While gathering his cult following, Manson was a singer-songwriter on the fringe of the Los Angeles music industry, chiefly through a chance association with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, who introduced Manson to record producer Terry Melcher. īefore the murders, Manson had spent more than half of his life in correctional institutions. The prosecution contended that, while Manson never directly ordered the murders, his ideology constituted an overt act of conspiracy. In 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including the film actress Sharon Tate. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969.
Members of the Manson Family, including Susan Atkins, Mary Brunner and Tex WatsonĢ murdered, 7 murdered by proxy, 4 arsonsĬharles Milles Manson ( né Maddox November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s.
