Fifty years today, August 8, 1969: the Tate - LaBianca murders started

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The same day as this:

Happy 50th anniversary, this picture:

Tate murders

Location: 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Coordinates: 34°05′38″N 118°25′57″W
Date: August 8–9, 1969
Deaths: 5 adults and 1 unborn child
Perpetrators: Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Charles "Tex" Watson

The Tate murders were a mass murder, conducted by members of the Manson Family on August 8–9, 1969, of five people. Four members of the Manson Family invaded the rented home of married celebrity couple, actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. They murdered Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, along with three friends who were visiting at the time, and an 18-year-old visitor, who was slain as he was departing the home. Polanski was not present on the night of the murders, as he was working on a film in Europe.

The murders were carried out by Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel, under the direction of Charles Manson. Watson drove Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian from Spahn Ranch to the residence on Cielo Drive. Manson, a would-be musician, had previously attempted to enter into a recording contract with record producer Terry Melcher, who was a previous renter (from May 1966 to January 1969) of the house along with musician Mark Lindsay and Melcher's then-girlfriend, actress Candice Bergen. Melcher had snubbed Manson, leaving him disgruntled.

[link:Charles Manson|Charles Manson]
....

1968–1971: Cult formation, murders, and trial

See also: Manson Family



1969 mug shot

Once discharged from prison, Manson began attracting a group of followers, mostly young women, from around California. They were later dubbed the "Manson Family". The group was involved in the murder of Gary Hinman in July 1969, then gained national notoriety after the murder of actress Sharon Tate and four others in her home on August 8 and 9, 1969, and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the next day. Tex Watson and three other members of the Family executed the Tate-LaBianca murders, acting under Manson's specific instructions. Family members were also responsible for other assaults, thefts, crimes, and the attempted assassination of United States President Gerald Ford in Sacramento by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme.
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Previously at DU:

July 31, 1969, fifty years ago yesterday: Gary Allen Hinman is found murdered in Topanga Canyon

[cwydro]

1. Anyone who hasn't seen "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I highly recommend it.

No spoilers from me, but it’s a great movie.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. I read the book by Vincent Bugliosi....Chilling....

And Sharon Tate was nearly 9 months pregnant when she was killed. How do you recover from a tragedy like that? I do not think Roman Polanski ever did.

[SoCalNative]

6. One of the best openings ever written, imo

"It was so quiet, one of the killers would later say, you could almost hear the sound of ice rattling in cocktail shakers in the homes way down the canyon."

[mnmoderatedem]

10. absolutely unnerving book

you have to keep reminding yourself these things really happened.

Both Bugliosi and Manson are gone now

[Corgigal]

11. I remember reading it,

and I still think I was too young. That book was terrifying,to think they all entered your home. I was reading it in Westchester Co New York. I didn't think it was imaginable.

[gopiscrap]

3. I read the book also, Manson comes as close to having no redeeming qualities as I can think of

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. How Charles Manson almost won a mistrial, courtesy of Richard Nixon

How Charles Manson almost won a mistrial, courtesy of Richard Nixon

Link to tweet

[HockeyMom]

5. Zack Begans of Ghost Adventures

recently bought that house. Want to make a guess what he is going to do with it? Get ready for Halloween!

[maryellen99]

8. He bought the Labianca house

I saw pics of it on a real estate site. The views are outstanding.

[maryellen99]

7. Jay Sebring was from the Detroit area

He’s buried in the same cemetery that my maternal grandparents,Great Grandparents, Great Aunt, and my mom’s youngest sister who died at birth were.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

9. Abigail Folger was the Coffee Heiress.....