The Day

Charles Manson reportedly in grave condition at California hospital

- By NANCY DILLON and GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Cult leader Charles Manson has been hospitaliz­ed in California with a bleak prognosis, according to a report Wednesday.

The 83-year-old was brought to a Bakersfiel­d hospital three days ago, TMZ.com said.

The notorious mass murderer serving seven life sentences in Corcoran State Prison in California has been suffering from health issues for some time.

In January he had to be hospitaliz­ed for severe intestinal bleeding. He also needed surgery to repair a lesion but doctors said he was too weak and sent him back to prison.

Since arriving at the Bakersfiel­d facility three days ago, Manson has been getting various treatments around the hospital — always guarded by five police officers, TMZ said.

A source familiar with Manson’s condition told the website “it’s not going to get any better for him.”

The source also added, “it’s just a matter of time,” TMZ said.

Famous for the crude, selfcarved swastika on his forehead, Manson shocked the world on Aug. 9, 1969, when he directed his protege Charles Watson to take three female members of his cult — known as the Manson Family — to a posh house above Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and slaughter everyone there.

The Manson Family members brutally butchered movie director Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife Sharon Tate along with celebrity hairstylis­t Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, writer Wojciech Frykowski and visiting teen Steven Parent.

The next night, Manson joined the same four followers along with two more as they broke into the Los Feliz home of supermarke­t executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary.

Manson wanted to show the group the correct way to execute and ordered the LaBiancas bound with lamp cords and their heads covered by pillowcase­s before the savage stabbing started.

The vicious Manson killings stunned Los Angeles and caused a worldwide sensation.

Manson was tried for the horrific murders and sentenced to death along with several members of his cult. The sentences were commuted to life when the death penalty was briefly outlawed in 1972. Prosecutor­s said Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war he believed was suggested in the Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter.”

Behind bars since 1971, Manson has been denied parole a dozen times. His next hearing is scheduled for 2027.

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