Charles Manson's Tragic Helter Skelter

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Charles Manson is one of the most iconic criminals in American history. He is mostly known for the Tate-LaBianca killings, but really, he was to convince his cult following to murder many people in the Hollywood area. Charles Manson had an extremely troubled childhood; however, this was nothing compared to the Manson Family’s tragic “Helter Skelter” murders. Charles Manson did not have a typical American childhood. Instead he spent many years in childhood institutions. Manson was born on Nov. 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Kathleen Maddox, a sixteen year old unmarried runaway. His biological father was “Colonel Scott” from Ashland,Kentucky. Kathleen briefly married William Manson, where Charles got his last name. In 1939, his mother was …show more content…

At the time, San Francisco was full of young people using drugs and were heavily into the hippie culture. Manson had finally found a place where he fit in. He even became popular for his idea of a utopian society and his alternative visions of good and evil. He met Mary Brunner, and she would become the mother of his third child. Her beliefs of saving the earth was appealing to many young people. They, together, gained a small following of teens (Petersen, 2005). Most of these teens were socially awkward and had trouble fitting in. They looked up to him for guidance (Malt Schneiderman, 2013). Manson became friends with the founding member of the Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson. Manson and his eleven followers now lived with Dennis Wilson, and over the next few months that number doubled. His followers made themselves part of the household, and Wilson would sing and write songs with Manson. Wilson introduced Manson to some of his entertainment business friends. In August 1968, Manson and his followers left and settled at the Spahn Movie Ranch, an old set for movie and TV westerns. Manson would have his female followers to have sex with the owner for the family’s rent (Charles, 2014). Manson’s family was now becoming a cult. The culture of the ranch was heavily influenced by drugs. His followers even claimed that he had psychic connections with them, and he made them feel special. Charles Manson began to …show more content…

After the raid, Manson moved his family to inhabitable depths of Death Valley. They lived a savage-like lifestyle picking through garbage for food for two months until they were captured and arrested for vandalism of the Death Valley National Park (bio.com, n.d.). At this time, the county sheriff had them in custody without knowing that Manson had conducted the horrific Tate-LaBianca murders (Malt Schneiderman, 2013). The police did not have any leads until October, 1969 when Susan Atkins implicated the Manson Family after being arrested for the murder of Gary Hinman (Freeney, 2014). On June 15, 1970, the Manson Family trials began. Prosecutors claimed that the “Helter Skelter” murders were committed to prove that the blacks wanted to take over. Testimony during the trial revealed that Manson ordered a follower to take LaBianca’s wallet to a bathroom in a black neighborhood, so blacks would be blamed for the murders. During the trial, Sandra Good claimed the Manson family committed 35 to 40 murders. Manson and his followers attempted to attack the judge several times during 41 week trial. One of the lawyers defending Manson was found dead between two boulders as well (Petersen, 2005). Adolf Hitler was one of Manson’s many influences. He told his followers that “Hitler had the best answer to everything….”(Bugliosi & Gentry, p. 473). An issue during the trial was proving that Manson that he did it

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