Charles Manson, horrifying yet hypnotic, languished in prison until 8.13pm on Sunday, Nov. 19. The convicted killer and cult leader who allegedly proclaimed “I am crime” masterminded a series of grisly murders meant to spark a race war in the 1960’s and brainwashed his faithful followers into carrying them out.
Over the course of two nights in the summer of 1969, members of the ‘Manson Family,’ as the group became known, brutally killed seven people.
Actress Sharon Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski, was their most famous victim. Several of Manson’s followers attacked her and four guests at her house. Tate was due to give birth to a son and begged for mercy, “Please don’t kill me. I just want to have my baby,” she is reported to have said. One of the Family then stabbed her 16 times and used her blood to write “PIG” on her front door.
The following night, Manson’s crew murdered a wealthy businessman named Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. The incidents became collectively known as the Tate-LaBianca Murders.
