The demonic figure of Charles Manson continues to interest the public, despite the fact that he has been in prison for more than forty years. What is the mystery of this man? Does he really have unique abilities, or is it just a talented PR campaign of journalists? Everyone answers questions for himself, but the fact that Charles Manson, whose story excites people's minds, lived an unusual life is a fact.
Origin
Charles Miles Manson was born on November 12, 1934. His mother was sixteen-year-old promiscuous Kathleen Maddox, who was so promiscuous that she could not tell exactly who the father of her child was.
The boy was not even given a name at birth, calling him "a certain Maddox". Then the young mother decided that Walker Scott was Charles's biological father, but gave the baby her last name. And only after some time she married William Manson, who gave the boy his last name. Many years later, Kathleen confirmed in court that the father of her child was Walker Scott. But he did not acknowledge his paternity until the end of his life. There is another version that the boywas born from a black American, but Manson himself categorically denied it.
Scary childhood
Kathleen Maddox had absolutely nothing to do with the child, and the boy from a very young age was doomed to lead a marginal life. Manson Charles did not know what a normal family and maternal care are. Kathleen continued to lead a wild life and often left the baby with her parents or even one. Charles Manson, whose biography is replete with violence, depravity and crime, grew up in an atmosphere of lawlessness and immorality. He lived either with relatives or in shelters.
When the boy was six years old, his mother was imprisoned for armed robbery, and the child was raised for a while by an aunt and uncle who sought to cultivate masculinity in the boy, but used strange methods to do so. For example, on the first day of school, he sent Charles in a girl's dress so that he could cultivate courage in himself. Manson studied very poorly, was prone to aggression, was not friends with anyone, often violated discipline and even the law.
In 1942, the mother received early release, and the son returned to her. All his life he remembered her hugs as the most pleasant moment. But Kathleen was not going to change her lifestyle. She was engaged in prostitution, and her son interfered with her, so the woman gave him to an orphanage. A series of escapes, thefts and wanderings began, the boy could not fit into the groups, ran away from schools, stole and ended up in increasingly cruel special institutions. Manson Charles faced violence from an early ageat Plainfield Boys' Correctional School, he was severely beaten by guards and raped by high school students.
In 1951, he ran away from school with two classmates. They managed to spend two months at large, robbing stores and stealing cars. For this Manson receives the first real prison term. In prison, he earned a reputation as an aggressive anti-social type. In 1952, he extended his sentence after being convicted of assault and rape of a cellmate.
The way of the marginalized
In 1954 Manson Charles is released from prison. He spent eight of his 19 years behind bars. He was again sheltered by his uncle and aunt, he got a job and even got a wife. Seventeen-year-old Rosalie Jean Willis, a young waitress, shares a miserable life with him. Poverty pushes Charles on his usual path - he begins to steal cars, and this again leads him to prison. After the trial, he learned that he would soon become a father. When Manson was imprisoned, Rosalie gave birth to a son, Charles Manson Jr., but she did not wait for her husband's release. Leaving the child in the care of the state, the girl left the city and never saw her husband again.
Manson Charles served two years and was released on parole, but two months later he was again sentenced for forging a check. But this time he got off with a suspended sentence. In 1958, a man tries to become a pimp, looking for girls in Hollywood who could work for him. He remarries one of his wards Candy Stevens, who gives birth to a son from Manson - Charles LutherManson. But in 1960 he was arrested again, and this time he received a sentence of 7 years. His wife is divorcing him.
Prison becomes Manson's habitual residence. There he learns to play the guitar and is fond of books on Scientology. He changes, writes a lot of letters, he makes friends, he even gives concerts where he performs his songs. When the news of early release comes in 1967, he even begs the guards to leave him in prison. But in March 1967, Manson is released.
Change roles
Out of prison, Charles Manson saw a new world. The sexual revolution, the hippie culture, the new music, the new mores, the fairly free drug trade, all came crashing down on him. He finds understanding and friendliness in the hippie commune. His music changes under the influence of rock, he tries LSD and begins to feel like a rock idol. Manson gives concerts, travels around the country, meets girls. At this time, he tastes the delights of polygamous relationships and tries his hand at influencing people.
Charles Manson lives with Mary Teresa Brunner and, having brought another girl into the house, convinces his cohabitant that he is realizing God's plan. He successfully instills in women the idea of his messianic essence, and gradually the number of his admirers is growing. Manson gathers a small team with which he travels around the cities and sells drugs. He formulates his philosophical doctrine. Charles Manson, whose quotes diverge among freedom-loving hippies, successfully usesknowledge of Scientology and gathers a group of like-minded people around him, reveling in the freedoms that have opened up.
Family
Young people needed a guru who would justify their desire for freedom, encourage drug use, polygamous relationships, and Charles Manson finds himself in this role. "Family" - a group of young people who took Manson's words about being yourself and doing what you like as a guide to action, became the musician's companion on his trips around the country. It was nailed to various people whom life had thrown to the sidelines, and girls thirsting for new experiences. Free sexual relations reigned in the group, and the main source of livelihood was the sale of drugs. Charles learned all the better to influence people. In the "family" he found reverence, respect, he was idolized, they hung on his every word, and he really liked it.
At first, the "family" traveled around the cities in a bus that was made in the form of a motor home. But when Mary Brunner gave birth in 1968, the question arose of finding a permanent home. The group settles in an abandoned ranch in Simmy Hill. The "family" steals and sells drugs to support themselves. At the same time, Manson develops his ability to influence the minds of other people, among whom are not only young girls, but also, for example, musician Dennis Wilson from The Beach Boys, who also falls under the influence of Charles. The musicians create songs together, Wilson invests quite a lot of money in the life of the "family". Manson builds far-reachingplans. He hopes that Dennis' connections will help him break into the world of show business. But criminal tendencies take their toll, and everything changes in 1970.
The death journey begins
The "family" at this time has about 35 people, and its activities begin to annoy the locals, the members of the group are pursued by the police. Manson exhorts his friends, promising them, as soon as there is a lot of money from the recordings of his songs, to build an entire city. He predicts the coming war between blacks and whites, rich and poor, and says that this fight must be prepared. The "family" begins to buy weapons, selling more and more drugs, which again attracts the police.
In 1969, the group has a conflict with a black merchant. Manson decides to solve all the problems at once and shoots the dealer in the stomach. On the same day, the media reports that the leader of the Black Panthers has been killed, and the "family" decides that Charles killed him. This exacerbates the internal unrest in the group.
In addition, plans to make money on music are crumbling, as the manager refuses to cooperate with them due to constant breakdowns in recordings and meetings.
And the "family" again has problems with a drug dealer, and this time the victim is musician Harry Hinman. He is tortured, and he dies a slow death from torture, and on the wall of his house the killers write "Political Pig" in blood. The group is now being hunted by the Black Panthers and the police. Things are getting worse. Police arrest Beausoleilinvolved in Hinman's murder, and fear in the "family" is growing.
An unexpected way out comes up with Charles Manson. Victims of more murders, he says, should divert suspicion from Beusoleil, and the "family" goes on the hunt.
Massacre as a way of life
Charles Manson convinced others that a war between blacks and whites was coming, he called it "Helter Skelter" after the song of the Beatles and said that you need to take blacks by the hand and teach them to kill. The "family" at this time actively takes LSD, and Manson's ideas seem to them very inspiring, almost divine revelation. The members of the group perceive their leader as a guru and believe his every word. They are ready to carry out any of his orders. Therefore, Manson does not need to kill himself - the "family" is ready to do everything for him.
Bloody hell
August 8, 1969, after a long drug orgy, the "family" goes to work. They choose a rich house in a prestigious area of Los Angeles. It turned out to be the house of director Roman Polyansky. Charles Watson, accompanied by three girls: Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian and Patricia Krenwinkel, brutally cracks down on everyone who was in the house. They killed 5 people. The wife of Roman Polyansky, who was 9 months pregnant, begged the killers to spare her for the sake of the child, but was stabbed. Unbridled drug addicts turned the victims into a bloody mess, 16 stab wounds were found on the body of Sharon Tate.
“Family” is getting a taste, they revel in their new role, permissiveness, and the next day the whole company, led byManson again goes "on business". This time the victims were the family of the owner of the supermarket chain Leno LaBianca. The "family" in a drug frenzy brutally de alt with the victims. Leno had 26 stab wounds on his body, his wife had 41. On the walls, fanatics wrote "Death to pigs" and other slogans with blood.
The police detained members of the “family” several times after that, but all the time they brought only minor charges, not getting to the main one. And only when Susan Atkins, detained on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Hinman, blabbed in the cell about the murder of Sharon Tate, Manson and members of the "family" were arrested.
Retribution
The case received widespread publicity, the famous victims became press bait, the public learned about Manson's views, and his fame only increased. Portraits of this man were published on the covers of magazines. Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi made a name for himself in this case and was able to portray Charles as a religious fanatic. After a long investigation, Charles Manson, whose crimes make the souls of the townsfolk shudder, was found guilty and sentenced to death, but the sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
The path of followers
Already during the process, many fans of Manson took to the pickets calling for the release of their idol. They declared his innocence, raising the fanatic to the rank of a fighter for justice.
Followers presented the "family" as "children of freedom" who stood up for the rights of the underprivileged. Charles Manson is a maniac who blessed his gang with brutalmurder, appeared in a romantic halo of a rebel and a fighter against the capitalist system. Such fame attracted many followers to him. So, Lynette Fromm attempted to attack US President D. Ford. The Manson girls were suspected of killing lawyer Ronald Hughes.
Until now, Manson receives a large number of letters, a number of followers, following the example of their idol, carved a swastika on their foreheads as a sign of protest against society's pressure on the individual.
Life after death
Today the killer continues to serve his term, he was denied early release 18 times. Periodically, there are reports in the press that Charles Manson has died, but so far it has always been journalistic canards. He still lives in prison, he is forbidden to communicate with other people, he plays music, paints, writes books. He was even allowed to marry a 26-year-old fan of Afton Burton, but thanks to a journalistic investigation that proved that she was driven not by love, but by selfish motives, the wedding did not take place.
Manson says he shouldn't have been sentenced to death as he died a long time ago. However, he continues to live, and his victims do not. Manson's accomplices also spent their entire lives in prison. Many of them turned to religion, wrote books about their lives.
