The Associated Press
PLANO, Texas — Los Angeles police are entitled to audio recordings of conversations between a Manson family member and his attorney, a Texas judge ruled Tuesday.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brenda T. Rhoades of Plano granted the request allowing police to obtain the eight cassette tapes containing hours of talks between Charles "Tex" Watson and Bill Boyd, a now-deceased Texas attorney who once represented Watson.
Detectives want to listen to the tapes to learn whether Watson described any unsolved killings in the conversations. An LAPD spokesman has told The Associated Press that officers have no specific information on what might be in the recordings.
A law firm in McKinney where Boyd once worked has the tapes, and a trustee in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding involving the firm asked the judge to grant legal authority to give police the recordings. Boyd died in 2009.
Watson is serving a life sentence for his role in the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. He previously made the tapes available to the co-author of his 1978 book, "Will You Die for Me? The Man Who Killed for Charles Manson Tells His Own Story."
Rhoades' ruling came despite an objection from Watson's current attorney, who argued Watson didn't waive attorney-client privilege when making the book deal.
In the book, Watson detailed his role in the killings of actress Sharon Tate and six other people but didn't mention any unsolved slayings.
Watson, now 65, was convicted of all seven murders. He and three other Manson followers were sentenced to death but had their sentences commuted to life when the death penalty was briefly outlawed in 1972.
Boyd, who was hired by Watson's family, conducted a long fight to prevent his client's extradition to California from Texas, where Watson went after the killings.
According to court records, Watson waived his right to attorney-client privilege in his dealings with Boyd in 1976. The law firm then surrendered the tapes to the co-author of Watson's book in exchange for partial payment of legal fees.
22 comments:
Just got back from the hearing, I wouldnt expect any revelations to be on these tapes.
This just keeps getting more and more interesting.
Cielo! You were THERE?
Why you say that Cielo?
I did attend and spoke briefly with the lady that has the tapes and files. The purpose of the hearing was to ensure an official paper trail existed in the transfer of the tapes and documents. The tapes were to go to LAPD, the documents to Watson's nephew. Only late yesterday did Watson's lawyer indicated that he wanted both the tapes and files to go to him and not the nephew & LAPD. They didn't file proper documentation with the court even though he had plenty of notice. I'll have to review my notes. But it was clear they knew about for quite some time. The lady that has the tapes wrote to Tex and he never objected to her sending the tapes to LAPD. Only late yesterday did Watson's lawyer decide he wanted the tapes. Tex's lawyer is in San Diego and is not licensed in Texas. So two hours before the hearing he got a Texas bankruptcy attorney to represent via the phone. It was extremely last minute.
cielodrivecom said...
"The lady that has the tapes wrote to Tex and he never objected to her sending the tapes to LAPD."
Watson knows what's on these tapes, he made them. Manson family members don't give out information, they lie and change the subject, they've been doing it for 40 years. While Watson is talking about God and Jesus and how religious he is, he's not talking about Longhorn revolvers, Sharon Tate, or other unsolved murders. The more times you read "Will You Die For Me", the more obvious it becomes.
On the rare occasions when new (primary source) information pops up on this case, it sure generates a lot of buzz! I don't know about everyone else, but I would not mind listening to these tapes, or even reading a transcript. Even his lies and lack of interest in taking true responsibility for the murders would be an interesting read, as a reflection of his sociopathic personality. Who would do the things that those kids did? What turned him into such a monster? I do not think the drugs explanation (or any other lame excuse we've heard) completely accounts for the behavior. I am still waiting to learn why the murders happened.
The story at the link keeps expanding. Now its saying that lapd can expect to take posession of the tapes in 14 days.
Also, tex's atty is one Kendrik Jan of San Diego. He is entitled to boxes of records that are also being recovered in the bankruptcy proceedings.
I wonder if they are even playable. The trustee who has them told me they were stored in a paper envelope in a desk drawer before she took them.
Oy veh
Aiaaaaah, Madre Mio, Holy moley. All are welcome here to discuss.
I would think the LAPD would have the means to copy and enhance the tapes if the are playable. Is Watson's lawyer going to be able to appeal the decision in the two weeks before the tapes are released to the LAPD?
Paniment Patty said:
Woot, Oy veh, Aiaaaaah, Madre Mio, Holy moley.
Patty speaks many languages.
I would think an appeals process would be available should they care enough to pursue it. A case could possibly be made that a bankruptcy court judge is not well qualified to decide issues of atty/client privledge.
Tex hasn't opposed the transfer of the tapes? I guess he's not terribly worried about the contents.
Suze Tex did oppose it, his statement is he did not sign away his attorney client privelage rights when he made the book deal.
I guess the court doesnt agree with him.
All this Tex talk makes me curious- what was his mental state at the time of his trial? I know he stalled his extradition back to CA for something like 9 months, and then he reverted to fetal state and refused to eat, etc. But what was he like when he actaully took the stand? Was he still under Charlie's influence or was he transitioning or...?
One question here.
Why was a conversation btw Tex and his atty ever recorded? Did his atty not trust his client and wanted corroboration in case he was ever accused of ethical wrongdoing later on?
tex has always blamed everything on manson even in his trial. he was totally lucid and a former manson follower at the time of the trial.
Tex was never "under Charlie's influence", he was under the influence of amphetamines that Charles told him NOT to take.
Tex was never "under Charlie's influence", he was under the influence of amphetamines that Charles told him NOT to take.
Right, because all the times I used meth in my mispent youth, I would always go out to the rich neighborhoods looking for people to stab +100 times and write stuff in blood on their walls.
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