Inside Charles Manson's Twisted Journey: How Far Was Scientology's Reach?

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Can the line between influence and control be as thin as a whisper? Join us for a gripping finale as we unravel the chilling narrative of Charles Manson, a man who turned dreams of love and enlightenment into nightmares of chaos. In this episode, we trace the dark path of manipulation and control that Manson expertly navigated, steering his followers into a twisted ideology known as "Helter Skelter." We explore the eerie parallels between Manson's methods and those found in Scientology, drawing unsettling connections that highlight the fragility of the human mind and the monstrous transformations of belief.

Through the haunting stories of Manson Family members like Susan Atkins and Charles "Tex" Watson, we expose the vulnerabilities that left them susceptible to Manson's charismatic grip. These individuals, seeking acceptance and purpose, found themselves ensnared in a web of manipulation that culminated in the horrific events of August 1969. We paint a vivid picture of the lives tragically cut short, including those of Sharon Tate and the LaBiancas, and dissect the psychological techniques Manson wielded to maintain control and incite violence.

As we close this eye-opening season, we reflect on the lessons learned from these haunting tales of influence and control. Your hosts, Abraham Alrick and Sandy McKenna, invite you to question and unravel the shadowy intersections between cult behavior and true crime in our upcoming series, "Sinners in Secret." We aim to shine a light on the subtle signs of manipulation and remind our listeners of the ease with which even the most intelligent minds can be led astray. Thank you for being part of this journey into the depths of human psychology and the dark side of influence.—————————————————————

Welcome to Sins of Scientology, where we delve into the intriguing world of true crime. Before we dive into each episode, we want to make it clear that while we dedicate extensive effort to research and verify the details presented, the nature of true crime storytelling means that some information may be subject to interpretation or may evolve over time. We strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, drawing from reputable sources and expert insights.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following content may include discussions or
topics that could be triggeringor upsetting to individuals who
have experienced similar traumas.
Viewer discretion is advised.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hi, I'm Sandy McKenna and, along with Abraham Ulrich,
welcome to the Sins ofScientology.
It is so hard to believe thatwe've reached the end of this
intense and eye-opening season.
As we dive into our finalepisode of this season, let's
take a look back at the journeywe've taken together.
We began with episode one, theenigmatic L Ron Hubbard,

(00:32):
exploring the complex figure wholaid the foundation for
Scientology, setting the stagefor everything else to come.
In episode two, we trace themeteial rise of David Miscavige
and his rise to power,uncovering how he ascended to
the helm and reshaped theorganization's future.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
From there we move to one of the most pivotal stories
in our series the takeover ofClearwater, a two-part deep dive
into the town's transformationunder Scientology's influence.
Then came the heroine story ofPaulette Cooper, an episode
dedicated to one journalist'sterrifying ordeal highlighting
the length to which the churchwould go to silence critics.

(01:12):
In Heber Gensch A Tale of Faith, power and Betrayal, we saw how
devotion and ambition couldclash with devastating personal
consequences.
This led us to one ofScientology's most scandalous
incidents Spiraling intoDarkness the Lisa McPherson
tragedy, a haunting three-partseries that examined her life
struggles and the troublingcircumstances of her final days.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Episode 10, scientology and Psychiatry,
tackled the contentious andcomplex relationship between the
church and mental healthprofessionals, a conflict that
paved the way for the shockingstory of Jeremy Perkins, where
mental illness, fate and tragedycollided in ways we could
hardly imagine.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Then we encountered the truth behind Narconon, the
controversial rehab linked toScientology, revealing a
treatment program with practicesas polarizing as the church
itself.
Afterwards, we took an evendarker turn, stepping inside
Scientology's secret prison,revealing a treatment program
with practices as polarizing asthe church itself.
Afterwards, we took an evendarker turn, stepping inside
Scientology's secret prison thedark truth of the RPF,
uncovering hidden stories ofconfinement and control.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
And finally, in the rise, fall and legacy of David
Mayo, we looked at one ofScientology's most notable
figures, a man who influencedthe church's core beliefs before
becoming its outcast.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
And today we're closing out the season with an
episode that pulls it alltogether, reflecting on the
figures, stories and insightsthat brought us here.
Whether you've been with ussince episode one or joined us
this season, we want to thankyou for being part of this
journey.
Now let's dive in and see wherethis story takes us.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
The summer of 1969 was supposed to be a time of
peace, love and a revolution, Acultural awakening defined by
the music of Woodstock, thethrill of landing on the moon
and the dreams of a generationto change the world.
But in Los Angeles, the seasonended not in harmony but in

(03:07):
horror.
A series of brutal murders, sosavage and random, shattered the
illusion of safety and sent theentire nation spiraling into
fear.
At the center of that terrorwas a man named Charles Manson,
a drifter with a hypnotic gazeand a vision so twisted that he

(03:27):
managed to convince a group ofyoung, idealistic followers to
become killers.
Manson promised his followerslove and enlightenment, but what
he delivered was a prophecy ofchaos.
He called helter-skelter, adelusional, apocalyptic vision
that ended in bloodshed.
Tonight, on the season finale ofSins of Scientology, we unravel

(03:51):
the chilling story of Mansonand the cult-like hold he had
over his family of followers.
We'll take you inside thebrutal nights on Cielo Drive and
Waverly Drive, exploring howManson turned love into fear and
peace into violence.
We'll examine how a man with noreal power or wealth managed to

(04:11):
become one of the most fearedfigures in the 20th century.
We're also going to dive intoManson's brief but intriguing
connection to Scientology andhow certain psychological
techniques may have inspired hisown methods of control.
But be warned this is not justthe story about murder.
It is about the fragility ofthe human mind and how easily

(04:36):
belief can be twisted intosomething monstrous.
I'm Sandy McKenna and alongwith my co-host, Abraham Ulrich,
we peel back the layers of oneof the most terrifying chapters
in American history.
This is the Sins of Scientology.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
Charles Manson was born Charles Miles Maddox on
November 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, ohio.
His mother, kathleen Maddox,was only 16 years old, a
troubled teenager herself barelyold enough to take care of the
newborn she brought into theworld.
Kathleen, by all accounts, wasa wayward spirit, often getting
into scrapes with the law.

(05:29):
She drank heavily and foundherself entangled in
relationships that were aschaotic as her own life.
Charles' father, a transientman named Colonel Walker
Henderson Scott Sr, was neverpresent, abandoning Kathleen as
soon as he learned of herpregnancy.
With no father figure in sightand a mother whose presence was
often overshadowed by hermisadventures, charles' early

(05:50):
life was fraught withinstability.
The story of Charles Manson'schildhood is a hunter portrait
of neglect.
Kathleen, after Manson was born, briefly married a man named
William Manson, and it was fromhim that Charles would take the
last name that would becomeinfamous in American history.
But the marriage wasshort-lived and Kathleen's
attempt to maintain anyresemblance of a traditional

(06:12):
family life unraveled quickly.
By the time he was five yearsold, charles was already
witnessing the harsh realitiesof an unpredictable life.
There are reports of Kathleeneven attempting to trade young
Charles for a pitcher of beer ata bar, an anecdote that became
a grim symbol of the brokennessof his childhood.
Though her attempts torelinquish him were unsuccessful

(06:33):
, the damage was done.
When Manson was nine years old,Kathleen was arrested for armed
robbery alongside her brother.
She was sentenced to five yearsin prison, leaving Charles to
bounce between various relativesand state institutions.
During this time, he developeda sense of abandonment and
mistrust, fostering a rebelliousspirit that would only grow as

(06:54):
he aged.
His relatives were unable orunwilling to provide the
emotional warmth he craved.
Many of his caretakers foundhis behavior troublesome, but
none could have foreseen thedarkness that was slowly taking
root in his young mind.
At the age of 12, manson wassent to the Gibbult School of
Boys in Terre Haute, indiana, areformed school designed to

(07:16):
rehabilitate wayward youth.
The institution was meant toteach discipline and respect,
but for Charles it was abreeding ground of resentment.
He ran away from schoolmultiple times, often living on
the streets or stealing tosurvive.
By his teenage years, he hadalready begun to build a
criminal record, which includedtheft, armed robbery and other

(07:37):
petty crimes.
The state had a clear picturethis was a boy on a fast track
to a life of crime.
Mance's time in and out ofjuvenile facilities between ages
13 and 18 was marked bycontinuous turmoil.
He was sent to the Indiana BoysSchool where he later claimed
other inmates physically andsexually abused him.

(07:57):
He learned quickly how tomanipulate and survive in
environments full of predators,skill that would later become
his most dangerous weapon.
At one point he escaped theIndiana Boys School and fled to
his mother, hoping she wouldtake him in.
Instead, she rejected him.
A moment that cut deep and leftthe mark of pain and betrayal

(08:19):
he never forgot.
Following the crushing moment,manson drifted from one facility
to another.
In the late 1940s he wastransferred to the Natural
Bridge Honor Camp, a minimumsecurity institution in Virginia
, but escape seemed to be theonly thing on his mind.
He attempted several moregetaways, stealing cars,

(08:39):
breaking into stores andgenerally thumping his nose at
any authority figure that triedto tame him.
By the time he turned 18 in 1952, manson had spent most of his
adolescence in reform school andany dream of a normal life were
long gone.
He was hardened, angry anddetermined to never be the one
left powerless again.

(09:00):
Charles Manson had become ayoung man who knew how to use
charm as a defense mechanism,manipulating people even then,
to get what he wanted.
He has studied and absorbed theart of manipulation,
understanding how to twistemotions and exploit the
vulnerabilities of others.
As he reached adulthood, mansonhad already embraced the
pattern of crime and coercionSet in the stage for the

(09:23):
unsettling chapter that wouldfollow in his life story.
Manson's path to infamy was farfrom accidental.
It was paved of neglect, abuseand his own blossoming criminal
ingenuity.
This was the making of a manwho would later capture the
darkest recesses of America'simagination.
His early years were thefoundation on which he would
build a house of horrors that noone would ever forget.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
When Charles Manson arrived at McNeil Island
Penitentiary in Washington inthe early 1960s, he was already
a hardened criminal, a man whoselife had been shaped by years
of incarceration, petty theftand a growing obsession with
power and control petty theftand a growing obsession with
power and control.
He was in his late 20s, a youngman, deeply troubled, who had

(10:12):
spent more time in prison thanin the outside world.
The walls of McNeil Island hadseen countless men come and go,
but few would leave such alasting and sinister legacy as
Charles Manson.
Mcneil Island wasn't just aplace of punishment.
It was also kind of a placewhere you could learn.
Inmates often had access toeducational programs and, more
importantly, to each other.
The prison was a melting pot ofideas, schemes and philosophies

(10:35):
, and it was here, in thisconfined world of concrete and
iron, that Manson's curiositywas piqued by a religion that
was gaining popularity evenamong the incarcerated it was
Scientology.
The 1960s were a time whenpeople, even in prison, were
searching for new paths toenlightenment, and Scientology

(10:58):
was marked as just that a way tounlock the human mind's full
potential and free oneself fromthe chains of the past.
Manson, always hungry forknowledge that could give him an
edge was immediately intrigued.
Scientology seemed to offersomething he had always craved
the promise of control, not justover himself but potentially

(11:21):
over others.
He began to devour theteachings of L Ron Hubbard, the
founder of Scientology, who hadpenned countless texts and
self-help philosophies aimed atmastering the mind.
Manson wasn't just a passiveobserver.
He threw himself into thecourses offered within the
prison walls, attending auditingsessions and completing over

(11:42):
150 hours of training.
Auditing in Scientology is apractice designed to help
individuals confront and clearnegative experiences referred to
as engrams from theirsubconscious minds.
In these sessions, an auditorguides the participant through
past traumas, aiming to stripaway emotional baggage and

(12:03):
elevate them to a higher stateof being.
For Manson, these sessions weremore than just spiritual
exercises.
They were a blueprint formanipulation.
As he sat in those auditingrooms, manson wasn't just
seeking personal freedom.
He was taking mental notes,observing how the process of
questioning and confrontingmemories could make people feel

(12:25):
vulnerable and open tosuggestions.
In his twisted mind, manson sawan opportunity.
He began to grasp howScientology's techniques could
be adapted for his own purposes.
He watched as his fellowinmates seemed to open up,
becoming pliable under thecareful and methodical
questioning of an auditor.

(12:46):
If the mind could be unburdenedand reshaped, manson realized
it could also be manipulated.
Here was a man who had alwaysfelt powerless, and Scientology
offered him a way to grasp asense of control, even if only
in theory, but in true Mansonfashion.

(13:06):
He grew disillusioned.
The teachings of L Ron Hubbard,with their promise of spiritual
salvation, ultimately left himwanting more.
Manson craved a deeper power,one that would not only change
his inner self but also allowhim to dominate and influence
those around him.
He once reportedly dismissedScientology, claiming it was

(13:28):
inadequate for his needs,calling it a weak religion that
failed to deliver the mastery hesought.
For Manson, it wasn't enoughjust to clear his mind.
He wanted to bend the minds ofothers to his will.
Despite this disillusionment,his time spent with Scientology
was not wasted.
It added to the arsenal ofpsychological tricks and tools

(13:50):
that he would later employ withdeadly precision.
He combined the concepts he hadlearned about probing the
subconscious and breaking downemotional barriers with other
philosophies and manipulativetactics that he picked up over
the years.
This confluence of ideas wouldform the bedrock of mind-control
techniques he later used tobuild and maintain his cult, the

(14:12):
Manson family.
When he finally left McNeilIsland Penitentiary in 1967,
manson was not just an ex-conwith a guitar and a dream of
becoming a rock star.
He was now armed with adangerous understanding of human
psychology, a knowledge thatwould prove fatal in years to
come.
His time immersed inScientology's practices may have

(14:35):
been brief, but the impact waslasting, planting seeds of
manipulation that wouldeventually bear the
blood-stained fruit of one ofAmerica's most infamous crimes.
Manson's brush with Scientologywas just one chapter in a life
marked by a quest for control,but it was a pivotal one.
It was here that he began tofully understand the power of

(14:56):
suggestions and the allure ofspiritual promises, a knowledge
that he would wield withdevastating effect as he
prepared to step back into theoutside world.
Charles Manson was more thanjust a man.
He was a ticking time bomb.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
When we think of Charles Manson, one image often
comes to mind that wild-eyed,almost hypnotic stare.
It was a look that could makeyour skin crawl, but for the
members of his so-called Mansonfamily, that stare and the man
behind it yield an unshakablepower.
How did he do it?
How did a man who drifted fromone prison to another come to

(15:34):
command such absolute devotionfrom his followers?
The answer lies in his masteryof psychological manipulation, a
skill he honed in prison fromvarious influences.
Interestingly enough,scientology.
Manson's tactics were insidiousand carefully crafted.
At the heart of his control Wasthe way he broke his followers

(15:55):
sense of self.
He targeted vulnerable people,most the young women who had
been searching for a purpose orescape from their troubled past.
He isolated them from theirfamilies, moved them into the
seclusion of the spawn ranch andbombarded them with a mix of
love and fear.
One former member recalled hemade you feel like you were the
most special person in the worldone moment, and the next he

(16:19):
teared you down until you didn'tknow which way was up.
You lived for his approval andhe knew it.
Manson was a master of lovebombing, a tactic seen in many
cults.
He would overwhelm new recruitswith affection and promises of
a utopian family where theywould find acceptance.
Then he suddenly started tocontrol their thoughts, often

(16:39):
using a combination of sleepdeprivation, repetitive
messaging and communal ritualsthat kept his followers in a
heightened emotional state.
He'd play the guitar and weavethese hypnotic speeches about
the apocalypse, about histwisted interpretation of the
Beatles' helter-skelter,convincing his followers they
were soldiers in a coming racewar that only he could guide

(17:02):
them.
And here's where theScientology connection gets
interesting.
While Manson wasn't a practicingScientologist when he formed
the Manson family, some of hispsychological control methods
bear resemblance to thetechniques he likely picked up
during those 150 hours ofauditing sessions at McNeil
Island Penitentiary.
The basic premise of auditingin Scientology is to dig deep

(17:26):
into a person's traumas orengrams with the goal of freeing
them from emotional pain.
The auditor asks provenquestions, often repeatedly,
until the subject reveals deeplyburied memories making them
vulnerable.
Manson adapted this idea, buttwisted it into something far
more sinister.
Instead of helping hisfollowers release their trauma,

(17:48):
he used their confessions andvulnerabilities to control them.
Former family members have saidthat Manson will conduct his
own twisted form of auditing,asking deeply personal questions
to expose their secrets.
He then used this knowledge tobind them to him, constantly
reminding them that he kneweverything about them and that
leaving or betraying him wouldbe unthinkable.

(18:10):
Cults often rely on a form ofindoctrination that keeps
members emotionally dependentand mentally exhausted, and
Manson was no different.
The parallels of Scientology'sindoctrination, as some experts
have noted, are striking.
Dr Stephen Hassan, a leadingexpert on cults, pointed out
that both Scientology and theManson family use the version of

(18:32):
what's called thought reform.
In this process, a person'scritical thinking skills are
systematically broken downthrough repetitive teachings and
psychological pressure, leavingthem open to new beliefs and
directives.
Manson's techniques, hassansaid in a 2018 interview,
weren't as structured asScientology's, but had the same

(18:52):
goal to create a sense ofdependence and eliminate a
person's ability to thinkindependently.
Former Scientologists have alsoweighed in on these similarities
.
One former member of the church, who has since become a vocal
critic, made an observation whenI look back at how Manson
manipulated his followers, I cansee elements of the auditing

(19:13):
process.
The idea of making someonerelive their trauma over and
over is a way to disarm them.
Manson learned that in prisonand used it to horrific effects.
Manson's charisma was the finalpiece of the puzzle.
He knew how to perform, how todraw people in with his magnetic
charm and mask the darknesswithin.

(19:33):
At Spahn Ranch, he was themessiah.
His followers believed in, amaster illusionist who convinced
them to see the world throughhis apocalyptic lens.
He blended pieces ofScientology's mind-control
techniques, his own street-smartcunning and the power of
suggestion into a terrifyingcocktail that left his followers
spellbound.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
Manson wasn't just a scruffy ex-con.
He was a self-proclaimed guru,promising enlightenment to
anyone willing to follow him.
His charisma was magnetic.
He had a hypnotic way ofspeaking, weaving together
strands of mysticism, biblicalprophecy and his twisted
interpretations of pop culture.
He played the guitar like ashaman conducting a ritual,

(20:16):
singing songs that seemed tospeak to the souls of all those
around him.
His followers, many of themyoung women in their late teens
and early twenties, hung on hisevery word.
He had a knack for findingvulnerable ones.
Those who had run away from homefelt unloved or were desperate
for a father figure.
To them, manson offeredunconditional acceptance.

(20:37):
He gave them nicknames, madethem feel special and promised
them a new family, one thatwould never judge or abandon
them In Charlie's world.
One former member later said itwas like we were finally seen,
finally loved.
We were free to be whoever hewanted us to be, and that was
the key.
Manson's version of freedom wasan illusion, a carefully

(21:01):
orchestrated trap.
As the family grew, manson tookthem to the Spahn Ranch, a dusty
, desolate movie set on theoutskirts of Los Angeles.
There he had complete controland he wasted no time
establishing himself as theultimate authority.
Manson framed the group as afamily, with himself as a loving
but stern father figure.

(21:22):
But it wasn't just a family, itwas a cult, and, like any cult
leader, manson relied onpsychological tactics to
maintain his iron grip on hisfollowers.
One of his most powerful toolswas isolation.
By cutting off his followersfrom the outside world, both
physically and emotionally,manson ensured that he was the

(21:43):
only voice they heard.
He made sure they abandonedtheir pasts, their parents and
any connection to the lives theyonce knew.
He kept them busy with manuallabor, endless rituals and
constant group activities,leaving little time to think
critically or question hisauthority, anything sound
familiar.
Manson used sleep deprivationas a method of control, keeping

(22:06):
the family up all night withendless monologues and music
sessions, bringing down theirresistance and making them more
pliable.
He also practiced somethingthat had parallels to
Scientology's auditing process,where deep probing questions are
used to uncover and manipulatea person's innermost fears and
desires.
But Manson's version was twisted.

(22:26):
He'd gather his followersaround him and make them spill
their secrets, digging intotheir traumas and using that
knowledge to bind them to him.
If anyone dared to think aboutleaving, he'd remind them of
what he knew, of the pain hecould inflict, not just
emotionally but physically, ofthe pain he could inflict.

(22:47):
Not just emotionally butphysically.
Obedience was absolute.
Manson broke down personalbarriers by mixing love and
violence.
He'd shower his followers withaffection one moment and berate
them viciously the next.
This emotional rollercoastercreated a trauma bond, a
psychological trap, where hisfollowers were dependent on him
for both their validation andtheir survival.
And in Manson's world, love wassomething he controlled,

(23:11):
something he doled out orwithheld like a drug.
It's here in Manson's tacticsthat we see echoes of other cult
control methods, includingthose practiced in Scientology.
Just like L Ron Hubbard'steachings, manson's
manipulations revolved aroundstripping down an individual's
identity and rebuilding it inhis image.

(23:31):
He used repetition, thoughtreform and the dismantling of
critical thinking skills tocreate followers who were
utterly devoted to his vision.
But while Scientology mightpromise spiritual enlightenment,
manson's teachings led only todestruction.
Psychologist Margaret Singer,who studied cult behaviors

(23:52):
extensively, once explainedcults work by taking away an
individual's ability to reasonand replacing it with a singular
belief system.
In Manson's case, he didn'tneed sophistication.
He used a chaotic mix of love,fear and dependency to turn his
followers into instruments ofhis own delusions.
And so, at the Spahn Ranch,what started as a dream utopia

(24:15):
became a nightmare.
Manson, the self-styled messiah, had built his cult of
personality with tools that weredisturbingly effective, even if
they were borrowed anddistorted from philosophies he'd
encountered during his prisonyears.
And, in the end, his family wasloyal terrifyingly tragically
loyal and ready to do whateverhe commanded.

Speaker 1 (24:37):
When we hear about the horrors of the Tate and
LaBianca murderers, our focusoften lands on Charles Manson,
the cult leader with wild eyesand a messianic complex.
But Manson wasn't the oneyielding the knife or pulling
the trigger.
The gruesome murders werecarried out by members of his
so-called family, young men andwomen whose lives had spiraled

(24:58):
into Manson's orbit, drawn byhis dark charisma and
manipulated promises of love,acceptance and a new way of life
.
To understand how theseseemingly ordinary young people
became murderers, we have tolook back at who they were
before Manson got his hooks intothem.
Susan Atkins, often rememberedfor her chilling role in the

(25:19):
murders, was born on May 7, 1948, in San Gabriel, california.
Her early life was marked bychaos and heartbreak.
Her mother passed away fromcancer when Susan was just 15
and her family fell apart soonafter.
Her father, who had struggledwith alcoholism, couldn't hold
the family together and Susanended up living with relatives

(25:42):
by the time she was in her lateteens.
She was lost, drifted anddesperate for a place to belong.
Susan eventually made her wayto San Francisco, where the
Haight-Ashbury district was themecca of counterculture youth.
It was there, in 1967, that shemet Charles Manson.
Manson promised her the loveand family she'd created since

(26:03):
her mother's death.
He renamed her Sadie Mae Glutzand convinced her she was part
of a spiritual revolution.
Susan, eager to be loved andaccepted, became one of Manson's
most devoted followers, willingto do anything he asked, even
murder.
Patricia Krenwinkel, born onDecember 3, 1947, in Los Angeles

(26:23):
, had a childhood that manywould describe as ordinary, but
deeply troubled beneath thesurface.
Her parents divorced when shewas a teenager and she struggled
with feelings of inadequacy andbody image issues.
Patricia never felt like shefit in, often describing herself
as an outsider.
After high school, she workedas a secretary and lived a quiet

(26:43):
, unfulfilled life.
It wasn't until she met CharlesManson at a friend's house that
she felt a spark of belonging.
Manson told Patricia she wasbeautiful something she had
rarely heard and that she couldbe free from societal
constraints.
She fell under his spell.
Captivated by his promises oflove in a utopian family,

(27:05):
patricia left her old lifebehind and joined the Manson
family, where she became knownas Katie.
The soft-spoken young womansoon found herself committing
unimaginable acts of violence,all in service of the man she
believed was a messiah.
Leslie Van Houten, the youngestof the Manson murderers, was
born on August 23, 1949, inAltadena, california.

(27:28):
Her early years were marked byprivilege and opportunity,
growing up in a middle-classfamily with seemingly every
advantage.
But when her parents divorcedwhen she was 14, leslie's life
began to unravel.
She started using drugs,experimenting with LSD and other
hallucinogens.
By her late teens she hadbecome a free spirit drifting

(27:50):
through California'scounterculture scene.
At just 19 years old, leslieencountered the Manson family
and was seduced by the promiseof a communal lifestyle where
everyone was equal and love wasabundant.
Manson played on hervulnerabilities and spiritual
curiosity, telling her that shecould help change the world.
It didn't take long for Leslieto fall completely under his

(28:12):
spell.
By living in his apocalypticvisions On the night of the
LaBianca murderers, leslie wentfrom being a hopeless young
woman to a murderer, her handsstained with the blood of
innocent people.
Charles Tex Watson was theall-American boy-turned-killer,
a former high school footballstar from Coalville, texas, born

(28:32):
on December 3, 1945.
Watson seemed to have a brightfuture ahead of him.
He attended the University ofNorth Texas but quickly grew
restless and disillusioned withthe straight-laced life his
family envisioned for him.
Like so many young people ofhis generation, he drifted west
to California seeking freedomand excitement.

(28:53):
It was in Los Angeles that TexWatson met Charles Manson.
Manson's teachings about theend of the world and the need to
prepare for the coming race warcaptivated Tex.
He became Manson's right-handman, the muscle behind the
madness.
Manson's influence over Tex wasprofound, convincing the former
athlete to abandon his past andfully embrace the violent chaos
.
Manson's influence over Tex wasprofound, convincing the former

(29:13):
athlete to abandon his past andfully embrace the violent chaos
Manson preached.
On the night of the murders,tex led the charge, carrying out
Manson's orders with a cold andterrifying efficiency.
Linda Kasabian was born on June21, 1949 in Bidford, maine.
Linda had a tumultuous childhood, marked by her parents' divorce
and a troubled adolescence.

(29:34):
She married young, had a childand found herself drifting,
drawn to the West Coast insearch of peace and meaning.
Linda was introduced to theManson family through a friend
and she initially fell for theidyllic free-love lifestyle
Manson promised.
Unlike the others, she was newto the family when the murders
took place and her experience atCielo Drive was profoundly

(29:57):
traumatizing.
Though she didn't physicallyparticipate in the killings, she
was there, a witness to thehorror.
Her conscience ultimately ledher to turn against Manson and
her testimony was crucial inputting him and his followers
behind bars.
These young men and womenweren't born killers.
They came from ordinaryfamilies, had childhood dreams

(30:18):
and, at one point, had futuresthat could have gone in any
direction.
But their paths crossed withCharles Manson, a man who knew
how to exploit theirvulnerabilities and turn them
into weapons.
The Manson family became a dark, twisted reflection of the
heiress' desire for freedom andlove, manipulated into acts of
pure evil.

Speaker 2 (30:40):
Who were Sharon Tate and the LaBiancas?
Let's take a moment to get toknow the victims, whose lives
were forever intertwined in oneof the most brutal crime sprees
in American history.
Though they came from differentbackgrounds and led very
different lives, both familieswere tragically united by the
senseless violence thatshattered the summer of 1969.

(31:02):
First we meet Sharon Tate,whose family's patriarch was
Colonel Paul Tate, a career USofficer who served his country
with pride and raised his familyin discipline and tradition of
the military lifestyle.
He was a man who knew themeaning of sacrifice, often
moving his wife, Doris and theirthree daughters across the

(31:24):
country and even overseas,wherever his duty called.
Despite the frequentrelocations, the Tate family was
close-knit called.
Despite the frequentrelocations, the Tate family was
close-knit.
Doris, a loving, resilientmother, kept the home together
with grace and a sense of warmth, providing stability for her
girls.
And then there was Sharon Tate,the eldest daughter, who would

(31:44):
become one of Hollywood's mostpromising rising stars.
She was born in Dallas, Texas,in 1943.
Sharon's beauty was captivatingand it was clear from a young
age that she had a raremagnetism.
As a teenager, she beganmodeling and quickly caught the
eye of talent scouts in theentertainment industry.

(32:05):
By the mid-1960s, Sharon wasmaking a name for herself in
Hollywood, starring in filmslike Valley of the Dolls and the
Fearless Vampire Killers.
Where she met her futurehusband, director Roman Polanski
, Sharon's life seemed toshimmer with glamour and promise
.
Her marriage to Polanski wasone of Hollywood's most talked

(32:25):
about unions, full of lavishparties and whirlwind romance.
Yet those who knew Sharondescribed her as more than just
a Hollywood beauty.
She was gentle, kind-heartedand grounded, despite her fame.
By the summer of 1969, Sharonwas eight and a half months
pregnant, eagerly awaiting thebirth of her first child.

(32:47):
She and Roman were living in arented home at 10,050 Cielo
Drive in the hills of LosAngeles, a house that,
unbeknownst to them, had a darkhistory of its own.
It had once been the home ofmusic producer Terry Melcher,
who had crossed paths withCharles Manson, but more on that
connection later.

(33:07):
Now let's turn to the LaBiancas.
Leno and Rosemary LaBiancalived on Waverly Drive in the
Los Feliz neighborhood of LosAngeles, and their story was the
epitome of American success andhard work.
Leno LaBianca was the son ofItalian immigrants who had built
a grocery empire in SouthernCalifornia.
He was a businessman for histireless work, ethic and

(33:30):
dedication to his family'slegacy.
Businessman for his tirelesswork, ethic and dedication to
his family's legacy.
Yet beneath the hard exterior,Leno had a love for fine things.
He enjoyed boating, horseracing and spending time at the
family's lake house.
Friends described him asgenerous and a bit old-fashioned
, the kind of man who took careof his loved ones and approached
life with both seriousness andhumor.

(33:51):
Rosemary LaBianca was Leno'swife.
She was equally remarkable.
She had built her ownsuccessful career as the owner
of a clothing boutique, andthose who knew her said she had
an eye for design and a knackfor business.
Rosemary had a vibrant spirit.
She loved to travel and had aparticular appreciation for
beautiful things, from clothesto the serene nature of their

(34:13):
lake property.
Together, Leno and Rosemaryseemed to have it all a stable
life built on years of hard work, a blended family from previous
marriages and a future full ofpossibilities.
The LaBianca's home on WaverlyDrive was far from the glitz of
Hollywood.
It was a quiet, respectableneighborhood where they settled

(34:34):
to enjoy the fruits of theirlabor.
But even in their suburbantranquility, darkness found its
way in, intersecting with thechaos that Manson and his
followers unleashed upon LosAngeles.
The stories of the Tates andthe LaBiancas paint a picture of
two families living ordinaryand, in Sharon's case,
extraordinary lives.
Their paths were different,their circles never quite

(34:56):
overlapping, until that fatefulAugust weekend.
For Sharon Tate, life was onthe verge of a new beginning,
with a baby due any day.
For the LaBiancas, life wasrich and well-lived, full of
plans and simple pleasures.
None of them could haveanticipated that their homes
would become scenes of horror,that their names would be etched

(35:16):
in history not for the livesthat they lived, but for the
violence that they endured.

Speaker 1 (35:22):
One of the most haunting misconceptions
surrounding the brutal events ofAugust 1969 is that the Tates
and the LaBiancas knew eachother or were connected in some
way.
The truth, however, is thatthese twoates and the LaBiancas
knew each other or wereconnected in some way.
The truth, however, is thatthese two families did not have
any personal or social ties toone another.
They lived in an entirelydifferent world Sharon Tate in
the glitzy hills of Hollywood,and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca

(35:46):
in the quiet Los Felizneighborhood.
The tragic connection betweenthem would only be made by the
murderous rampage of CharlesManson's followers, whose crimes
seemed almost random in theirviolence.
The Tate murders and theLaBianca murders were not linked
by any relationship between thevictims, but rather by Manson's
twisted vision and geographicalproximity of the crime scenes.

(36:09):
To understand the eventsleading up to that horrific
weekend, we need to look at eachfamily's last moments,
unconnected, yet forever boundby the bloodshed that would
follow.
On the night of August 8, 1969,at Cielo Drive, sharon Tate was
hosting a small gathering ather rented home at 10050 Cielo

(36:30):
Drive.
Roman Polanski, her husband,was away in Europe working on a
film project, but Sharon wassurrounded by close friends.
The house had once belonged tomusic producer Terry Melker, and
while it was now home to theyoung Hollywood starlet, it had
the past that unwittingly tiedit to Charles Manson Manson.

(36:54):
Manson had previously visitedthe home, hoping to jumpstart
his music career with Melker'shelp, only to be rejected a snub
that festered in Manson's mind.
But on this summer night, theshadow of Manson was far from
the minds of those at CieloDrive.
Sharon was eight and a halfmonths pregnant, blown with the
anticipation of becoming amother.
Her guests that evening were aclose-knit circle Jay Sebring,
her ex-boyfriend and renownedcelebrity hairstylist, abigail

(37:18):
Folger, heiress to the Folgercoffee fortune, and Abigail's
boyfriend Jakowicz-Frakowski, aPolish actor and friend of
Polanski.
The mood was light, warm andfull of the quiet joy that comes
from the simple pleasures ofsharing time with friends.
They had spent the eveningtogether dining at their
favorite local restaurant, elCoyote.
Before returning to the house,they laughed and shared stories,

(37:42):
unaware that the serene beautyof the Hollywood hills around
them would soon be shattered.
Sharon, always described asgracious and loving, had been in
a good mood, though exhaustedfrom her pregnancy.
Jay Sebring, who remained oneof her dearest friends even
after their romanticrelationship ended, was
protected and attentive.
Abigail and Frakowski were ingood spirits.

(38:04):
Though they had been dealingwith the tensions of their
relationship, it was in manyways an ordinary night, with no
hint of the impeding terror.
Meanwhile, on August 9, 1969,leno and Rosemary LaBianca were
winding down from a long day.
The LaBiancas had spent theafternoon at Lake Isabella where
they kept a vacation property.

(38:24):
They had driven back to theirhome in Los Feliz to settle in
for the night.
They weren't hosting aglamorous gathering or expecting
guests.
They were simply a middle-agedcouple returning to the comfort
of their home in for the night.
They weren't hosting aglamorous gathering or expecting
guests.
They were simply a middle-agedcouple returning to the comfort
of their home after a relaxingweekend.
Leno, the successful owner of achain grocery store, was known
for being a creature of habit.
He liked his routines and thequiet of his suburban life.

(38:48):
Rosemary, a successfulentrepreneur in her own right,
enjoyed the simple luxuries of awell-earned life.
The couple had a blended familyfrom their previous marriages,
and their love for each otherwas evident in how they
supported and built their lifetogether.
That evening was peaceful.
The LaBiancas had made a stopto visit Rosemary's daughter,

(39:08):
susan, before finally makingtheir way back to Waverly Drive.
They likely felt safe as theypulled into the driveway of
their Spanish-style home, tuckedaway in the quiet hills.
It was a neighborhood whereneighbors waved at each other,
where life moved at a morerelaxed pace.
Leno and Rosemary had no reasonto suspect that their lives were
about to be brutally andirrevocably changed.

(39:30):
What's most chilling is thatthere was no connection between
the families themselves.
They didn't know each other,had never crossed paths and had
no shared acquaintances.
The horror that linked them wasentirely orchestrated by
Charles Manson.
After ordering his followers tocommit murder at the Tate
residence on August 8th, mansonsought to continue the mayhem

(39:52):
the following night.
He chose the LaBianca home atrandom, possibly influenced by
the familiarity with theneighborhood from previous
drives through Los Feliz.
So while there was no sharedhistory or bond between the
Tates and the LaBiancas, bothfamilies became unwilling
characters in Mansions' chaoticnarrative.
They were victims caught in thecrossfire of a madman's desire

(40:15):
to incite fear and start anapocalyptic race.
War he called Helter Skelter.
It was a senseless, horrificcoincidence, a reminder of how
random and unthinkable violencecan connect even the most
unrelated lives.
The night before the murdererswas full of ordinary human
moments Friends laughing overdinner, a couple returning home

(40:35):
from a peaceful day on the lake.
Those moments, now frozen intime, became a tragic prelude to
a weekend of unimaginablehorror, one that would forever
scar the American conscience.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
The summer of 69 was one of contradictions Love and
peace mingled with theundercurrents of unrest and
rebellion.
While Woodstock and the moonlanding inspired hope, darkness
lurked in other corners.
For most, that summer was aboutfreedom and possibility, yet
for a small fanatical group, itmarked the start of a warped

(41:08):
vision.
Charles Manson had spent monthsindoctrinating his followers
with an ideology that hebelieved would reshape society.
With chilling precision, hetwisted messages of
counterculture, rebellion, intocalls for chaos, planting seeds
that would become a horrifyingweekend.
August 8th was a warm, ordinaryevening in Los Angeles, but

(41:32):
Manson was poised to disrupt theillusion of safety many felt as
his followers prepared to carryout his orders.
They were not just enactingviolence, but setting in motion
an attack on innocence itself.
The unsuspecting residents ofCielo Drive and the LaBianca
home were bound by theirproximity and Manson's deluded

(41:55):
ambitions.
Manson had fabricatedconnections in his mind,
connections that justified hiscruelty, but in reality these
victims were ordinary people,strangers to Manson and each
other, whose lives were about tointersect in blood.
The events at Cielo Drive andthe La Bianca residence were not

(42:16):
just acts of murder butcarefully orchestrated symbols
of Manson's grand destructivenarrative.
His so-called Helter Skelterplan was beginning and he sent
his followers into the night.
They carried not just weapons,but a mission designed to upend
society Through drugs,manipulation and isolation.

(42:39):
Manson had convinced hisfollowers that this twisted
ideology was a holy cause andhis word was their law.
The next two nights would etchthemselves into American
consciousness forever, stainingthat summer of optimism with
fear.
The tragedy of these murderswas not only in their brutality,

(43:00):
but in the realization thatsuch violence could erupt
anywhere, without warning, underthe influence of a single man's
vision.
These senseless murders laidbare the darker side of an era,
a reminder that even in times ofpeace, there are forces of
chaos waiting to strike.

Speaker 1 (43:20):
What was the driving force behind these murders?
Mance's delusion revolvedaround what he called
helter-skelter, a term heborrowed from the Beatles' White
Album.
He believed the race war wasimminent, an apocalyptic event
where black people would rise upand overthrow white society.
In Manson's twisted vision, heand his followers will hide out

(43:41):
in the desert during the chaosand then emerge to lead the
survivors.
The murders were intended toignite this war, with Manson
hoping brutality would be blamedon black militants, thus
kickstarting the violentrevolution he craved.
His followers didn't questionhis madness.
Manson had primed them forobedience through classic cult

(44:01):
tactics isolation, psychologicalmanipulation and love bombing.
He stripped away theiridentities and rebuilt them in
his image, convincing them thathe was a messiah and that his
word was law.
They were conditioned tobelieve that they were part of
something larger, somethingdivine, and the murder was
merely a necessary step infulfilling Manson's prophecy.

(44:23):
How did Manson gain such control?
It started with love andattention.
He offered his followers thesense of belonging they were
desperate for, but he quicklyturned to psychological
domination.
He'd conduct trials wherefamily members were humiliated
and broken down, only to bebuilt back up in Manson's image.
He used drugs, sleepdeprivation and emotional

(44:44):
manipulation, creating a traumabond that made his followers
feel they couldn't survivewithout him.
Manson positioned himself as afather figure, a prophet, even a
god, and in the world ofManson's family there was no
room for dissent.
Questioning Manson's teachingswas unthinkable.
His vision was absolute and hisfollowers had been conditioned
to obey without hesitation.

(45:05):
Cults have a way of making theunimaginable seem inevitable.
Manson had created aself-contained world where his
apocalyptic beliefs were gospelseen as a holding mission.
By the time August 1969 arrived, his followers were more than
willing to kill for him.
They had been primed,conditioned and broken down,
ready to do whatever Mansonasked, no matter how horrific

(45:28):
the task.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
The investigation into the Tate-LaBianca murders
was a complex puzzle and in thebeginning the pieces seemed
hopelessly scattered.
When the murders first occurredin August of 1969, the Los
Angeles Police Department had noidea that they were dealing
with two sets of killingscommitted by the same group.
The brutality of both of thesescenes was undeniable, but any

(45:52):
concrete leads felt elusive.
At the Cielo Drive home, whereSharon Tate and her friends had
been slaughtered, the scene wasa nightmare.
Blood was everywhere Splashedon the walls, the front porch
and even smeared in lettersspelling out the word pig on the
front door.
The victims' bodies were leftin gruesome poses and there were

(46:14):
multiple murder weaponsinvolved.
The sheer savagery stunnedinvestigators, but they were
left without any obvioussuspects.
Over at the LaBianca house, thefollowing night's carnage
showed similar brutality.
Leno Bianca had a carving forkprotruding from his stomach, and
death to pigs had been scrawledon the walls in blood.

(46:35):
But the murders seemed sorandom, so senseless, and no one
immediately thought to connectthem.
The police had to chase downleads that went nowhere.
At first they suspected thatthe Tate murders were
drug-related.
Sharon Tate's friend, wojciechBrikowski, had been known to use
drugs and Abigail Folger waswealthy and might have had

(46:56):
connections in that world.
But none of those theoriespanned out.
Meanwhile, the LaBianca caseseemed like a home invasion gone
terribly wrong, with no clearlink to the horror on Cielo
Drive.
It seemed like the case wasslipping away, but then, slowly,
a series of small breaks beganto change everything.
The real breakthrough came froman unexpected source.

(47:18):
One of Manson's own followers,susan Atkins, who had
participated in the Tate murders, had been arrested in October
1969 for her role in anunrelated crime, the murder of
Gary Hinman, a musician who hadbeen killed in July of that year
.
While in custody, atkinscouldn't keep quiet about the
atrocity she had witnessed andcommitted.

(47:40):
She had boasted to hercellmates at the Sybil Brand
Institute for Women, describingthe horrifying details of the
Tate murders with a chillinglack of remorse.
It was so easy she reportedlybragged.
She told her cellmates aboutstabbing Sharon Tate, who had
pleaded for the life of herunborn child, and how they had

(48:02):
left words written in blood asManson had instructed.
And how they had left wordswritten in blood as Manson had
instructed.
One of the women Atkinsconfided in was horrified and
quickly informed authorities.
The confession became the firstconcrete link tying the Manson
family to the murders on CieloDrive.
When the LAPD received thisinformation, they realized that

(48:22):
a seemingly fringe group ofhippies living on a dilapidated
movie ranch could be responsiblefor one of the most notorious
crimes in Los Angeles.

Speaker 1 (48:34):
By that time law enforcement was already familiar
with the Manson family.
Back in August 1969, shortlyafter the murders, the Los
Angeles County Sheriff'sDepartment had raided Spahn
Ranch where Manson and hisfollowers were living.
Under suspicion of auto theftthe group had been arrested, but
because of a clerical errormany of them were released.

(48:54):
The ranch, with its old westernmovie set and creaky barns, had
been a hotbed of strangeactivity.
But until Atkins' confessionsthe police had no idea they were
housing murderers.
With Atkins' statement in hand,the police returned to Spahn
Ranch and started to piecetogether the gruesome puzzle.
They discovered more detailsabout the family's cult dynamics

(49:15):
and Manson's apocalypticteachings.
Members began to crack underpressure and as the
investigation widened thehorrifying pictures came into
focus.
Once the police knew thatManson's followers had committed
the tape murderers, it wasn'tlong before they connected them
to the LaBianca's killings aswell.
Similarities in the bloodymessages left at both crime

(49:35):
scenes provided strong evidencethat the same group was involved
.
Additionally, manson's habit ofdriving around Los Angeles
looking for pigs to kill as partof his twisted helter-skelter
prophecy, helped link the twoKnights of Terror.
Linda Kasabian, another memberof the family, who had been
present during both sets ofmurderers but didn't partake in
the violence, became a keywitness.

(49:57):
She turned herself in andagreed to cooperate with the
prosecution.
Her detailed testimony painteda clear picture of the events of
those two nights, describinghow Manson had ordered the
killings to incite chaos andbring about the race war he
envisioned.
The arrest of Charles Manson andhis followers sent shockwaves
through the nation.
This wasn't just a story abouta cult.

(50:17):
It was about how a man couldbend others to his will, turning
them into instruments ofviolence.
The trials that followed was asmuch about Manson's hold over
his followers as it was aboutthe murderers themselves.
In the end, it was theconfessions, witness testimonies
and the mountain ofcircumstantial evidence that
brought Manson and his family tojustice.

(50:38):
In the years since, theinvestigation has been analyzed,
dissected and debated, but onething remains clear the sheer
randomness of the murderers,coupled with Manson's ability to
manipulate others, created alegacy of fear and fascination
that continues to captivate thepublic till this day.

Speaker 2 (50:56):
Charles Manson's arrest on December 1, 1969, was
almost anticlimactic,considering the chaos he had
unleashed across Los Angeles.
It wasn't even for the murdersthat he and his followers had
committed, but rather forunrelated charges of auto theft
and arson.
Yet as the investigators beganconnecting the dots between the

(51:18):
brutal Tate LaBianca murders andthe small scruffy man leading a
group of devoted glassy-eyedfollowers, manson's name became
synonymous with terror.
The capture of Manson andseveral of his followers at
Spahn Ranch marked the beginningof one of the most bizarre and
riveting trials in Americanhistory.
By the time Manson and hisco-defendants walked into the

(51:40):
courtroom in June of 1970, thenation was watching with
horrified fascination.
The trial was like a grotesquetheater production with Manson
as the deranged director.
He entered the courtroom with awild confidence, flashing a
carved X on his forehead, a markhe later transformed into a

(52:00):
swastika, a grotesque symbol ofhis rejection of society.
His behavior was erratic andoften frightening.
He would laugh at inappropriatemoments, hurl insults at the
judge and, at times, speak inriddles that reflected the
twisted logic of his apocalypticbeliefs.
One of the trial's mostshocking moments came when

(52:22):
Manson lunged at Judge CharlesOlder, shouting in the name of
Christian justice, someoneshould cut your head off.
Court security quickly subduedhim, but the message was clear
Charles Manson wasn't justdangerous, he was unpredictable
and terrifying.
His female co-defendants, susanAtkins, patricia Krenwingel and

(52:46):
Leslie Van Houten, mirrored hisbehavior, demonstrating the
complete psychological controlhe had over them.
They would giggle, chant andeven carve the same X into their
been, transformed into killersunder Manson's spell, disturbed

(53:07):
the nation, and rightfully so.
They were a haunting reminderof how easily someone could be
manipulated into committingunspeakable acts.
The trial dragged on for monthsand the public was glued to
every development.
The public was glued to everydevelopment.
Each day brought newrevelations about Manson's

(53:28):
philosophies, the murders andthe cult-like obedience of his
followers.
Manson's defense strategy wasas unhinged as his behavior.
He claimed to be a scapegoat, aman persecuted for trying to
save the world.
That sounds familiar.
His attorney, ronald Hughes,who would mysteriously disappear
and later be found dead undersuspicious circumstances,

(53:51):
struggled to control thecourtroom chaos.
At one point, manson tried totestify but was silenced by the
judge who declared him unfit.
The entire spectacle was like anightmare unfolding in real
time a front-row seat to themind of a madman.

Speaker 1 (54:08):
The media coverage was relentless.
Manson's face, with his wildeyes and scruffy beard, became a
fixture on television screensand newspapers across the
country.
Reporters dissected everyaspect of his life, from his
time in prison to his strange,apocalyptic beliefs, and the
word cult became a regular partof the American lexicon.
The nation was captivated bythe story of how a man could

(54:31):
deal such control over hisfollowers, leading them to
commit some of the most horrificcrimes imaginable.
Journalists painted Manson as amaster manipulator, a man who
preyed on the vulnerable andtwisted their minds to serve his
dark, prophetic vision and theera where trust in traditional
institution was already eroding.

(54:51):
Mansett's story tapped into thefears about the counterculture
movement and the supposeddangers of free love and
communal living.
He was the ultimate boogeyman,symbol of how an idealistic
search for peace could descendinto violence and madness.
The media searches surroundingManson's trial drew comparisons
to other high-profile stories ofthe time, including the

(55:12):
sensational coverage ofScientology.
Like Manson, scientology had apolarizing effect on the public.
Its founder, l Ron Hubbard, wasoften portrayed as a cult-like
figure, and the church'ssecretive practices and
aggressive tactics were widelyreported.
The coverage of Manson's trialhighlighted America's
fascination and fear ofcharismatic leaders who would

(55:35):
warp the minds of theirfollowers.
Both stories reflect thecountry's broader anxieties
about manipulation, mind controland the power of belief.

Speaker 2 (55:44):
The Architect of Chaos, charles Manson, the man
at the center of it all, wasconvicted on January 25, 1971.
After nine days of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of
first-degree murder andconspiracy to commit murder for
his role in orchestrating thekillings, though he did not
physically commit the murders.

(56:05):
Manson's iron grip on hisfollowers and his orders led to
the gruesome deaths of SharonTate, her unborn child and six
others.
Manson was sentenced to death,but this was later commuted to
life in prison when Californiaabolished the death penalty in
1972.
Manson spent the rest of hislife in prison, a figure of both

(56:27):
horror and morbid fascination.
He was denied parole repeatedly, most recently in 2012, due to
his lack of remorse andcontinued behavioral issues.
Manson died of natural causeson November 19, 2017 at the age
of 83, while incarcerated atCorcoran State Prison in

(56:48):
California.
His death marked the end of anera, yet the shadow he cast
remained as unsettling as ever.
The most feared member, susanAtkins, often regarded as the
most chilling of Manson'sfollowers, participated in the
Tate murders and infamouslyadmitted to stabbing Sharon Tate
while the actress begged forthe life of her unborn child.

(57:10):
Atkins was convicted offirst-degree murder and
sentenced to death, a sentencethat was also reduced to life in
prison in 1972.
Over the decades, atkins becamea born-again Christian and
expressed remorse for heractions.
Despite her appeals forcompassionate release due to
terminal brain cancer, theparole board denied her request.

(57:31):
Susan Atkins died on September24, 2009, at the age of 61,
after spending nearly fourdecades in prison.
The loyal accomplice, patriciaKrenwinkel, known as Katie
within the family, was deeplyinvolved in both the Tate and
LaBianca murders.
Her conviction includedfirst-degree murder, with

(57:54):
conspiracy to commit murderresulting in the same death
sentence that was laterconverted to life imprisonment.
Krenwinkel holds the dubiousdistinction of being
California's longest-servingfemale inmate.
During her time behind bars,she earned a degree and became
involved in prison programsadvocating for domestic violence

(58:14):
survivors.
Krenwinkel's repeated parolebids were denied, with the
latest refusal in 2022 due toconcerns over her past actions
and potential threat to publicsafety.
As of now, she remainsincarcerated in the California
Institution for Women.
The youngest of the family,leslie Van Houten, was just 19

(58:35):
years old when she took part inthe brutal murder of Leno and
Rosemary LaBianca.
Unlike the others, Van Houtenwas not present during the Tate
murders, but was convicted offirst-degree murder for her role
in the LaBianca.
Unlike the others, van Houtenwas not present during the Tate
murders, but was convicted offirst-degree murder for her role
in the LaBianca killings.
Her initial sentence wascommuted to life imprisonment
and she was granted parolemultiple times, only for the

(58:56):
decisions to be overturned byvarious California governors.
In 2023, after decades of legalbattles and numerous parole
hearings, van Houten wasreleased on parole at the age of
73.
Her release was controversial,sparking debates on justice,
redemption and whether formercult members can ever fully

(59:18):
atone for their crimes.
The Enforcer, charles Tex Watson, manson's right-hand man and
muscle behind the horrificcrimes, was deeply involved with
both the Tate and LaBiancamurders.
He was convicted of sevencounts of first-degree murder
and conspiracy to commit murderand, like the others, his
initial death sentence wasconverted to life imprisonment.

(59:40):
Watson became a born-againChristian and ordained minister
while in prison, even authoringa book and establishing a prison
ministry.
Despite his religiousconversion, watson's numerous
parole applications have allbeen denied.
He remains incarcerated at theRichard J Jonovin Correctional

(01:00:01):
Facility in San Diego,california.
The Reluctant Witness, lindaKasabian, was present at the
Tate murders but did notparticipate in the killings.
Instead, she served as alookout and later fled the scene
.
Haunted by what she hadwitnessed, kasabian turned
herself in and became the starwitness for the prosecution,

(01:00:21):
providing crucial testimony thathelped convict Manson and the
others.
In exchange for her cooperation, she was granted immunity and
did not serve time for themurders.
Kasabian changed her name andled a quiet, reclusive life away
from the public eye.
She passed away in 2023 at theage of 73, closing the chapter

(01:00:42):
on one of the most pivotalfigures who helped bring justice
to the victims.
The trial may have ended, butManson's influence lingered like
a dark cloud.
People have continued toanalyze how he managed to
convince ordinary young men andwomen to kill, and what it says
about the vulnerability of thehuman psyche.
The Manson trial was more thana courtroom drama.

(01:01:05):
It was a cultural reckoning.
It forced the nation toconfront uncomfortable truths
about the allure of charismaticleaders and the fragility of the
human mind.
And as Manson was led awayranting about the end of the
world and how society was toblame, it became clear that his
legacy would endure, not just inthe crimes that he orchestrated

(01:01:27):
, but in the hauntingrealization that anyone given
the right circumstances and apersuasive enough voice could be
led astray.

Speaker 1 (01:01:36):
Charles Manson remains one of the most infamous
figures in American history, aname forever associated with
horror, madness and the chillingreality of what one person's
charisma and twisted vision canachieve.
His impact as a cult leadergoes far beyond the gruesome
details of the La Tate, laBianca murders.
Manson manipulated young,impersonable people, turning

(01:01:59):
them into killers, by exploitingtheir vulnerabilities and
feeding them a toxic mix of love, fear and apocalyptic prophecy
he called helter-skelter.
What makes Manson's story evenmore unsettling is his grief but
notable connection toScientology.
While serving time in prison inthe early 1960s, manson
reportedly spent hours engagingin Scientology practices,

(01:02:22):
including auditing sessions.
Though he eventually dismissedScientology as inadequate for
his grand ambition, it's hard toignore how certain
psychological techniques helearned may have informed his
own manipulative strategies.
He used methods that mirrorthose found in many high-control
groups breaking downindividuals' entities, isolating
them from their loved one andremodeling them into devoted

(01:02:45):
followers who would do anythingfor him, even commit murders.
As we look back on the terrorthat Manson unleashed, it serves
as a grim reminder of the powerof the human mind and how
easily it can be twisted by acharismatic controlling figure.
It's a sombering thought, butone worth reflecting on.
Cult leaders like Manson preyon the lonely, the lost and the

(01:03:06):
idealistic, offering a sense ofbelonging that, in reality,
comes at an unimaginable cost.
So what can we learn from thisdark chapter in history?
We encourage you, our listeners,to think critically about the
psychological techniques used bycults in high-control groups.
These tactics, wheneveremployed by a man like Manson or

(01:03:26):
an organized entity, can besubtle, insidious and
devastatingly effective.
Recognizing the signs ofmanipulation and understanding
how even the most intelligentand well-meaning people can be
drawn in is a crucial first stepin protecting oneself and our
loved ones.
It's a conversation worthhaving, not just as a way to
look back at the past, but as away to safeguard the future, as

(01:03:49):
we continue to explore theshadowy intersection between
cult behavior and true crime.
Our next episode will bridgethis world with another story
that blends both horror andfascination, as our channel
evolves into Sinners in Secret,when new look and broader true
crime topics, topics will bediving into a case that, while
unrelated to Manson, shareseerie similarities in the way

(01:04:11):
psychological manipulations canlead to tragic and violent
outcomes.
It's a story that highlightshow easily people can fall under
the influence of a magneticleader and the ripple effects
that follows.
I am Abraham Alrick and, alongwith my co-host, sandy McKenna.
Thank you for listening, liking, commenting and subscribing to
Citizen Secrets.

(01:04:32):
Stay tuned and remember theline between influence and
control is thinner than we'dlike to believe.
Until next time, keepquestioning, keep seeking, and
may your journey be as rich andenlightening as the stories you
encounter.