Villains

Villain comes from Anglo-French, and old French Villain, which itself  descends from the Latin word Villanus, meaning farm hand in the sense of someone who is bound to the soil of a villa, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in Lake Antiquity in Italy or Gaul. The same etymology produced villein. It referred to a person of less than knightly status, and so came to mean a person who was not chivalrous. As a result of many unchivalrous acts, such as treachery or rape, being considered villainous in the modern sense of the word, it became a term of abuse and took on its modern meaning.

 
Hello everyone! Your favorite fallen Saint has risen from the ashes. Suffice to say, I have survived my most recent crises and have righted the ship to the point where I feel confident enough to start setting my sights on buying drinks in Southern California for a select group of friends next Spring lol. (wink wink)

Anyway, lately I have been thinking about a few of the less discussed "villains" of the TLB case. I think that it is common for most of the world to visualize Charlie when they think of the Manson Family being "Evil Killers." I think here in the TLB community we focus on Tex and Patricia, and to a lesser extent, Bruce, Bobby, Lulu, and Susan as being the real killers. As well, we try to figure out Charlie's actual role and the ultimate motivation of the crimes. As my mind has been wandering in and out of the dark side these last several weeks- some of the other people, who in one manner or another, had a less than chivalrous role in this tragedy have started to come more into focus for me.

There are some potential villains in this case who most people, both inside the TLB community and out, never seem to hold to any real responsibility for the negative roles they played in this mess, or the role they may have played after it happened in one case. I think that even with the madness of the family, and the savagery of Watson and Kreny, that some of the crimes still could have been prevented if not for some luck, some timing, and - for the purposes of this post- some absolute irresponsibility and disinterest from some of the key people in the life's of some of the victims, as well as some of the parents of the killers. Let's me start with how one villain may have affected a very specific and very pregnant victim.

           Riddle: I am a person from the TLB crime saga in 1969. I gave drugs to and raped underage girls, then later made jokes and laughed about it. when asked to pay for my crimes- I ran. I ignored the court system and disrespected the judge. I have a group of defenders who ignore my crimes and just focus attention on my unrelated virtues whenever my detractors bring up my transgressions. After Sharon Tate and unborn child were murdered- I went on record making jokes and smiling. Who am I?

           Answer: If you said Charlie Manson you would be right. If you said Roman Polanski- you would be as well...

"I am not a fortune teller. I would like to be remembered for my life not my work. If there is any possibility of changing your destiny, it may be only in your creative life, certainly not your life, period."

" Normal love isn't interesting, I assure you its very boring."

              - Roman Polanski


 So let me ask you this question: Suppose you have a wife who is expecting your first child any minute. You are in another country during the tail end of this pregnancy, and she is with you. You have some people staying at your home back in the US. You will later tell authorities you didn't trust the people staying there, and that you knew they could be potential trouble...

So the question is:  what would you do at this point as she gets closer the delivery?? 

How many of you would send her back to the house with people you know might be not 100% safe by herself? Is there a single hand up right now?

If you ask me to pick the very worst bastard in this case- I will answer you ten out of ten times that it is this short little prick- Roman Polanski. Sharon trusted this man and I say that had a large part in getting her killed. Whatever the real motive for these crimes were- I would make a pretty sizable wager that Sans Roman in her life- Sharon probably never goes through that nightmare. Her association with this man could very well have cost Sharon her life. Roman bragged about what a terrible husband he was, made jokes to police, and then later seemed to write the whole thing off as just another tragedy he had to endure in a life filled with despair. Poor guy. It must have been tough to process the fact you wont be tied down or have the responsibilities of being a father any longer as your winging from country to country in private jets on your way to bang the next 15 or 16 year old. I know he gave a few obligatory statements and shed a few tears for the cameras, but Roman was on to the next much younger woman and the next movie in the not so very distant future. Tex Watson and Katie were unique killers. Charlie was a unique ex-con. But, show me a more unique bastard than Roman Polanski.  Roman should have been looking out for Sharon's best interests. The safety and protection of his new family should have been his only, and number one, concern. Had he taken the situation more personally and seriously- who knows?? Maybe Sharon is in the same place today. Maybe the crime happens anyway and it is Roman instead of Voytek, or Jay. I know that is a possibility. But, I would personally want to know for sure that I did all I could do myself, and didn't leave her safety, as well as the safety of my unborn child, to someone I knew was not a 100% risk free option. Would you? To do anything less is not only careless and thoughtless- but in this case possibly a mistake that was fatal for Sharon. And to make any kind of light of these tragic and savage deaths after the fact is the most classless and tasteless thing a husband/father could do.  Shame on you forever Roman Polanski. You are a true villain of the TLB case. What you went on to do later in life with more than one underage girl makes you a complete animal to me, but the thoughtlessness in your care of your pregnant wife and unborn child is just as criminal to me....


Here is another villain of the TLB case to discuss, but this one is more of a group award. I know that Mr. Hendrickson will agree with the nomination if not the reasoning behind it lol The Police...

 " I never worry about action, only inaction"

        - Winston Churchill


For all the talk about how hard the police were on hippies and how badly they hassled the ranch- they sure didn't do much to slow the Family down when it came to crime. If Charlie was the ultimate instigator of the TLB crimes, no matter the reason, then the various LA County Law Enforcement agencies are also villains in the TLB crimes and share some blame. Let me explain why. I could give you a pretty good list of crimes Charlie got busted for- AFTER he was already on parole/probation. Why was he free to order/suggest/direct (whichever you prefer) these crimes in the first place? How many times was he picked up for  various crimes such as theft, burglary, drugs, or stolen this or that?  The authorities knew he was housing underage girls and they knew there were runaways and people with criminal backgrounds at the ranch. But, they did nothing of any consequence to stop any of it until it was way too late. I remember watching a training video clip they made from one of the raids of the ranch. The ranch was under surveillance when the crimes happened for goodness sakes.

Think about this for a sec: They were watching the people who committed one of the most infamous crimes in history during the time they committed it, and and still needed help to figure out that it was these same people they had been watching who had done it...  Sigh

 How ridiculous it is that Manson was on parole and probation, violated them both many times, traveled in and out of his designated area at will, and still was walking free to contribute to these massacres? Shame on the LA crime fighting apparatus. I say they are all villains of the TLB crimes. Even after the crimes had happened they couldn't find the culprits without the help of the culprits. Ouch! Typical of their ineptness, they even arrested the killers a couple of times for other crimes, and screwed those arrests up as well. Mis-dated warrants and such.  Sigh...  Keystone Cops? I say the handling of Charlie Manson and his family by the LA police makes the comparison an insult to the officers from Keystone. All I can say for sure is that in my opinion- the victims of TLB were not properly protected or served by the authorities when an ex-con who is on probation can repeatedly break the law, get caught, and still stay free long enough to contribute to killing them all the while under the specific watch of those same authorities. Sigh....

 
 This brings me to my next TLB villain for today. This one might come as a small surprise to some people inside of the TLB community as I have defended him at various times regarding his motive. It will come as a big surprise to those outside of the community, as he is seen to most as the Hero who slayed the 'Monsters." Actually, I have mixed feelings about this man. And this one comes with the asterisk that it assumes he knowingly used a motive he knew was false to prosecute Manson. He certainly put his own self interest ahead of true justice a few times, and if he really had been misleading me ( us lol) about the real motive of the crimes all these years, then he was denying truth and real closure to the victims families and that would make him a legitimate villain of the TLB case. I present the Prosecutor:

 "Virtues are lost in self-interest, as rivers are lost at sea."

           - Franklin D. Roosevelt


So let' say for a second that Helter Skelter as an actual motive for the crimes was hogwash. Let's say it was a phrase around the ranch that the family kids used, and Bugs seized on it and ran with it from there. Let me concede that although it was a song they knew, and a concept they talked about, it had nothing to do with why any of them committed the murders. That would mean Bugs had spent most of his life, perpetuating a lie he sold in the name of his own self-interest. He sacrificed his ethics and integrity for publicity and financial gain. He denied the families of the victims the truth, and did not honor the memory of those fallen by doing his job and delivering the truth.He would have had several people sentenced to death under false reasoning and .... wait a minute

 lol- I cant go that far. I think he got it right as to the who, and considering the crimes- I can live without the why as long as those who did it- paid for what they did.  If I had even 1% doubt that those who went to jail were responsible for WHAT they did, maybe I feel differently about this one. But I am sure those accused- did what they were accused of - even if I am still not sure why. That they did it for any reason is enough in my eyes to be happy they got the sentences they did.

But that is just me personally. I am willing to accept that H/S is one of many possible motives, and to consider there is a reasonable chance that Bugs is just what most people "in the know" say he is. A self serving liar who made up a story to sell books and reap benefits in the long term. Certainly, his actions later in life would not serve his overall reputation well.  But, sticking to the TLB case alone- For Bugs to make up a lie, and sell it to the world for over 40 years for self serving purposes and personal gain, would truly make him a villain in this case in my eyes...



My final villain in today's presentation will conclude my own version of the "4 P movement." following Polanski, the Police, and the Prosecutor, I conclude with the final villain(s) I feel don't get enough mention: The oh- so-faceless Parents:

"Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain."

              - John Locke 


After reading all the books and testimony about this case that I have, the only thing I can compare the lack of parental or mature adult presence to life in "The Family" is an episode of a Charlie Brown cartoon. I am not kidding. Where were the adults? We are talking about a group of young people here with parents, in one case, who wrote letters that their underage child had their permission to run around with any group of strays that their child so wished. Really? (By the way, not to go backwards and pick on them again but, Police would just accept that? A 30 year old man gets pulled over with a 15 year old for breaking any law and a note from mom and dad is enough to move past the fact that this 30 year old is with a 15 year old?) After they were arrested for the TLB murders- some of the fathers of the girls in jail said what they WOULD do to Charlie, but let us ask what DID any of them do? They gave gas cards and sent money. Otherwise, not one of them did didley squat to get their daughters back at home, back in school, or away from the bikers and ex-cons twice their ages they were living with. The parents talked after the fact about loving their kids, and trying their best to give them good homes, but had their daughters stayed out of the papers and off the news- I am sure that they would have gone right on living in oblivion, unaware and disinterested in where exactly their kids were, or what they were doing. I can say that with some degree of confidence, because up until their children became embarrassments- there wasn't one case of that I ever read anywhere of any of the parents showing up trying to get their little girls back. The truth to the matter is that some of the kids who joined, or stayed with "The Family", did so because they had no better options with their own families. No secret there really. But, usually people stop there without really holding any of the parents of any of those kids really responsible. Lets look deeper. If it is fair to lay some blame on Charlie for his influence, then lets also give some to those who could have made a difference for there lack of influence. Adults who bring children into the world with no real intention of taking care of them are among the lowest of low on this Saint's scale. But tossing your children aside and allowing them to run with criminals and perverts twice there age is beyond criminal to me. It is in-human. Even in-humans do better than that for their young. I can tell you that for sure because I just watched a documentary called Black Fish about Sea-World. Even Killer Whales fight to not be separated from their young, and to protect their babies. Are you comfortable to think that animals have more compassion and love for their offspring than Humans do? Here is another thing: We seem to give hippies of that generation a pass on parenting skills due to the era and times, and I am not sure that is OK with me. I think young people and kids at a certain age need to rely on their families and parents to look out for them and teach them right from wrong- no matter the time and place. The wierdfer the times- the greater the need for direction. Isn't that one of  our oldest and most important values and priorities? Protect our young? Even the kids who comprised "The Family" seemed to grasp the importance of family and watching out for the babies. Hmmm. They seemed to grasp some things their parents couldn't. Shame on their parents for that. Most of the young people who were at that ranch had nobody looking out for them, so they turned to the only role models they had. As a result, older and more cunning ruled the day. Due to the non- presence of the right type of adult influence, those kids were left with nothing but the absolute wrong type of adult influence to learn from. So, they learned what was being taught by bikers, criminals, ex-cons and drifters. Is it any real wonder then when the wrong type of results is what we wind up getting from the kids in this situation? This is in itself a tragedy. In my opinion, that make these absent parents villains. These weren't really evil kids to begin with in some cases. Some of them were just the sad and predictable product of absentee parents combined with the influence of some really bad adults who filled the void. I blame both sets of adults for not doing better by those kids, but I blame the Parents much more. For example: A grown man having sex with 15 year old Ruth was one thing- and the guy who does that is a villain. Dean, her father, was a much worse villain for allowing it. You know what I mean?  Maybe some do, and maybe some do not. My heart breaks for people like Ruth. I hope she has found peace today.

Double Sigh, long hit, and two slugs of cold coors-lite ( in a can) ...


You know, there was a great post the other day about "What if" Marcia Clarke was around. I have a question of my own along those lines: 

What if Nancy Grace was around back then? Think Roman would be so well received today if he made those post-death smirking comments, and Nancy was playing them every night at 7 o'clock for two months straight? How about court TV? How about all the cable private investigative shows? Think the DA and the Police would get off the hook for all the mistakes, and lies with 24/7 cable coverage? Would people be so much more aware of some of the others involved, in one way or another, who really deserved to answer some questions- because so many more people with so many more resources were looking into every single possible angle of the case to compete with one another for attention and things like ratings?

(Would TMZ find some of these missing videos and movies we hear so much about? lol) 

My how times change. Bob Dylan sure had that one right on. Obviously, the crimes would be much more preventable today. At first thought you would think it is hard to conceive something like that happening in 2015. But, look a little deeper and I guess it still could. Then you turn on the news and you know it still could. The fact of the matter is that although times change, human nature does not. Sloppy police work, neglected/frustrated kids, disinterested husbands, known locations of privilege, vulnerable victims, older trouble-makers prying on younger troubled kids- The ingredients are still always out there. As long as there is opportunity and something to be had, the bad people will keep coming in the night. We have to trust in our community systems and our personal support mechanisms to stay safe in life from the bad guys. A major part of that support is our family and those in the law enforcement community with whom we place our trust. When these people fail us so miserably and for such selfish reasons, they have to share some of the responsibility for our pain and suffering along with the villains that they have not succeeded in helping to protect us from. 

After all- it is sometimes the case that, intentionally or not, those with whom we place the most trust in our lives can end up being the greatest villains of all....


-Your Favorite Saint

October 2nd Auction

Holabird Auctions is offering two nicely framed photographs of Paul Watkins in their upcoming auction on October 2nd.

Both of the photos were taken by Charles Adams, noted Hollywood photographer, as part of the advertising campaign for My Life With Charles Manson by Watkins and Guillermo Soledad.  A handful of Adams photos appeared in the November 1978 Adam magazine article promoting the book.  We posted that article here.

Online bidding for the auction is through Ebay.  There is a whopping 28% buyers premium plus shipping.

The first of the two lots.

The second lot includes a handwritten and signed letter to the photographer.





Happy bidding!

NEW MOVIE: Manson Family Vacation

Yahoo Movies: 'Manson Family Vacation' Is an Unenviable Bromance (Trailer Exclusive)

Meriah Doty, Editor
September 21, 2015

Jay Duplass and Linas Phillips star as brothers in an upcoming indie comedy that earned solid amount of praise at SXSW earlier this year. (See the original article and watch the exclusive trailer here.) In Manson Family Vacation, Nick Morgan (Duplass) plays the “normal” brother, a successful lawyer and family man in Los Angeles. But when his estranged brother Conrad (Phillips) shows up on his doorstep with nothing more than a backpack, Nick is forced to deal with his rather weird roots. What makes things more peculiar is Conrad’s obsession with Charles Manson — and the sites of his infamous murders in Southern California. Nick reluctantly joins his sibling in a less-than-brotastic road trip through the modern-day world of Manson, witnessing Conrad’s unusual devotion first hand. Produced by the Duplass brothers and written and directed by J. Davis (who wrote Jay’s 2011 documentary, Kevin), Manson Family Vacation is available on iTunes and VOD Oct. 6.

Bruce Davis 2015 Parole Hearing Thoughts!

Just read the transcript (thanks to Cielodrive.com) from Bruce Davis's 2015 parole hearing that happened not even a month ago on August 27th. Wow, what a read it was! It's funny how Bruce Davis reiterated a few things such as:

• Gary Hinman was, in fact, killed over a ROBBERY (no drug deal or burn mentioned)
• Danny DeCarlo was not mentioned as riding in the car to take the bums over to Gary's
• When he came back from Europe, Helter Skelter planning was on everyone's mind, hence the idea not having been pulled out of Vincent Bugliosi's rectum.
• According to Bruce Davis (again), Shorty Shea was killed in the morning, not evening as Barbara Hoyt keeps insisting. Why did Steven Grogan describe the crime as having happened the exact, same way as Bruce when he went before the parole board too? Why would they lie about the time of day he was killed? Could Barbara have heard someone else screaming? How does she know 100% it was Shorty? There is something else I have never been able to figured out about this screaming thing either. Okay, Ruby Pearl testified that the last time she saw Shorty was at night, when she was leaving Spahn ranch to go home. She also testified that Shorty was very scared and wanted to stay at her house, even though she told him she didn't have enough room. When she was driving off the property, she saw a group of guys surrounding Shorty. My question is this: If Shorty was so scared and didn't even want to stay there that night, why would he have taken them for a ride to the auto parts store in the morning? Would he have gotten in the car with Tex, Bruce & Clem if he was frightened enough to want to stay somewhere else the night before? That makes no sense. That is the ONLY reason I thought Barbara was telling the truth when I first read about what she testified to. Now, I just don't know. 

Brucie also mentioned a few things I had never heard before either, such as:

• He actually witnessed Manson stabbing Shorty Shea (ah ha! So he did spill blood after all!)
• He saw Bill Vance standing at the Shea crime scene, along with Tex & Grogan, all three holding BLOODY knives (I thought Bill Vance left with Goldilocks the day after Gary Hinman was killed?)
• Watson stabbed him the first time, yet Grogan is labeled the actual "killer" of Shea (no sense makes sense)
• Shorty was sitting up after he had been stabbed and had the strength to ask Manson why he was stabbing him (awful, just awful)
• Bobby Beausoleil requested the gun from Bruce to use in the robbery of Gary Hinman. Bruce and/or Danny DeCarlo didn't lay it in his hands and instruct him how to use it, like Bobby loves to claim
• Bruce has been diagnosed with emphysema, yet the parole board commissioner kept insisting he was healthy (the parole board commissioner was being a total smart-ass, btw)
• Bruce claims that he keeps his chin up, even though he's had his hopes shot down by the governor three damn times (he probably returns to his cell and screams "mutherfuckinshitfuckasscuntdicksonofabitch" into a pillow
• If released, Bruce will be able to collect social security checks from his ex-wife, much to the annoyance of the Los Angeles ADA that was there to oppose parole
• Manson, most definitely blabbed constantly about Helter Skelter, but Bruce doesn't really know if Manson believed in it himself. He talked about it as if he had a God complex. (Note: Helter Skelter did NOT come out of Vincent Bugliosi's rectum)
• Bruce thinks that Manson's motivation was total power & control. (I think it was total power & control AND an endless supply of uh... hair pie)

Might I add, the extremely odd "victim's impact statement" given by Debra Tate. Please note, a victim's impact statement, according to California parole hearing rules is supposed to only focus on how the crime (s) impacted the family members of the victims (not her). Her statement had a few "I's in it and I think one "Me." Note: Before a certain "merkin-breath" starts in on the personal attacks, please note that I very much would like to kick this person in the ovaries.... Continuing.... I am not trying to dis Debra Tate, ladies & gentlemen. This woman, I know has had her share of grief and I know she has been greatly impacted in a cruel, hard way from a terrible crime in which Manson, Watson, Atkins & Krenwinkel were all involved! Not so much Bruce Davis, though. Yes, he was part of "The Family" I know, but so was Barbara Hoyt and you see them sitting together during parole hearings. Crazy, huh? I know Debra was there as a victim's representative & all, but I still think it was weird. I am not sure if she wrote this statement or if she just said it in a spur of the moment situation. If it was spur of the moment, maybe she was nervous. One time I had to say a spur of the moment speech in front of a whole auditorium of people back where I used to work and I was so nervous, I accidentally said the word FART instead of START in my sentence. Maybe this was the same kinda situation. I still think her statement was weird, though. See what I mean:

Coming, sir. Hello. I feel very privileged to be here and be able to talk on behalf of the remaining family members involved in Mr. Davis' heinous crime. I know firsthand how devastating these acts of extreme ugliness in the fashion that our loved ones were taken from us has. It is a fashion which never goes away from your memory and all of this has been concurred by the Hinman family as well as Shorty Shea's divorced wife and child. It causes great pain, strife, fear that has caused me also to lose family members. It is an extreme stress. I personally don't see enough remorse in any of these people and I do look for it. I represent other families and when I see it, I give it. I just don't see it here, the fact that the family members feel that seven years to life but somehow these good Christian people feel entitled to take it to the minimum sentence, which is seven years, is quite offensive, to tell you the truth. It has a low end and a high end and the high end being life. We believe that these people need to pay with life. The American public believes that these people need to pay with their life. The American people believe that these folks need to stay in jail for the rest of their life and they are trusting that that is exactly what is going to happen. It's actually quite a chore to prove that any one or all of these people are not going to receive just that. So it is the collective of the remaining victims' families as well as the rest of the United States and many other countries in the world. And based on that fact, Commissioners, I would implore you to give Mr. Davis an appropriate amount of time equal to his heinous, ugly taking of two viable, useful members of society's life and did nothing and in that way planned and ultimately was a part of, although not in person but in spirit, of the loss of my sister. Thank you very much. 

Tex's Attic

 "All the next day, from our lookout posts in the hills, we watched the National Park rangers driving back and forth like ants over the desert roads, looking for us. After it got dark, Charlie and I drove all night by the light of the moon, surveying his desert kingdom. He was very quiet, wound up like a spring. When we got back to Myers Ranch early the next morning, he handed me a double-barreled shotgun that had been stolen from one of the girl's parents before we left Los Angeles.

"'Go up into the attic there,' he said to me, pointing to a place where the attic extended out over the porch of the ranch house with gaping holes between the boards. 'Go up there with this and wait. When those two rangers come -- kill them.' He drove off and I climbed into the hot, dusty attic to wait." *

-- Charles "Tex" Watson, Will You Die For Me?

"You know that little hideaway in Barker's place? Well, I used to sleep up in there, and all the mice used to have to crawl over me to get out to go to the water, right? And I'd have these buckskin pants on, and they would start chewing on my pants.

"So, one night, when it was Tex's turn -- because what we'd do is like keep a point up there, and anybody would come, we'd listen to what they was saying. So, it was Tex's turn to see if the cops was gonna come up, you dig, so he was gonna be stashed there, you know, to see what the cops was gonna say. And we'd always leave a coffee pot there, and we'd leave a couple pounds of coffee and all that kind of stuff....

"So [Tex] was over that night, and them rats came out and started chewing on them pants. He freaked out and he couldn't deal with it. He run home to his mother, man. He left the pants there, man, and the rats ate a fucking hole in the pants and shit. Fucking rats ate my pants up. That's cold, huh?"

-- Charles Manson, from a tape-recorded telephone conversation

* This is one of the instances in his book where Watson confuses the Barker and Myers Ranchs. The old Myers ranch house, which burned down in June of 1999, never had an attic space such as he describes. The photo is of the attic space at Barker Ranch (also since burned down). -- GS

Not In My Back Yard!

It is with great sadness that we are reporting our newest blogger and good friend George Stimson and his partner Sandy Good have lost their home to California's latest wildfire.  The Valley Fire in Lake County has been fast moving and ferocious, they are by no means alone in their loss but when it's someone you know it somehow makes it more personal.

The Valley Fire started early Saturday afternoon while George and Sandy were out of town.  It began about two miles from their home, as the crow flies.  In less than 24 hours the fire grew to 40,000 acres.  It is now at 61,000 acres and counting.  California's drought conditions coupled with last week's 100+ degree temperatures in the area no doubt contributed to the aggressiveness of the fire. Over 10,000 people have been displaced and more than 400 homes lost.  Entire small communities were wiped out. 

George and Sandy do have some place to stay.  They are not in a shelter or living in their car and for that they are grateful.  They may be in a state of shock now but they will bounce back.  We wish them good things for the future.

-----------------------------------------------

George,

We've been emailing back and forth for the last few days trying to keep each other informed and follow what's going on. You're safe and in the end that's what matters. Glad you were able to save the rabbits. Take care friend, and let us know if you need anything.

Matt & Julie

If Marcia Clark had been the Manson prosecutor, they'd all be free...

I came across these videos in researching something and it reminded me that, no matter what people want to think, Bugliosi was in fact a truly brilliant prosecutor.  You look at the OJ Simpson trial, and as Bugliosi comments, those prosecutors did an F- job, and they did. Everyone likes to blame the jury for the verdict, but it really was the prosecution.

Bugliosi didn't make up the HS motive, it was handed to him by a variety of police witnesses prior to Bugliosi being assigned the case. He took it and ran. Watch the first few minutes and you immediately see that while he may be talking about the Simpson case, he could just as easily be talking about Manson et al.

People may hate him for hiding the "truth", but did he willfully mislead people? Think about what he had as a prosecutor: Three young women - only one with physical evidence, Krenwinkel's fingerprint, one fingerprint on Watson, who will not even be at trial because he's fighting extradition, and a gun found on the hillside, a witness for the grand jury who later recants, and Linda Kasabian. That's it. If Marcia Clark was the prosecutor of Manson, they'd all gone on to live in free society without serving a day in prison. Bugliosi got convictions on the actual killers and Manson. Without Watson in the game, he needed Manson as the fall guy to these women. Pretty amazing when you think about it. Did he hide facts? Probably. But I'm guessing he weighed his options and as so much was falling through the cracks, he grabbed what he could in the name of justice.

One hour and ten minutes in kinda says it all when he says, something like, "That's what a prosecutor does in a criminal trial, present incriminating evidence." And, no matter what conspiracy theory you wanna present, Helter Skelter was undoubtedly incriminating evidence. Whether it was actually a motive for these crimes or not, it was incriminating evidence from multiple sources interviewed before Bugliosi was given the case. We can't even say those witness were coached by Bugliosi because so many made their statements before even meeting Bugliosi.

Would we all have been happier if he'd ignored this evidence and no one was brought to justice for these murders? Absolutely not. This leaves you with one thing and one thing only, Bugliosi did his job. End of story. Did someone get away with murder? Maybe so. Did he successfully prosecute those that he did have evidence on? Yes.

We all play Monday morning quarterback with things that we think are evidence, things that we think were discovered years and years later that may or may not have had anything to do with this case. But all this "thinking" isn't prosecutable because it's all speculation and our criminal system (thank God) doesn't run on speculation. It runs on "Beyond a reasonable doubt". There has yet to be an ounce of viable proof that could properly be presented in a court of law. Yet we expect Bugliosi to have presented evidence of another motive.

In the history of the criminal justice system, I'll bet there are thousands upon thousands of criminals that got away with murder because the evidence just wasn't there. Look at Robert Durst. There's probably 90% consensus vote in the public that he's guilty of murdering not only the old man who he was found not guilty of killing for reason of self-defense, but of his wife, and Susan Berman yet he's (to date) never been brought to justice for those murder cases. Is there a conspiracy to keep some truth from the public on Durst? No. The evidence just hasn't been there to get a successful prosecution. And, due to double jeopardy, once we blow a case, we blow it. So, the DA's office waits and they wait until they do have a case guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

When there's no evidence, the justice system and the prosecutors, including Bugliosi are blameless. Was or has there ever been evidence, beyond hearsay that Joel Rostau was involved? The Mafia? Drug overlords? Anything? Anything at all that could legally be presented in a court of law? No. So why does anyone blame Bugliosi or anyone else of "hiding" information?

Jay Sebring, Hair Stylist to the Stars

Jay Sebring made a pretty good reputation for himself in the arena of men's hair styling.  He really did have hair cutting down to a science and was quite emphatic about how hair should be treated.

Some of the stars that Jay was credited with cutting and styling hair for were Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, James Garner , Cliff Robertson, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas.  Jay was credited as the hair stylist for Chuck Connors in 48 episodes of The Rifleman from 1958 to 1963.

Jay himself was also in a handful of movies and television shows usually playing a barber.  Here is one episode with Jay in the opening scene of the western TV series The Virginian.  This TV series,  in part, was filmed at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, very near Spahn Ranch.

Charles Manson Postcards To His Three Codefendants

Circa 1992:

Susan Atkins -- 

"The people you helped and gave to will keep you to use you. The people you let help you you keep and used them and it's all a circle. There is no one. There never was. I knew that when I let you walk behind me. My me was gone before you were born. I did 22 years before you were reborn. Off the ranch they are not for you and never will be."

Patricia Krenwinkel -- 

"My mom ran from home at 14, had me at 15, went to the prison at 17 and I visited her in 1937. Divorce court in 1938. Spent a lot of time inside, got out in 1967, started a rebirth movement and I knew there was no one. Yous will wake up. The people who use you will keep you to use you up."

Leslie Van Houten -- 

"You reached to change the world and let it change you. You let them use you. You went for they wanted to help you count some money. Apart [crossed-out "we"] you all die in prison. Together we make change."

Munchbox in the 50's

The Munchbox was built in 1956 and stands at 21532 Devonshire in Chatsworth. It looked very much back then as it does today judging from these fun now and then photos.

Back in 1969 it is said that Charlie could get a root beer float or a hot dog while waiting for Sadie to finish her shift as a topless dancer across the street at the Candy Cat. The Candy Cat by the way is still in operation today because, as its yelp reviewers reveal, everybody likes boobs and beer.

Also just across the street is a supermarket (formerly Gateway Market) where the girls would dumpster dive.


Thanks to Stoner Van Houten and Valley Relics Museum for the pic.  Mansonblog visited the Munchbox back in 2013, you can see that post here.

Susan Atkins High School Photos

We here at mansonblog have a pretty good collection of Family high school yearbook photos (see here). We had even more, but then came the great crash of 2012.  Kudos to you, dear reader, if you have been with us that long.  Oh, the stories we could tell!

Anywhoo, you have probably already seen these but come on, won't you take one for the team, help us to rebuild our once more extensive collection? Patty's good friend Thomas G., who suggested this post, would appreciate it, and so would Patty.

And as a bonus, here is a baby pic.