Manson Family

The Manson Family was a hippie commune and cult active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was led by charismatic cult leader Charles Manson. The members of the family were comprised mostly of young women between the ages of 16-20, many of whom were runaways, drug users, or prostitutes. There were a few men in the so-called "family" as well, all of whom were subservient to the desires of Charles Manson. Although they remained nomadic throughout most of the 1960s, they eventually began living at a ranch in Death Valley owned by George Spahn.

History
The members of the Manson family engaged in various activities and crimes, most of which ranged from petty thievery to breaking and entering. However, in the summer of 1969, the activities of the Manson followers took on a decidedly darker turn.

Charles Manson extolled the philosophy of Helter Skelter, the name of which he took from a popular song by the Beatles. He believed that the members of the Beatles were great prophets, and it was Manson's destiny to bring about a great race war, from which he and his people would emerge to lead the survivors into a new age.

To precipitate Helter Skelter, Manson ordered his followers to go to the home of Sharon Tate - an actress who had been married to film director Roman Polanski, and was eight months pregnant with Polanski's child. They lived at 10050 Cielo Drive. They were instructed to kill everyone on the premises. The followers of Charles Manson executed this command on August 8th-9th, 1969. Their victims included Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Steve Parent, and Wojtek Frykowski. The following evening, Manson's people murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca at 3301 Waverly Drive in Los Angeles.

In September, 1969, members of the Manson Family were arrested at Spahn Ranch. One of the members, Linda Kasabian, became the star witness at the ensuing trial, which yielded death sentences for Manson, and murderers Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Tex Watson, and Leslie Van Houten. Fortunately for them, California overturned the death penalty prior to the sentencing phase of the trial, and their sentences were commuted to life in prison. Kasabian was cleared of any charges because of her testimony at the trial.

One of the Manson followers, who was not involved in the Tate-LaBianca murders was Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. Fromme earned her own notoriety when on September 5th, 1975, she brandished a Colt M1911 in an attempt to assassinate then-President Gerald Ford. Fromme was apprehended by Secret Service before she could take action and spent the next thirty-four years in prison.

Members

 * Charles Manson
 * Leslie Van Houten
 * Linda Kasabian
 * Patricia Krenwinkel
 * Susan Atkins
 * Bobby Beausoleil
 * Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme
 * Mary Brunner
 * Steve "Clem" Grogan

Victims

 * Abigail Folger
 * Leno LaBianca
 * Rosemary LaBianca
 * Sharon Tate

Survivors

 * Bernard Crowe
 * Dennis Wilson
 * Gary Hinman

Notes & Trivia

 * Charles Manson's philosophy was called "Helter Skelter". The name is taken from a song recorded by the Beatles and released on The White Album in 1968.


 * Lead prosecutor in the Manson Family trial, Vincent Bugliosi, wrote an account of the murders and subsequent trial in the book Helter Skelter, published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 1974. The book was made into a television movie in 1976.


 * Family leader Charles Manson died at a hospital on November 19th, 2017 as a result of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. He died seven days after his 83rd birthday.

Appearances

 * American Horror Story: Charles (Manson) in Charge