Charles Manson was the leader behind the infamous cult, The Manson Family. Preying on vulnerable young women and men, he soon amassed a following primarily located at Spahn Ranch in California. Manson regularly preached about an upcoming race war he called "Helter Skelter" and convinced his cult the murders he plotted would get this war started. While Manson never killed anyone, it was determined he was the mastermind behind all the crimes, influencing his followers to commit all nine murders. He was sentenced to death in 1971, but after the death penalty in California was abolished, he served out a life sentence in prison. He died without showing any remorse in 2017.
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Bobby Beausoleil was one of the Family members who held Gary Hinman, a man who Manson claimed owed him money, hostage. He participated in torturing Hinman for three days before Beausoleil stabbed him to death. He was convicted in 1970 of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment after California abolished the death penalty.
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Mary Brunner was the first person Manson recruited into "The Family" in 1965. in 1968, she gave birth to Manson's child, Valentine Michael, nicknamed "Pooh Bear." She would later be present at Gary Hinman's murder, but would be granted immunity in exchange for testifying for the prosecution. Brunner returned to The Family and supported members on trial for the Tate/LaBianca murders. She was part of a 1971 California shoot-out with other Family members, where they took a store hostage by force and stole 143 rifles — allegedly part of a plan to get Manson out of prison — before they were arrested. Brunner was sent to prison but paroled in 1977; she quietly left the public eye.
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Bruce Davis joined The Manson Family in 1967, and was often known as Manons's "righthand" man. While Davis wasn't present for either the Tate/LaBianca murders, he participated in the torture of Gary Hinman, who Bobby Beausoleil eventually murdered. Davis also participated in the murder of Spahn Ranch employee Donald "Shorty" Shea. He was sentenced to life in prison for his role in these murders and is currently still behind bars. He has since become a born-again Christian.
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Susan Atkins participated in many of the Manson Family killings. She was present for the murder and torture of Gary Hinman, and also participated in the Tate murders. After getting caught, she originally agreed to work with the prosecution in exchange for avoiding the death penalty, even testifying before a grand jury, but when it came time for the trial she stopped cooperating and gave contradictory testimony. She would later claim it was because Manson followers threatened her. Atkins was sentenced to life in prison and died in 2009.
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Leslie Van Houten joined the family in 1968, and was a participant in the LaBianca murders. She carved an X in her forehead in support of Manson and later claimed to have been on LSD during her trial; she was sentenced to die in 1971. After the death penalty was abolished, her sentence was commuted to life in prison. She currently resides there still, her bids for parole repeatedly denied. She has since renounced the Manson Family, and has expressed regret for what she did.
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Patricia Krenwinkel joined the Manson Family in 1967, and later participated in the Tate/LaBianca murders, admitting to stabbing coffee heiress Abigail Folger to death at Sharon Tate's home. Krenwinkel remained loyal to Manson throughout the trial, carving an X into her head as a sign of support, and was sentenced to death in 1971. She later broke away from the Family, and is serving life in prison.
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Tex Watson was Manson's self-described right-hand man who did much of the violent dirty work during the Tate and LaBianca murders. After being sentenced to life in prison, he's become an ordained minister.
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Steve "Clem" Grogan is the only participant in the Manson Family murders to be released from prison. Grogan was present for the car ride dropping off Family members to the LaBianca home but wasn't there for the murders, and he helped Tex Watson and Bruce Davis murder Spahn Ranch employee Donald "Shorty" Shea. However, because of his low IQ, he was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of a death sentence like other members. He was released from prison on parole in 1985.
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Linda Kasabian is one of the most famous Manson girls after she became the star witness for the prosecution. She was one of the members of the group who went out for the Tate/LaBianca murders, but claimed she was merely the driver and never went inside either home. A few days after the murders, she fled the group and eventually turned herself into the police, receiving immunity in exchange for information. Despite intimidation from other Family members, she testified for 18 days in court and is considered key to their imprisonment. Other Family members, during their own testimony, would insist it was Kasabian who was the mastermind, not Manson, which many of them later admitted was false. Kasabian now lives a quiet life out of the public eye.
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Barbara Hoyt was another Manson girl who decided to work with the prosecution. Hoyt did not participate or know about the murders, but when she became aware of them, she fled the Family. She was initially wary of testifying for the prosecution, but after Manson Family member Ruth Moorehouse slipped her a burger laced with LSD in an attempt to kill her, she decided to testify against Manson. She lived a quiet life afterward and died in December 2017.
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Catherine Share was not part of any of the Manson Family Murders, but she supported the Family during the trial by carving an X on her forehead and would be sent to prison for conspiring to kill Barbara Hoyt to keep her from testifying against the group. She was released from prison shortly afterward, but would back after her participation in a 1971 California shoot-out where she and several other Manson associates held a store hostage while stealing rifles as part of an alleged plan to break Manson out of prison. After being released from prison again in 1975, she disavowed the Manson Family.
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Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was not present for any of the murders, but that didn't stop her from making headlines. After his arrest, she camped outside the courthouse during his trial and carved an "X" into her forehead to match the one Manson had carved on his own head. She'd eventually be sentenced to life in prison after a failed attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford with a semi-automatic .45-caliber pistol on Sept. 5, 1975. She maintains to this day she is still in love with Manson.
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Sandra Good joined the Family in 1968, but avoided the Tate/LaBianca murders as she was in jail at the time for attempting to use credit cards stolen by the Family. However, Good continues to be massively devoted to Manson. In 1976, she was sent to prison for sending death threats to corporate executives. She was released on parole on 1985, and one of the stipulations was she could no longer live in California. As soon as her parole ended, she moved back immediately so she could be near Manson, even maintaining a website to spread his teaching until 2001.
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Dianne Lake was a Manson girl who joined the Family in 1967. She did not participate in any of the murders, and initially refused to cooperate with authorities; however, she eventually testified for the prosecution. Lake went on to live a relatively normal life and recently gave interviews about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Manson.
