This week,Netflixis releasing a newErrol Morrisdocumentary that unpacks several of the book’s biggest revelations.
Manson, along with several members of the Family, was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder.
O’Neill worked on the book for roughly 20 years.
The Manson Family.Credit:Bettmann Archive (2)
Later that year, he was also convicted of first-degree murder in the death of musician Gary Hinman.
He was nearly murdered in 1984 after a fellow inmatepoured paint thinner on Manson and set him on fire.
Manson survived but had second- and third-degree burns on 18 percent of his body.
Charles Manson in 1969 and 2009.Sahm Doherty/Getty; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via Getty
In 1997, a prison disciplinary committee determined that he had beentrafficking drugs.
In 2014, he became engaged to a 26-year-old named Afton Elaine Burton, whooperated websites advocating for him.
In the handful of interviews he gave during these years, he remained manic, combative, and remorseless.
Susan Atkins in 1969 and 1981.Bettmann Archive; Rich Lipski/UPI/Shutterstock
Like Manson, her death sentence was commuted to life in prison.
She was denied parole over a dozen times.
Atkinsadmitted in courtthat she killed Tate herself.
Linda Kasabian in 1969 and 1988.Bettmann Archive/Getty; 20th Century Fox
She said, hey let me have my baby.
Then Tex came in and he said, Kill her, and I killed her.
I just stabbed her and she fell and I stabbed her again.
Leslie Van Houten in 1969 and 2002.Bettmann Archive; DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AFP via Getty
I don’t know how many times.
I don’t know why I stabbed her.
Atkins eventually showed remorse for her crimes and claimed to be aborn-again Christian.
Patricia Krenwinkel in 1969.Bettmann Archive
She also spoke about the lingering effects Manson had on her ina 1978 interview with KCRA-TV.
“It’s so alive in me, even just recalling it.
I remember that I had gone so far, and there was no turning back.
Charles ‘Tex’ Watson in 1969 and 2012.Bettmann Archive; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
“It was like I was caught in something I had no control over.
I had absolutely no say-so as to what was happening there.
I was just like a tool in the hands of the devil.”
Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme in 1970 and 2019.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; ABC News
Atkins died of terminal brain cancer on Sept. 24, 2009, at age 61.
Instead, she became a witness for the prosecution and received immunity for her testimony.
As described in Bugliosi’sHelter Skelter, this prompted the members of the Family to intimidate and threaten Kasabian.
Bobby Beausoleil in 1969 and 2016.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
They even falsely testified that it was her, not Manson, who had orchestrated the murders.
Though not present at the Tate murders, Van Houten testified to stabbing Rosemary LaBianca 14 to 16 times.
The jury deadlocked during her second trial, leading to a third in 1978.
She also admitted fault in following Manson.
I believed that he was Jesus Christ, she said ina 2002 parole hearing.
I bought into it lock, stock, and barrel.
In 2023, she wasgranted paroleafter serving 53 years in prison.
Krenwinkel was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
She was sentenced to death, though her term was later commuted to life.
In 2022, California Gov.
According to testimony, Watson took the lead in both the Cielo Drive and LaBianca murders.
According to Guinn’s book, Watson became a born-again Christian and founded Abounding Love Ministries while in prison.
He married Kristin Joan Svege in 1979 andfathered four childrenvia conjugal visits.
The pair divorced in 2003.
He was denied parole in 2021 andwon’t be eligible again until 2026.
She remained loyal to Manson, though.
They were soon arrested, though, and Brunner spent six years incarcerated.
According to Guinn, she “successfully disappeared from public view, anonymously raising her son by Charlie.”
Fromme received a life sentence but was released on parole in 2009.
Speaking with ABC News in 2019, Fromme said she was still in love with Manson.
I dont think you fall out of love.
Id known Charlie for 20 months and never heard him talk about a race war, hetoldRolling Stonein 2019.
He speaks on the topic in greater detail with Morris inChaos: The Manson Murders.
Like Krenwinkel, Beausoleil had his parole recommendation denied by Gov.
However, in January 2025, a state parole boardfound him suitable for parole.
The recommendation will receive a “thorough and comprehensive review” by the Board of Parole Hearings and Gov.
