CHARLES MILLES MANSON

By, Max Whitehead

CHILDHOOD (Question a.)

• Born to 16 year old mother Kathleen Maddox• Mother was alcoholic, sold Manson for pitcher of beer• Manson never knew his biological father• In 1939 Manson’s mother and uncle sentenced to 5 years

in prison for robbing a convenience store• Manson stays with aunt and uncle in West Virginia• 1942 mother is freed, she and Manson stay in run down

motels till 1947• 1947 Kathleen tries to send Manson to a foster home, with

no success• Manson instead sent to Gibault School for Boys• Manson flees school and returns to mother who rejects him

ADOULESENCE (Question a./b.)

• First crime was burglary of a grocery store• Committed string of burglaries which placed him in

several juvenile detention centers

• Manson and two others caught crossing state lines

in stolen cars • Manson is sent to National Training School for Boys• Manson is given four years of school and

determined to have an I.Q. of 121• Case worker there declares that Manson is

aggressively anti-social

ADULTHOOD(Question b.)

• 1954 Manson wins parole from Federal Reformatory at Chillicothe, Ohio

• 1955 Manson marries Rosalie Jean Willis, temporarily Manson is functioning citizen

• Begins to support marriage with small crimes and auto theft• 1956 Manson arrested after driving stolen car over state lines• Sentenced to 3 years at Terminal Island Penitentiary in

California • While in prison wife gives birth to Charles Manson Jr. • 1958 Manson and wife divorce, Manson is arrested same year

for pimping 16 year old girl• After several other prostitution offenses Manson imprisoned

at United States Penitentiary at McNeil Island

ADULTHOOD/MANSON FAMILY

• During his stay at McNeil Island Manson learns guitar and obtains contact info of Universal Studios employee

• 1967 gets out of prison moves in with 23 year old Mary Brunner• Before long Manson convinces Brunner to allow other women to

live with them• 1967 summer of love Manson pronounces himself a guru• Begins to create own philosophy that involved bits of

scientology he picked up in prison• Before end of summer he takes family on hippie bus ride

throughout western United States• 1968 Manson briefely stays with Dennis Wilson of Beach Boys• During stay Manson’s family doubles and he begins to write

music with Wilson

HELTER SKELTER(Questions c./e.)

• August 1968 Wilson’s agent tells the family to move out• Manson and family move to Spahn Ranch in Topanga

Canyo, California• While there Manson was introduced to the Beatles

White Album• He became obsessed with the group and believed that

the White Album supported his beliefs that racial tensions would soon erupt into violence with blacks rising up out of America’s cities

• Manson believed that Helter Skelter needed their help to get started, so the only way to start the rebellion was to murder white people instigating the racial violence

HINMAN MURDER(Question d.)

• July 5, 1969 Manson sends Bobby Beausoleil, Mary Brunner and Susan Atkins to Gary Hinman’s house

• Their purpose was to get money from Hinman that he supposedly owed the family

• Hinman refused to give any money and was held hostage for 2 days

• Hinman still would not give in, and as a result was stabbed to death

• As they left one of the members of the Manson family wrote “Political Piggy” on the wall along with the Black Panther symbol in Hinman’s blood

• These gruesome actions were done to prompt Helter Skelter

TATE MURDERS (Question d.)

• Hinman murder prompted Manson to declare that Helter Skelter was in motion

• To support it’s arrival Manson ordered more killings• August 8,1969 Manson sent Charles Watson, Susan

Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to actress Sharon Tate’s house

• The members were ordered to, “totally destroy everyone in,” the house, “as gruesome as you can.”

• All inhabitants of the house which included: Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger, were all brutally stabbed to death

• Similar to the Hinman murder the family members wrote “PIG” on the front door in Sharon’s blood

LABIANCA MURDERS (Question d.)

• August 9, 1969 Manson not satisfied, believed Helter Skelter still needed spark

• Manson accompanied Leslie Van Houten, Steve "Clem" Grogan, Charles Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to LaBianca household in the Los Feliz part of Los Angeles

• Victims of murder were Leno and Rosemary LaBianca• Each victim was brutally stabbed to death• Leno had “WAR” carved on his abdomen, a carving fork

protruding from his stomach, and a knife stuck into his throat• As in previous murders “Rise”, “Death to Pigs”, and “Helter

Skelter” were painted on the walls of the LaBianca home in their own blood

CAPTURE AND SENTENCE(Questions f./g.)

• Manson arrested for destructionof a backhoe owned by Death Valley National Monument

• No connection was made with Manson and the murders• Manson involvement with murders confirmed when

dormitory mate of Susan Atkins revealed the family’s connection with the murders after being questioned about the backhoe

• Manson convicted of conspiracy to commit murder• March 29, 1971 Manson sentenced to death, however

his penalty was later reduced to life in prison in February 1972

Answer to Question h.

• Serial Killers difficult to spot because they are masters of deception.

• They have no compassion for human life and therefore observe what makes humans comfortable and lull them into a false sense of security only to gain their victims trust then they attack when their victim least suspects it.

Answers to Question i. and j.

• I.) Organized crimes scenes, disorganized crime scenes, mixed crime scene, and atypical crime scene

• J.) The most surprising pieces of information I learned doing this project was that Manson never murdered anyone. He brainwashed his family to do his dirty work. Also I learned that Manson worked with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys and they actually wrote songs together.

Resources

Bardsley, Marilyn. "Charles Manson and the Manson Family." TruTV.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/manson/murder_1.html>.

Bugliosi, Vincent. "The Influence of the Beatles on Charles Manson." Famous Trials.University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/manson/mansonbeatles.html>.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Charles Manson." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/p/charlesmanson.htm>.