The Manson Family Murders

Over two nights in August 1969, members of a communal group led by Charles Manson killed nine people across several locations in the Los Angeles area, including actress Sharon Tate and four others at her home, and married couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the following night.

The group and its leader

Manson led a group of mostly young followers who lived communally and considered him a messianic figure. Prosecutors argued Manson directed the killings in hopes of triggering a race war he called "Helter Skelter," though he did not personally carry out the murders.

Trial

Manson and several followers, including Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten, were convicted of first-degree murder in 1971 and sentenced to death. The sentences were commuted to life in prison when California briefly abolished the death penalty in 1972.

Aftermath

Manson died in prison in 2017. Atkins died in custody in 2009. Watson and Krenwinkel remain incarcerated after repeated parole denials; Van Houten was granted parole in 2023 after decades of denials.