The Mammoth Book of Celebrity Murders (44 page)

In memory of the music and life of John Lennon, the city of New York selected an area of Central Park, just over two acres, and gave it the name “Strawberry Fields” after
Lennon’s song of the same name. It is adjacent to the spot outside the Dakota where he was slain.

For many people the middle months of 1969 were the summer of love. On the east coast of the United States, Bethel, in upstate New York, was preparing for the largest music
festival that had ever been staged, on a 600-acre site called Woodstock. It would become an iconic legend which would symbolize the hippie, free-love movement and the generalized acceptance of drug
use among a generation of young people who believed their parents had tried and failed. Rebellion was rife as young Americans took to the streets to show their disapproval of the war in Vietnam.
Scott McKenzie wrote music to match the mood and beckoned the young to don flowers in their hair and join the thronging crowds at the epicentre of this new free for all in San Francisco. The new
sense of freedom was symbolized further as man reached Earth’s nearest neighbour in space and walked for the first time on the moon – a new era had arrived and hope sprang eternal.

For one small group however the summer of love would become a period of hate as they turned their drug-fuelled disenfranchisement into an orgy of killing, aimed at those who epitomized the
opulence they so dearly despised – the rich and the famous of Hollywood.

Charles Miles Manson was the head of a bunch of hippies who held him in such high esteem as to almost be their messiah. The “family”, as it was known, had formed around this
charismatic, small-time crook, who had spent a significant amount of his time, both as a youth and as an adult, in one form of correctional centre or another.

In 1959 Manson had been given a ten-year suspended sentence for forging a treasury cheque, but was called back to commence the sentence in 1960 on Federal Mann Act charges. He had conned a young
woman out of $700 to invest in a non-existent company, and to make matters worse he made her pregnant, and then drugged and raped her room-mate. The judge handling his recall commented, “If
ever there was a man who demonstrated himself completely unfit for probation, he is it.” Just prior to this he married for the second time, fathering a child, Charles Luther Manson, before
divorcing in 1963 whilst still serving his sentence. Aged just 26 Manson was transferred from California to the Federal penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington, and it was during this stretch
that he became obsessed with the English pop sensation, the Beatles. He learned to play the electric guitar and dedicated most of his time to writing music, a task which generated some modest
success. As the years ticked by new prisoners informed Manson of the latest culture sweeping across the United States – free love, girls in mini-skirts and the emergence of new drugs. It was
of no surprise therefore that on release in 1967, having spent the previous seven years behind bars, Manson was now ready to join in the fun in San Francisco.

On 21 March 1967, now aged 32 and having spent half of his life in one form of correctional centre or another, Manson was released from jail and travelled to San Francisco. Although he
apparently resisted release, preferring instead to remain in prison and play his music, the prison authorities once more set him free, this time to devastating effect. Manson was at best ill
prepared for life on the outside and the new counter-culture drew him like a magnet. Moving into the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco he was easily able to blend in to the hippie scene, busking
for money on the streets whilst getting to grips with the new drugs which were available and which most of the hippies he mixed with seemed to be taking. It was during this period that Manson first
saw how drugs could be used as a way of exerting great influence over people, a factor that did not go unnoticed.

Manson was now starting to attract hangers-on, mostly women, many of whom were young, impressionable and rebelling against their parents or society in general. He found it easy to dismantle
their inhibitions and question the validity of their ideals – good or bad. He was now using a blend of his own distorted biblical verses, mixed with his limited knowledge of scientology, much
of which he had acquired whilst in prison, to groom his disciples and present a tainted view of the world. The constant questioning and grooming when mixed with a staple diet of drugs, mainly LSD
and marijuana, created an environment in which Manson became all powerful and was soon the accepted head of the group. As well as the drugs Manson would also insist on having sex with all the
female members of the “family”, further enhancing his superior position. These weak-willed and gullible individuals thought they had found a true leader, one whose understanding of what
was needed was beyond doubt. Thus the “family” was born and Manson became its cult leader, for now sex and his general bidding would be sufficient, but soon he would expect more from
his followers.

In the spring of 1968 Manson and his followers, who by now had acquired an old school bus, left San Francisco and travelled around northern California, he still writing his particular brand of
music and they all still enjoying the drugs and sex lifestyle they had by now become accustomed to. Eventually he and a small group of the family struck up a relationship with a music teacher, Gary
Hinman, with whom they lived for a while at his house in Los Angeles. It was through Hinman that Manson came across Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, another relationship he tried to manipulate,
using the girls to maintain Wilson’s interest. Wilson was initially interested in Manson because of the hypnotic effect he seemed to have over his female followers, but soon began to feel
uncomfortable in his presence. Aware that Manson was trying to use him to further his musical aspirations he eventually asked them to leave, a request Manson did not receive gracefully.

The family once again needed a base and it was at this time that Manson came across a collection of old ranch buildings once used as a movie set. The Spahn ranch was owned by the elderly George
Spahn who was persuaded by Manson, with the help of some of his female followers, that they should be allowed to use the ranch in exchange for cleaning services and other more personal services
that might be required by the old man from time to time. With the family now ensconced on the ranch they set about making the place into their very own commune, stealing and scavenging food from
supermarkets and shops as a way of survival.

People would drift in and out of the group for one reason or another, but by now a core of lieutenants had formed around Manson. Although men were drawn into the group, mostly because of the
women, Manson himself preferred to cultivate a female entourage, keeping the male competition to a minimum. It is not clear if Manson had always intended to organize a killing spree or indeed if he
ever intended to become a cult figure for his followers. What is known is that he was still hell bent on breaking into the music industry and becoming a rock star. Although he had not been able to
manipulate Dennis Wilson he had at least picked up another potential contact in the form of Doris Day’s son, Terry Melcher. It was through the pursuit of this contact that Manson first came
across the mansion at 10050 Cielo Drive, in the Benedict Canyon area of Los Angeles. Melcher had been persuaded by Dennis Wilson that he should have a listen to Manson’s music, which he duly
did. Unfortunately for Manson, who had by now started to feel that he was about to break through, Melcher didn’t rate it and told Manson that he didn’t want to record it. Manson was
angry – he had gone all out to impress Melcher, playing live for him, with some of his girls providing backing vocals and playing tambourines. It is thought that this act of denial on
Melcher’s part was one of the key incidents that pushed Manson over the edge.

Manson had for a long while been preaching a mix of religion, peppered with song lyrics, all of which pointed to an inter-racial war concluding in the extermination of modern white and black
society. He was certainly racist, but the deep-seated hatred may well have been formed during his period in jail. At 5’2” tall Manson was an easy target in jail and it is reported that
he had been raped by a number of black prisoners on more than one occasion. Whilst the seeds of Manson’s prophecies were being sown in jail, the Beatles released their White Album, containing
the song “Helter Skelter”, the lyrics of which seemed to fit nicely with the Armageddon Manson was forecasting. He was not aware that the “Helter Skelter” referred to in the
Beatles song was merely a reference to a British fairground ride. With the future labelled as “Helter Skelter”, Manson began building his plans around it, spreading the word among his
followers. His vision was an inter racial war which would commence following a spree of killings carried out by black people on white people in their own homes. The war would result in the
annihilation of both blacks and whites and finally only the family would be left – and they would then take power and build a new future for themselves. These ramblings were going on well in
advance of the final acts of savagery, so if he was always planning to start the war himself then he was playing a long game – the indoctrination of his followers by means of drugs, sex,
threats and the mixed-up sermons he would serve up had taken many months to hit home. But in Melcher’s rejection, Manson felt the searing anger that needed revenge – and his followers
would need to prove themselves worthy of their positions, by committing the ultimate of criminal acts.

At one time or another the family had numbered as many as 35, but many simply drifted in and out, leaving a core group who Manson modelled into a form of death squad. They had been persuaded
that they were special and that they would be the beneficiaries of the new life after the war, along with himself. They had been taught how to break into properties, cutting telephone wires to
prevent the police being called, and above all how to subdue people – anyone standing in their way would be killed.

The core group consisted of a number of females, Susan “Sadie” Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkle, Leslie Van Houten, Linda Kasabian, Lynette Fromme, Mary Brunner and just a handful of men,
Charles “Tex” Watson, Bruce McGregor Davis and Bobby Beausoleil. They were a varied bunch and many had come from normal middle-class backgrounds. Susan Atkins, whose real name was Sadie
Mae Gluts, was brought up in San Jose, California, where she sang in her school choir and led a normal life until the death of her mother from cancer. Things took a turn for the worse when she
moved to San Francisco and became a topless dancer and a bar-room hustler. She had already had some dealings in Satanism when she came across Manson in 1967. At a low ebb she described Manson as
providing her with the faith she was looking for and committed herself to him. Patricia Krenwinkle had a good job with a major insurance company, with a car and a smart Manhattan Beach apartment
when she walked out leaving it all behind, including her last pay cheque. Seeking thrills she had come across the family and joined them in September 1967, travelling round the West Coast area
bingeing on sex and drugs. Leslie Van Houten was considered the least committed to Manson. She had enjoyed a positive childhood, but was considered a “spoiled child” who was impulsive,
easily frustrated and liable to outbursts of temper. Linda Kasabian, by contrast, was from a broken home and had a strained relationship with her stepfather. From New Hampshire, she headed west
looking for God, but instead found herself caught up in the sex and drugs culture of San Francisco, joining the “family” in July 1969, just weeks before the murders. Charles
“Tex” Watson was described by a neighbour from his youth as “the typical boy next door”. An “A” student in high school he also enjoyed great success on the
sports field, holding the state record for the low hurdles. Watson’s problems began when he started taking drugs as a college student, finally dropping out and heading for San Francisco in
1966, meeting Manson and joining the “family” in 1967.

By now Manson was probably already intent on murder, but he still hankered after a music career and decided to take his latest offering to the well-known, West Coast musician and piano teacher,
Gary Hinman. Trading on his previous connections with Dennis Wilson and others, Manson persuaded Hinman to listen to his new composition and managed to ingratiate himself into Hinman’s house
for a short stay. Hinman now made the mistake that would cost him his life. Managing to remain non-committal on the music, he was able to let Manson down gently, but let loose the fact that he had
recently come into a small inheritance of some $20,000. Still feeling dejected from the Melcher rebuff, and with Hinman looking likely to deny him a chance too, Manson decided that he would console
himself with Hinman’s little nest egg, and planning to have his troops call back at a later date – the “family” did after all still need money to run their cars and buy the
drugs they were taking.

Manson had in mind another couple who he thought should pay the ultimate price. The new residents of 10050 Cielo Drive were the movie actress Sharon Tate and her movie director husband, Roman
Polanski who had rented the house from Melcher after they had got married earlier in the year. In another twist Manson had returned to the house on Cielo Drive in March of that year once again
looking to enlist Melcher’s support for yet another music project. On approaching the house Manson could see there were others now in occupation, but was annoyed at the frosty reception he
was given. Tate’s photographer intercepted Manson on the drive and instructed him to get off the property, and worse, that he should leave by the rear entrance, lest anyone should see him. As
he strolled away, looking every inch the vagrant, Manson glanced back and caught sight of the “Hollywood types” who had treated him with such disdain. They could never have guessed how
this brief interaction would cost them so dearly. After the event the police presumed that Manson had harboured a grudge against the new occupants on Cielo Drive and this became the basis of the
motive for the murders that Manson was to orchestrate.