Charles Manson: The Most Dangerous Man to Ever Live?

Being the true crime enthusiast that I claim to be, it felt wrong to be as uninformed on Charles Manson as I was. Thus, I made the decision to further educate myself on the Tate-LaBianca murders. These murders, occurring in August 1969, were those carried out by “followers” of the infamous Charles Manson. Now, before diving into the deep dark abyss that was Charles Manson, I tried to go over the information I already believed I knew about Manson based on the media. Immediately I began to paint mental pictures of the same scary, murderous monster that is presented in the media. Upon doing some research of my own, I realized this was a mostly accurate depiction. However, there is always more to a story...

The first research tool I humored was not “Helter Skelter” by Vincent Bugliosi, but actually “Manson In His Own Words” as told by Nuel Emmons. Emmons actually met Manson when they did brief time together in the 50’s, and this was a detail I found particularly interesting. Additionally, the entire book, excluding the introductory and conclusion, was Charles Manson’s account on his life leading up to the murders. Emmons explained that the book took 7 years to write. For those 7 years, Emmons met with Charles Manson In prison several times a month, recording Manson’s story with a tape recorder.

I realize all of Manson’s claims are to be taken with a grain of salt because of mental health issues and his apparent tendency to lie. However, Emmons explained the extreme measures he took to fact check Charles, so I believe there is at least a little truth behind everything in the book. The story of Manson’s upbringing, as told by Manson, is really a terrible one. I feel sympathy for the abused and abandoned little boy he was, however, his childhood is of course no excuse for later notorious events.

If anyone shares the same intense morbid fascination with true crime, or serial killers more specifically, that I do, then I’d highly recommend this book. It was definitely worth the read, accurate or otherwise. Due to the way Manson describes his upbringing in the book, I could more than see how he turned out the way he did. For most of his life, he was in a system that repetitively failed him and was rejected and betrayed by those he felt should be there for him. The story evoked emotions such as sympathy, disgust, amusement, and and sadness from me. Again, it’s important to analyze the things being said and to decipher whether or not they hold any water for yourself. But, the book was enjoyable, and again, I’d highly recommend it.

After reading Manson In His Own Words, I turned to the internet to expand my knowledge on Manson as well as the murders. One fact I uncovered, which I found particularly astounding, was Charles Manson only ever killed one person. And, given that his own account is accurate, Manson killed him in self defense. This victim was not directly associated with the Tate-Labianca murders.

As told by the media, Charles Manson ordered a handful of his “followers“ to do the Tate-LaBianca murders. Manson was not at the scene of the first murder, however he did return to the house supposedly to clean up finger prints hours before the police arrived. Manson was, however, at the scene of the second murder, but did not participate in the killings.

Four members of the Manson family broke into the Tate-Polanski estate on August 8, 1969. The members being: being Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel. Sharon Tate was an American actor during the 1960’s and one of the first victims of the Manson family. At the time of the killings, Manson and his followers were unaware of the fame of the victims. Tate was actually 8 months pregnant at the time of her death. Three friends that were in the household we also murdered. Sharon Tate’s husband, Roman Polanski, was lucky enough to be out of town at the time of the murders.

The next night, August 9th, 1969, the murder of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca took place. Manson rode along, but did not actively commit murder that night. However, his “followers,” violently stabbed the couple to death.

Charles Manson was given the death penalty, however before receiving his lethal injection, the state of California revoked the dearth penalty completely. Charles Manson died on November 19th, 2017. Manson died at age 83 in Bakersfield, California. His body has been kept at an undisclosed location since then.