The Brief

Charles Manson was a troubled youth who, after spending more than half of his life in prison, finagled his way into becoming a guru in the California hippie scene. Those who joined his commune demonstrated utter devotion, ultimately agreeing to participate in what Manson called Helter Skelter, named after the Beatles track of the same name. Helter Skelter had very little to do with the song, however.

According to testimony from ex-followers, Manson intended to incite a race war by framing the Black Panthers for the murders of various wealthy, white people. He believed that once the race war began, he and his followers would hide until it had ended. He was certain Black people would win but wouldn't know how to govern themselves. That's when he would emerge and take over. His followers bought into it and agreed to commit acts of unparalleled barbarity on their leader's behalf. The group became known as the Manson Family.

Various members participated in two brutal and shocking murder scenes in the summer of 1969.

Sharon Tate, left, and at right, her body being taken from her rented house in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles on Aug. 9, 1969.

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Just after midnight on Aug. 9, they broke into the home of actress Sharon Tate and filmmaker Roman Polanski at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon. (That property, now with the address 10066 Cielo Dr. and completely rebuilt, is currently on the market for $85 million.) Polanski was out of town. Tate, eight months pregnant, was enjoying the company of several friends, including hairdresser Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and Folger's boyfriend, Wojciech Frykowski.

Every one of them was killed, as well as 18-year-old Stephen Parent, a friend of the home's caretaker. The Manson Family showed no mercy as Tate begged them to spare the life of her unborn child. The following night, a group of Manson followers broke into the Los Feliz home of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary, killing them both.

Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, left, in an undated photo outside the home where the were murdered. At right, the home the day after the couple's bodies were discovered.

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The Manson Family was also responsible for the death of musician Gary Hinman, which occurred in July 1969, and the death of stuntman Donald Shea in late August. Shea was a ranch hand at Spahn Ranch in Chatsworth, where the transient Manson Family had been known to crash.

Coroner Thomas Noguchi, facing camera center, directs the removal of the body of Abigail Folger, on Aug. 9, 1969. In foreground is the covered body of Voityckyk Frokowski.

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Although Manson himself was not a proven participant in any of the murders, he was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder for his role in orchestrating the Tate and LaBianca murders.

Manson's followers were in their late teens or early 20s when they encountered him, altering the course of their lives as well as those of their victims.

Charles Manson

Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case, 1969, Los Angeles.

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Charles Manson was born in 1934 to a teenage mother in Ohio who, by all accounts, never wanted him. He was prone to stealing and had spent most of his life in jail by the time he met Mary Brunner, essentially the first member of his "family," in Berkeley in 1967. He successfully recruited many people into his commune, although several of them were never directly involved in any of the murders and most would eventually move on or renounce him.

Jeff Guinn, who interviewed several of Manson's relatives about for his book, Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson, wrote that Manson was deceitful even as a child.

Little Charlie was a disagreeable child. Beyond his doting grandmother, who still recognized his many faults, few who knew him then or in his ensuing teenage years found much to admire about him beyond his looks. Charlie's dimpled smile could light up rooms, and his eyes were dark and expressive. But even at such a young age, he lied about everything and, when he got in trouble for telling fibs about breaking things or any of the other innumerable misdeeds he committed on a daily basis, Charlie always blamed somebody else. As a child, he was obsessed with being the center of attention. If he couldn't get noticed for doing something right, he was happy to misbehave. You couldn't relax when Charlie was around. It was only a matter of time before he got into some sort of trouble.

Manson was found guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1971. That sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972, as was the case with all inmates who had been sentenced to death in the state of California at that time, after the state's Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional. Prior to his death on Nov. 19, 2017, Manson had been serving his life sentence at Corcoran State Prison in Central California, where he'd been incarcerated since 1989. He was denied parole repeatedly over the years.

Not long before Manson's death, his grandson, Jason Freeman, told the L.A. Times: "Old age is setting in. Nature is taking its course. There will be a day where [Manson] doesn't wake up again," Freeman said.

Freeman is the son of Jay White, who was born Charles Manson, Jr. His mother was Manson's wife, Rosalie Willis, who Manson married in 1955, years before his cult leader days. White killed himself in 1993.

Manson was not a model prisoner, and was cited numerous times for contraband and other violations. In 1984, one of his fellow inmates lit him on fire after Manson allegedly threatened the man.

Not long before his death, Manson was engaged to a decades younger woman named Afton Burton, although the betrothal was, at one point, threatened by allegations that Burton only wanted him so that she could set up his corpse as a tourist attraction. Burton's mother called these allegations "tabloid crap" and asserted that the engagement was still on in an interview with Rolling Stone in February of 2015.

Patricia Krenwinkel

Patricia Krenwinkel, left, at a 2011 parole hearing and, right, being led to Superior Court in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 1970,

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Patricia Krenwinkel grew up in Los Angeles as the quiet daughter of an insurance salesman and a stay-at-home mom. While living with her sister in Manhattan Beach in 1967, she met Manson and became enamored with him. She joined his commune and traveled with him for several months. In 1969, at age 21, she was a devoted follower who agreed to participate in Manson's plans for Helter Skelter.

Krenwinkel was present for the murders on Cielo Drive. In particular, she testified that she was the one to murder Abigail Folger. She first stabbed her in the living room of the house, then chased her outside and stabbed her several more times. According to Women Criminals: An Encyclopedia of People and Issues, Krenwinkel said she felt nothing when she killed her. "Nothing, I mean, what is there to describe? It was just there, and it was right." She also participated in the LaBianca murders the following night, assisting Van Houten and Watson in the murder of Rosemary. Krenwinkel has admitted to stabbing Leno with a fork and writing "DEATH TO PIGS" on the wall of their home with the LaBiancas' blood.

In 1971, she was sentenced to death but in 1972, her sentence was commuted to life in prison. She is currently held at the California Institution for Women in Chino, where she apparently goes by "Krenny." She has earned a bachelor's degree in human services and is involved with various prison programs. She, too, has renounced Manson.

Krenwinkel has been denied parole at least 10 times and had withdrawn from consideration or stipulated unsuitability two other times, according to prison records. In 2016, her parole attempt was delayed by her lawyers' assertion that she was suffering from "intimate partner battery" at the time of her crimes, a legal defense that has been used to free individuals who suffered abuse at the hands of romantic partners or family members. In 2017, parole board commissioners once again denied Krenwinkel parole.

On May 26, 2022, Krenwinkel was approved for parole. Five months later on Oct. 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed that decision.

On May 30, 2025, she was again approved for parole. Krenwinkel, 77, is now the longest-serving woman in California prison.

Bruce Davis

Bruce Davis, left, appearing during is parole hearing in Nov. 16, 2011, and Davis in a courtroom, right, at an extradition hearing in 1970.

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Bruce Davis grew up in the South, eventually moving to the West Coast in 1962. Prior to his involvement with the Manson Family, he worked for the Church of Scientology.

Bruce Davis was not involved in the Tate or LaBianca murders, but was convicted for his role in the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald Shea.

He is currently in prison at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo where he acts as a minister in the prison chapel. He has also gotten married and fathered one child.

Like many other convicted Manson Family members, Davis has been recommended for parole multiple times only to have those recommendations reversed. In early 2016, Gov. Jerry Brown elected to block his release, saying, "As I've discussed twice before, Davis' own actions demonstrate that he had fully bought into the depraved Manson Family beliefs. He not only watched as Manson cut Mr. Hinman's face open with a sword, but held him at gunpoint while Manson was doing so."

The state parole board recommended Davis for release in June 2019 but Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed that decision. Davis was again recommended for parole in 2021 but Newsom also denied that request, saying Davis "currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time."

Davis is now 82. After previously recommending seven times that he be paroled, a parole board on July 8, 2022 denied Davis parole, according state records. He is not scheduled for another hearing until 2027.

Leslie Van Houten

Leslie Van Houten, 19, is in foreground after leaving an arraignment in L.A. in December 1969. To her left in the photo is Susan Denise Atkins, 21, and to her right Linda Kasabian, 20.

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Leslie Van Houten grew up in a middle-class family in Altadena. Following the divorce of her parents when she was 14, Van Houten began using drugs. According to her testimony in her 2004 parole hearing, her mother forced her to have an abortion at 17, which deeply affected her relationship with her family. Still, she was a popular prom queen in high school, and she briefly attended classes to become a secretary. However, Van Houten favored the hippie lifestyle over school and dropped out. In 1968, she met Manson at a commune in Northern California and, at 19, joined his followers and began taking LSD.

On Aug. 9, 1969, Van Houten accompanied several other Manson members to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Van Houten held Rosemary down as Charles "Tex" Watson stabbed her, then Van Houten took her turn. She has maintained that of the 47 stab wounds found on Rosemary's body, she only inflicted ones that occurred after Rosemary's death.

She was convicted of murder in 1971 and was sentenced to death but in 1972 her sentence was commuted to life in prison. Van Houten currently resides in the California Institution for Women in Corona, where she is considered a model prisoner. She has earned a bachelor's and a master's degree while incarcerated and leads self-help groups for other women in the prison. She has long since renounced Manson.

Van Houten has been up for parole more than 20 times. She was most recently recommended for parole on Nov. 9, 2021, which Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected in March 2022. Four previous recommendations also were rejected by California governors.

Then, in July 11, 2023, Van Houten was released from prison on parole.

A timeline of her path to parole:

In April 2016, the state parole board recommended Van Houten for parole. Sharon Tate's sister, Debra Tate, as well as L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey advocated for Van Houten to remain in prison. Then Gov. Jerry Brown blocked her release, saying, "Both [Van Houten's] role in these extraordinarily brutal crimes and her inability to explain her willing participation in such horrific violence cannot be overlooked and lead me to believe she remains an unreasonable risk to society if released." On Sept. 20, 2019, a court of appeals refused to overturn former Brown's decision.

By then, Van Houten had been recommended for release again, in January 2019, only to stay behind bars when Newsom overruled a new parole recommendation in June 2019. A court declined to reverse Newsom's decision.

On July 23, 2020, the Associated Press reported a panel had once again recommended Van Houten for parole, the fourth time in four years. In November 2020, Newsom denied the recommendation for parole. In February 2022, the California Supreme Court declined to hear Van Houten's appeal of a previous Newsom decision.

On November 9, 2021, a California parole panel recommended for the fifth time that Van Houten be freed from prison. Governor Newsom rejected that recommendation later that month. On March 29, 2022, Newsom rejected the most recent parole recommendation. In November 2022, Van Houten waived her right to a hearing for a year. Her next hearing is now set for May 2024.

On May 30, 2023 a state appeals court ruled 2-1 to overturn Newsom's move to block parole for Van Houten, saying she is eligible for release.

In a 67-page ruling, the court disagreed with Newsom's rationale for denying the parole board's decision to release Van Houten, saying in part:

On July 7, 2023, Newsom's office said the governor will not try again to block recommended parole for Van Houten, who is now 75.

A statement released by Erin Mellon, Newsom's communications director, said:

The statement also attached the ruling.

She had been incarcerated at the California Institution for Women in Corona, since August 1978, according to state prison records. A search for her name on the prison inmate database on the afternoon of her release returned the following message: "No records found matching that criteria."

Van Houten left the prison in the morning and is now in a halfway house.

Charles "Tex" Watson

Charles "Tex" Watson (left) appears at a parole hearing in Nov. 16, 2011. Watson in a courtroom (right) at an extradition hearing in 1970.

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Charles "Tex" Watson was arguably the most vicious member of the Manson Family. Manson may have orchestrated the killings, but Watson was, more often than not, the hand that carried them out. He participated in the Cielo Drive murders, personally shooting Steven Parent and Jay Sebring, and assisted in the other slayings. He was also active in the LaBianca murders.

Watson grew up in Texas, hence his nickname. In the 1960s, he worked for Braniff Airlines as a baggage handler. This gave him access to free airline tickets, which he used to visit an old college friend in Los Angeles. He eventually decided to move to the L.A. area in 1967. According to his 2011 parole hearing, Watson was renting a house in Malibu with a friend. He one day picked up a hitchhiker who turned out to be Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson. Wilson invited Watson to his home, where he met Charles Manson and ultimately joined Manson's followers.

Watson was sentenced to death in 1971, which was commuted to life in prison the following year. He is currently an inmate of Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, near Sacramento.

Since his incarceration, he has converted to Christianity and became an ordained minister in 1981. He also released an autobiography titled Will You Die For Me? (1978) and earned a B.S. in business management in 2009. In 1979, he married Kristin Joan Svege, with whom he fathered four children via conjugal visits. The state of California got rid of those visits for prisoners serving life sentences in the late 1990s. At the time, Sharon Tate's mother, Doris Tate, was one of the biggest advocates for eliminating such visits for violent felons. She was enraged that Watson murdered her daughter and grandchild, yet was allowed to father children of his own. Svege amicably divorced Watson in 2003.

Watson apparently reads his Wikipedia page and seems to have submitted requests to have it edited. In those requests, he named Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's book Helter Skelter as his preferred source for Manson-related research. He was most recently eligible for parole in October 2016. He was denied for the 17th time in 47 years.

"These were some of the most horrific crimes in California history, and we believe [Watson] continues to exhibit a lack of remorse and remains a public safety risk," L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement. Sharon Tate's sister Debra Tate also spoke out, calling him a sociopath who is "incapable of having insight or empathy for anything."

Watson is currently 79. He was denied parole at a hearing on Oct. 15, 2021 and isn't eligible again until October 2026.

Susan Atkins

Susan Atkins, left, during a 1989 parole hearing and at right leaving the Los Angeles County Mens' Central Jail after meeting with co-defendant Charles Manson on March 6, 1970.

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Susan Atkins was born in San Gabriel and grew up in San Jose. Her mother died of cancer when Atkins was 15, and her father fell into alcoholism following his wife's death. By 1967, Atkins had been abandoned by her father and was living in Los Banos, working as a waitress and attending high school while attempting to care for her little brother. She dropped out during her junior year of high school and relocated to San Francisco. There, she encountered Manson while he was playing guitar and soon accepted his invitation to join his commune. Within the Manson family, she went by the name Sadie Mae Glutz. Manson prosecutor and Helter Skelter author Vincent Bugliosi once said that excluding Manson himself, it was Atkins who had the "most unfortunate background."

On July 25, 1969, Atkins went with several followers, including Bobby Beausoleil and Mary Brunner, to the home of musician Gary Hinman, who Manson believed had money he could give them. They attacked Hinman and Manson sliced Hinman's ear with a sword. When the others left, Atkins and Brunner remained with Hinman and treated his wounds. Two days later, Beausoleil returned and murdered Hinman while Atkins and Brunner were present. They wrote "political piggy" on Hinman's living room wall in his blood.

Atkins was also present on the night of the Cielo Drive murders and used Tate's blood to write "PIG" on the front door of the home. She was present the night of the LaBianca murders as well, but stayed in the car.

While in jail on unrelated charges in October 1969, she boasted to two other inmates about how she had murdered actress Sharon Tate. These inmates informed authorities of her story, which helped the detectives working the case. Atkins later agreed to testify against the others, admitting in court that she held Tate down as Watson stabbed her. She said that she told Tate that she had no mercy for her, as Tate begged for her and her baby's lives.

Atkins was sentenced to death in 1971, which was, like the others' sentences, commuted to life in 1972. She renounced Manson and became a born-again Christian. She also married twice while incarcerated. In 1981, she married Donald Lee Laisure, who had been married at least two dozen times before. The marriage lasted less than a year. She remarried attorney James W. Whitehouse in 1987, who represented her at her 2000 and 2005 parole hearings. They remained married to her until she died.

In 2008, Atkins was diagnosed with brain cancer. As she was dying, she requested compassionate release but she was denied by the California Board of Parole. Atkins died in September 2009 at age 61, after spending 38 years at the California Institution for Women in Chino. At the time of her death, she was the longest-serving female inmate in the state of California. After she died, that dubious honor went to Krenwinkel.

Atkins was survived by one son, who had been born prior to the 1969 murders. She named the boy Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz. Her parental rights were terminated after she was imprisoned. Her family members declined to care for him so he was adopted and renamed. Atkins never saw him again. His whereabouts are currently unknown. It is believed that a Manson commune member named Bruce White was the boy's father.

Bobby Beausoleil

Robert Kenneth Beausoleil.

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California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP

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Bobby Beausoleil grew up in Santa Barbara. He was involved with several bands and appeared in various films, including Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising and Mondo Hollywood. He also appeared in a soft porn/Western film with Manson follower Catherine Share that was shot at the Spahn Ranch and titled Ramrodder. Beausoleil once lived with musician Gary Hinman, who the Manson Family would murder in July 1969.

Beausoleil was convicted of Hinman's murder and sentenced to death in 1970, a sentence that was commuted, just like the rest, in 1972. He is currently being held at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville and was most recently denied parole in April 2019. He had another parole hearing on Jan. 28, 2022 where he was denied release for another three years. He is 77.

Beausoleil has continued to make music in jail, providing the soundtrack to Lucifer Rising, as well as releasing two instrumental albums. Beausoleil was not Anger's first choice for composer. The score was to be composed by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page but Anger and Page had a falling out. (Another Manson follower, Lynette Fromme, would also have an encounter with Page, sort of. She once tried desperately to contact him about a premonition she had regarding some future disaster she foresaw for him.)

Anger writes about how he made the occult film here.

Steve "Clem" Grogan

Steve Grogan, right, leaves an L.A. court hearing in December 1970 with Bruce Davis.

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Steve Grogan grew up in Chatsworth and dropped out of Simi Valley High School during his junior year. He eventually found himself doing various odd jobs at Spahn Ranch where he befriended ranch hand and movie stuntman Donald Shea. Grogan, 17, was already at Spahn Ranch by the time Manson and company arrived in 1968. They referred to Grogan as "Scramblehead," because they thought he wasn't very intelligent. According to some reports, Grogan was the one who allegedly crashed Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Ferrari.

Grogan did not participate in either the Tate or the LaBianca murders. On the night of the LaBianca murders, Grogan set out with several Family members, but was sent by Manson to kill an actor fellow Family member Linda Kasabian had recently met. Kasabian intentionally led the group to the wrong house and they did not kill anyone that night.

Grogan did, however, participate along with Bruce Davis and Charles Manson in the murder of Shea in late August 1969. In 1971, Grogan was convicted of first degree murder for the crime. Grogan was initially sentenced to death but his sentence was commuted to life in prison.

In the mid-1970s, while doing time at Vacaville State Prison, Grogan got married and fathered two sons. He eventually helped authorities recover Shea's remains and in 1985, he was paroled — making him one of the few Manson followers to be released from prison.

Grogan has reportedly had no run-ins with the law since his release and lives in the Northern California Bay Area where he plays music with various bands.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, left, being led away after she pointed a gun at President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, Calif., on Sep. 5, 1975, and, right, five years earlier at a pretrial hearing in 1970 for Charles Manson in Los Angeles.

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Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was born in Santa Monica. Her dad was an aeronautical engineer and her mom was a housewife. As a child, she was a member of a popular dance troupe. When Fromme was in high school, her family moved to Redondo Beach, where Fromme began experimenting with drugs. She graduated high school and briefly enrolled in college. She dropped out after approximately two months. After a falling out with her family, she became homeless. In 1967, a directionless Fromme met Manson in Venice, soon joining him, Brunner and Atkins at Spahn Ranch. The ranch's owner, George Spahn, began calling her "Squeaky" due to the noises she supposedly made when touched.

Fromme did not participate in any of the Manson murders but she remained devoted to the Family after their arrest. She lingered outside the courthouse and carved an "X" in her forehead, just as her accused companions did.

After the trials, Fromme moved to Sacramento, where she avoided yet another murder conviction. She and four others were arrested for the murders of James and Lauren Willett. The other four, including Aryan Brotherhood members Michael Monfort and James Craig, confessed and Fromme was the only one of them to avoid charges.

Fromme finally found herself behind bars in the mid-'70s. On Sept. 5, 1975, when she was 26, she pulled a gun and aimed it at President Gerald R. Ford. She was quickly disarmed by Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf and arrested. Although the gun did not have a round in the chamber and her lawyers argued that she had no intention of killing Ford, she was convicted of the attempted assassination of the president and sentenced to life in prison.

Unlike her more murderous family members, she was not a model prisoner. She attacked another inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California with a hammer, and briefly escaped Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia in an attempt to reunite with Manson. She also remained devoted to him, even after his other followers had renounced him.

In 2009, at 60, Fromme was paroled and relocated to a small town in Oneida County, New York.

Linda Kasabian

Linda Kasabian walks to court with chief prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi in Los Angeles in February 1971.

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Linda Kasabian grew up in New England, dropped out of high school and drifted around the country. She married twice and had a baby girl, Tanya, with her second husband, Robert Kasabian. It was Robert who would lead Linda to Los Angeles, inviting her to come live with him following a brief split during which she had gone to live with her mother in New Hampshire. Together, she and Robert lived in the hippie communes of Topanga Canyon. After Robert left Linda behind to go on a trip to South America, she became friends with Catherine Share, who invited her to join the commune on Spahn Ranch.

Kasabian quickly became a part of the group and often accompanied the Manson family members on what Manson called "creepy crawls," in which they would break into homes and loot them while their owners slept.

Because Kasabian was the only family member with a driver's license, that became her role in the killings. She overheard the slaughter going on in the house on Cielo Drive and said she got out of the car and began running toward the house, hoping she could stop them. She testified she saw Wojciech Frykowski exit the house.

Linda Kasabian in 1970 at a news conference following her 18 days of testimony against fellow members of the Manson Family.

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"There was a man just coming out of the door and he had blood all over his face and he was standing by a post, and we looked into each other's eyes for a minute, and I said, 'Oh, God, I am so sorry. Please make it stop.' And then he just fell to the ground into the bushes. And then [Atkins] came running out of the house, and I said, 'Sadie, please make it stop.' And then I said, 'I hear people coming.' And she said, 'It is too late.' And then she told me that she left her knife and she couldn't find it, and I believe she started to run back into the house. While this was going on, the man had gotten up, and I saw Tex on top of him, hitting him on the head and stabbing him, and the man was struggling, and then I saw [Krenwinkel] in the background with [Abigail Folger], chasing after her with an upraised knife, and I just turned and ran to the car down at the bottom of the hill," Kasabian said. (Note: Sadie was Susan Atkins' nickname in the Manson family.)

The next night, Kasabian accompanied group members to the LaBianca home but did not go inside. Manson then asked Kasabian to take the rest of them to the home of Saladin Nader, an actor Kasabian and Manson member Sandra Good had recently met. Kasabian was supposed to knock on the door of Nader's house and, when he answered, Atkins and Grogan were to kill him. However, Kasabian instead went to the wrong apartment. They did not kill the occupant of that apartment.

Two days later, Kasabian and her daughter left the Manson family and returned to New Hampshire. Kasabian later turned herself in and agreed to testify against the others in exchange for immunity, becoming the prosecution's key witness.

Bugliosi believed that Kasabian would have testified even without immunity.

"She never asked for immunity from prosecution, but we gave it," he said. "She stood in the witness box for 17 or 18 days and never broke down, despite the incredible pressure she was under. I doubt we would have convicted Manson without her."

Post murders, Kasabian tried to live a quiet life with her children. When she appeared in her rare interviews, she used a disguise.

She has reportedly died in Washington state at the age of 73, according to accounts in TMZ, Washington Post and L.A. Times, citing reviews of her death certificate. The news sites said she was listed in the death notices in The News Tribune of Tacoma under the name Linda Chiochios. That listing gives the date of her death as Jan. 21, 2023.

Mary Brunner

Mary Brunner, center, in Los Angeles court, June 1970.

Mary Brunner was an early Manson devotee, and the mother of one of his sons. She grew up in Wisconsin, but met Manson in Berkeley, where she worked as a library assistant at the University of California. It was a chance encounter that occurred while taking her dog for a walk. The pair hit if off and Manson moved into her apartment. He would later convince her to allow other women to move in, a portent for the "family" he intended to build. The couple had a son, Valentine Michael, in 1968. Brunner ended up settling with Manson and the rest of his followers at Spahn Ranch.

Brunner accompanied Beausoleil and Atkins to the home of Hinman but was not convicted of his murder. Instead, she received immunity for testifying against the others. On Aug. 8, hours before the Cielo Drive murders, Brunner and follower Sandra Good were arrested for using stolen credit cards.

Brunner was arrested in 1971 after participating in the heist of a Hawthorne surplus store with several other followers, including Catherine Share. She was released in 1977, changed her name and has since gone on to live a quiet, reclusive life, reportedly in the Midwest. Brunner and Manson's son was raised by his maternal grandparents. According to Bugliosi's Helter Skelter:

Valentine Michael ("Pooh Bear"), the son of Manson and Mary Brunner, was raised by Mary's parents in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Until the third grade, he did not know who his father was and believed his mother to be his older sister. In 1993, Michael told a reporter who tracked him down that he had never visited Manson "nor do I have any desire to see him. He's just some evil person I have nothing to do with."

Sandra Good

Sandra Good, left, and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme arrive at the federal court in Sacramento, March 13, 1976.

San Diego native Sandra Good linked up with Manson in 1968 and lived with the family on Spahn Ranch. She did not participate in the Tate/LaBianca murders, as she and Brunner had been arrested on Aug. 8 for using stolen credit cards.

She remained loyal to Manson for many years. In 1975, she and follower Susan Murphy were arrested for sending nearly 200 hostile letters to various corporate executives. According to Helter Skelter, the letters "threatened named corporate executives and U.S. government officials with death if they did not forthwith stop polluting the air and water and destroying the environment." Good represented herself in court and was sentenced to 15 years although she would only serve 10.

After she was released in 1985, she continued her infatuation with Manson. Because she was not allowed to return to California as a condition of her parole, she instead moved to Vermont where she took an assumed name. When her parole ended, she uprooted her life and move to Hanford, California to be closer to Manson, despite being denied visiting privileges.

At least until 2006, Good was still a loyal supporter, calling into talk shows to claim Manson's innocence. It is not clear where Good lives now. She is 81.

Paul Watkins

Paul Watkins is front center in this Feb. 1970 photo of Manson Family members taken in Feb. 1970 in the Los Angeles Hall of Justice. Identifiable are, Lynette Fromme, far left, Sandra Good, obscured, Mark Ross, tall with dark beard and Catherine "Gypsy" Share, holding Sandra Good's son Ivan.

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Paul Watkins was a drifter who met Charles Manson at a house in Topanga Canyon in the spring of 1968. Watkins would testify that on New Year's Eve of that year, Manson gathered the family together to tell them about Helter Skelter. Watkins did not maintain his devotion to Manson as much as the others and did not participate in any of the murders. He was in Death Valley when the Tate/LaBianca murders were committed. Watkins was, however, key in testifying to the impetus for the Manson Family's crimes, and told investigators about Helter Skelter. (You can read his testimony here.)

Watkins continued to renounce Manson after the trial. He settled in Tecopa, near Death Valley. He founded the Death Valley Chamber of Commerce, married twice and had two children. One of his daughters, author Claire Vaye Watkins, has written about the impact her father's legacy had on her life. Watkins died in 1990 of leukemia, when Claire was a child.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.