Charles Manson was good at manipulating people. In the late 1960’s he founded his own hippie
cult group called “the Family”. He
manipulated these people into killing others on his account. As a result, he became an icon of evil for
being a convicted serial killer. His
actions soon had him face many consequences.
Charles Milles Manson was born on November 12, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother, Kathleen Maddox, had him at the age of 16. She couldn’t take care of him so Charles hardly spent time with her. When he turned nine, he began stealing. In 1955, at age twenty, Charles married Rosalie Willis & had a son, Charles Manson Jr. As he continuously stole cars, he was again sent to prison. A year later, Rosalie divorced him. Manson married again to Leona “Candy” Stevens. He then fathered a second son, Charles Luther Manson. When Charles was arrested on June 1, 1960, he was sent to the McNeil Island Penitentiary. He spent the next six years in prison & befriended Alvin “Creepy” Karpis. Karpis taught Manson how to play the steel guitar. He became obsessed with making music so he wrote dozens of songs & started singing. Charles wanted to become a famous musician as soon as he got out of prison. Manson was finally released from prison on March 21, 1967. In 1968, he drove to Southern California with several followers. He met Dennis Wilson from the Beach Boys & had one of his songs recorded by them. Charles was still hoping for a music career. But when Manson met Terry Melcher, Doris Day’s son, he believed his music career was going to advance. When nothing happened, Charles was very upset. During this time, Manson & his followers moved into the Spahn Ranch, which became the cult compound for “the Family”. Charles told four of his followers to go to the house that once belonged to Terry Melcher, thinking that he still lived there. Actress Sharon Tate & her husband were renting the house at the moment. Manson’s followers murdered everyone inside. The victims included Tate, her unborn baby, & four visitors. During that day, Tate’s husband, Roman Polanski, was in Europe for work. The following night, Leno & Rosemary LaBianca were killed by the same followers. On December 1969, the police had arrested Manson & several of his followers after it took them several months to determine who was responsible for the killings. On January 25, Charles was found guilty of first degree murder & conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to death on March 29, 1971. In 1972, the Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty. Manson now serves a lifetime sentence. He’s being held in California’s Corcoran Prison & has been in there for over three decades already. Charles Manson has received more mail than any other prisoner in the U.S. |