Bio

Charles Milles Manson was born on November 12, 1934, to a 16-year-old mother, Kathleen Maddox, in Cincinnati General Hospital, Ohio. Initially, he was referred to as "no name Maddox." Shortly after his birth, his mother married a man named William Manson, and Charles was given the last name of his stepfather. There were reports that Manson's biological father may have been a man referred to as "Colonel Scott," as Kathleen filed a suit against him for child support, which resulted in an agreed judgment in 1937. It appears that Charles never had a direct relationship with his biological father.

Manson's childhood was troubled. His mother struggled with alcohol addiction and often neglected him. There is a family story that she once sold him to a waitress for a pitcher of beer, though he was later retrieved by his uncle. In 1939, after Kathleen and her brother were imprisoned for robbery, Charles was placed in the care of relatives in West Virginia. When Kathleen was released in 1942, she took him back, and they lived in poor conditions in a series of run-down hotel rooms. Manson would later describe her embrace upon her return from prison as one of his few happy childhood memories.

In 1947, Kathleen tried to put Charles into a foster home but was unsuccessful due to a lack of available families. Consequently, he was sent to Gibault School for Boys in Indiana, but he ran away after ten months due to harsh conditions. Following his return to his mother, he began committing crimes, leading to a series of arrests starting with burglary.

At age 13, Manson was sent to the Indiana Boys School for his criminal activities. He managed to escape and continued a life of crime that included armed robbery. In 1951, he was caught stealing cars and was sentenced to the National Training School for Boys in Washington, D.C. Despite his intelligence, he was illiterate, and a caseworker noted his aggressive antisocial behavior.

Manson's time in various institutions did not improve his behavior. He was transferred to other facilities for multiple rule violations. By 1954, after achieving some positive behavior and education, he was paroled. However, shortly after his release, he married a waitress named Rosalie, but their relationship was unstable.

In the following years, Manson faced charges for theft and fraud. Each time he attempted to settle down, he ended up reverting to a life of crime, eventually leading to a longer incarceration. By 1961, he was serving a ten-year sentence after a probation violation. Manson was finally released from prison in March 1967 after spending a significant part of his life in correctional institutions.

After his release, Manson moved to San Francisco, where he quickly began to gather a following among young people interested in his lifestyle and his claims of being a spiritual leader. 

Murder Story

In July and August of 1969, Charles Manson and his followers carried out a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles County, California. The first victim was Gary Hinman, a man Manson believed had money he wanted. Manson sent three of his followers to Hinman's home. They held him hostage and tortured him over two days. Eventually, one of the followers stabbed Hinman to death.

On the night of August 8, Manson instructed his followers to go to the home of actress Sharon Tate. Tate was eight months pregnant and was at home with friends Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger, along with 18-year-old Steven Parent, who was visiting. Manson's followers brutally killed all five, using knives and causing extreme violence.

The following night, Manson was again involved in directing another set of murders. He sent a different group of followers to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Manson accompanied them and made sure they followed his orders. Leno LaBianca was tied up and stabbed multiple times, while Rosemary suffered a similar fate.

Manson was arrested on October 12, 1969, after the murders had been discovered and linked back to his group. He was charged and later found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. During the trials, it became clear that Manson had manipulated his followers, and the court found that each member of his group was responsible for the actions committed under his direction. Manson was sentenced to death on April 19, 1971, though this sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after the California Supreme Court temporarily abolished the death penalty in 1972.