# Charles Manson

> Manson, who led a group the courts called the Family, was convicted in 1971 of murders committed by his followers at two Los Angeles homes in August 1969, and separately of the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald Shea. He was sentenced to death, then to life, and died in custody in 2017.

- Case: People v. Manson · Los Angeles County, California · 1971
- Section: historical case (closed; the defendant has died)
- Outcome: Deceased. Died of natural causes at a Kern County hospital on Nov. 19, 2017, at age 83, while serving life sentences; he had been held at California State Prison, Corcoran, since 1989. His death sentence was set aside under People v. Anderson (1972), and he was denied parole 12 times. His convictions stood.
- Died: Nov. 19, 2017
- Topics: Serial killings
- Last updated: 2026-10-27
- Editorial review: approved 2026-10-27
- Web page: https://criminalbackstories.com/history/charles-manson/
- All defendants are presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law. Charges and allegations described on this site are not proof of guilt.

## Why this case is remembered

The case is still debated. In 2025 Netflix released Errol Morris's documentary *Chaos: The Manson Murders*, which weighs the prosecution's account of the motive against other theories, including those in Tom O'Neill's 2019 book *Chaos*.[13] Followers convicted with Manson continue to come before the parole board: Leslie Van Houten was released on parole on July 11, 2023, after a state appeals court reversed the governor's 2020 denial, and in October 2025 Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed a grant of parole to Patricia Krenwinkel.[11][12]

## Case at a glance

- Murder record: Convicted of 9 murders, committed on at least 4 separate occasions. On Jan. 25, 1971, a Los Angeles County jury convicted Manson of seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy in the deaths at Cielo Drive on Aug. 8–9, 1969, and at the La Bianca home the following night, and the Court of Appeal later held the evidence sufficient.[1][4] In a separate trial, a jury convicted him in November 1971 of the first-degree murders of Gary Hinman in July 1969 and Donald Shea in August 1969, and the Court of Appeal affirmed in 1977.[2][4] The courts found him guilty as a conspirator and aider and abettor rather than as the person who struck the fatal blows.[1][2]
- Charges: Seven counts of murder and one of conspiracy to commit murder (Tate and La Bianca killings); separately, two counts of murder and one of conspiracy to commit murder and robbery (Hinman and Shea killings)[1][2]
- Legal theory: Vicarious liability: the prosecution argued that Manson, as a conspirator, aider or abettor, was responsible for the killings carried out by others[1][2]
- Victims: Gary Hinman; Steven Parent, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring; Leno and Rosemary La Bianca; Donald Shea[4][2]
- Age at offense: 34 (born Nov. 12, 1934)[6][14]
- Convicted: Jan. 25, 1971 (Tate and La Bianca), with Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten; Nov. 2, 1971 (Hinman and Shea), tried alone[5][2]
- Sentence: Death, by jury verdict of March 29, 1971, before Judge Charles H. Older; life imprisonment for the Hinman and Shea murders; the death sentence was later modified to life[5][2][4]
- Appeals: *People v. Manson*, 61 Cal. App. 3d 102 (1976); *People v. Manson*, 71 Cal. App. 3d 1 (1977), judgment affirmed[1][2]
- Died: Nov. 19, 2017, at a Kern County hospital, while in state custody[4]

## The backstory

### The Family

By 1969 Manson was living with a group of about 20 people that the courts call the Family, at Spahn Ranch in Chatsworth, where the owner, George Spahn, let them stay in exchange for work on the ranch, according to the Court of Appeal.[1] The court wrote that "without doubt, Manson was the leader of the Family."[1] Witnesses testified that he decided where members lived and slept, what they wore and when they ate, and the court wrote that "membership in the Family required giving up everything to Manson and never disobeying him."[1] According to the court's summary of the evidence, Manson spoke constantly of a coming race war he called "Helter Skelter," a name taken from a Beatles song.[1][6]

### Gary Hinman

The first murder of conviction was that of Gary Allan Hinman at his home on Old Topanga Canyon Road in late July 1969.[2] A sheriff's deputy found his body on July 31, and the autopsy found that he died of a stab wound through the heart.[2] The words "Political Piggy" were written in apparent blood on a living room wall.[2]

The evidence at Manson's separate trial, as the Court of Appeal summarized it, was that Bobby Beausoleil, Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner were taken to Hinman's house, that Manson and Bruce Davis came later, and that Manson had a sword.[2] Brunner had given that account at Beausoleil's trial; at Manson's trial she said it was a lie, and the jury heard her earlier testimony.[2] Witnesses testified that Manson told them he had cut Hinman's ear, and one testified that he said all they had gained were two vehicles and about $27.[2] The court held that Hinman was killed in the course of a robbery, that Beausoleil struck the fatal blow, and that Manson, who "by his own admissions" struck Hinman with a sword in aid of the robbery, was "clearly an aider and abettor."[2]

### Cielo Drive

On the evening of Aug. 8, 1969, according to the testimony of Linda Kasabian, Manson told her at the ranch, "Now is the time for Helter Skelter," had her collect a knife and a change of clothing, and told her to go with Charles "Tex" Watson and do what he said.[1] Kasabian testified that she, Watson, Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel drove to a house on Cielo Drive, where Watson cut the overhead wires and shot the driver of a car.[1] She testified that Watson sent her to stand lookout, that she heard screams from the house, and that she saw Atkins, Krenwinkel and Watson take part in the attacks.[1] Manson was not there.[1]

The next morning the housekeeper, Winifred Chapman, found five people dead, the Court of Appeal wrote.[1] Steven Parent, the driver, was in his car near the entrance; the coroner found he had been shot.[1] Abigail Folger and Wojciech Frykowski were on the lawn, and the coroner found both had been stabbed; Frykowski had also been shot and struck.[1] Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring were in the living room; the coroner found Tate had been stabbed and Sebring stabbed and shot. State prison records note that Tate was pregnant.[1][4] The word "Pig" was written in blood on the front door, and nothing in the house appeared to have been ransacked.[1] Kasabian testified that after the group returned to the ranch, Manson asked whether they felt remorse.[1]

### Waverly Drive

The next night, according to Kasabian, Manson rode with her, Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten and Steve Grogan and gave directions.[1] She testified that he stopped next door to the home of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca on Waverly Drive, went in alone and returned several minutes later to say he had tied up a man and a woman.[1] She testified that he told Watson, Krenwinkel and Van Houten, "Don't let them know you are going to kill them," and left the three there.[1]

The La Biancas were found on Aug. 10.[1] The coroner found that Leno La Bianca had been stabbed and that his hands were tied behind his back with a leather thong; several witnesses testified that Manson often wore such thongs.[1] Rosemary La Bianca had been stabbed, and her hands were tied with an electric cord, the coroner found.[1] "Death to the Pigs," "Rise" and "Healter Skelter," so spelled, were written in blood in the house.[1]

Kasabian testified that Manson then gave her a wallet to leave where it would be found, so that, as the court summarized her account, a Black person would be blamed, and later handed her a pocketknife and told her to kill an actor; she said she deliberately led the others to the wrong apartment.[1]

### Donald Shea

Donald Shea, a ranch hand who lived mostly at Spahn Ranch, disappeared in late August 1969.[2][10] A witness, Ruby Pearl, testified that a couple of weeks after a police raid on the ranch on Aug. 16, she saw Manson, Watson, Grogan and Davis approach Shea, and that she never saw him again.[2] Barbara Hoyt testified that late one night she heard screams "down by the creek" that she recognized as Shea's, and that the next day she heard Manson say Shea had "committed suicide, with a little help from us."[2] Other witnesses testified that Manson told them Shea had been killed and buried.[2] Shea's body was not found before trial, and the Court of Appeal held that the murder was proved by circumstantial evidence and that "Manson's own admissible admissions established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."[2] His remains were found in 1977.[10]

### The Tate-La Bianca trial

The killings went unsolved until the fall of 1969, when Atkins, jailed on another murder charge, spoke about them to fellow inmates, who reported her statements to the authorities.[6][1] Manson, Atkins and Krenwinkel were indicted on seven counts of murder and one of conspiracy; Van Houten on two murder counts and the conspiracy count.[1] Watson, who had gone to Texas, was tried separately.[6]

The trial began June 15, 1970.[6] Kasabian testified for the prosecution for 18 days after being offered immunity; the Court of Appeal called her testimony the "only direct evidence" tying the defendants to the killings and treated her as an accomplice whose account required corroboration.[1] The corroboration it found as to Manson included his statements about Helter Skelter, a revolver, his familiarity with the two locations and the leather thongs.[1] Other witnesses testified to admissions by Atkins, Krenwinkel and Van Houten; Krenwinkel's fingerprint was found at Cielo Drive.[1]

A detective testified that Manson drew a finger across his chin while Kasabian was testifying, which the court said could be seen as a threat, and that Manson appeared with an "X" on his forehead, as the three women did the next day.[1] According to news accounts, Manson lunged at the judge with a pencil during the trial, and he held up a newspaper headline after President Richard Nixon called him guilty.[6][7]

### Verdicts and sentences

On Jan. 25, 1971, the jury convicted Manson, Atkins and Krenwinkel of seven counts of first-degree murder each, and Van Houten of two, and convicted all four of conspiracy.[6][5] On March 29, 1971, the jury of seven men and five women chose death for all four over the only alternative, life imprisonment, rejecting defense pleas for a "gift of life," according to wire reports.[5][6] The trial judge was Charles H. Older.[5] Manson was admitted to state prison on April 22, 1971.[4]

At the separate Hinman-Shea trial, the court denied Manson's requests to represent himself; he was removed from the courtroom almost daily for disruptions, and the trial judge found that he lacked the capacity to waive counsel knowingly and intelligently, the Court of Appeal wrote.[2] The jury returned its verdict on Nov. 2, 1971, finding him guilty on all three counts and fixing the penalty at life imprisonment.[2] State prison records date that conviction Dec. 13, 1971.[4]

### Appeals

The death sentences were appealed directly to the California Supreme Court. After that court held in *People v. Anderson* on Feb. 18, 1972, that capital punishment violated the state constitution's ban on "cruel or unusual" punishment, the appeals were transferred to the Court of Appeal.[3][1] State prison records say the Los Angeles County Superior Court set aside Manson's death sentence under *Anderson* and that his sentence was modified to life on Feb. 2, 1977.[4]

On Aug. 13, 1976, the Court of Appeal rejected challenges to Kasabian's immunity and competence, to the use of the co-defendants' statements, to the photographs and to the grand jury, and held that the evidence "is sufficient to support the verdicts of guilty as to each appellant."[1] On the theory of the case, it wrote: "If the jury believed Manson to be a conspirator, aider or abettor he was culpable for all of the homicides."[1]

On June 23, 1977, the Court of Appeal affirmed the Hinman-Shea judgment, rejecting his claims about publicity, the grand jury, Brunner's earlier testimony, the sufficiency of the evidence and his right to represent himself.[2]

## Personal backstory

### Early life

Manson was born in Cincinnati on Nov. 12, 1934, to a teenage, unmarried mother, Kathleen Maddox.[6][8][14] He took the surname Manson after his mother married William Manson.[8] When he was about 5, his mother was jailed, and he was moved among relatives, The New York Times reported; WKYC reported that he was sent to live with extended family in McMechen, West Virginia, in 1942.[6][8] According to the Associated Press, he was in reform school by the age of 8.[7] *The sources reviewed differ on his mother's age at his birth and on the reasons for her imprisonment, and this page leaves those details out.*

### Institutions and prison

From childhood, he was held in a series of boys' homes, reform schools and federal reformatories, including the federal reformatory at Chillicothe, Ohio, according to news accounts.[6][8] As an adult in the 1950s and 1960s, he was imprisoned repeatedly for crimes including car theft and forging checks.[6][8] He married twice in those years, and both marriages ended in divorce, the Times reported.[6] He learned guitar in prison.[6] When he was paroled in March 1967, at 32, he had spent more than half his life in correctional institutions, according to the Times.[6]

### San Francisco and Los Angeles

After his release he settled in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco and gathered followers, most of them young women.[6][7] He tried to build a music career and became acquainted with the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson and the producer Terry Melcher, according to the Associated Press.[7] By 1969 the group was living at Spahn Ranch.[1]

### In custody

Manson spent the rest of his life in California prisons, including San Quentin, Folsom and Pelican Bay, and from 1989 in the protective housing unit at California State Prison, Corcoran.[4] He was denied parole 12 times between 1978 and 2012 and last attended a hearing in 1997.[4] At the 2012 hearing, which he did not attend, a board member read his statement to a prison psychologist, "I'm special. I'm not like the average inmate," and the panel said it agreed with his own description of himself as "a very dangerous man."[9] Sharon Tate's sister attended that hearing.[9]

He died of natural causes at a Kern County hospital on Nov. 19, 2017, at 83.[4] *The sources reviewed contain no diagnosis of Manson made by a court or testified to at either trial.*

### The victims' families

*The sources reviewed for this page contain no statement from the victims' families about Manson's death.*

## The victims

### Proven in court

- Gary Allan Hinman, Killed late July 1969; body found July 31, 1969, His home on Old Topanga Canyon Road, Los Angeles County (Convicted). The Court of Appeal found that Hinman was killed in the course of a robbery, that Bobby Beausoleil struck the fatal blow and that Manson, who by his own admissions struck Hinman with a sword, was an aider and abettor.[2]
- Steven Earl Parent, Killed the night of Aug. 8–9, 1969, Cielo Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). Linda Kasabian testified that Charles Watson shot the driver of a car, and the coroner found that Parent died of gunshot wounds.[1][4]
- Abigail Ann Folger, Killed the night of Aug. 8–9, 1969, Cielo Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). She was found on the lawn of the house, and the coroner found that she had been stabbed.[1][4]
- Wojciech Frykowski, Killed the night of Aug. 8–9, 1969, Cielo Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). He was found on the lawn, and the coroner found stab wounds, gunshot wounds and head wounds from a blunt instrument.[1][4]
- Sharon Tate, Killed the night of Aug. 8–9, 1969, Cielo Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). She was found in the living room, and the coroner found that she had been stabbed; state prison records note that she was pregnant.[1][4]
- Jay Sebring, Killed the night of Aug. 8–9, 1969, Cielo Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). He was found in the living room, and the coroner found that he had been stabbed and fatally shot.[1][4]
- Leno La Bianca, Killed the night of Aug. 9–10, 1969; found Aug. 10, His home on Waverly Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). Kasabian testified that Manson went into the house, came back saying he had tied up a man and a woman, and left Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten there; the coroner found that Leno La Bianca had been stabbed and that his hands were tied with a leather thong.[1]
- Rosemary La Bianca, Killed the night of Aug. 9–10, 1969; found Aug. 10, Her home on Waverly Drive, Los Angeles (Convicted). The coroner found that she had been stabbed and that her hands were tied with an electric cord.[1][4]
- Donald Shea, Killed late August 1969, Spahn Ranch, Chatsworth area (exact place not established at trial) (Convicted). His body had not been found at trial, and the Court of Appeal held that the murder was proved by circumstantial evidence, including a witness who heard his screams and Manson's own admissions; his remains were found in 1977.[2][10]

## Myth and record

- Claim: Manson never killed anyone. He said so himself during the trial, according to the Associated Press: "I have killed no one, and I have ordered no one to be killed."[7]
  The record: Manson was not at Cielo Drive, and according to Linda Kasabian's testimony he left the La Bianca home before the killings there.[1] But a jury convicted him of first-degree murder for each of those deaths on the prosecution's theory that, as a conspirator, aider or abettor, he was culpable for all of the homicides, and the Court of Appeal held the evidence sufficient.[1] In the Hinman case the Court of Appeal wrote that "by his own admissions" Manson struck Hinman with a sword, and it found him "clearly an aider and abettor" even though Bobby Beausoleil struck the fatal blow.[2] The record does not establish that Manson personally inflicted any of the fatal wounds.[1][2]
- Claim: The murders were Manson's attempt to start an apocalyptic race war he called "Helter Skelter," as prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi argued at trial and in his 1974 book.[13][6]
  The record: The Court of Appeal described the prosecution's evidence that Manson spoke constantly of "Helter Skelter," a race war, and it counted his statements on that theme among the evidence corroborating Kasabian.[1] The courts did not have to decide the motive to affirm the convictions, and the record does not settle it. Tom O'Neill and Errol Morris have both questioned Bugliosi's account; Morris favors a motive tied to Manson's anger at Terry Melcher, and Bobby Beausoleil has said the crimes were driven by paranoia and self-preservation.[13]

## The two sides

- Prosecution: The prosecution's thesis was that Manson, the leader of the Family, was vicariously liable for the acts of all those indicted with him, and that the killings were meant to set off a race war he called "Helter Skelter."[1] Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi later set out that motive in his 1974 book *Helter Skelter*.[13][6]
- Defense: Manson denied responsibility. According to the Associated Press, he said during the trial, "I have killed no one, and I have ordered no one to be killed."[7] On appeal he challenged the immunity given to the key witness, Linda Kasabian, the corroboration of her testimony, the trial publicity and, in the Hinman-Shea case, the denial of his request to represent himself.[1][2]
- Later accounts: Writers still dispute the motive. Tom O'Neill's 2019 book *Chaos* challenges Bugliosi's account, and Errol Morris's 2025 documentary leans toward a simpler explanation tied to Manson's anger at the record producer Terry Melcher, who had lived at the Cielo Drive house.[13]

## Timeline

- Nov. 12, 1934: Manson is born in Cincinnati.[6][14]
- March 1967: He is paroled from federal prison at 32 and settles in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.[6]
- July 31, 1969: Gary Hinman's body is found at his home in Los Angeles County.[2]
- Aug. 8–9, 1969: Steven Parent, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring are killed at a house on Cielo Drive.[1][4]
- Aug. 9–10, 1969: Leno and Rosemary La Bianca are killed in their home on Waverly Drive.[1]
- Late August 1969: Donald Shea disappears from Spahn Ranch.[2]
- June 15, 1970: The trial of Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel and Van Houten begins.[6]
- Jan. 25, 1971: The jury finds all four guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy.[5][6]
- March 29, 1971: The same jury returns death sentences for all four.[5][6]
- Nov. 2, 1971: In a separate trial, a jury finds Manson guilty of the murders of Hinman and Shea and of conspiracy, and fixes the penalty at life imprisonment.[2]
- Feb. 18, 1972: The California Supreme Court holds the death penalty unconstitutional under the state constitution.[3]
- Aug. 13, 1976: The Court of Appeal decides the Tate-La Bianca appeal and holds the evidence sufficient as to each appellant.[1]
- June 23, 1977: The Court of Appeal affirms the Hinman-Shea judgment.[2]
- April 11, 2012: Parole is denied for the 12th and last time; he does not attend the hearing.[4][9]
- Nov. 19, 2017: Manson dies of natural causes at a Kern County hospital, at 83.[4]

## What came after

The California Supreme Court's decision in *People v. Anderson* in February 1972 ended the death sentences imposed in the case, and Manson's sentence was modified to life on Feb. 2, 1977; California did not then have life without parole.[3][4] Donald Shea's remains were found in 1977 after Steve Grogan, convicted in his murder, gave authorities their location.[10] Manson was denied parole 12 times between 1978 and 2012 and was not to be eligible again until 2027.[4] Susan Atkins died of cancer in prison in 2009.[12] Leslie Van Houten was released on parole in July 2023, after governors rejected five parole recommendations for her since 2016, and Gov. Newsom reversed grants of parole for Patricia Krenwinkel in 2022 and 2025.[11][12]

## Sources

1. [People v. Manson, 61 Cal. App. 3d 102, 132 Cal. Rptr. 265](https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/3d/61/102.html). California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One, Aug. 13, 1976 (via Justia). (court or official record)
2. [People v. Manson, 71 Cal. App. 3d 1](https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/3d/71/1.html). California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One, June 23, 1977 (via Justia). (court or official record)
3. [People v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628](https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/6/628.html). Supreme Court of California, Feb. 18, 1972 (via Justia). (court or official record)
4. [Inmate Charles Manson dies of natural causes](https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/news/2017/11/19/inmate-charles-manson-dies-of-natural-causes). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Nov. 19, 2017. (court or official record)
5. [Tate Murderers Sentenced to Die (wire dispatches)](https://api.thecrimson.com/article/1971/3/30/tate-murderers-sentenced-to-die-pfrom). The Harvard Crimson, March 30, 1971. (archival record or trial reporting from the time)
6. [Manson was wild-eyed leader of murderous crew](https://staradvertiser.com/?p=703442). The New York Times, Nov. 20, 2017 (via Honolulu Star-Advertiser). (news report)
7. [Charles Manson, Cult Leader Who Orchestrated Murders, Dead At 83](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/charles-manson-dead-cult-leader). Associated Press, Nov. 20, 2017 (via CBS Boston). (news report)
8. [Charles Manson: The killer's Ohio roots](https://wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio/charles-manson-the-killers-ohio-roots/95-493300116). WKYC (Cleveland), November 2017. (news report)
9. [Parole board denies Manson's latest bid](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/11/parole-board-denies-mansons-latest-bid/). Associated Press, April 11, 2012 (via The Washington Times). (news report)
10. [Who Was Donald "Shorty" Shea And How Was He Linked To Brad Pitt's Character In "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood?"](https://oxygen.com/martinis-murder/brad-pitts-once-hollywood-character-real-donald-shorty-shea). Oxygen, Aug. 5, 2019 (Jill Sederstrom). (news report)
11. [Leslie Van Houten, follower of cult leader Charles Manson, released from California prison](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/leslie-van-houten-follower-of-cult-leader-charles-manson-released-from-california-prison). Associated Press, July 11, 2023 (via PBS NewsHour). (news report)
12. [Charles Manson follower Patricia Krenwinkel denied parole](https://abc7news.com/post/california-governor-gavin-newsom-denies-parole-charles-manson-family-follower-patricia-krenwinkel/18012140/). ABC7 News (KGO), Oct. 15, 2025. (news report)
13. [What We Still Don't Know About the Manson Murders](https://time.com/7265884/chaos-manson-murders-netflix). Time, March 7, 2025 (Jake Kring-Schreifels). (news report)
14. [Charles Manson](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Manson). Encyclopaedia Britannica (John Philip Jenkins). (reference work)