Cult leader Charles Manson, mastermind of ‘Family’ murders, dies aged 83
LOS ANGELES: Charles Manson, the psychopathic guru who masterminded a savage killing spree in the United States that shocked the world, has died aged 83, California prison officials said late Sunday.
Manson “died of natural causes at 8.13pm (0213 GMT Monday) on Sunday” at a hospital in Kern County, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a brief statement.
Debra Tate – the sister of Manson’s most famous victim, Sharon Tate – told celebrity website TMZ that she received a call from prison officials notifying her of Manson’s death.
In the late 1960s, Manson headed an apocalyptic cult that with mesmerizing powers of committed random murders persuasion. in upscale mostly white Upon his death, he had been in neighbourhoods of Los Angeles prison in California since 1971, – unleashing a wave of panic in during which he applied for the city and beyond. parole 12 times, telling the court
The aim was for African on the last occasion in 2012 that Americans to be blamed, in he was “a very dangerous man.” the hope of sparking what he In each case, he was denied believed to be an impending and release and was not eligible to apocalyptic race war. apply again until 2027.
His ‘Family’ disciples In a 1981 interview conducted committed at least nine murders, from jail, Manson said he had but it was the horrific killing already spent most of his life in spree of seven people on Aug 9prison and felt at home there. 10, 1969 that sealed his notoriety Manson was born on Nov – and earned him life in prison. 12, 1934 in Cincinnati in the
The famous victim was 26Midwestern US state of Ohio to a year-old movie actress Sharon 16-year-old mother, and grew up Tate, the heavily-pregnant wife without knowing his father. of director Roman Polanski, who After he was repeatedly pleaded for the life of her unborn caught stealing, as a 13-year-old child before she was stabbed to teen he was placed in a juvenile death. correctional facility and
Manson was not present, but remained in detention, shifted ordered the killings. between various facilities, until
One of his followers, Susan he was freed on parole in 1954. Atkins, carried out Tate’s The following year, Manson murder, after which she tasted married a hospital waitress the actress’s blood and wrote named Rosalie Jean Willis, ‘PIG’ with it on the home’s front but a year later was convicted door. again, this time for stealing a
Manson, who has never car. shown remorse, was sentenced W to hile back in jail he learned death in 1971 along with four of that his wife had given birth to his disciples for having led the a son, but she asked for a divorce killings of seven people. and left with the child.
The sentences were later Released again in 1958, commuted to life in prison. Manson was married again a
During his marathon trial, year later, to a prostitute who Manson – with a beard, long went by the name Candy Stevens unwashed hair, and a swastika and who would remain his wife tattooed on his forehead – was until 1963. portrayed as a drug-crazed loner By then, Manson was already back in prison for violating his parole, and would remain there until 1967 when he was released at the height of the hippie era.
Moving to San Francisco during the so-called ‘Summer of Love’, he took up street busking with his guitar, but soon established himself at the centre of a drug-fuelled commune, surrounded by mostly female followers he called his ‘Family’.
At the outset a nomadic community, it later set up base in a ranch in California’s Death Valley.
The ‘ Family’ lived on the fringes of society and Manson had at least one child with one of his followers.
Manson became obsessed with the Beatles, and embraced a twisted philosophy inspired by lyrics of the legendary group.
Describing himself as a reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Manson arranged a series of murders in a bid to trigger a race war he dubbed ‘Helter Skelter’, a term taken from the Beatles song of the same name.
More than 40 years later, the killing spree by Manson’s ‘Family’ continues to haunt the public psyche and stir morbid fascination, fuelled by books, songs and tourist routes, websites and films.
Manson himself published a music album in 1970, re-issued as a CD in 2006.
In prison, he was granted permission in 2014 to wed then 26-year-old Afton Elaine Burton, described in US media as a slender brunette, who had been visiting him.
But the 90-day license expired without the ceremony going ahead. — AFP