical talent. He dreamed of making contacts in the film or music industry and thus becoming famous and moving up the social ladder. This goal proved difficult, but Manson and his group were not entirely unsuccessful.
Today we can no longer reconstruct in detail how Manson went about it. He probably had loose contacts with some filmmakers and musicians. He often used his wives as decoys. He may also have worked as a prostitute himself.
It is known, however, that he made contact with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys through his wives. This went so far that the group even stayed at his house for a while after returning from their trip to California. Wilson agreed to work on studio recordings with Manson. However, the group's life continued to be very chaotic. Wilson's house - the site of sex and drug orgies - soon looked run down, cars donated by the music industry were wrecked, and record collections and prizes were stolen and sold off.
III.
Establishment at the Spahn Movie Ranch
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| Spahn Movie Ranch |
The Family looked for a new home. Some women arranged for the Spahn Movie Ranch, a film ranch where only the occasional film was shot. Charles Manson offered to help the old cowboy George Spahn with the ranch work. The women of the Family also looked after his health (presumably also sexually). In return, they were allowed to live on the Spahn Ranch.
There, the Family initially played various games, which then drifted into increasingly obscure rituals. These rituals were influenced by religion, psychology or pseudo-psychology, Asian mysticism and occultism. Manson increasingly became a guru. He increasingly concocted his own ideology, described himself as Jesus and Satan in one, and studied historical revolutionaries, but also Adolf Hitler ("Hymie"). Animal sacrifices may also have taken place, at least some animal remains suggest this. It is unclear whether ritual murders also took place on the ranch.
Excessive drug use also played a role in this development. In addition to natural drugs such as cannabis, mushrooms and belladonna, LSD and speed were also taken. These drugs led to an expansion of consciousness, but also to a distortion of consciousness. Speed increased motivation, but also made people uncontrolled and paranoid. In any case, the drugs reinforced the general trend towards escalation.
The Spahn Ranch with the Manson Family apparently became an increasingly well-known meeting point in the cultural scene. Many actors, activists, musicians and other artist groups visited at the time - including a large number of the celebrities of the late 1960s. After the escalation of events, quite a few of them no longer wanted to know anything about their initial interest!
It is no longer possible to say exactly who came and went at the Spahn Ranch.
But some names are known:
- Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys)
- Terry Melcher (Sohn von Doris Day)
- Neil Young (u. a. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
- Meat Loaf (singer, long career)
- Jim Morrison (The Doors)
- Cass "Mama Cass" Elliot (The Mamas and the Papas)
- Anita Hoffman (spouse of political activist Abbi Hoffman)
- Deirdre Lansbury (daughter of Angela Lansbury)
- one daughter of Dean Martin
The group dynamic continued:
In addition to cultural figures, the Manson Family made contact with other important groups of people. At one point, they had connections to various biker groups such as the Hells Angels and smaller groups such as the Straight Satans and the Satan's Slaves. These also played a role in drug trafficking and in the enforcement of interests.
It is also suspected that there were connections to various cults. These included Scientology, perhaps also The Process Church of the Final Judgement, a then-famous Scientology offshoot, and possibly Satanists around Anton Szandor LaVey. Bruce Davis in particular is said to have had contacts with Scientology and perhaps The Process. Bobby Beausoleil and Susan Atkins had contacts with LaVey.
The Manson Family also had connections to other countercultural groups. This included the Lyman Family under Mel Lyman, to whom the actors Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin (film: Zabriskie Point) were close at times. Although the Manson and Lyman families fought together for certain goals, they were also competitors and violently poached followers from each other.
The significance of The Process (Church) in connection with the Manson Family is still disputed today. Some see any connections as an absurd conspiracy fantasy, others see them as proven and even as the core of the later escalation. The Process was initially a psycho cult from England that split off from Scientology, which then spread to Mexico (Xtul/Yucatan) and the USA, developed its own theology and maintained several branches. In the process, it is said to have drifted into satanism and criminality. People believed in the fourfold nature of Christ - God/Jehovah - Lucifer - Satan.
It is unclear whether The Process is also the root of potentially criminal groups such as "Circe - Order of Dog Blood" and the "4 π Movement". At least the latter is associated with various ritual murders (including with the serial killer Son of Sam alias David Berkowitz).
Authors such as Vincent Bugliosi and especially Ed Sanders point to connections between The Process and the Manson Family. The theologies certainly have similarities. The Process countered legally.
In any case, an explosive mixture came together at the Spahn Ranch. They influenced each other on a cult level, but also traded in stolen items (receiving stolen goods) and illegal drugs.
The family was able to finance itself in this way, but became more and more entangled in organized crime.
More and more stolen cars turned up at the Spahn Ranch, which were then made roadworthy again by a few experienced mechanics from the family's circle.
The Manson Family also received part of its income from wealthy members such as the banker's daughter Sandra Good from San Diego.
To strengthen the group dynamic, Manson regularly played games of various kinds: During the "Garbage Run" he sent his girls out to secure relatively well-preserved food from supermarket garbage cans. During the "Creepy Crawling" the family broke into apartments in the area at night, moved furniture and stole valuables.
Garbage Run
They also looked for new places to live. In addition to the Spahn Ranch, they also scouted out the Barker Ranch and the Myers Ranch, which were further out into the desert towards Death Valley. On cold winter days, the Family also moved into a yellow house, which Manson named the Yellow Submarine.
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| The Ramrodder (flogging |
.jpg) |
| The Ramrodder (right: Catherine Share) |
For a while, the Family could be described as established: They recorded their own songs and were involved in small film projects, at least through some of their members. One or two songs even made it onto the Beach Boys album 20/20, but the lyrics were changed and Manson's name was only mentioned in passing. This really offended the self-proclaimed bohemian.
Small films were shot at the Spahn Movie Ranch, such as The Female Bunch and The Ramrodder. They were part of the trend of exploitation and sexploitation movies at the time and glorified rebellion combined with cowboy life on a ranch.
In the second film mentioned, The Ramrodder, some members of the Family were able to act themselves: most notably Catherine "Gypsie" Share and Bobby "Cupid" Beausoleil.
The Manson Family may also have made private film recordings with sexual content. But this can no longer be proven today.
Some family members had already had contacts with the Satanist scene. Susan Atkins had danced for the Satanist leader Anton Szandor LaVey in his shows, Bobby Beausoleil played in "Invocation Of My Demon Brother" and later worked on the project "Lucifer Rising". Both films were directed by Kenneth Anger. Mick Jagger also worked on the first, his wife Marianne Faithfull and his brother Chris Jagger on the second. Beausolei's early contacts with the music scene were through Haight-Ashbury and a house called the "Russian Embassy".
Catherine Share was musically gifted and sang songs like "Ain't it, Babe" as Charity Shayne.
The Manson Family had a few dozen permanent members, but if you add the number of those who were occasionally found on the ranch, you get over 100:
Men in the Family:
- Edward Arthur Bailey (Ed)
- Lawrence Edward Bailey (Little Larry)
- Robert Kenneth Beausoleil (Bobby, Cupid)
- Daniel Thomas de Carlo (Danny)
- Kenneth Daniel Como (Jesse Jones, Curly)
- Bruce McGregor Davis
- Juan Flynn (John Leo)
- Steven Dennis Grogan (Clem)
- John Phillip Haught (Zero, Jesus, Christopher Jesus)
- Brooks Ramsey Poston
- Charles Allen Lovett (Chuck, Chuckleberry)
- Dennis Rice (Fatherman)
- Thomas Walleman (T. J. the Terrible)
- Paul Allen Watkins (Little Paul)
- Charles Denton Watson (Tex)
Women in the Family:
- Susan Atkins (Sadie)
- Ella Jo Bailey (Yellerstone, Yeller)
- Susan Phyllis Bartell (Country Sue)
- Mary Theresa Brunner (Mother Mary)
- Sherry Ann Cooper (Sherry, Simi Valley Sherry)
- Madaline Joan Cottage (Little Patty, Linda Baldwin)
- Lynette Fromme (Squeaky)
- Catherine Gillies (Cappy)
- Sandra Good (Sandy, Blue)
- Leslie van Houten (Lulu)
- Barbara Hoyt
- Linda Kasabian (Yana the Witch)
- Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel (Katie)
- Diana Lake (Snake)
- Kathryn Rene Lutesinger (Kitty)
- Ruth Ann Moorehouse (Ouish)
- Susan Murphy
- Nancy Laura Pitman (Brenda McCann)
- Barbara Rosenberg (Bo, Rainbow)
- Stephanie Jean Schram (-)
- Catherine Share (Gypsy)
- Lori Walleman (Ansom 13)
Excursus:
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Peace Symbol
|
The actions of the Manson Family must be seen against the backdrop of the Summer of Love '67 and the counter culture.
At that time, a generation was growing up that was born after the Second World War and no longer completely agreed with the values of their parents. But that does not mean that all young people were oppositional.
The conflicts over civil rights with demonstrations and racial unrest and over the Vietnam War escalated in the 1960s.
California and San Francisco were a focal point for the protest movements, although not the only one. The reasons may lie in the pleasant climate, the historic buildings in San Francisco, the previous alternative cultures of beatniks and hipsters and other factors.
The counterculture, as the opposition movements were called - probably after a book by Theodore Roszak - was diverse. Today we often think of hippies, i.e. flower children who demonstrate for peace. Back then, however, there was a diverse opposition culture: In addition to hippies, rockers became widespread in the scene. They were actually politically right-wing and had already emerged after the Second World War, but identified with the music and lifestyle of the counterculture. In addition, several cults with psychological and religious content emerged, ranging from harmless esocults to dangerous satanic sects. In San Francisco, in addition to Scientology, there was also The Process, the Children of God, the Church of Satan and Szandor LaVey and other groups.
Structurally, you also have to see that when people leave bourgeois society and flock to places like Haight Ashbury in San Francisco, these masses of people also need to be cared for. And in addition to accepting donations, drug dealing, theft and prostitution were available. Combined with the intensive drug consumption, the mood in San Francisco changed very quickly after the Summer of Love. In addition to mind-expanding drugs like LSD, the hippies also took speed, which can make them overexcited and paranoid.
In addition, the unresolved racial conflicts and the ongoing Vietnam War made the old social order seem obsolete and for many people a revolution became inevitable. Political hopefuls such as Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated in 1968. A dangerous mixture of apocalyptic sentiment, drug overconsumption and revolutionary romanticism emerged.
IV. Escalation of violence
The political violence surrounding the Manson Family escalated in the summer of 1969. It is not clear whether there had been more serious crimes before then, apart from theft.
The extensive drug trade meant that there were inevitable disputes with dealers.
Tex Watson tried to rob the black drug dealer Bernard "Lotsapoppa" Crowe of his drug wages. Crowe took revenge by threatening members of the Family. Charles Manson had to help Watson and shot Bernard Crowe. The news later reported the murder of a Black Panther. This led Manson to believe, firstly, that he had killed Crowe and, secondly, that he had taken on the Black Panther Party. This led Manson to feel even more threatened and to push forward the arming of his Family.
Manson also dealt with rocker groups such as the Straight Satans. The drug material he sold to them came from musician and sociologist Gary Hinman, who produced it in his house.
Manson also offered the rockers women from his family. But many of them wanted to move on. Only Danny Di Carlo stayed longer.
One time the rockers complained about bad material and wanted their money back. When Bobby Beausoleil didn't know what to do, Di Carlo gave him a gun and asked him to settle the case. Bobby Beausoleil, Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner then visited the musician in his house. Charles Manson joined them later when the argument escalated. He was accompanied by Bruce Davis and possibly Clem Grogan.
The Family wanted to force Hinman to hand over the money from the drug deal. It may also have been about an inheritance. The musician, who had actually planned to go on a Buddhist trip to Japan, was now held captive and tortured in his own house. However, he refused to give in.
Manson was then called for help, and he cut half of Hinman's face open with a saber. It is unclear whether this was meant as a threat or whether Hinman opened the door to Manson and Manson mistakenly believed he had freed himself. In any case, Hinman was further tortured and ultimately murdered.
In order to cover up the trail, members of the Family painted Black Panther symbols on the wall.
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Gary Hinman
|
Hinman was a sociologist, musician, doctoral student, hippie and probably also a drug dealer.
When a deal involving bad drugs went wrong, Rocker and the family felt left out and wanted to pressure Hinman to pay back the money. The days of torture ended in death.
But Hinman's murder did not go unnoticed. Beausoleil, who was under the influence of drugs, was found sleeping in Hinman's stolen car on the side of the road and arrested on suspicion of murder. The other family members now felt compelled to act. And so the catastrophe took its course.
Manson suggested that they had to stand up for a captured "brother". But he had long dreamed of a final battle against the establishment, which he called "Helter Skelter" after a Beatles song. He also had great resentment because he felt he was not recognized as an artist.
All of this must be seen against the backdrop of serious political riots and a revolutionary end-time mood at the time. In 1965, 34 people were killed and many injured in race riots in Watts, LA; after the death of Martin Luther King, many cities burned and the protests against the Vietnam War were just culminating.
Charles Manson planned the following course of action: He had been observing the villas of celebrities in wealthy neighborhoods for some time and now wanted to raid them. He benefited from the fact that he had just helped Charles Watson in a drug conflict, and in his view, the man still owed him something.
Manson then sent a group of his followers, led by Watson, to raid Roman Polanski's property at 10050 Cielo Drive. The property belonged to Rudi Altobelli, but was rented by Roman Polanski and his pregnant wife Sharon Tate. There were other employees and occasional guests present.
Some authors claim that Manson actually wanted to meet Terry Melcher, a producer for the Beach Boys, who had owned the house a few months earlier. But it is likely that Manson learned on an earlier visit that the tenants had changed. But it may have been the symbol of the music establishment for him.
Since the Manson raids were often staged in a satanic manner and Tate and Polanski played with satanic film themes and both groups were involved with drugs, the press later speculated that both were involved in the satanic and drug world and asked whether there were any connections between Manson and Tate/Polanski. However, these theories are speculative and have not yet been proven.
On the night of August 8th to 9th, 1969, Manson sent Tex Watson as the leader, Lynda Kasabian as the driver, and Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel as backup for Tex Watson.
Manson himself did not come along. He only gave the order "Do what Tex says!"
It is disputed whether he later returned to the crime scene with other Family members and prepared or rearranged some things.
When the hit team arrived, the technician Steven Parent was just about to leave the property. He was shot in his car. Tex and the women watched the house and cut the telephone wires.
In the house were Sharon Tate, her ex-boyfriend Jay Sebring (actor and celebrity hairdresser), Vojtech Frykowski (writer), and Abigail Folger (heiress to the coffee empire).
Tex Watson sneaked around the property and opened a window for the women from the inside. Then they attacked with firearms and long knives. Drugs may have been involved.
Tex Watson entered the living room with the surprised guests with the sentence: "I'm the devil and I'm here to do the devil's work!" (often quoted in this or a similar way).
The members of the party were first rounded up and then shot, stabbed or had their throats cut. The attack was obviously intended to appear satanic. As in the attack on the house of the musician Hinman, supposed traces of the Black Panthers were left behind: Pig was written in blood on the door.
Sharon Tate begged for the life of her already well-developed unborn child. The perpetrators briefly considered whether to take the baby, but then they stabbed her.
Abigail Folger and Voyteck Frykowsky tried to escape and were then executed in the garden. Sebring fought back - he had taken karate lessons - and tried to stand up for Sharon Tate. Then he too was massacred. Police officers were later able to tell from the cut marks on his forearms.
The housekeeper, William Garretson, apparently did not notice the massacre. He was a friend of Steven Parent and was initially arrested by the police on suspicion of murder, but was then released.
The bodies were discovered by the housekeeper the next day of the murder. Police officers found Tate and Sebring hanging from the same rope, as if on a seesaw. It remains unclear to this day whether the main perpetrators staged it that way or whether Manson did visit the crime scene and altered it.
Some statements by the perpetrators indicate that the rope was not used in the first attack. Horn-rimmed glasses were also found at the crime scene, but could not be identified.
Interestingly, none of the neighbors noticed the carnage. The police and observers put this down to ignorance or distraction by other sources of noise.
When the news of the successful hit at the Spahn Ranch arrived, the Family erupted in celebration. However, Manson is said to have been upset by the loud execution of the crime.
Voyteck Frykowski, Sharon Tate, Steve Parent, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger
Sharon Tate with a rope around her neck
The very next day, the Manson followers attacked again. This time, the business couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were their victims. They lived at 3301 Waverly Drive. This time, the perpetrators were Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Leslie van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel. Manson was present at the scene because he thought the attack the day before was too wild and too loud. However, he stayed in the background and left no fingerprints. Clem Grogan may also have been present.
Manson later withdrew and planned another attack with Susan Atkins and Linda Kasabian, namely on the actor Saladin Nader.
It is not entirely clear why this target was chosen. The contemporary Spiegel wrote that Manson was disturbed by a motorboat trailer standing in the way while cruising in his car. But it is also possible that he chose the location because the Family had celebrated at neighbor Harold True's house the year before.
The perpetrators broke into the LaBiancas' property, but did not threaten to kill them. Instead, they demanded that the victims lie on the floor so that they could tie them up. They then made themselves comfortable and helped themselves to the refrigerator. Later, however, they completed their crime and stabbed the victims lying on the floor or on the bed until they were dead. The victims' cutlery was also used. Again, political slogans were smeared on the walls or furniture or scratched into the victims (War, He(a)lter Skelter, Rise, pigs).
Leno und Rosemary LaBianca (below with daughter Suzan, left)
The next planned murder of actor Saladin Nader failed. Apparently, Linda Kasabian didn't dare to carry out the murder shortly before reaching her goal.
In any case, the family members returned to the ranch and were happy about their successful coup.
But the joy was short-lived, because on August 16, 1969, the ranch was suddenly hit by a major police raid. The police surrounded the property with massive forces and arrested most of those present. However, the reason for the raid was not the previous massacre, but a series of car thefts and other crimes that were blamed on the Manson Family. So the family was lucky in their misfortune. In addition, the police had made formal errors during their major operation and the prisoners had to be released.
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| Charles Manson is taken away |
Nevertheless, Manson was plotting revenge: He suspected - probably rightly - that the Family had been denounced to the police by ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea. Shea served as the right-hand man on the ranch of the aging George Spahn, but also tried his hand as an actor and stuntman. He had obviously been disturbed by the Manson Family's appearance on several occasions, while Manson, conversely, was disturbed by his relationship with a black woman. The name "Shorty" was meant ironically, because Shea was very tall.
At the same time, the tactically adept Manson was planning another retreat of the Family towards Death Valley. The Barker Ranch and other areas had become the target of Manson and his followers.
But first Donald Shea had to leave: He was lured into a car ride under a pretext and then beaten in the car to paralyze him. The perpetrators were Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Bruce Davis and Clem Grogan. He was then dragged out and tied up. What happened next is not clear in detail. Shea was probably tortured and put on display in the presence of many of Manson's women. Deep cuts are said to have been made in his body. The claim that he was cut into pieces could not be confirmed by later discoveries. It is possible that the women then gave him oral sex before he was - and this is certain - beheaded.
His body was buried and was only found years later.
Donald "Shorty" Shea
The big and strong "Shorty" was considered a snitch (traitor) and had to be eliminated.
The women are said to have sung and given him oral pleasure while he was tortured with cutting weapons and finally beheaded in order to reach the "Final Now".
When moving to the Barker Ranch, the Family had to repair their remaining, aging vehicles. At the same time, Manson made the mistake of setting fire to a construction vehicle that was blocking the trek. This put the police back on the Family's trail.
In the Barker Ranch, the Family was even more cut off from civilization. Manson had already scouted out the ranch at the end of 1968 and had also taken a look at the neighboring Myers Ranch. It belonged to Arlene Barker, the grandmother of Family member Catherine Gillies. In November 1968, Manson gave her a gold record by the Beach Boys in exchange for usage rights. Since the Family did not have enough money to buy the ranch, the plan was supposedly to liquidate Arlene Barker. This plan only failed because of a flat tire.
Gillies, a former groupie of the Buffalo Springfield group, is said to have also expressed a desire to take part in the raids on the Tate-LaBianca houses, but was no longer needed.
Manson himself became increasingly paranoid and violent in the desert. There were several attacks on Family members. At the same time, he increasingly fantasized about a final battle with the establishment and is said to have imagined holes in the ground as entrances to hell. His megalomaniac plan was supposedly to gather thousands of opposition members from California in the desert. There he wanted to prepare them for the counterattack under his leadership. He allegedly wanted to build a "Dune Buggy Attack Battalion" from the stolen dune buggies, some of which he had armed and armored. Some observers also believe that Manson had to let the situation escalate psychologically in order to keep his followers on board. There were also some former sympathizers who, despite the brainwashing, toyed with thoughts of escape and then - when these became known - were threatened with death.
Manson's followers also increasingly practiced the use of weapons. In addition to the knife training they had been doing for a while, they also improved their shooting skills.
But all this planning could not prevent the police from launching a new raid on October 10-12, 1969, during which they also eliminated the guards hired by Manson without killing anyone. However, some objects in the buildings were shot to pieces.
This time it was again about car theft and vandalism. The Manson Family had done themselves no favors by their violent treatment of other people's property and by threatening individual police officers.
The police investigation into the murders - not the car thefts - was inconclusive. The various police teams involved in the Tate and LaBianca murders did not work well together and for a long time refused to recognize any connection between the two crimes.
It was only over time that suspicions began to mount due to dropouts such as Kitty Lutesinger and Danny de Carlo. The breakthrough came from Susan Atkins, who talked and raved about her crimes too loudly in prison. Some of the cellmates then considered whether they should go to the police with this information, especially since Atkins reported further murder plans. Ronnie Howard and Virginia Graham then decided to reveal themselves to the police, but were initially prevented by disbelief and bureaucratic mentality. Eventually, however, the case got rolling.
The police now began to investigate intensively in the right direction. At the same time, a boy found a murder weapon. The prosecution was led by the ambitious prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. One of his assistants was Stephen Kay. The initial defendants were Charles Manson himself, Susan Atkins, Leslie van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel.
To the outside world, the Manson trial became a huge show. It also became one of the most expensive trials in Californian history. As a result of the hippie era and political upheaval, it attracted maximum attention from international media, locals and tourists.
The defendants faced the death penalty.
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Protesting Manson followers in front of the courthouse
(Nancy Pitman, Sandra Good, Kathryn Lutesinger, Catherine Gillies) |
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A reporter interviews protesting Manson followers.
(Names see above; UCLA video, published later) |
While the prosecutor brought out the big guns, the defense attorneys also prepared for the big battle. Charles Manson was initially supposed to be defended by Ronald Hughes, but then decided on Irving Kanarek, who was known for dragging out court proceedings with shows, sophistry and long speeches.
But Manson also pulled his own strings: He tried to persuade the women to take responsibility for the crimes. Dissidents or witnesses were intimidated. Manson still had many followers inside and outside the prison walls. Some of them regularly stood guard in front of the courthouse. Women in particular sang for him.
Manson tried to play the "psycho guru" during the trial. He stared at his opponents and even broke free once to jump at the judge. The police officers present were able to stop him just before he reached his goal.
At one point, Manson carved an X into his forehead. Many followers followed suit. Then he had his hair shaved and turned the X into a swastika. This was also imitated by some.
A former follower of the Family, Barbara Hoyt, who had become acquainted with Manson's aggressiveness in the desert and, unlike the other followers, was horrified by the murders, now also wanted to testify. However, she was lured to Hawaii by two followers under a pretext and poisoned there with a burger containing LSD. Under this impression, Hoyt ran several blocks until she was stopped by passers-by and taken to a hospital. She survived the attack and now decided even more to testify.
Leslie van Houten's lawyer, Ronald Hughes, was hit even harder. Hughes, who was initially supposed to defend Manson, now tried to persuade his client not to take all of Manson's blame. Manson cursed him in court for this.
Hughes then disappeared and was only found dead months later. It turned out that he had died on a hiking trip. It could not be determined whether it was a murder or an accident. In any case, his disappearance is suspicious at this time, especially since he was accompanied by a young married couple, James Forsher and Lauren Elder. It was speculated that this couple, or at least the woman, was identical to Manson followers James and Lauren Willett, who were both later killed. However, the area was so badly affected by a storm at the time that an accident is also conceivable.
The real pitfall for the Manson Family, however, was their driver, Linda Kasabian. Bugliosi managed to persuade Kasabian to testify about the murders in return for a reduced sentence. The Family was thus confronted with a first-hand witness. The lawyers' attempts to discredit the witness because of her drug use and the influence of the investigators also failed.
At the end of the long trial, all of the defendants were sentenced to death in the gas chamber. A similar fate befell Tex Watson and Bruce Davis, whose trials took place later.
The last-ditch rescue for the delinquents came when the Supreme Court of California abolished the death penalty shortly after the trial. They were now sentenced to life imprisonment and had the chance of parole after a certain period of time. This, however, attracted the attention of members of the victims' families, who tried to use political influence to set the hurdles for parole as high as possible and thus prevent their release.
VI. After the trial
Following the trial, there was speculation about further murders that were said to have taken place before, during or after the trial. Some are considered almost certain, others are only suspected.
This view is based on statements from investigators such as Bugliosi, but also from members of the family such as Sandra Good.
In 1977, the murder of Donald "Shorty" Shea was solved. His body was found headless.
List of possible additional murders:
1. Nancy Warren and Cilda Delaney (1968-10-13)
2. Marina Habe (1968-12-30)
3. Darwin Scott (1969-05-27); an uncle of Manson
4. Mark Walts (1969-06-17)
5. Suzanne Scott (Susan Scott?)/"Jane Doe" (=
unknown person) (1969-06)
=> in between there were the Tate-LaBianca massacres
6. John "Jesus" Haught (1969-11-05);
allegedly died playing Russian roulette
7. Sherry Cooper/"Jane Doe" (1969-11-16)
8. James Sharp und Doreen Gaul (1969-11-21); Scientology
9. Joel Pugh (1969-12-01); spouse Sandra Good
10. Ronald Hughes (ca. 1970-11);
lawyer of Leslie van Houten)
11.
Miscellaneous: Karl Stubbs, Fillippo Tennerelli...
Sandra "Blue" Good and Lynette "Red" Fromme
After his conviction, Charles Manson needed protection in prison and negotiated with the Aryan Brotherhood (AB) for this. In return, his female followers supported the AB members in freedom (including sexually).
The prisoner organization Aryan Brotherhood was founded in the 1960s as a counterweight to the imprisoned Black Panthers. Behind prison walls, America's old racial segregation still existed.
Sandra Good, Lynette Fromme, Nancy Pitman and Catherine Share in particular now became Manson's supporters from outside, in conjunction with AB members. However, the new group constellation also created competition for Manson, as AB members tend to be very power-conscious.
Manson later distanced himself from the Aryan Brotherhood again, probably because he refused to kill a black person in prison.
But Charles Manson remained influential. During their visits, the women not only smuggled messages and items such as weapons into and out of prison for him and the Aryan Brotherhood, but also received suggestions from him for further political actions.
The initial focus was on Manson's release, but later (see below) also on ecological actions.
In 1971, a raid by Manson Family and AB members on a gun shop in Hawthorne failed (Hawthorne Shooting). The police officers who arrived managed to incapacitate the attackers. The group's alleged plan was to use the weapons to hijack a jumbo jet and thus force Manson's release. Allegedly, if the state did not give in, a passenger would be shot every hour.
Rival groups such as the Lyman Family also planned rescue attempts. A helicopter was considered. Lynette Fromme told the journalist Paul Krassner about this.
In November 1972, the next (verifiable) act of violence occurred, the Stockton Massacre. A group of Manson and AB followers killed a young couple in Stockton who were friends: James and Lauren Willet. The motive is unclear, but it may have been to eliminate witnesses. The couple, or at least Lauren Willet, was also linked to the death of van Houten's lawyer Ronald Hughes in late 1970.
In 1978, two AB members were found shot dead, at least one of whom was connected to the Stockton Massacre.
In 1973, a documentary was made about the Manson Family. Remaining followers, former followers and investigators were given the opportunity to speak. Many followers could still be found on the ranch grounds. Participants included: Lynette Fromme, Sandra Good, Nancy Pitman, Mary Brunner, Bruce Davis, Clem Grogan, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi and others. Women who were in prison with Susan Atkins and who ultimately helped solve the murder cases also had their say.
The film was directed by Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick. The latter was shot by an unknown assailant in 1977. The music was by Brooks Poston and Paul Watkins from the Family (!).
The film became famous, among other things, for a scene in which three women from the gang posed with weapons and threatened informants:
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| The film "Manson" (1973): Nancy Pitman, Lynette Fromme and Sandra Good;
the three women were among Manson's most radical followers;
Lynette Fromme even pointed a gun at President Ford in 1975! |
But these were not the only events after the Manson trial. Sandra Good gave several interviews to the media in which she spoke of a war in which deaths occur. She described the prisoners as "good soldiers" and drew comparisons with Vietnam. Other famous statements include "Los Angeles will burn to the ground" and "your children will rise up and kill you". The revolting children are a reflection of society.In the interviews at that time - as well as in later ones - she also described the murders in such a way that they had taken place in a revolutionary mood, but were not primarily intended for a Helter Skelter, as Vincent Bugliosi claims, but rather as a response to the arrest of Bobby Beausoleil. The idea of such a diversionary act was to get a "brother" out of prison.
In her interviews, Sandra Good also revealed some information about her family background. She compared the camaraderie that Manson preached with her father's attitudes, while at the same time saying that she was now at the point where she could kill her mother. Her mother got wind of the interview and expressed her horror in an interview of her own.
Sandra Good came from a wealthy but internally shattered family of bankers. Her father left home early after an argument with her mother, who then acted out her neuroses on her three daughters. She once arranged for her daughter to have dinner with the future lawyer Stephen Kay, who was considered ambitious and would later play a major role alongside Bugliosi in the prosecution of Charles Manson. In court, he reacted embarrassedly to Good's reference to the early meeting at school.
Sandra Good also always had health problems with her respiratory system and almost died as a child. This did not seem to have affected her mother particularly. She was more concerned with social status.
The middle sister Ginny Good also rebelled against the system, joined the hippie movement early on and met bands such as The Charlatans and Jefferson Airplane. One of her friends, Gérard Jones, later wrote the book "Ginny Good" about her. However, Ginny Good died of a drug overdose in 1982.
Ginny Good, Sandra Good's sister
Despite their highly acclaimed interviews, the remaining followers of the Family were now under pressure:
Under the leadership of Lynette Fromme, they wanted to show that the Manson Family still existed and could act politically and strike. This desire was possibly fueled by the waning media attention. The core group was Lynette Fromme, Sandra Good and Nancy Pitman until the latter also moved away.
The lethargy was ended by Charles Manson himself, with whom women were regularly in contact via secret messages.
Around 1974, he initiated the "Ecokill" campaign. The followers who remained in Sacramento were to devote themselves radically to environmental protection and, contrary to the previously permissive life, to move around in nun-like robes and live a modest life. Lynette Fromme and Sandra Good walked through the city in long robes and warned of an impending ecological catastrophe. At the same time, they threatened violence against industrial plants.
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| Lynette "Red" Fromme |
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| Sandra "Blue" Good |
Manson's ideas are also connected to the founding of the Order of the Rainbow to protect the world's environment. Manson's female followers were each assigned a color. Sandra Good, for example, was "Blue" because of her blue eyes and Lynette Fromme was "Red" because of her red hair. The female followers suddenly wore nun's clothes and lived a much more disciplined life than they had during their time on the ranch.In addition, the environmental protection organization Air, Tree, Water, Animals (ATWA), which is still active today, was founded, as was the International Court for Redistribution (ICRD). The people behind the ICRD were mainly Sandra Good and Lynette Fromme, as well as some AB supporters. The aim of such organizations was to attack politicians and business leaders who were held responsible for environmental pollution, but also informants in their own ranks.
To put this into context, it is important to realize that the late 60s and early 70s were a time of political upheaval and many dubious-sounding "guerrilla organizations" were founded, such as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).
Sandra Good and Lynette Fromme did not just make announcements. They sent threatening letters to politicians and managers and made threatening phone calls in which they disguised their voices (e.g. with a German accent). At that time, calls could not be monitored so well.
The US government under Nixon and then Ford also received threatening letters.
The women also liked to allude to the Tate-LaBianca murders with terms such as "hacking" and "cleaver". The modest press reaction may have been a reason for the subsequent escalation of events.
In 1975, Fromme learned that US President Gerald Ford would be visiting her hometown.
She obtained a Colt M1911 pistol (.45 caliber) from her "sugar daddy" Harold "Manny" Boro. Sandra Good or other participants may also have been involved. This could not be proven later.On September 5, 1975, Fromme aimed at the president in Capitol Park in Sacramento, but no shot was fired. Mrs. Fromme was able to be overpowered by security forces present. During the subsequent investigation, it remained unclear whether Lynette Fromme had acted with murderous intent. There were apparently four cartridges in the magazine, but the weapon was not loaded. In the subsequent trial, however, the court classified the attack as attempted murder and sentenced Fromme to a long prison sentence. Fromme, on the other hand, claimed that they only wanted to protect the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens).Although Fromme's attack was repelled, the actions of the security authorities were partly considered a failure. The services had potentially dangerous political groups from the left and right extremist spectrum under observation, but not the remnants of the Manson Family.
The failed attack on Ford did not leave the remaining Manson followers alone. Shortly after the attack - in which no involvement could be proven - Good gave a radio interview on CBC in which she first took on the presenter Barbara Frum and then threatened a "wave of assassins" against environmental pollution and forest dieback. After the presenter refused to be provoked and continued to mock Good, she hung up.But Sandra Good quickly struck again: On September 11, 1975, she handed over a list of about 70 people from the worlds of business and politics who were on death row, but the FBI then handed this list over to the FBI.Good was indicted along with new Manson follower Susan Murphy in December 1975, found guilty on all counts in March 1976, and sentenced to 15 years in prison in April.
Barbara Frum (Radio interview with Sandra Good)
In the following period, Manson's followers split into loyalists and "renegades" who had renounced him.The Tate murderers Watson, Atkins, van Houten and Krenwinkel renounced the Manson ideology. Watson even became a priest and subsequently fathered many children.
Fromme, Good and some others, however, remained loyal to Manson.Others wavered between pro and con or, like Catherine Share, remained loyal for many years and then turned away from him.
Good and Fromme also made headlines in prison.
In 1979, Lynette Fromme clashed with fellow inmate Julienne Busic, a Croatian nationalist and airplane hijacker, and attacked her with a hammer.
Sandra Good remained in prison until December 1985, where she was sent for making death threats to managers.
Clem Grogan was also released in the same year. The Manson follower, who had been convicted of murder, was lucky that the judge thought he was stupid and therefore did not believe he was capable of planning the murder.
After her release, Sandra Good was not allowed to visit California for some time. Instead, she moved to Vermont and continued to devote herself to environmental activism. In 1989, she was exposed by journalists (she was living under a different name), but she gave several interviews.In the 1990s, she appeared on several talk shows, including one with Ron Reagan, the son of US President Ronald Reagan. She was accompanied by her then boyfriend George Stimson. Both of them also set up a website about ATWA for a while.
Sandra Good in a talk show hosted by Ron Reagan
(Ron Reagan is a son of President Reagan)
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| Sandra Good on the Bertice Berry Show
(with satanist Manson followers and opponents) |
With the exception of Clem Grogan, most of the Manson followers convicted of murder remained in prison. Their requests for clemency were rejected. The activism of Sharon Tate's mother and other relatives of the murder victims also played a role in this.But that doesn't mean that Manson's followers remained inactive in prison. Charles Manson and Bobby Beausoleil continued to make music and engage in artistic activities. Later, some of the prisoners also maintained websites, which are very interesting as a source - even if often one-sided.
The media response to Charles Manson and his family continued to be great, even though victims' associations often complained about this. Charles Manson's songs were covered by the band Guns 'n Roses and Marilyn Manson, among others.
The police, however, did not close the Manson case. In 2008, for example, the ranches were searched with sniffer dogs. The dogs barked, but no bodies were found.
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| Lynette Fromme hits the cameraman of INSIDE edition after her release.
The sticker on her car read: "Proud Born Again Pagan". |
Lynette Fromme remained in prison until August 2009, when she was released after more than 30 years in prison.When Fromme was released, teams of reporters ambushed her and found her in a Wal-Mart parking lot with another released ex-convict, as she angrily swung at the camera.On the van they were traveling in was a sticker that read "Proud Born Again Pagan," a reference to the conservative sticker "Proud Born Again Christian."
Susan Atkins died shortly afterwards in September 2009 from a brain tumor. Despite her serious illness, she was denied release.
In the same year, Sandra Good is said to have reconciled with her family after many years apart. However, it is said that she never completely renounced him. There was also some disagreement between Manson and her because she was marketing products made by him. However, things are said to have settled down and she continues to support him. However, these are only rumors that are coming from people close to those involved and cannot be verified with certainty.
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| Sandra Good on a mule (www.gpsjr.com) |
To be continued (probably) ...
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