Nov. 19, 2025

"DEATH IN BENEDICT CANYON: THE MANSON FAMILY'S TWO-NIGHT MURDER SPREE" (Part 1 of 3)

"DEATH IN BENEDICT CANYON: THE MANSON FAMILY'S TWO-NIGHT MURDER SPREE" (Part 1 of 3)

Reid Carter examines the murders that ended the 1960s. August 9, 1969: Charles Manson sent four followers to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon with orders to kill everyone inside. Sharon Tate, eight-and-a-half months pregnant, begged for her baby's life—stabbed sixteen times. Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski also murdered. Eighteen-year-old Steven Parent shot in his car trying to leave. "PIG" written in Sharon's blood on front door. Next night: Manson joined followers to murder Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. "DEATH TO PIGS" and "HEALTER SKELTER" written in victims' blood. Seven people dead in two nights.

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Calaruga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Reed Carter. November nineteenth,

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twenty twenty five. Courts remained quiet for the holiday break,

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so we're continuing our look at classic American trials today.

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The murders that ended the nineteen sixties. August ninth, nineteen

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sixty nine, Los Angeles, California, ten thoy fifty Colo Drive,

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Benedict Canyon, secluded property at the end of a winding

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driveway home to film director Roman Polanski and his wife,

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actress Sharon Tate. Sharon was twenty six years old, eight

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and a half months pregnant, due in two weeks. Roman

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was in London working on a film. Sharon stayed home

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with friends, safe in one of LA's most exclusive neighborhoods.

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Twelve thirty am, four people arrived at the property. Charles

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tex Watson twenty three, Susan Atkins twenty one, Patricia Crenwinkle

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twenty one, Linda Kasabian twenty They carried knives, a gun, rope.

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Orders from their leader, Charles Manson, go to that house

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and kill everyone inside. They cut the phone lines, climbed

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the fence, approached the house, saw eighteen year old Stephn

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parent leaving in his car, shot him four times through

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the window. First victim dead in seconds. Then they entered

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the house found four people inside. Sharon Tate, j Sebring

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thirty five, her ex boyfriend and celebrity hairstylist, Abigail Folger

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twenty five, coffee heiress Voichek Freikowski thirty two, Abigail's boyfriend

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and aspiring filmmaker. What happened next was butchery. Tex Watson

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shot Jay Sebring, stabbed him seven times, kicked him in

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the face until his nose broke. Voichek woke to the attack,

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tried to fight back, was beaten, stabbed fifty one times,

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shot twice. Abigail tried to run, made it to the lawn,

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stabbed twenty eight times. Sharon Tate begged for her baby's life.

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Please let me have my baby. Take me with you

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and let me have my baby. I just want to

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have my baby. Susan Atkins held Sharon down, stabbed her

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sixteen times. Sharon died, clutching her pregnant belly. Her baby

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died with her. The killers used Sharon's blood to write

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pig on the front door, then left, drove back to

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spawn Ranch. Told Charles Manson what they'd done. He said,

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good tomorrow night. They do it again. August tenth, nineteen

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sixty nine. Manson joined his followers. This time wanted to

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show them how it's done. They drove to three three

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zero one Waverley Drive, home of Leno and Rosemary la Bianca,

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wealthy couple, strangers to Manson, random targets. Manson and Tex

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entered the house, tied up Leno and Rosemary. Manson left,

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told his followers to finish it, make it look witchy.

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Leslie Van Houghton nineteen and Patricia Crenwinkle joined text. They

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stabbed Leno forty one times, carved war into his abdomen.

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Rosemary stabbed forty one times, used their blood to write

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messages on the walls. Death to Pigs, Rise, Helter Skelter,

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Manson's misspelling of Helter Skelter. Seven people murdered in two nights,

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five at the Tate House, two at the Labyankas, all

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because Charles Manson wanted to start a race war. I'm reed, Carter,

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this is celebrity trials today. The Manson family murders and

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the Knight Hollywood's Golden Age ended in blood. Charles Mills

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Manson born November twelfth, nineteen thirty four, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Mother Kathleen Maddox, was sixteen alcoholic prostitute told people Charles's

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father was Colonel Scott, likely a lie. She didn't know

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who the father was. Kathleen named him no name Maddox

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at birth, later gave him the name Charles Mills Maddox

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when she married William Manson. Charles took that last name.

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It stuck. Charles's childhood was chaos. Kathleen abandoned him repeatedly,

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left him with relatives, with strangers, with anyone who'd take him.

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When he was five, Kathleen tried to sell him for

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a pitcher of beer. The bartender said no. She abandoned

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him at the bar. Family members eventually found him. By

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age nine, Charles was in juvenile detention for burglary. Spent

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his entire childhood in and out of institutions, boys schools, reformatories,

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youth centers. He was beaten, sexually abused, and hardened by

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the system. By age thirteen, he'd committed his first armed robbery.

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Adult life wasn't better. More prison, more crimes, theft, check fraud,

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pimping by nineteen sixty seven. Charles had spent more than

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half his life incarcerated. He was thirty two years old,

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about to be released from Terminal Island Federal Prison. Charles

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didn't want to leave, told prison officials he couldn't survive

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on the outside, begged to stay. They released him anyway.

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March twenty first, nineteen sixty seven, Charles Manson walked out

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of prison into San Francisco. Freeman, nowhere to go, no

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skills except manipulation. He ended up in hate Ashbury, height

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of the hippie movement, Summer of love, young people rejecting society,

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experimenting with drugs, looking for meaning, looking for belonging, perfect

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hunting ground for a predator like Charles Manson. Charles had charisma.

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Prison taught him how to read people, how to tell

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them what they wanted to hear. He'd studied Dale Carnegie books, scientology,

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the Bible, psychology, built a toolkit for manipulation. He also

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played guitar, wrote songs. Wanted to be a rock star

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like the Beatles, saw himself as an artist, a prophet,

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a revolutionary. All he needed were followers. He found them easily,

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young women, mostly runaways. Abuse survivors, girls searching for father figures.

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Charles became exactly what they needed. Told them they were beautiful, special,

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that society had failed them, that he understood them, that

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with him they could build something pure. Mary Brunner twenty three, librarian,

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became his first follower. They lived together in San Francisco.

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She worshiped him. Within months, Charles had attracted more girls,

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Lynette Squeaky from eighteen, Patricia Crenwinkle nineteen, Susan Atkins nineteen.

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Charles preached free love, no possessions, no rules, no judgment,

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communal living, shared everything, food, drugs, bodies. The girls had

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sex with Charles, with each other, with men. Charles told

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them to have sex with all in the name of freedom,

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of breaking down ego, of becoming one unified family. That's

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what he called them, the family. Charles also preached apocalypse,

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said a race war was coming. Black people would rise

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up and kill white people. Called it helter Skelter, borrowed

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from the Beatles song. Charles was obsessed with the Beatles,

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believe their White Album contained hidden messages for him. Believed

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the Beatles were speaking directly to him through their music.

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He decoded the songs Blackbird was about black people rising up.

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Piggy's was about wealthy white people who deserved to die.

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Helter Skelter was the race war itself. Charles said the

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Beatles were prophets, and he was the fifth Beatle, the

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one who'd start Helter Skelter. The family grew by nineteen

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sixty eight, about twenty five members, men and women, living nomadically,

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traveling in a school bus, sleeping in fields, taking drugs,

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following Charles wherever he led. Charles tried to make it

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in music. Met Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. Dennis

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let the family stay at his mansion for a while,

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introduced Charles to record producer Terry Melcher. Charles recorded songs

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at a studio, tried to get a record deal. Terry

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Melcher listened to Charles's music, decided not to sign him.

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Too weird, too rough, not commercial. Charles was furious, felt rejected, betrayed.

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Terry had been living at ten thousand, fifty Colo Drive

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before moving out earlier in nineteen sixty nine. Charles knew

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the address, knew the house when he decided to start

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Helter Skelter. That's where he sent his followers. He didn't

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know Terry had moved, didn't know Sharon Tate and Roman

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Polanski now live there, didn't care. The rejection was enough.

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Someone at that house would pay. Late nineteen sixty eight,

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the family settled at Spawn Ranch, old Western movies set

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in the Santa Susanna Mountains outside Los Angeles, owned by

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eighty year old George Spahn, nearly blind, lonely, Squeaky from

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became his caretaker and lover. In exchange, George let the

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family live at the ranch for free. At Spawn Ranch,

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Charles's control intensified. More drugs, more manipulation, more apocalyptic preaching.

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Helter Skelter was coming. They needed to prepare, stockpile weapons,

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learned to kill, be ready to survive the race War.

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But the race War wasn't happening fast enough. Black people

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weren't rising up, so Charles decided to help. He'd commit murders,

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make them look like black militants. Did it, pin the

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crimes on black revolutionaries, trigger the race war himself. He

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picked followers he could control. Tex Watson devoted to Charles,

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would do anything he said. Susan Atkins called herself Sadie

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may Glutz, completely brainwashed. Patricia Crenwinkle, desperate for Charles's approval.

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Linda Kasabian, newest member, still under his spell. August eighth,

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nineteen sixty nine. Charles gave them orders. Take knives, take

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a gun, go to the house at ten thousand and

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fifty Colo drive, kill everyone inside, make it witchy, bloody, shocking,

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leave clues pointing to black militants. Start helter skelter. They obeyed,

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left Spawn Ranch around eleven pm, drove to Benedict Canyon,

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parked down the hill, walked to ten thousand fifty Colo drive,

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prepared to commit murder for Charles Manson. Make it make sense.

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A failed musician convinces young people he's a prophet, preaches

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about race war based on Beatles lyrics, orders followers to

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murder strangers, all because a record producer rejected him. Some

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people are just evil. Charles Manson was one of them.

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Ten thy fifty Clow Drive, Benedict Canyon secluded a state

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at the end of a long winding driveway, French country

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style house, pool, guesthouse, beautiful property in one of LA's

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wealthiest neighborhoods. August eighth, nineteen sixty nine, Sharon Tate was

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home twenty six years old actress married to director Roman Polanski,

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eight and a half months pregnant with their first child,

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a boy. They'd already picked a name, Paul Richard Polanski.

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Roman was in London working on a film. Sharon stayed

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in Los Angeles. Didn't want to travel this close to

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her due date. She felt safe at home, had friends

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staying with her, nothing to worry about. That night, Sharon

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had three house guests. J Sebring thirty five, celebrity hairstylist,

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Sharon's ex boyfriend from before she met Roman. They'd remained

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close friends. Jay was successful, owned a chain of hair salons,

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styled hair for Frank Sinatra. Paul Newman, Steve McQueen was

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at the house to visit Sharon. Abigail Folger twenty five,

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coffee heiress, daughter of Folger Coffee chairman Peter Folger, Radcliffe

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graduate social worker, intelligent, kind, wealthy but humble dating Vouchiek

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Fraikovski Voitchik Frikofsky thirty two, Polish actor and aspiring filmmaker,

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friend of Roman Polanski's from Poland, came to America seeking opportunities.

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Living in the clo Drive guesthouse with Abigail. They were

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caretakers while Roman was away. The four of them had

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dinner that night, then Sharon and Jay went to bed early.

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Sharon was exhausted from pregnancy. Jay stayed in a guest room.

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Abigail and Voichiek stayed up law longer, talking, reading, relaxing.

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They didn't know four people were walking up their driveway

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carrying knives and a gun, sent to murder them. Twelve

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thirty am. Stephen, parent, eighteen years old, was leaving the property.

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He'd been visiting William Garretson, the caretaker who lived in

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the guest house behind the main residence. Stephen and William

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were friends. Stephen had stopped by to visit, stayed about

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an hour. Around twelve thirty, he got in his nineteen

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sixty five AMC Ambassador and started down the driveway. The

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killers saw headlights someone was leaving, couldn't let them alert anyone.

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Tex Watson walked up to the driver's side window. Stephen

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rolled it down. Please don't hurt me. I won't say anything.

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Tex shot him four times through the window point blank.

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Stephen slumped over the steering wheel dead. Eighteen years old.

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Wanted to be an electronics technician. Should be seventy three today,

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should have had a career, a family, a life. Dead

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in seconds because he visited a friend. The killers cut

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the phone lines, approached the house, found a window, Text

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cut the screen, climbed inside, unlocked the front door, let

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Susan Atkins and Patricia Crenwinkle in. Linda Kasabian stayed outside

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as lookout. They found Voichik asleep on the living room couch.

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Text kicked him. Voychik woke, confused, saw three people with knives.

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Text pointed a gun at him. Don't move or you're dead.

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Sharon and Jay heard the commotion, came out of the bedroom,

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saw strangers in the house holding Voychick at gunpoint. Jay

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tried to intervene. What do you want. We'll give you money,

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just don't hurt anyone. Text shot Jay, hit him, Jay staggered,

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Text stabbed him seven times. Jay fell, tex stomped on

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his face, repeatedly, broke his nose, shattered his jaw. Jay Sebring,

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thirty five years old, died trying to protect Sharon. Abigail

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came out of her bedroom, screamed, tried to run. Patricia

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Crenwinkle chased her, tackled her held her down. Boychik tried

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to fight, half asleep, drugged from sleeping pills, weak text,

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beat him with the gun, stabbed him. Voychik broke free,

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ran for the front door, made it to the lawn.

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Tex chased him, caught him, stabbed him over and over

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fifty one times, shot him twice. Woychik died on the

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front lawn. Inside the house, Susan Atkins tied a rope

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around Sharon's neck, threw it over a ceiling beam, tied

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the other end around Jay Sebrings's neck. Sharon and Jay's

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bodies connected. Sharon was hysterical, eight and a half months pregnant,

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watching her friend die, Knowing she was next. Please, Sharon begged,

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please let me have my baby. I don't want to die.

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Just let me have my baby. You can take me,

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you can kill me later, just let me have my baby.

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Susan Atkins looked at her, no empathy, no hesitation. Look, bitch,

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I don't care about you. I don't care about your baby.

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You're going to die and there's nothing you can do

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about it. Sharon kept begging, please, please, I just want

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my baby to live. Susan Atkins stabbed her Sharon screamed,

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tried to protect her belly. Susan stabbed her again and again,

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sixteen times total. Sharon died begging for her baby's life.

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Paul Richard Polanski died with her two weeks from being born. Outside.

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Patricia Crenwinkle chased Abigail across the lawn. Abigail had broken free,

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was running for help, screaming. Crenwinkle caught her, stabbed her.

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Abigail fell kept trying to crawl. Crenwinkle stabbed her twenty

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eight times. Abigail Folger, twenty five years old, died fifty

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feet from the house. When it was over, Five people

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lay dead. Stephen Parent in his car, Jay Sebring in

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the living room, Sharon Tate next to him, connected by

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the rope. VOI check Fraikowski on the front lawn, Abigail

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Folger on the grass. Two gunshot wounds, blood everywhere inside

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the house, on the lawn, on the driveway, a massacre.

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Susan Atkins had one more task Charles Manson's instructions. Leave

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a sign, something witchy, something that would shock the world.

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She dipped a towel in Sharon Tate's blood, walked to

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the front door, wrote pig in blood on the white door,

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message from the killers. Then they left, walked down the driveway,

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threw their bloody clothes in the bushes along the way,

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got in the car where Linda Kasabian was waiting, drove

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back to spawn ranch. Charles Manson asked if it was done.

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Tex said yes. Told him about the murders, about Sharon

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begging for her baby, about the blood, about pig on

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the door. Charles was pleased, said they did good, but

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tomorrow night they'd do it again. Do it better, make

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it more shocking. Eight thirty a m August ninth, nineteen

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sixty nine, Winnifred Chapman, the Polanski's housekeeper, arrived for work.

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Walked up the driveway, saw stephen parents car, thought it

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was strange, then saw the front door pig written in blood.

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She ran, screamed, flagged down a neighbor. Police were called.

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Officers arrived, found the carnage, five bodies, blood everywhere, worst

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crime scene most officers had ever seen. They processed the

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scene for hours, collected evidence, photographed everything, tried to understand

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what happened. William Garretson, the caretaker who lived in the

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guest house, was questioned he hadn't heard anything. Music had

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been playing, He was asleep, knew nothing. Initially arrested as

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a suspect, later released, passed a polygraph cleared. News spread fast.

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Sharon Tate, pregnant actress married to Roman Polanski, murdered in

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her home. Celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring killed, Coffee heiress Abigail

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Folger dead, Voichech Freikowsky dead, Stephen Parent dead. Hollywood was terrified.

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If someone could get to Sharon Tate, they could get

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to anyone. Security was increased across Los Angeles. Gun sales skyrocketed,

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people stopped trusting neighbors. The peace and love of the

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nineteen sixties died that night in Benedict Canyon, but the

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killers weren't done. Twenty four hours later, they'd kill again.

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We'll be right back with the LaBianca murders the second night.

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The victims who never knew why they died. August ninth,

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nineteen sixty nine, evening spawn Ranch, Charles Manson assembled his followers.

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Night had gone well, Tonight would be better. This time

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Manson would come along show them how it's really done.

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He picked his crew, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Crenwinkle,

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Leslie van houghten nineteen, relatively new member hadn't killed anyone yet,

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Linda Kasabian again, Steve Clem Grogan seventeen. They piled into

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a car. Manson drove told them they were going to

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find victims. Random victims make it look like a copycat

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of the Tate murders, make police think black militants were

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on a killing spree. Helter skelter. Manson drove around Los

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Angeles for hours looking for the right house, the right

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targets passed, several homes, kept going, eventually wound up in

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Los Filey's neighborhood, three three hundred and one Waverley Drive,

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nice house, middle class area, lights on inside perfect. Manson

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and Tex got out, entered the house through an unlocked door.

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This was Manson's first time actually entering a victim's home.

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He'd sent others before. This time he wanted to demonstrate

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his power Inside. Leno la Bianca, forty four, and his

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wife Rosemary, thirty eight, were home. They'd been out of

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town visiting family, just returned watching TV, relaxing. After a

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long drive, Manson and Text appeared, guns drawn, don't move

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don't scream. We're not going to hurt you. We just

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want money. Leno complied, stood up, hands raised. Rosemary panicked

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but stayed quiet. Manson was calm, polite, even told them

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to relax. Said his friends were burglars, just wanted cash

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and valuables. Nobody would get hurt. Leno said he had

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money in his wallet, Rosemary had jewelry. Take whatever you want,

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just don't hurt us. Manson tied Leno's hands behind his back,

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text tied Rosemary's hands, covered their heads with pillowcases, tied

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their necks loosely. Reassured them stay calm. My friends will

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come in, take what they want, then we'll leave. You'll

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be fine. Manson walked Rosemary to the bedroom, closed the door,

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left her there, came back to the living room, where

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Tex was guarding Leno. Manson turned to text, whispered, make

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sure they don't scream. Then Manson left, walked out the

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front door, went to the car where the others waited.

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Told them there are two people inside. Kill them. Make

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it look witchy like last night, right on the walls.

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Make it horrible. Leslie Van Houghten asked if she had to.

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Manson said yes, told her it was time to prove herself,

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to show she was committed to the family. To helter

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skelter text Susan, Patricia, and Leslie entered the house. Manson

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drove away, left them to finish the job, took Linda

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Kasabian with him, sent her to another house to commit

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a solo murder test her loyalty. She couldn't do it,

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just knocked on a wrong door and left. Manson was disappointed,

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but didn't push it back. At three three zero one

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Waverley Drive, the killing began. Leno LaBianca was sitting on

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the couch, tied up pillowcase over his head, couldn't see

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his attackers. Tex stabbed him twelve times. Leno screamed, struggled,

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tried to fight despite being bound. Rosemary heard the screaming

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from the bedroom, knew what was happening, tried to escape,

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broke through the door, fought back, swung a lamp at

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the killers. Patricia and Leslie tackled her, held her down,

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stabbed her repeatedly forty one times. Rosemary kept fighting, kept screaming,

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refused to die easily, finally stopped moving. Texts returned to

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Leno's body, stabbed him more times, total of forty one

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stab wounds. Then took a carving fork from the kitchen,

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stabbed it into Leno's abdomen, left it there. Took a knife,

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carved the word w A R into Leno's stomach, letters

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deep grotesque, Using Leno and Rosemary's blood, The killers wrote

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messages on the walls living room death to pigs written

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in blood, Kitchen rise written on the refrigerator door in blood,

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another wall Helter Skelter Manson's misspelling of Helter skelter, the

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blood message that would eventually connect these murders to the

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Tate murders and to Charles Manson. Then they left, took showers,

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ate food from the Labianka's refrigerator, hitchhiked back to spawn ranch,

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told Manson it was done. August tenth, nineteen sixty nine, afternoon,

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Leno Labianka Junior, Leno's son from a previous marriage, arrived

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at his father's house, planning to watch the Dodgers game together.

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Knocked on the door, no answer, noticed newspapers piling up.

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Strange walked around the house, looked through windows, saw nothing.

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Something felt wrong. He called police. Officers arrived, entered the house,

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found Leno's body in the living room, carving fork in

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his abdomen, war carved into his stomach, blood everywhere. Found

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Rosemary in the bedroom, stabbed forty one times, blood messages

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on the walls. Detectives immediately noticed similarities to the Tate murders.

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Pig at the Tate house, death to pigs at the

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Labianka house. Helter skelter clearly connected, same killers. But who

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and why Leno and Rosemary Labianka were strangers to Charles Manson.

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Hadn't wronged him, weren't famous, weren't connected to the entertainment industry.

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Just a middle aged couple living in Los Fales. Random victims,

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wrong place, wrong time home when Charles Manson drove by

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looking for people to kill. Leno Labianka forty four years old,

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owned a chain of grocery stores, successful businessman, loving father,

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grandfather involved in his commit unity. Should be ninety nine today,

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should have retired, should have watched his grandchildren grow up.

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Rosemary LaBianca thirty eight years old, co owner of a

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dress shop, entrepreneur, stepmother to Lino's children, kind, generous, should

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be ninety three today. Should have built her business, should

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have had decades more life. They died for nothing, murdered

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by strangers acting on orders from a delusional cult leader

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who believed killing them would start a race war. Make

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it make sense. Seven people dead in two nights, five

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at Colo Drive, two at Waverley Drive, all because Charles

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Manson wanted to be famous, wanted to prove he was important,

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wanted to punish a world that rejected him. The investigation intensified.

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LAPD knew these murders were connected, same methods, same messages,

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same brutality, but they had no suspects, no leads, no

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witnesses who could identify the killers. It would be months

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before they connected it to the Manson family, months before

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they realized Charles Manson, failed musician living at Spahn Ranch,

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had orchestrated the murders months before they arrested him and

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his followers. But eventually justice came, and when it did,

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the trial became one of the most bizarre in American history.

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That's Day one of our Manson Family series. Seven people

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murdered in two nights. Sharon Tate twenty six, eight and

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a half months pregnant, Jay Sebring thirty five, Abigail Folger

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twenty five, Woychek Fraikowski thirty two, Stephen Parent eighteen, Leno

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Labianka forty four, Rosemary Labiyanka thirty eight. Charles Manson ordered

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the murders, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Crenwinkle and Leslie

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Van Houghten carried them out all to start a race

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war based on Beatles lyrics. Tomorrow the arrests, the trial,

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Manson's court room antics, the three female followers who carved

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x's into their foreheads, and the guilty verdicts that put

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them all on death row. I'm reed, Carter, this is

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celebrity trials.