Charles Manson - Unauthorized

by John E. Derossett

  Manson then took Leona and another woman to New Mexico, where he intended to pimp them out. While there, he was arrested and questioned for possible violations of the Mann Act. The Mann Act was a law passed in 1910 and named after its creator, Congressman James Robert Mann. The law basically prevents white slavery, and prosecutes persons who transport women across state lines for immoral purposes, such as prostitution. The law was later rewritten in 1978 and then again in 1986 to specifically cover prostitution and illegal sex acts.

  Manson was eventually released from jail for this charge, but he rightly suspected that the trouble surrounding the charges was not yet over, and he was correct. He then disappeared, but in the meantime, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest due to violation of his probation regarding the forgery charges in Los Angeles. He was then indicted on violations of the Mann Act in 1960. In June of that year, one of the women was arrested for prostitution in Laredo, Texas and that led to the apprehension of Manson. He was then extradited to Los Angeles and ordered to serve his ten year sentence on the forgery charge. Manson spent the next year appealing the revocation of his probation while at the LA County Jail. When his appeal of the probation violation failed, he was sent to McNeil Island Penitentiary to serve his sentence.

  He decided that he wanted to be a musician while he was incarcerated at McNeil Island. While he was at that facility, he met Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, a notorious member of the Barker-Karpis gang (the Ma Barker Gang). Karpis then taught Manson how to play the guitar, and Manson decided that he wanted to record his music. It is widely believed that “Ma Barker” was the leader of the gang of bank robbers. The truth however, is that she was never actually arrested or charged with any crime. She did however actively help her son before and after his crimes. It is also true that she was shot to death when police tried to arrest her son Fred. Fred had opened fire on the police when they tried to arrest him. When they began shooting back at him, both Fred and his mother “Ma Barker” were killed.

  In 1963, authorities dropped the charges against Manson for violation of the Mann Act. This was probably due to lack of evidence, and Leona could not be compelled to testify against him because the two were married. That same year, Leona was granted a divorce from Manson. She had alleged at that time that Manson and she had a son together who she named Charles Luther.

  In June 1966, Manson was sent back to Terminal Island in order to prepare for an early release from prison. By the time he was released in March 1967, he had spent more than half of his life in prison. He did not want to leave the prison, and actually requested permission to stay inside, saying that prison life was the only life he knew, and that the prison was his home. His request was of course, denied. Perhaps if officials had known then, what is known now, they might have seriously considered his request, though there was actually no legal possible way to make such a thing happen.

  When he was released from Terminal Island, Manson made contact with his parole officer and asked for permission to move to San Francisco. He was permitted to make the move and a prison friend helped him to locate an apartment in Berkeley. Manson had no job, and his primary means of survival came from panhandling. He then met 23-year old Mary Brunner and it was not long before he was moved in and living with her. She worked as a library assistant at the University of California, Berkeley. Manson started bringing other women into the apartment against the strong objections of Brunner. She finally relented however, and by the time all was said and done, there were 18 other women living in the apartment besides Manson and Brunner. By this time, Manson had established himself in the Haight-Asbury district of San Francisco as a “guru”. This district was known as a main hangout for the hippie population during the 60’s, though Manson maintains to this day that he was not a hippie, but a “beatnik”, which he says, is very different.

  Over the years, Manson would grant interviews to many journalists. It isn’t always clear who was in control of the interviews, however, Manson always likes to believe that he is the one controlling things. The journalists of course try to keep things on track and to control the interviews, but Manson always tries to answer questions with questions. In one interview, he made it clear to the journalist that he only granted interviews because it was the only time that he could be out of his cell and not have to wear handcuffs when he was out. Charles Manson is a true psychopath in every sense of the word. He has always maintained that he done nothing. He has said this so many times, that it is likely that he actually believes that he is completely innocent of any crime.

  In the end however, Vincent Bugliosi, the man who would prosecute Family members for their participation in those grisly murders in 1969, would maintain that Manson did in fact, play a large part in the crimes he was charged with, and that if Manson had not instigated these crimes, the victims would be alive today.

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  family members

  There are many more members of the Manson family other than those that are listed here. It would be impractical however, to list everyone of them simply because there were so many. This book then, will focus only on the ones who participated in the murders of 1969, though I did take the time to mention Lynette Fromme. I made her part of this book because she was such a vocal supporter of Manson, and because she would attempt to assassinate Gerald Ford, President of the United States, in 1975. It is difficult to say why any of the members of the family listened to the garbage that Manson spouted on a daily basis. It is even more difficult to believe that a number of them bought into his garbage so deeply, that they would go out into the world and commit murder on his orders. Over the years, you have likely heard about people who had this kind of mental power over others. Think about it; there are people like Jim Jones (Guyana mass suicides) that are no diofferent from Charles Manson, and for some unknown reason, they are able to lead otherwise good people and have them do some terrible things to themselves, to other people, and in some cases, both. Those that followed Manson and committed these heinous murders for him are listed here.

  Charles “Tex” Watson – Tex was born December 2, 1945 in Copeville, Texas. He worked summers at a local onion packing plant in order to finance his college education. He went on to attend three years of college at the University of North Texas, located in Denton, Texas. During his Junior year in college, he took a job working as a baggage handler for Braniff International Airways. One of the benefits of this job was free air travel to anywhere the airline went. By the time he was in his third year of school, he was growing bored with his extended education. He then decided to use his travel benefits to visit one of his college buddies in California. Once he arrived there, he like California so well, that he decided that he wanted to move to California. He made the move and then enrolled in school in California. He soon grew tired of school altogether and dropped out. Knowing that he had to do something to make a living, he opened a wig shop that he named Love Locs. The business soon failed leaving him wondering what he would do next. He was driving one night, when he saw a man hitchhiking and stopped to give him a lift. As it turns out, the hitchhiker was Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys who was returning home from a recording session. Wilson invited Tex back to his house and that was where Watson met Charles Manson and some of the other Family members for the first time.

  Charles “Tex” Watson

  Bobby Beausoleil – Bobby was born in Santa Barbara, California on November 6, 1947. Beausoleil moved to Los Angeles in the early 60’s with the hope of making it as an actor. He was a member of the band called Grass Roots, that eventually changed its name to Love. Beausoleil had moved to San Francisco where he composed music for a short time, working with filmmaker Kenneth Anger. He was one of the lesser known members of the Manson Family, however he was the one who murdered Gary Hinman.

  Bobby Beausoleil

  Steve Grogan – Grogan was born on May 24, 1952. He considered himself a musician and dropped out of high school to pro
mote his interest in music. He was often referred to by other family members as “scramblehead” because they believed him to be either stupid or retarded. He is the one who allegedly wrecked Dennis Wilson’s (Beach Boys Member) Ferrari. While Grogan would be sentenced to death for the crimes committed with the Manson Family, his sentence would be overturned by Judge James Kolts because he said that Grogan was too stupid and too hopped up on drugs to make any decisions about killing anyone. Grogan remains the only Manson Family member to be released on parole to this day.

  Steve Grogan

  Susan Atkins – Susan was born on May 7, 1948 in San Gabriel, California. Atkins maintained that both of her parents were alcoholics. He mother died from cancer in 1963, and while her early years were spent in upper middle class homes, she said that the gradual and eventual breakup of her family led her in other directions. Susan’s father Edward, eventually moved to Los Banos, California with Susan and her little brother Steven. He then found work on a construction project building the San Luis Dam, and he basically abandoned the children, leaving them to fend for themselves.

  During her junior year in high school, Susan took a job in order to support herself and her younger brother. Up until they moved to Los Banos, Susan had been an average student, but her grades rapidly deteriorated after the move. She lived with various relatives and friends during this time until 1967 when she met Charles Manson. She had been staying with some friends at that point, and Manson was playing the guitar when they met. She had become homeless after a police raid at the house where she was staying. It was at that time that Manson had invited her to become part of his group. They were about to go on a road trip in a converted school bus. Most of the seats within the bus had been removed converting it into a living space and it was painted completely black. It was around this time that Manson coined her with the nickname of “Sadie Mae Glutz”. This name was placed on a fake ID card that Manson had made for her by another associate of the Family.

  During an interview in later years, Atkins said that she actually believed Manson to be Jesus Christ himself. The family was growing larger by this time and eventually placed their roots at the Spahn Ranch in the San Fernando Valley of California. Manson had made a deal with George Spahn to allow the Family to stay on the ranch, and in return, they would do chores around the property to help fix it up again, and he would have the girls help Spahn as well, including occasionally having sex with the old man. In 1968, Atkins had a baby boy by a man named Bruce White. Manson was the one to name the kid, and he called him Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz.

  Once she was convicted of the murders that you will later read about, her parental rights to the child were terminated. Because there was no one in her real family that would accept responsibility for the child, he became a ward of the State of California and placed for adoption. As it happens, the child was better off in the hands of another family considering that her own family life was nothing to write home about. He was adopted by a couple from the time she was incarcerated in 1969 and was renamed. Atkins would have no further contact with the child and she would ultimately die in prison not knowing where he was, how he was doing, or ever seeing him again.

  Susan Atkins

  Patricia Krenwinkel – Pat, as she was known to the other girls, was born December 3, 1947 in Los Angeles, California. She attended University High School, and then eventually began going to Westchester High School. Patricia was often bullied in school and teased because she was overweight.

  Her self-esteem was very low, and this made her the perfect candidate for being manipulated by someone like Charles Manson. By this time, Manson knew that if a girl was down on herself, he could build her up by telling her how beautiful and special she was, making her loyal to him without trying very hard to do it. This opened the door for them to do as he asked without question.

  Her parents divorced when she was 17-years old, and she continued to live with her father after the divorce. She graduated from high school and taught catechism for a short time. Catechism is religious instruction in the Roman Catholic faith. Krenwinkel considered being a nun for some time before finally discarding the idea. She decided to attend a Jesuit school named Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, however, she only attended school for one semester before dropping out. She then returned to Los Angeles and moved into her step-sister’s apartment, taking a job working as a processing clerk in a business office.

  While out one day, Krenwinkel happened to meet Manson, Lynette Fromme and Mary Brunner. These two girls were already known as “Charlie’s Girls”, and she became part of the group. Krenwinkel admitted in interviews later in life that she had sex with Manson on the first night she met him. She also said that Manson was the first person in her life to ever tell her that she was beautiful.

  The group went to San Francisco, with Krenwinkel leaving everything behind, including her car and her last paycheck. She was starved for attention, and wanted to be loved so it was easy for her to pick up and leave with the group because they made her feel good. She was absolutely mesmerized by Manson.

  As the family continued to grow, they began taking on various names and aliases. Krenwinkel had a number of different names herself , but was most commonly called “Katie”. Other names that she used included “Big Patty”, “yellow”, “Marnie Reeves” and “Mary Ann Scott”. She was among the members of the family who took a sex- and drug-filled trip throughout the Western United States for 18 months in the old converted school bus.

  Krenwinkel and another family member named Ella Bailey were hitchhiking one day when Dennis Wilson, founding member and drummer of the Beach Boys, picked them up to give them a ride. This is one of the many ways that Manson would come to be associated with the famous drummer. Wilson invited the girls to his house to hang out while he went on to a recording session. Once there, the girls called other family members and told them that they had found a new place for the family to crash. When Wilson returned later that day following the recording session, he found Charles Manson and other family members sleeping in his bedrooms and eating his food. They were also partying in and out of the house. Wilson started out actually liking Manson and the rest of the family, however, they began causing problems for Wilson, including destroying the house among other things. Wilson eventually moved out of the house to get away from the clan, and set his manager to the task of getting rid of the family. When Manson and the girls finally did leave the property, they left Wilson holding the bag for damages that they caused to the property. One of the family members even damaged Wilson’s Ferrari (Steve Grogan).

  Along with other family members, Krenwinkel would eventually move to the Spahn Movie Ranch, where the group convinced owner George Spahn to let them stay there, and they would help with the chores around the property, which included helping Spahn in “special ways”, as was previously mentioned. The girls, including Lynette from would go so far as to have sex with the old man, in addition to caring for him.

  Krenwinkel was a loyal and intense follower of Manson. Additionally, she had come to be known as the mother figure for the handful of illegitimate children that were in the family. Since the death of Susan Atkins in 2009, Krenwinkel now has the dubious distinction of being the longest incarcerated female in California’s history.

  Patricia Krenwinkel

  Linda Kasabian – Linda, while along for the ride on the trip that resulted in the murder of Sharon Tate and the others in the house that night in 1969, is the only one of the family members not to “get her hands dirty” in the crimes. She would go on to become a State’s Witness and be given immunity since she never actually participated in the murders.

  Linda was born June 21, 1949 in Biddeford, Maine. Linda’s mother would later say that many of the problems that Linda ran into were her fault, because she had so many children that she did not have the time to spend with Linda during her formative teenage years that a mother should. She said that she was not able to provide the proper guidance to the girl.

  L
inda dropped out of high school and left home when she was just 16-years old because she was having problems with her step-father. She said that her step-father mistreated not only her, but her mother as well, so she headed West in an attempt to find GOD. She would eventually marry, get divorced, and married again. A daughter came out of the marriage in 1968 and she named the child Tanya. Her marriage to Robert Kasabian soured however, and she left. They would try a reconciliation however and she returned to Los Angeles. They lived in hippie hangouts in Topanga Canyon and she became pregnant with a second child.

  She was supposed to go with her husband on a trip to South America in a boat, but he left her behind and went alone with his friend. Catherine Share, otherwise known as “Gypsie”, told Kasabian about the Manson Family, and the ranch. Kasabian decided not to attend the July 4, 1969 “Love-In” that she was planning on attending, and instead followed Gypsie to the Spahn Ranch. That was when Kasabian first met Charles Manson. At some point before he left on his South American cruise, Kasabian returned to the place where she lived with her husband and stole $5,000 from her husband’s friend and brought to Manson at the ranch.