Charles Manson and the Family - An Update

The name Charles Manson is undoubtedly associated with the Tate and LaBianca murders. But what's going on with Manson and his clan now? More on that in a minute, but first let's refresh our memories on the murders...

Charles Manson was leader of "The Family", which many have called a hippie cult. He believed that The Beatles' song Helter Skelter was about an upcoming race war in which the blacks would rise up and kill all whites. This race war obviously didn't happen, and so Manson told four members of The Family to kill the people at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles.

Terry Melcher once lived there, and he hadn't helped Charles Manson launch a music career. The murder was ordered to show the blacks how they should have started the race war. However, Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski now lived at this address and the murders took place anyway.

The Tate murders occurred in a house in L.A. Charles Manson's followers killed five people here. Steven Parent was found in his car, having been stabbed once and shot four times. Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski were found on the lawn and had been stabbed numerous times. Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and Jay Sebring were found dead inside the home.

The LaBianca murders took place in a different L.A. home near Los Feliz. Leno and Rosemary LaBianca had been stabbed multiple times.

In January of 2007, Manson prosecutor Stephen Kay came out of retirement. He is now prosecuting misdemeanors in Redondo Beach. In the same month, Denny Doherty from The Mamas and the Papas died. He almost went to Sharon Tate's house the night the murders took place.

In May 2007, Charles Manson was denied parole yet again. He won't be eligible for another five years, and he will be 77 then. He has not attended his past several parole hearings. Cohort Leslie Van Houten was also denied parole in August 2007. She will be eligible again in two years. Bruce Davis was denied parole in September 2007.

Charles Manson may be making waves again: The Manson Movie premieres September 28, 2007 at the New York Film Festival. The 85 minute feature film is directed by Robert Hendrickson, and features real footage of The Family at the Spahn Ranch and their other hangouts. The movie will be shown on the second day of the festival in the documentary category.

If you are curious about other Charles Manson updates, the film, or the murders check out the sites below.

Sources:

http://www.2violent.com/
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/p/charlesmanson.htm
www.charliemanson.com
http://www.exclusivefilms.com/about-the-manson-movie.htm
http://www.mansonfamilytoday.info/latest-news.htm