Linda Kasabian helped convict Charles Manson and three others Some people think she was a hero, helping to put Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten behind bars for life, after the brutal two night murder spree that took the life of seven people in sweltering Los…

A theory that Charlie went to see how well the killers followed his orders In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, August 9, 1969, four people drove from Benedict Canyon in the hills above Hollywood, to Chatsworth California and the ranch where they were staying. …

Five months before, she saw Charles Manson at her home In February 1969, actress Sharon Tate and her husband, Polish film director Roman Polanski, rented a three bedroom luxury home in the Hollywood Hills at 10050 Cielo Drive. Sharon had just learned that she was pregnant with her first child…

The last members to join, after the murders and arrests You would think that learning about a commune/cult who were implicated in the most notorious killing spree of the late 1960s would be a turn-off to other young people, but believe it or not there are people who actually joined the Manson Family after they were indicted for murder! Some were convinced that the Family were innocent, and being persecuted as part of the counter-culture. Others just thought that most of the Family were cool and the uncool (violent) ones got locked up. Some actually thought the Family were…

the story of the director’s early life In 1966, Writer/Director Polanski was considered the enfant terrible of new European cinema — his films Knife in the Water, Repulsion and Cul-De-Sac had established him as the auteur of modern suspense. …

just a Yuletide story about your favorite commune / cult / crime syndicate for the holidays Did the Manson Family celebrate Christmas? Sure they did. And while we know of no specific festive parties, stockings hung around Death Valley with care, or Charles Manson dressed up like Santa, we do…

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky… They’re altogether OOKY, indeed. Okay, so it is a Manson Family Halloween although perhaps not in the ways you think. Granted, last year, I did do an homage to late Manson Family murderer Susan ‘Sexy Sadie’ Atkins: The Death of Susan Atkins “I Have No Mercy On You”themansonfamily-mtts.medium.com This year I am doing a special live show…

Emerging from my worst summer covering True Crime Finally, after weeks of harassment, doxxing and threats, I finally think I see a bit of light. Covering true crime can be immersive and sometimes dark, but this summer proved it could also be dangerous to those of us who write and…

The story of midwestern librarian Mary Brunner Not So Meet-Cute In the spring of 1967, Mary Theresa Brunner was a 23-year old assistant librarian working at UC Berkeley near San Francisco, the epicenter of the Peace/Love movement. She moved to California from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, two summers before. The eldest of four children…