Charles Manson Biography: The Cult of the Manson Family,biography of Charles Manson,Charles Manson

                                 
                                          biography of Charles Manson

He is the epitome of pure, unadulterated evil;the mastermind guru with the swastika on his forehead and the wild, crazed look in his eyes. He was responsible for the one of the most heinous crimes of our time, controlling his minions like a puppeteer. 

we discover thedark, disturbing story of Charles Manson. A Dysfunctional Beginning Charles Milles Manson was born on November12th, 1934 to sixteen-year old Kathleen Maddox and a 24-year old transient laborer knownas ‘Colonel Scott’. Kathleen was a promiscuous teenager who dranktoo much and earned money to fuel her habits be selling her body.
                                               
The baby was known as ‘No Name Maddox’for the first few weeks of life until his mother settled on Charlie. He never knew his father; he cleared out assoon he heard that Kathleen was pregnant. Kathleen was too young, immature and unpredictableto provide a stable environment for a young child. She appeared to have no maternal instinctand would leave the child to fend for himself while she went off on one of her benders. As an adult, Charlie often related that hismother was once in a café with him on her knee when the waitress offered to buy thebaby from her. Kathleen’s asking price was a pitcher ofbeer and, having consumed it, she simply walked out and left Charlie to the woman. According to Charlie, his uncle took fourdays to track him down and return him home. When Charlie was six years old, his motherand uncle decided to rob a gas station. They were both caught, convicted and sentfor five years to Moundsville State Prison. The boy was put into the care of his strictlyreligious grandparents but after a few months he went to live with his aunt and uncle inMcMecham, West Virginia.

 This environment was very different to anythingCharlie had known previously. His aunt, unlike her sister, was regimentedand disciplined. She was also strictly religious. Her husband, Bill, was even more fervent inhis faith than his wife. A strict disciplinarian, he considered Charlieto be a sissy. On his first day of school he sent the boyto class in a dress in order to teach him how to fight. Charlie soon adapted to this very differentkind of life and actually grew to enjoy his new regimented routine. The two years between six and eight were toprove to be the most stable of his young life. But then his mother was released from prisonand immediately took him back. Kathleen was more unstable than ever. She preferred a life of promiscuity and alcoholabuse to maternal domesticity. Constantly in trouble with the law and withno money for food and board, the constantly moved around the midWest. At the age of nine, Charlie dropped out ofschool. The transient life that he was forced to liveshaped the type of boy that Charlie became. He kept to himself, living his life throughhis imagination. He was constantly watching, taking thingsin and dreaming of a future free of his no hoper mother.
                                                
He also learnt how to become a very accomplishedthief. At age nine, Charlie was caught stealing andsent to reform school. Three years later, he was caught again. This time he was packed off to the GibaultSchool for Boys in Terre Haute, Indiana. Before he was taken away, Kathleen promisedto visit him often. Of course, she never did. Just ten months in to his incarceration, Charlieescaped. He robbed a grocery store to get some moneyand, when that ran out, stole other things, including a bicycle. He got caught in the act of making off withthe bike and soon found himself back in confinement. This time he was sent to an Indiana juvenilecenter. But after just two days, he stole some wirecutters and freed, not only himself, but 30 other boys. This time the escaped young felon stole, nota bike, but a car. But the 13-year old could hardly see overthe steering wheel and was apprehended within hours of his escape. When he ended up in juvenile court, he wassurprised to see his mother. His spirits were dashed, however, when shetestified that she would not take him in. The somewhat sympathetic judge sent Charlieto Father Flanagan’s Boys Town. But the stay here was almost as short as hislast incarceration. After just four days, he ran off with anotheryoung offender named Blackie Nelson.

They stole a car which they subsequently crashed. Still, they made their way to the home ofBlackie’s uncle, a World War 2 veteran and underworld figure who gave the young hoodlumsfree board and food in exchange for the proceeds from armed robberies that he made them commit. During their third robbery the two boys werecaught. This time Charlie was sent to the IndianaSchool for Boys in Plainfield. Here he stayed for three years. Charlie would later claim that his small statureled to him being constantly raped and sodomized by other inmates as well as by school employees. He also recalled that he was constantly pickedon by the guards, who would continually find fault with him, beating him with leather strapsand wooden clubs. An Angry Young Man One night, after being gang raped by a groupof older boys, he beat one of his attackers to just short of the point of death with aniron bar as the boy lay sleeping. Charlie then placed the bar under the bedof one of his other attackers, successfully implicating him in the attack. Charlie was exhibiting a trait that wouldcharacterize his personality as an adult; he would hold in his anger for a time, onlyfor it too explode in an orgy of violence. Over the three years that he spent at Plainfield,Charlie escaped no less than eighteen times.

He was returned every time. In March, 1951 his sentence was increasedand he was sent to a minimum-security institution. He was sent to the National Training Schoolfor Boys in Washington, D.C. Things here were very different to what Charliehad known at Plainfield. The facility was well run, the boys were treatedwell and a genuine focus was placed on rehabilitation. Charlie liked it here but he had no interestin being rehabilitated. He’d do his time but then he’d get backto the life of crime that he was the only life he knew. At around the age of fifteen, Charlie wasgive a psychiatric assessment. He was found to be aggressive, antisocialand illiterate. A caseworker reported that the boy was severelyemotionally traumatized and in serious need of psychiatric treatment. It was also noted that he had a higher thannormal aptitude for music. On October 24th, 1951, Charlie was transferredto the Natural Bridge Honor Camp in Petersburg, Virginia. Three months later, just weeks before hisparole hearing, he sodomized another inmate while holding a razor blade to his neck. He was reclassified as extremely dangerousand transferred to a tougher high security facility – the Federal Reformatory at Petersburg,Virginia. After seven months at the Federal Reformatory,Charlie had racked up eight major violations.

He was classified as ‘defiantly homosexual,dangerous and safe only under supervision, with assaultive tendencies.’ Towards the end of 1952, he was sent to ahigher security facility. There, to the surprise of everybody, he transformedinto a model prisoner. He took lessons in reading and math and beganworking in the vehicle maintenance department. On January 1st, 1954, he was given a MeritoriousService Award for his scholastic achievements. His application to his studies and his apparentchange of attitude led to Charlie being paroled on May 8th, 1954. He was put in the care of his aunt and unclebut, within a month, the now nineteen-year-old was back living with his mother, herself recentlyreleased from prison. Career Felon Six months after his release, Charlie marrieda waitress by the name of Rosalie Jean Willis. Shortly thereafter a son, Charles Manson,Junior, was born. Charlie worked at a serious low-income job,augmenting his pay by stealing cars. He used one of those stolen cars to move hiswife and baby to Los Angeles.

The car had been taken from Ohio and authoritieswere able to track it down. Charlie was charged with a federal crime fortaking the car across state lines. He received five years’ probation but, whenhe failed to show up to a subsequent hearing, he was arrested. With his probation revoked, Charlie was sentfor three years to the prison on Terminal Island, in San Pedro, California. After being there a few months, he was informedthat his wife was living with another man. Two years later, she obtained a decree ofdivorce. In September, 1958, Charlie was released onfive years parole. He now extended his criminal earning potentialby becoming a pimp. He had a sixteen-year-old girl working forhim. Over the next year, he roamed around Californiaand New Mexico, committing crimes and repeatedly coming before the law. In June, 1960 he fled to Laredo, Texas witha California warrant out for his arrest. When one of his girls was arrested there forprostitution, he was picked up and returned to Los Angeles to face a 10-year sentencefor cashing a forged treasury check. At the age of 26, he was sent to the U.S.Penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington. While serving his sentence he learned to playthe guitar and became interested in Scientology. During his time at McNeil Island, he alsobecame obsessed with the Beatles. Charlie had an inflated appreciation of hisown musical talent, claiming that he would, with the right backing and training, be evenbigger than the Beatles. Charlie became friends with an inmate by thename of Alvin Karpis.

This former Public Enemy Number One was aformer member of the infamous Ma Barker gang. He taught Charlie how to play the steel guitar. This further fuelled his musical obsession. In 1966, Charlie’s prison record noted thathe spent most of his free time writing songs, accumulating 80 or 90 of them in a year. Karpis later commented on the Charlie thathe knew at that time. He recalled that Manson was a master manipulatorof other people. Prison authorities also noted that he hada tremendous drive to call attention to himself. In June, 1966, Charlie was sent once againto Terminal Island – this time in preparation for early release. When that release day arrived on March 21st,1967, he had spent more than half of his 32 years behind bars. He requested that the authorities let himstay in jail but he was told that he had to leave. Charlie Unleashed And so it was that the five foot nothing drifterwith the penetrating stare and gift of the gab wandered into the Haight-Ashbury districtof San Francisco with $35 in his pocket and no plans except for a desire to make it bigin the music business. Charlie moved into an apartment in Berkeleyand made money by panhandling. Before long he had gotten to know a 23-year-oldassistant librarian at UC Berkeley named Mary Brunner. He quickly won her over and moved into herapartment. Brunner came under Charlie’s spell and heconvinced her to widen out the home.

 Within a few months, there were eighteen youngwomen living with them. Charlie introduced Mary and the other girlsto drugs and before long Mary had quit her job and become a devoted follower of Manson. The ‘family’ was beginning to take shape. With his female entourage and his guitar,Charlie merged perfectly into the hippie culture that was then in full bloom in San Francisco. He refined his role as spiritual master, guruand prophet, using mind control techniques to get his girls to do whatever he wanted. Most of the girls that he gathered aroundhim came from troubled backgrounds and suffered from insecurities that left them directlyabout open to Charlie’s manipulations. As well as breaking down their inhibitionswith mind control techniques, he used LSD and amphetamines to control his ever-expandingharem. After about nine months living in and aroundSan Francisco, Charlie began to despair of the place. It had, he asserted become too overrun withAfrican Americans and crime was rampant. Of course, the ‘Family’ were doing theirbit to add to those crime statistics. They stole credit cards and used counterfeitmoney to get what they needed. They also stole a big yellow bus and paintedit black.

The Family Charlie and his followers took to travellingby bus down the California coastline as far as Mexico and Texas, partying and committingmore crimes. After eighteen months of extended travel,they finally settled in Topanga Canyon near Los Angeles in a two-storey house. It was here that Charlie began gathering somemale members to the Family. The first was a teenager named Bobby Beausoliel,who turned up one night for a party and then stayed on as Charlie’s right-hand man. Bobby had been staying with his music teacherGary Hinman not far from the Manson home. Bobby recruited an 18-year-old named LeslieVan Houtein to the family in June, 1968. Around that time, Charlie and some of thegirls travelled to Los Angeles where he met up with a record executive at universal studios. Former jail friend Phil Kaufman had arrangedthe meeting. This was Charlie’s entry into the rich jetset crowd and he turned on all his charm to make a good impression. Soon the ‘Family’ were rubbing shoulderswith the rich and famous at posh parties in the Hollywood Hills. In the late spring of 1968, Beach Boys drummerDennis Wilson was driving away from Malibu Beach when he happened to pick up two hitchhikers.

The girls were part of the Manson family and,they quickly agreed to go back to his Beverly Hills home with Wilson on Sunset Boulevard. The three made love that afternoon and thenWilson left for a recording session, promising to return later to take up where they leftoff. When Wilson returned home in the early hoursof the following morning, he was surprised to see that a full-scale party was underway. He was greeted in the driveway by a shortman with a scraggly beard who approached him, dropped to his knees and began kissing hisfeet. The girls who Dennis had met earlier camerunning out declaring, ‘This is the guy we were telling you about . . . this is Charlie.’ Inside his home, Wilson found twelve morewomen, most of them topless, lying around smoking pot. Manson told him that the girls were all therefor Wilson’s pleasure. Wilson was impressed with the sway that Charlieheld over the women. He welcomed the ‘Family’ with open armsand his home become the regular venue for Charlie orchestrated orgies. Wilson called Manson the Wizard and beganinviting influential showbiz friends to come and meet him.

Dennis also allowed Charlie to use anythinghe wanted – his Ferrari or Rolls Royce and all the food drink and drugs he or his groupieswanted. Eventually Wilson’s manager became fed upwith the influence and expense that Manson was having on his client and Charlie and thegirls were ordered out of the mansion. Rumors were also spreading of the childrenof the rich and famous being given drugs and having sex under Charlies direction. Suddenly, the door to the Hollywood elitelifestyle was slammed shut. Charlie’s planned for music career was alsoshut down. This caused that familiar build up of jealousy,anger and rage that would inevitably find expression in violence. Manson managed to convince the owner of aformer Western movie set, the Spahn Ranch, in Chatswood, not far from Topanga Canyon,to allow the family to live on the abandoned property. The family now moved to the ranch, gettingby stealing and scavenging. Charlie took to quoting the Bible to Familymembers as they gathered round a bonfire during the evenings.

He also interpreted Beatles songs, explainingthat the lyrics were directed toward them. He was obsessed with one song ‘Helter Skelter’,telling his followers that the song envisioned an apocalypse brought on by a race war ofblacks killing whites. The blacks would win, he said, but would thenturn to Manson to lead the new world. Helter Skelter For Charlie, however, the revolution was takingtoo long. He wanted it to happen immediately. He began preparing family members for a seriesof actions that would precipitate the black uprising. The first step would be to release an albumof music that would contain subtle messages that would foment the black revolution. On May 18th, 1969, Terry Melcher, a producerwho Charlie had met through Dennis Wilson arrived at Spahn Ranch to listen to Charlieand the girls sing. Melcher made promises but never followed throughon them. On July 25th 1969, Charlie ordered Bobby Beausolieland two women to the home of Gary Hindman, the music teacher who Bobby used to live with. Manson had heard that Hindman had inherited$20,000 and he wanted it. Hinman refused to hand over the money. Charlie was called and he soon arrived. After screaming at Hinman, Charlie pulledout a sword and cut off his ear. He then left, giving instructions to get themoney or kill Hinman. After three days, Bobby stabbed his formerteacher to death. Before leaving he and the girls wrote thewords ‘Political Piggy’ on the wall along with a panther paw in red to lay the blameon the Black Panther movement.

Bobby Beusoliel was arrested for the murderon August 6th, 1969 after being caught driving around in Hinman’s car. Manson was now ready to get his revenge onTerry Melcher, the record producer who had let him down. On the evening of August 8th, he directedfollowers Tex Watson, Linda Kasabian, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel to the housewhere he believed Melcher was living with instructions to ‘totally destroy everyonein it, making it as gruesome as possible.’ The house was located at 1050 Celio Drivebut Melcher didn’t live there anymore. It was now occupied by famous director RomanPolanski and his beautiful 8-month pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. That night, Polanski was in Europe on a filmproject. His wife was entertaining guests at the property– hairdresser Jay Sebring, screenwriter Voyteg Frykowski and coffee empire heiressAbigail Folger. Arriving at the property, around midnight,Watson climbed a telephone pole near the gate and cut the phone line. The car was then back to the bottom of a hillthat led to the house and the murder team walked up to find the victims.

Watson thought the gate might be electrifiedso he and the girls climbed a brushy embankment to get onto the grounds. Just then, car headlights came on from fartherup the property. Ordering the women to lie down in the bushes,Watson approached the vehicle and levelled his 22-caliber rifle at the driver, 18-year-olSteven Parent. Watson first slashed hm with a knife and themshot him four times in the chest. Watson then ordered Linda Kasabian to keepwatch down by the gate. He and the other two women then made theirway to the house. The occupants were quickly gathered togetherin the lounge. When asked by Frykowski who they were, Watsonreplied, “I’m the devil and I’m here to do the devil’s work.’ Watson then began to tie the heavily pregnantSharon Tate and Jay Sebring together by their necks with rope he’d brought and slung overa beam. When Sebring protested over the rough handlingof Sharon, Watson shot him and then stabbed him seven times. Meanwhile Frykowski began struggling withSusan Atkins, who repeatedly stabbed him in the legs and torso. Still Frykowski managed to get to the frontdoor. Seeing this, Watson rushed after him, meetingup with him on the porch and smashing in his head with the gun butt before shooting himtwice.

Abigail Folger had managed to escape out ontothe yard. She was chased by Patricia Krenwikel who tackledher and then stabbed her to death. The only remaining victim was now Sharon Tate. As she lay on the lounge room floor with arope around her neck she begged to be able to live long enough to have her child. But her pleas were ignored and either Watsonor Atkins stabbed her repeatedly, including in the abdomen, until both she and her unbornbaby were dead. Remembering Manson’s instructions to leavea sign on the walls, Atkins wrote the word “PIG” with Tate’s blood. The very next day, the Family struck again. This time the victims were Leno and RosemaryLaBianca. Unhappy with the messiness of the previousnight’s killings, this time Charlie went with the group to show them how it was done. Different accounts have been giving aboutthe exact happenings that night but we do know that Manson was in the house and he orchestratedthe tying up of the couple, He then left with orders that the couple be killed. They were finished off by Watson with a chromeplated bayonet. Before leaving the words “WAR”, “Rise”,“Death To Pigs” and “Healter Skelter’ were written with the blood of the victimson the walls and refrigerator door. Caught The murders caused a huge panic through Hollywood.

 The pressure was now on to solve the heinouscrimes. The police got nowhere until they finallylinked the Hinman murder to the Tate-LaBianca killings. They knew that Bobby Beusoliel had lived witha group of hippies at Spahn Ranch so they decided to pay the ranch a visit. Bobby’s girlfriend had told police thatCharlie Manson, the hippie guru, had ordered the killing of Hinman. Still there was no evidence linking the groupto the later murders. Then, in October, twenty-four Manson familymembers, including Charlie, were arrested on charges of arson and grand theft. Susan Atkins was also taken into custody andit was she who first began to spill beans. She bragged to a cellmate about killing SharonTate, giving a detailed account and implicating Charlie as the mastermind. About the same time, police interviewed amember of the Straight Satans motorcycle gang who was a Manson acquaintance. He told them that Manson had recently beenbragging about ‘knocking off’ five people.

The first piece of physical evidence was afingerprint of Patricia Rewinkle that was found on Sharon Tate’s bedroom door. When other pieces of physical evidence wererecovered, the police were ready to send the case to court. Manson and the four people who had committedthe Tate-La Bianca murders were found guilty and sentenced to death. These penalties, however, would never be imposed. In 1972 the California Supreme Court declaredthe state’s death penalty law unconstitutional. Manson’s’ death sentence was commutedto life imprisonment. Charles Manson died on November 19, 2017,of cardiac arrest having spent nearly fifty years behind bars for his orchestrating ofthe crimes that shook the world in 1969. He was 83 years of age.