Actress Sharon Tate found murdered - Aug 09, 1969 - HISTORY.com Actress Sharon Tate found murdered Share this: Actress Sharon Tate found murdered Author Actress Sharon Tate found murdered URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1969, the 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of acclaimed movie director Roman Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown), is found murdered along with four other people at her Los Angeles home. The gruesome crime, in which the killers scrawled messages on the walls with the victims’ blood, sent Hollywood into a state of panic. The career criminal and cult leader Charles Manson and his followers, who lived together on the outskirts of L.A. in a commune where drug use and orgies were common, were later convicted for the murders. Sharon Marie Tate was born January 24, 1943, in Dallas, Texas.

She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s to pursue acting, eventually appearing in such films as Eye of the Devil (1966); The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), which was directed by Polanski; Valley of the Dolls (1967), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination; The Wrecking Crew (1969) and The Thirteen Chairs (1969). Tate and Polanski were married in January 1968. The director was out of the country on the night of August 8, 1969, when Tate, who was due to give birth in a matter of weeks, and her friends, including the coffee heiress Abigail Folger and the celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, were shot or stabbed to death at Tate and Polanski’s rented home on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon. The Tate-Polanski home reportedly was chosen as a target because Manson had unsuccessfully attempted to get a recording deal from a producer who used to live there. Manson’s subsequent trial became a national spectacle, during which he exhibited bizarre, violent behavior.

He was convicted and given the death penalty, a sentence that was commuted to life behind bars when the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty law in 1972. Since his trial, Manson has become a criminal icon and the subject of numerous books and films, notably the bestselling 1974 true crime book Helter Skelter, co-authored by Vincent Bugliosi, the Los Angeles County assistant district attorney who successfully prosecuted Manson and his followers. In 1977, Polanski became embroiled in controversy after he pled guilty to engaging in unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl and later fled the United States to avoid a possible prison sentence. The director continued to make movies, but has not returned to America, where he could be arrested. At the 2002 Academy Awards, Polanski was awarded the Best Director Oscar in absentia for his wrenching Holocaust-era film The Pianist.

Related Videos Charles Manson - Charles Manson and his "family" went on a killing spree 45 years ago in California - Pictures - CBS News Next Charles Manson More than four decades ago, the 1969 murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in Los Angeles by Charles Manson and "the family," as his followers were called, shocked the nation. The killings were part of a series of nine murders that took place over five weeks in California. In 1971, Manson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people, including Tate. He was sentenced to be executed, but his sentence was changed to life in prison when the death penalty was abolished in California. Here, Charles Manson sticks his tongue out at photographers as he appears in a Santa Monica courtroom in California, June 25, 1970. Credit: AP Charles Manson Charles Manson is seen in a California Dept. of Corrections photo from 2011. Manson sent members of his cult, referred to as "the family," to Sharon Tate's house in August 1969 with instructions to kill everyone there. Credit: Calif. Dept.

of Corrections/AP Charles Manson This composite photograph shows the evolution of Charles Manson's looks over the years, from 1969 through 2011. Manson was last denied parole in 2012. Credit: AP Manson family Charles Manson followers, from left: Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten walk to court in Aug. 1970 to appear for their roles in the 1969 cult killings of seven people. Credit: AP Susan Atkins Susan Atkins, 21, speaks at a news conference in Santa Monica, California, Dec. 3, 1969. Atkins died while in prison in September, 2009. Credit: Wally Fong/AP Susan Atkins Susan Atkins sleeps on a moveable bed during her parole hearing at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California, Sept. 2, 2009. Atkins was denied parole and died later that month. Atkins told some people that she killed Sharon Tate, but told others that "Tex" Watkins actually committed the crime.

Credit: Ben Margot/Pool/AP Patricia Krenwinkle Manson follower Patricia Krenwinkel heads to court in Los Angeles, Mar. 3, 1970. Krenwinkel is one of three followers of Charles Manson convicted of killing Sharon Tate who is still living. She confessed that she stabbed one of the victims, Abigail Folger, to death. She is the longest-incarcerated female in the California prison system along with Leslie Van Houten. Credit: AP Patricia Krenwinkel Patricia Krenwinkel appears at a parole hearing at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California, Jan. 20, 2011. Her parole request was denied. Credit: Reed Saxon/AP Charles 'Tex' Watson Charles "Tex" Watson, 24, charged in the slaying of actress Sharon Tate and others, appears at an extradition hearing in McKinney, Texas, Feb. 16, 1970.

Susan Atkins testified that Watson walked into the victim's home saying, "I'm the devil, and I'm here to do the devil's business." Credit: AP Charles "Tex" Watson Charles "Tex" Watson appears at a parole hearing at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, where he is serving a life sentence, Nov. 16, 2011. His book, "Will You Die for Me?" describes the night of the Tate murders and says that he was the main killer in the massacre. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP Leslie Van Houten Leslie Van Houten, 19, leaves a court hearing in Los Angeles, Dec. 19, 1969. Van Houten was sentenced to death, but the sentence was changed to life in prison. Van Houten was the youngest Manson follower to take part in the murders. Although she did not participate in the murder of Sharon Tate, she aided in the slaying of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca on August 10, 1969, a day after the murder of a pregnant actress actress Sharon Tate and four others.

Credit: AP Photo/George Brich Leslie Van Houten Leslie Van Houten appears during her parole hearing at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif, June 5, 2013. She was denied parole at the hearing, her 20th. A panel recommended parole April 14, 2016, more than four decades after she went to prison for the notorious killings of a wealthy grocer and his wife Credit: Nick Ut/AP Linda Kasabian Linda Kasabian, center, speaks at a press conference after testifying for 18 days as a prosecution witness in the Sharon Tate Murder trial, Aug. 19, 1970. In exchange for her key testimony, Kasabian was offered immunity from prosecution. She acted as a driver and lookout during the murders that took place August 9, 1969. Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi told the Guardian newspaper in London in 2009, "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." Credit: David F.

Smith/AP Victims of the Manson Family The five victims slain the night of Aug. 9, 1969 at the Benedict Canyon Estate of Roman Polanski are seen in a composite image. From left, Wojciech Frykowski, Sharon Tate, Stephen Parent, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger. Credit: AP Polanski interior The living room where American actress Sharon Tate, wife of Director Roman Polanski, then eight months pregnant, was murdered with in the couple's Beverly Hills, mansion, Aug. 9, 1969. Credit: AFP/Getty Images Sharon Tate Actress Sharon Tate poses for this undated photo. Tate, who starred in television and film roles, was identified by police as one of five victims found slain in her Benedict Canyon estate, Aug. 9, 1969. Credit: AP Sharon Tate & Roman Polanski Sharon Tate makes a toast with her husband, Roman Polanski, at the London, England premiere of "Rosemary's Baby," Jan. 23, 1969. On the night of the slaying, Polanksi was filming a movie in England.

Credit: AP Abigail Folger & Wojciech Frykowski Coffee heiress Abigail Folger and director Wojciech Frykowski are seen in New York City in 1968. Both were among the victims of the multiple murder at the home of actress Sharon Tate, Aug. 9, 1969. Credit: AP Wojciech Frykowski Wojciech Frykowski, 37, was one of the five victims of a cultist-style murder spree at the Los Angeles, home of actress Sharon Tate. Credit: AP The 'Manson Family' murders The 'Manson Family' murders The 'Manson Family' murders In 1969, pregnant actress Sharon Tate was found horrifically murdered along with four other people at her home in Los Angeles. Charles Manson and his followers were found guilty of the brutal crime that shook the nation. Look back at the shocking murder and what ensued.

BY Kerri Mccune Sister of slain actress Sharon Tate: Manson's planned marriage to 26-year-old is 'ludicrous' | Fox News Sister of slain actress Sharon Tate: Manson's planned marriage to 26-year-old is 'ludicrous' Published November 18, 2014 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print FILE - In this June 5, 2013 file photo, Debra Tate speaks about her sister, actress Sharon Tate, who was killed by the Manson family, during a parole hearing for former Manson family member, Leslie Van Houten at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif. Tate, who acts as a spokeswoman for the families of Manson's victims, said the impending marriage of Charles Manson is "ludicrous." "I think it's insane," she said. "What would any young woman in her right mind want with an 80-year-old man?" As for Manson's motives, she said, "The devil is alive and well." (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File) (The Associated Press) This Oct. 8, 2014 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections shows 80-year-old serial killer Charles Manson.

A marriage license has been issued for Manson to wed 26-year-old Afton Elaine Burton, who left her Midwestern home nine years ago and moved to Corcoran, California to be near him. Burton, who goes by the name "Star," told the AP that she and Manson will be married next month. (AP Photos/California Department of Corrections) (The Associated Press) FILE -- In a Sept. 2, 2009 file photo Debra Tate, sister of slain Sharon Tate, speaks during a parole hearing for Manson follower Susan Atkins at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, Calif. Tate, whose pregnant sister Sharon was slain in 1969 by the murderous followers of Charles Manson, has spent much of her life trying to divert attention from the cult leader and keep him in prison. Manson, now 80, plans to marry a 26-year-old woman who moved from the Midwest years ago to be near him. Tate calls the development "ludicrous" and "insane," but says she is not surprised.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot/Pool, File) (The Associated Press) Previous Next LOS ANGELES – Debra Tate, whose pregnant sister Sharon was slain in 1969 by the murderous followers of Charles Manson, has spent much of her life trying to divert attention from the cult leader and keep him in prison. Her job got tougher with the news that Manson, now 80, plans to marry a 26-year-old woman who moved from the Midwest years ago to be near him. Debra Tate calls the development "ludicrous" and "insane," but says she is not surprised. "It's always something with him," she said. Tate said Manson's bride-to-be, Afton Elaine Burton, known as "Star," seems to believe that Manson is leading a movement to save the environment. Its name, ATWA — which stands for air, trees, water, animals — was emblazoned on a T-shirt worn by Burton when The Associated Press interviewed her on Monday. "I wonder how long it will take for her to figure out this is just a con," Tate said. "It makes me wonder what is missing in her life that she would want to marry an 80-year-old man.

Is she a victim? Is she mentally deranged?" Burton has said she loves Manson and wants to help exonerate him. Marrying him would provide access to information denied to nonrelatives, she said without elaborating. Tate, 62, recently published a coffee table book about her sister. "There are no M words in the book. No Manson, no murder," Tate said Tuesday. "It's a celebration of Sharon's life, her fashion sense, her physical beauty and her spirit." With an introduction by Sharon's widower, director Roman Polanski, the book is entitled "Sharon Tate Recollection." Sharon Tate was 26 and more than 8 months pregnant when she was killed with four other people. The next night, grocers Leno and Rosemary La Bianca were stabbed to death across town. Manson later stood trial with Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten. All were sentenced to death as was a fifth killer, Charles "Tex" Watson. When the death penalty was outlawed briefly in 1972, their sentences were commuted to life in prison. A self-imposed purgatory followed for the family of Sharon Tate.

Her mother and two sisters committed themselves to attending every parole hearing for every Manson family member to argue against their release. Debra Tate is one of the few people still alive to carry on that cause. Foremost in her mind is preventing the spread of Manson's Internet following. "I don't want any more heinous actions by another family like his because of something I didn't do," she said. Advertisement Manson Family Murders Fast Facts - CNN.com Manson Family Murders Fast Facts CNN Library Updated 3:33 PM ET, Thu January 5, 2017 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: Manson Family murders It has been more than four decades since the murder of Sharon Tate and four others at the Los Angeles home of Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski. The murders led to the arrest and trial of Charles Manson along with his followers, who physically committed the crimes. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Polanski and Tate at their wedding in January 1968. Tate was eight months pregnant at the time of her death.

Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Writer Wojciech Frykowski, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring and Steven Parent, a friend of the family's gardener, were also killed. Hide Caption The victims were stabbed, shot and beaten to death. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Polanski, who was out of town at the time of the murders, is seen on the porch outside his home, the remnants of the word "pig" can be seen where it was scrawled on the door. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders On the night of August 10, three of Manson's followers killed supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, at their home (pictured). This time Manson accompanied his followers to select the victims, but again did not take part in the killing. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Manson and his followers were arrested at this remote location, called Barker Ranch, on suspicion of auto theft. Police did not immediately connect them to the murders.

Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders A break in the case came when Susan Atkins, already in jail, told a fellow inmate about the Tate murders. "Because we wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, that the world would have to stand up and take notice," she said. Hide Caption Manson, along with five followers, is indicted on December 8, 1969, for the murders. Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders From left, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten walk to court to appear for their roles in the murders. Hide Caption Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges related to the murders. Hide Caption 11 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Manson appears with an "X" cut into his forehead when the trial starts on June 16, 1970. It was said to symbolize being crossed out of society. He later altered the scar to become a swastika.

Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders After a seven-month trial, all the defendants were found guilty on January 25, 1971. Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten received the death penalty. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Manson is led, head shaved and beardless, to hear his sentence on March 29, 1971. He received the death penalty as well. Hide Caption 14 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Charles "Tex" Watson was tried separately, after fleeing to Texas and fighting extradition to California. He was convicted and also sentenced to death in 1971. All the sentences were commuted to life in prison when California abolished the death penalty in 1972. Hide Caption 15 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Manson is seen in court in 1986, during a parole hearing. He was denied for the sixth time. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Photos: Manson Family murders Manson was denied parole for the 12th time on April 12, 2012.

According to the California Parole Board, he has accrued 108 serious disciplinary violations in prison since 1971 and has shown no remorse for the murders. Hide Caption Here is look at Charles Manson and the 1969 Manson Family cult killings. Personal: Birth date: November 12, 1934 Birth place: Cincinnati, Ohio Birth name: Charles Milles Maddox Father: Father's name unavailable publicly Read More Mother: Kathleen Maddox Marriages: Rosalie Jean (Willis) Manson (1955-divorce date unknown); also was married to a woman named Leona in the early 1960s, whose last name is not publicly known. Children: At least two: with Rosalie Jean (Willis) Manson: Charles M. Manson, Jr. (1956-1993); with a woman whose name is not publicly known: Charles Luther Manson. Other Facts: Reportedly, during his childhood, Manson's mother sold him for a pitcher of beer to a woman who wanted to have children. His uncle had to find the woman so that he could get his nephew back. He later took his stepfather William Manson's last name.

According to the California Parole Board, Manson has a history of manipulation, controlling behavior and mental illnesses which include schizophrenia and paranoid delusional behavior. The killings inspired the best-selling book, "Helter Skelter," written by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. Timeline: 1947 - At age 12, Charles Manson is sent to Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, Indiana, for stealing. Over the next twenty years, he is in and out of reform schools and prison for various crimes. Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate This image of infamous inmate Charles Manson was taken in 2011. Manson, the cult leader whose followers committed heinous murders almost a half century ago, has been hospitalized, the Los Angeles Times and TMZ reported on Tuesday, January 3. Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate In this 2009 prison photo, Manson is seen without his trademark long hair. Manson is serving nine life terms for ordering a wave of killings in the summer of 1969.

Hide Caption Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate Manson is seen slightly disheveled in this 2006 prison booking photo. Hide Caption Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate Manson is seen in a prison booking photo from 2002. Hide Caption Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate Manson in a 1996 booking photo. Hide Caption Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate Manson smirks at the camera in this 1978 photo. Hide Caption Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate Manson is seen with his swastika forehead tattoo in 1970. Hide Caption Photos: Charles Manson: The infamous inmate This 1969 mugshot shows Manson soon after the murder of actress Sharon Tate. Hide Caption 8 of 8 March 21, 1967 - Manson is released from prison. He tells the prison officials that he doesn't want to be released, "Oh, no, I can't go outside there...I knew that I couldn't adjust to that world, not after all my life had been spent locked up and where my mind was free." After his release, he moves to San Francisco.

1967-1968 - Manson meets Gary Hinman, a music teacher who introduces him to Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. -- Manson attracts a group of followers. The group moves to the isolated Spahn Ranch, outside of Chatsworth, California. -- Dennis Wilson introduces Manson to record producer Terry Melcher, the son of actress Doris Day. After initially showing interest in Manson's music, Melcher declines to work with him further. -- Melcher later moves out of his home on Cielo Drive, and the house is then leased to film director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate. July 1969 - Gary Hinman is killed by Manson follower Bobby Beausoleil, accompanied by Manson Family members Mary Brunner and Susan Atkins. The murder is committed at the behest of Manson. August 8-9, 1969 - At Manson's command, a small group of his most ardent followers brutally murder five people at the Benedict Canyon home of director Roman Polanski, near Hollywood. The victims are Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, writer Wojciech Frykowski, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and celebrity hair stylist Jay Sebring.

Also killed is Steven Parent, who was a friend of the family's gardener. The murders are committed by followers Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel. Linda Kasabian accompanies them as a lookout. August 9-10, 1969 - Manson, displeased at the sloppiness of the previous night's murders, accompanies a group of followers on a search for victims. In the car are: Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Kasabian as well as Leslie van Houten and Steve "Clem" Grogan. After several hours, the group comes upon the house of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. The couple are brutally murdered by Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel and Van Houten. October 1969 - Manson and his followers are arrested at another remote location, called Barker Ranch, on suspicion of auto theft.

November 6, 1969 - Manson Family member Susan Atkins, already charged in the murder of Gary Hinman, tells inmate Virginia Castro that she killed Sharon Tate, "Because we wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, that the world would have to stand up and take notice." November 12, 1969 - The LA Sheriff's detectives interview Al Springer, motorcycle gang member who had some association with Manson. Springer tells them that Manson told him about killing people days after the Tate murders. November 16, 1969 - The LAPD interviews inmate Ronnie Howard about her conversation with Susan Atkins concerning the Tate/LaBianca murders. November 18, 1969 - Deputy District Attorney Vincent T. Bugliosi is assigned the case. November 30, 1969 - Watson is apprehended in Texas. His lawyers fight extradition to California for nine months. December 8, 1969 - Manson, Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel and Kasabian are indicted for the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends. The grand jury also indicts the five, plus Van Houten, for the LaBianca murders.

June 16, 1970 - Trial begins for Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel and Van Houten. -- Manson appears in court with an "X" carved into his forehead. -- He defends himself in court with the help from attorney Irving Kanarek. August 1970 - Linda Kasabian is given immunity in exchange for her testimony against Manson and the others. January 15, 1971 - After a seven-month trial, jury deliberations begin. The jury finds all the defendants guilty on January 25. March 29, 1971 - Manson, Krenwinkel, Atkins and Van Houten receive the death penalty. 1971 - Charles "Tex" Watson is found guilty of the murders of seven people and is sentenced to death. 1972 - The death penalty is abolished in California. The sentences for all Manson Family members are commuted to life in prison. April 11, 2012 - Manson is denied parole for the 12th time.

According to the California Parole Board, he has accrued 108 serious disciplinary violations in prison since 1971 and has shown no remorse for the murders. Manson's next parole hearing is set for 2027, when he will be 92. November 20, 2013 - A 25-year-old pen pal, who calls herself "Star," tells Rolling Stone magazine that she considers Manson her husband. The imprisoned cult leader says, however, that Star's story is "garbage." She began sending letters to Manson when she was in high school. November 18, 2014 - Sources tell CNN that Manson and Star have, in fact, obtained a marriage license. February, 2015 - The wedding is called off, according to tabloid reports. June 6, 2015 - Manson prosecutor and author of "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders," Vincent Bugliosi dies in California. January 3, 2016 - According to the LA Times, Manson is transported from Corcoran Prison to an off-site hospital in Bakersfield, California.

Major Players ("Manson Family"): September 24, 2009 - Dies in prison. Bobby Beausoleil: 1969 - Convicted of the murder of Gary Hinman. He is serving a life sentence. October 14, 2016 - Beausoleil is denied parole for the 18th time. Bruce Davis: April 21, 1972 - Convicted of the murders of Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea. He is serving a life sentence. March 12, 2014 - Davis is granted parole in California following his 28th parole hearing, according to the state Department of Corrections. January 2016 - California Governor Jerry Brown denies parole for Davis. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme: 1975 - Attempts to shoot President Gerald Ford. August 14, 2009 - Is released on parole after serving 34 years.

Steven "Clem" Grogan: 1986 - Grogan is released on parole after revealing the location of the body of ranch-hand Donald "Shorty" Shea, killed in 1969. Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel: January 20, 2011 - Denied parole for the 13th time. 2014 - Krenwinkel provides an interview for the documentary "Life After Manson," her first on-camera appearance since 1994. December 2016 - California parole board members delay their decision on freeing Krenwinkel after her attorney raises claims of abuse by Manson, or another member of the cult. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issues a statement that the information presented at the hearing does elicit cause for an investigation. Leslie Van Houten: June 5, 2013 - Denied parole for the 20th time. April 14, 2016 - A parole board panel recommends Van Houten's release, and the full Board of Parole Hearings will review the decision over the next four months. July 2016 - California Gov.

Jerry Brown denies parole to former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten, saying that the murder convict "currently poses an unreasonable danger to society." Charles D. "Tex" Watson: November 16, 2011 - Denied parole for the 16th time. October 27, 2016 - Watson is denied parole for the 17th time. BBC ON THIS DAY | 9 | 1969: Film star stabbed in 'ritualistic' killings About This Site | Text Only 1969: Film star stabbed in 'ritualistic' killings Actress Sharon Tate has been found brutally murdered in her Los Angeles home, along with three high-society friends and a fifth, as yet un-named, victim. All five died from shooting and multiple stab wounds. Sharon Tate, 26, was the wife of film director Roman Polanski and was eight months pregnant. In what police said appeared to be a "ritualistic" murder, she was found tied together with her former fianc�, hair stylist Jay Sebring. Police said both had nylon nooses around their necks, and Mr Sebring's head was covered with a black hood.

They said both probably died of stab wounds. Horrific scene The bodies of Abigail Folger, 25, a member of a wealthy coffee-manufacturing family, and her boyfriend Voyteck Frykowski, 32, were found sprawled on the lawn outside. Both had been shot. The fifth victim, a man, was found slumped over the wheel of a car with multiple gunshot wounds. Police described a horrific scene at the hilltop house in the wealthy Bel Air district of the city. Some of the bodies had been mutilated, with blood smeared everywhere and the word "Pig" scrawled on the front door in blood. Police said the phone and electricity lines had been cut. It's believed that Miss Folger and Mr Frykowsky, as well as Mr Sebring, had come from San Francisco to spend the weekend at the house. Isolated area The bungalow-style property, in an isolated area between Beverly Hills and the San Fernando Valley, is owned by Terry Melcher, son of film star Doris Day. It was being rented by Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate who had recently returned there to have her baby after working in London.

Mr Polanski was still in Europe directing his latest film, but left immediately for Los Angeles on hearing the news. Immediately after the discovery of the bodies, police arrested a houseboy, William Garretson, 19, who was living in a guest house behind the house. After five hours of questioning, he was charged with five counts of murder. Sharon Tate began her acting career in the television series, Beverly Hillbillies. She also had parts in the films Valley of the Dolls, the Americanisation of Emily, and The Sandpiper. An Account of the Charles Manson (Tate-LaBianca Murder) Trial of 1970-71.

"Was there anyone there other than Charlie?" "Not that I know of" "Where was Charlie when you arrived at the premises?" "About the same spot he was in when he first drove away." "What happened after you pulled the car onto the parking area and parked the car?" "Sadie said she saw a spot of blood on the outside of the car when we were at the gas station." "Who was present at that time when she said that?" "The four of us and Charlie." "What is the next thing that happened?" "Well, Charlie told us to go into the kitchen, get a sponge, wipe the blood off, and he also instructed Katie and I to go all through the car and wipe off the blood spots." "What is the next thing that happened after Mr. Manson told you and Katie to check out the car and remove the blood?" "He told us to go into the bunk room and wait, which we did." Kasabian also offered her account of the night of the LaBianca murders.

She testified that she didn't want to go, but went anyway "because Charlie asked me and I was afraid to say no." Kasabian proved a very credible witness, despite the best efforts during cross-examination of defense attorneys to make her appear a spaced-out hippie. After admitting that she took LSD about fifty times, Kasabian was asked by Kanarek, "Describe what happened on trip number 23." Other defense questions explored her beliefs in ESP and witchcraft or focused on the "vibrations" she claimed to receive from Manson. A major distraction from Kasabian's testimony came on August 3, when Manson stood before the jury and held up a copy of the Los Angeles Times with the headline, "MANSON GUILTY, NIXON DECLARES." The defense moved for a mistrial on the grounds that the headline prejudiced the jury against the defense, but Judge Older denied the motion after each juror stated under oath that he or she would not be influenced by the President's reported declaration of guilt. Testimony corroborating that of Kasabian came from several other prosecution witnesses, most notably the woman Atkins confided in at Dormitory 8000, Virginia Graham .

Other witnesses described receiving threats from Manson, evidence of Manson's total control over the lives of family members, or conversations in which Manson had told of the coming Helter Skelter. Nineteen-year-old Paul Watkins , Manson's foremost recruiter of young women, provided key testimony about the strange motive for the Tate-LaBianca murders--including its link to the Bible's Book of Revelation . Watkins testified that Manson discussed Helter Skelter "constantly." Bugliosi asked Watkins how Helter Skelter would start: "There would be some atrocious murders; that some of the spades from Watts would come up into the Bel-Air and Beverly Hills district and just really wipe some people out, just cut bodies up and smear blood and write things on the wall in blood, and cut little boys up and make parents watch. So, in retaliation-this would scare; in other words, all the other white people would be afraid that this would happen to them, so out of their fear they would go into the ghetto and just start shooting black people like crazy. But all they would shoot would be the garbage man and Uncle Toms, and all the ones that were with Whitey in the first place.

And underneath it all, the Black Muslims would-he would know that it was coming down." "Helter Skelter was coming down?" "Yes. So, after Whitey goes in the ghettoes and shoots all the Uncle Toms, then the Black Muslims come out and appeal to the people by saying, 'Look what you have done to my people.' And this would split Whitey down the middle, between all the hippies and the liberals and all the up-tight piggies. This would split them in the middle and a big civil war would start and really split them up in all these different factions, and they would just kill each other off in the meantime through their war. And after they killed each other off, then there would be a few of them left who supposedly won." "A few of who left?" "A few white people left who supposedly won. Then the Black Muslims would come out of hiding and wipe them all out." "Wipe the white people out?" "Yes. By sneaking around and slitting their throats." "Did Charlie say anything about where he and the Family would be during this Helter Skelter?" "Yes.

When we was [sic] in the desert the first time, Charlie used to walk around in the desert and say-you see, there are places where water would come up to the top of the ground and then it would go down and there wouldn't be no more water, and then it would come up again and go down again. He would look at that and say, 'There has got to be a hole somewhere, somewhere here, a big old lake.' And it just really got far out, that there was a hole underneath there somewhere where you could drive a speedboat across it, a big underground city. Then we started from the 'Revolution 9' song on the Beatles album which was interpreted by Charlie to mean the Revelation 9. So-" "The last book of the New Testament?" "Just the book of Revelation and the song would be 'Revelations 9: So, in this book it says, there is a part about, in Revelations 9, it talks of the bottomless pit. Then later on, I believe it is in 10." "Revelation 10?" "Yes.

It talks about there will be a city where there will be no sun and there will be no moon." "Manson spoke about this?" "Yes, many times. That there would be a city of gold, but there would be no life, and there would be a tree there that bears twelve different kinds of fruit that changed every month. And this was interpreted to mean-this was the hole down under Death Valley." "Did he talk about the twelve tribes of Israel?" "Yes. That was in there, too. It was supposed to get back to the 144,000 people. The Family was to grow to this number." "The twelve tribes of Israel being 144,000 people?" "Yes." "And Manson said that the Family would eventually increase to 144,000 people?" "Yes." "Did he say when this would take place?" "Oh, yes. See, it was all happening simultaneously. In other words, as we are making the music and it is drawing all the young love to the desert, the Family increases in ranks, and at the same time this sets off Helter Skelter.

So then the Family finds the hole in the meantime and gets down in the hole and lives there until the whole thing comes down." "Until Helter Skelter comes down?" "Yes." "Did he say who would win this Helter Skelter?" "The karma would have completely reversed, meaning that the black men would be on top and the white race would be wiped out; there would be none except for the Family." "Except for Manson and the Family?" "Yes." "Did he say what the black man would do once he was all by himself?" "Well, according to Charlie, he would clean up the mess, just like he always has done. He is supposed to be the servant, see.

He will clean up the mess that he made, that the white man made, and build the world back up a little bit, build the cities back up, but then he wouldn't know what to do with it, he couldn't handle it." "Blackie couldn't handle it?" "Yes, and this is when the Family would come out of the hole, and being that he would have completed the white man's karma, then he would no longer have this vicious want to kill." "When you say 'he,' you mean Blackie?" "Blackie then would come to Charlie and say, you know, 'I did my thing, I killed them all and, you know, I am tired of killing now. It is all over.' And Charlie would scratch his fuzzy head and kick him in the butt and tell him to go pick the cotton and go be a good nigger, and he would live happily ever after." On November 16, 1970, after twenty-two weeks of testimony, the prosecution rested its case.

When the trial resumed three days later, the defense startled courtroom spectators and the prosecution by announcing, without calling a single witness, "The defense rests." Suddenly, the three female defendants began shouting that they wanted to testify. In chambers, attorneys for the women explained that although their clients wanted to testify, they were strongly opposed, believing that they would--still under the powerful influence of Manson--testify that they planned and committed the murders without Manson's help. Returning to the courtroom, Judge Older declared that the right to testify took precedence and said that the defendants could testify over the objections of their counsel. Atkins was then sworn as a witness, but her attorney, Daye Shinn, refused to question her. Returning to chambers, one defense attorney complained that questioning their clients on the stand would be like "aiding and abetting a suicide." The next day came another surprise. Charles Manson announced that he, too, wished to testify--before his co-defendants did. He testified first without the jury being present, so that potentially excludable testimony relating to evidence incriminating co-defendants might be identified before it prejudiced the jury.

His over one-hour of testimony , full of digressions, fascinated observers: "I never went to school, so I never growed up to read and write too good, so I have stayed in jail and I have stayed stupid, and I have stayed a child while I have watched your world grow up, and then I look at the things that you do and I don't understand. . . . "You eat meat and you kill things that are better than you are, and then you say how bad, and even killers, your children are. You made your children what they are. . . . "These children that come at you with knives. they are your children. You taught them. I didn't teach them. I just tried to help them stand up. . . "Most of the people at the ranch that you call the Family were just people that you did not want, people that were alongside the road, that their parents had kicked out, that did not want to go to Juvenile Hall. So I did the best I could and I took them up on my garbage dump and I told them this: that in love there is no wrong. . . .

"I told them that anything they do for their brothers and sisters is good if they do it with a good thought. . . . "I don't understand you, but I don't try. I don't try to judge nobody. I know that the only person I can judge is me . . . But I know this: that in your hearts and your own souls, you are as much responsible for the Vietnam war as I am for killing these people. . . . "I can't judge any of you. I have no malice against you and no ribbons for you. But I think that it is high time that you all start looking at yourselves, and judging the lie that you live in. "I can't dislike you, but I will say this to you: you haven't got long before you are all going to kill yourselves, because you are all crazy. And you can project it back at me . . . but I am only what lives inside each and everyone of you. "My father is the jailhouse. My father is your system. . . I am only what you made me. I am only a reflection of you. "I have ate out of your garbage cans to stay out of jail. I have wore your second-hand clothes. . .

I have done my best to get along in your world and now you want to kill me, and I look at you, and then I say to myself, You want to kill me? Ha! I'm already dead, have been all my life. I've spent twenty-three years in tombs that you built. "Sometimes I think about giving it back to you; sometimes I think about just jumping on you and letting you shoot me . . . If I could, I would jerk this microphone off and beat your brains out with it, because that is what you deserve, that is what you deserve. . . . "These children [indicating the female defendants] were finding themselves. What they did, if they did whatever they did, is up to them. They will have to explain that to you. . . . "You expect to break me? Impossible! You broke me years ago. You killed me years ago. . . . "Mr. Bugliosi is a hard-driving prosecutor, polished education, a master of words, semantics. He is a genius. He has got everything that every lawyer would want to have except one thing: a case. He doesn't have a case. Were I allowed to defend myself, I could have proven this to you.

. .The evidence in this case is a gun. There was a gun that laid around the ranch. It belonged to everybody. Anybody could have picked that gun up and done anything they wanted to do with it. I don't deny having that gun. That gun has been in my possession many times. Like the rope was there because you need rope on a ranch. . . .It is really convenient that Mr. Baggot found those clothes. I imagine he got a little taste of money for that. . . .They put the hideous bodies on [photographic] display and they imply: If he gets out, see what will happen to you. . . .[Helter Skelter] means confusion, literally. It doesn't mean any war with anyone. It doesn't mean that some people are going to kill other people. . . Helter Skelter is confusion. Confusion is coming down around you fast. If you can't see the confusion coming down around you fast, you can call it what you wish. . Is it a conspiracy that the music is telling the youth to rise up against the establishment because the establishment is rapidly destroying things? Is that a conspiracy?

The music speaks to you every day, but you are too deaf, dumb, and blind to even listen to the music. . . It is not my conspiracy. It is not my music. I hear what it relates. It says "Rise," it says "Kill." Why blame it on me? I didn't write the music. . . . "I haven't got any guilt about anything because I have never been able to see any wrong. . . I have always said: Do what your love tells you, and I do what my love tells me . . . Is it my fault that your children do what you do? What about your children? You say there are just a few? There are many, many more, coming in the same direction. They are running in the streets-and they are coming right at you!" At the conclusion of Bugliosi's brief cross-examination of Manson, Older asked Manson if he now wished to testify before the jury. He replied, "I have already relieved all the pressure I had." Manson left the stand. As he walked by the counsel table, he told his three co-defendants, "You don't have to testify now." There remained one last frightening surprise of the Tate-LaBianca murder trial.

When the trial resumed on November 30 following Manson's testimony, Ronald Hughes , defense attorney for Leslie Van Houten failed to show. A subsequent investigation revealed he had disappeared over the weekend while camping in the remote Sespe Hot Springs area northwest of Los Angeles. It is widely believed that Hughes was ordered murdered by Manson for his determination to pursue a defense strategy at odds with that favored by Manson. Hughes had made clear his hope to show that Van Houten was not acting independently--as Manson suggested--but was completely controlled in her actions by Manson. Manson's defense attorney, Irving Kanarek, argued to the jury that the female defendants committed the Tate and LaBianca murders out of a love of the crimes' true mastermind, the absent Tex Watson. Kanarek suggested that Manson was being persecuted because of his "life style." He argued that the prosecution's theory of a motive was fanciful.

His argument lasted seven days, prompting Judge Older to call it "no longer an argument but a filibuster." Bugliosi's powerful summation described Charles Manson as "the Mephistophelean guru" who "sent out from the fires of hell at Spahn Ranch three heartless, bloodthirsty robots and--unfortunately for him--one human being, the little hippie girl Linda Kasabian." Bugliosi ended his summation with "a roll call of the dead": "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Sharon Tate...Abigail Folger...Voytek Frykowski...Jay Sebring...Steven Parent...Leno LaBianca...Rosemary LaBianca...are not here with us in this courtroom, but from their graves they cry out for justice." The jury deliberated a week before returning its verdict on January 25, 1971. The jury found all defendants guilty on each count of first-degree murder. After hearing additional evidence in the penalty phase of the trial, the jury completed its work by sentencing each of the four defendants to death on March 29.

As the clerk read the verdict, Manson shouted, "You people have no authority over me." Patricia Krenwinkel declared, "You have judged yourselves." Susan Atkins said, "Better lock your doors and watch your own kids." Leslie Van Houten complained, "The whole system is a game." The trial was over. At over nine-months, it had been the longest and and most expensive in American history. TRIAL AFTERMATH The death sentences imposed by the Tate-LaBianca jury would never be imposed, thanks to a California Supreme Court ruling in 1972 declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional. The death sentences for the four convicted defendants, as well as for Tex Watson who had been convicted and sentenced to death in a separate trial in 1971, were commuted to life in prison. All five currently remain in prison in California. Charles Manson is incarcerated at in a maximum security section of a state penitentiary in Concoran, California. He has been denied parole eleven times, most recently in 2012. In prison, he has assaulted prison staff a half dozen times.

A search of his the prison chapel where Manson took a job in 1980 revealed his hidden cache including marijuana, one hundred feet of nylon rope, and a mail-order catalog for hot air balloons. In 1986, he published his story, Manson in His Own Words . In his book, Manson claims: "My eyes are cameras. My mind is tuned to more television channels than exist in your world. And it suffers no censorship. Through it, I have a world and the universe as my own." All three female defendants have expressed remorse for their crimes, been exemplary inmates, and offered their time for charity work. Yet none has been released by the California Parole Board, even though each of them was young and clearly under Manson's powerful influence at the time of their crimes. There is no question that but for their unfortunate connection with Charles Manson, none would have committed murder. It is sad, but undoubtedly true, that parole boards are political bodies that base decisions as much upon anticipated public reaction to their decisions as on a careful review of a parole applicant's prison record and statements. Susan Atkins died in prison of terminal brain cancer in September 2009.

The remaining Manson family defendants (excluding Charlie, of course) deserve release, but given the reality of politics, might never again experience freedom. In November 2014, the California Department of Corrections announced that it had received a request for a marriage license from their famous eighty-year-old prisoner. Manson's bride-to-be is Afton Elaine Burton, a twenty-six-year old woman who has worked for Manson's release. Burton said, "I love him. I'm with him. There's all kind of things." Debra Tate, sister of the slain actress Sharon Tate, had a different take. "I think it's insane," Tate said. "The devil is alive and well." Sharon Tate's sister urges Manson cult follower be denied parole - LA Times Politics Sharon Tate's sister urges Manson cult follower be denied parole Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is seen during a hearing before the California Board of Parole Hearings. Nick Ut/Associated Press Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten appears before the California Board of Parole Hearings at the California Institution for Women in Chino on April 14, 2016.

Former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten appears before the California Board of Parole Hearings at the California Institution for Women in Chino on April 14, 2016. (Nick Ut/Associated Press) John Myers The sister of Sharon Tate, the actress murdered by followers of Charles Manson during a brutal two-day rampage across Los Angeles in 1969, had hoped to see California Gov. Jerry Brown in person on Monday. “Let him look into our eyes, feel our pain,” Debra Tate said as she stood in the hallway outside Brown’s office in the state Capitol. Instead, Tate met with two top Brown aides and left them with copies of an online petition signed by some 139,000 people that urges the governor to deny parole to a former member of the Manson cult, Leslie Van Houten. “This is not a person we want out,” Tate said as she shepherded a group that traveled to Sacramento toting three boxes of signatures — a small group that included family members of victims Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Let him look into our eyes, feel our pain.

— Debra Tate, sister of slain actress Sharon Tate Van Houten, 66, was convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Rosemary LaBianca. A state review board recommended her for parole in April . She had petitioned for parole 19 times prior to that decision. In all, seven people were killed over the course of two August nights almost 47 years ago. Van Houten was not implicated in the murder of Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of film director Roman Polanski, but did enter LaBianca’s Los Feliz home the following night. Five people were convicted in the Tate-LaBianca killings, part of Manson’s infamous promise to incite a race war that he said was inspired by The Beatles’ song, “Helter Skelter.” “These are serial killers,” Debra Tate, 63, said in an interview as she waited to walk into the Capitol. “These are, as far as I know, the original domestic terrorists.”

Question: Which actress Sharon was murdered by Charles Manson?
Answer: Tate