Former Charles Manson Follower Describes Dramatic Desert Capture By Police

“I was washing my hair and the police shot open the door and I had a gun in my face,” says 64-year-old Dianne Lake of the day nearly a half-century ago when she was arrested in the California desert.

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In 1971, Charles Manson was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of actress Sharon Tate and six other people in two separate Los Angeles neighborhoods. The bloody killing-spree took place over two nights in August 1969.

Dianne Lake, who was 16 at the time, claims she had been a member of the Charles Manson “Family” for approximately two years when the murders occurred. Dianne says she did not take part in the homicides which have since become known as the Tate/LaBianca killings. However, she says she did go into hiding with the people who committed them.

Dianne and Charles Manson were arrested at Barker Ranch in Death Valley National Park, two months after Manson is said to have ordered several of his followers to carry out the slaughter.

“I was in jail in a cell with the other girls and we were all, you know, being reminded to not say anything,” says Dianne who claims she had been “programmed” by Manson and other group members not to talk to police. What does she say caused her to finally cooperate with the authorities? Tune in to Wednesday’s Dr. Phil.

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Dianne Lake is the author of the new book, Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness That Ended the Sixties,available online and wherever books are sold.

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Today’s Takeaway: Life Inside The Manson Family: The Youngest Member Speaks Out