The Manson Family Murders: The Night That Ended the 1960s (1969)

Charles Manson and the Family

Charles Milles Manson was a career criminal and aspiring musician who assembled a devoted commune of mostly young, mostly female followers in the late 1960s. The group — known as the Family — lived first at the Spahn Ranch, a former cowboy movie set at 1200 Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth, in exchange for services provided by Manson's followers to the elderly, nearly blind ranch owner, George Spahn. Manson developed an apocalyptic racial ideology he called "Helter Skelter" — named for the Beatles song — which predicted an imminent war between Black and white Americans. Manson believed the Family would survive the war in a subterranean desert refuge and emerge to rule afterward. He concluded that the murders needed to be committed in a way that would be blamed on Black militants, thereby triggering the war.

The Tate Murders — August 9, 1969

In the early morning hours of August 9, 1969, Manson directed Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel to go to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon — a rented home Manson had previously visited when it was occupied by music producer Terry Melcher — and kill everyone inside. The current occupants were actress Sharon Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski (who was abroad at the time), and her guests: coffee heiress Abigail Folger, her boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski, and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring. Sharon Tate was eight and a half months pregnant. A fifth victim, 18-year-old Steven Parent, was shot in his car as he was leaving the property after visiting the caretaker. All five were stabbed and shot. The word "PIG" was written in Sharon Tate's blood on the front door.

The LaBianca Murders — August 10, 1969

The following night, Manson personally drove Family members to 3301 Waverly Drive in Los Feliz, the home of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary. Manson entered the home alone first, tied up the couple, and left. Watson, Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten then entered and murdered both LaBiancas in sustained, brutal attacks. The words "DEATH TO PIGS," "RISE," and the misspelled "HEALTER SKELTER" were written on the walls and refrigerator in the victims' blood.

The Investigation and Trial

The LAPD initially investigated the two crime scenes separately, not connecting them for months. The break came in late 1969 when a Manson Family member, Susan Atkins, spoke about the murders while in jail on an unrelated charge. Manson and the key perpetrators were arrested in October 1969 in a raid on the Spahn Ranch. The trial — presided over by Judge Charles Older — became one of the most dramatic in California history, with Manson attempting to conduct his own defense, his female followers shaving their heads and carving X's into their foreheads, and threats made against the judge. Manson, Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten were all convicted. Manson was sentenced to death — a sentence commuted to life in prison when California briefly abolished the death penalty in 1972. Manson died in prison on November 19, 2017, at age 83.

Legacy

The Manson murders are widely regarded as the event that ended the cultural optimism of the 1960s — a demonstration that the era's communal idealism could be weaponized into something horrific. The Los Angeles Times, Life magazine, and Rolling Stone documented the case extensively. Author Vincent Bugliosi — the prosecutor — wrote Helter Skelter (1974), which became the best-selling true crime book in American history. The address 10050 Cielo Drive no longer exists; the original house was demolished in 1994 and replaced by a new structure with a different address. The LaBianca home on Waverly Drive remains standing as a private residence.