Charles Manson’s death brings 'no joy or comfort', relatives of cult's victims say

Charles Manson has died aged 83 - AP Photo, File
Charles Manson has died aged 83 - AP Photo, File

The families of Charles Manson’s victims said his death gave them no "joy or comfort" Monday as America reacted to the passing of one of its most notorious killers.

Relatives of those slaughtered by Manson’s cult said that his death brought no closure given many of his murderous followers remain alive in prison.

California’s prison authority is deciding what to do with the 83-year-old’s body if, as expected, no relative comes forward in the next 10 days.

Officials will either cremate or bury his body, while they will also decide the fate of the two guitars and pieces of art said to be in Manson's possession.

Charles Manson in August 2017 - Credit: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP
Charles Manson in August 2017 Credit: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP

US commentators attempted to grapple with the significance of Manson’s crimes on Monday as details of his gruesome planned killings were retold. In 1969, Manson’s followers – known as the “Manson Family” – carried out a horrific killing spree in California that left nine people dead.

Among those killed was Sharon Tate, the Holywood actress and wife of director Roman Polanski, who was eight and a half months pregnant.

She was stabbed to death in her own home before the word “PIG” was scrawled on the front door in the actress’s blood.

Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, a wealthy couple in Los Angeles; Donald Shea, a Hollywood stuntman; and Gary Hinman, an acquaintance of the group, were also killed.

Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, left to right, are shown en route to court in Los Angeles, Ca., Aug. 1970. The three women, displaying the symbol X on their foreheads as followers of the Manson cult family, are on trial for killings that included actress Sharon Tate. - Credit: AP Photo
Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, left to right, are shown en route to court in Los Angeles, Ca., Aug. 1970. The three women, displaying the symbol X on their foreheads as followers of the Manson cult family, are on trial for killings that included actress Sharon Tate. Credit: AP Photo

Manson himself was not present at the murders but was sentenced to death in 1971 after confessing to masterminding the massacre.

That was later reduced to nine life sentences when the death penalty was outlawed in California. His subsequent repeated requests for parole were always turned down.

Manson, a little over five foot three with long brown hair and a beard at the time, convinced a string of mainly young, middle-class women that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

He planned the killings to hasten the race wars he believed would soon sweep America, a vision he dubbed “Helter Skelter” after the Beatles song.

Manson’s drug-taking, which included the hallucinogen LSD, meant some linked his crimes to the hippie movement of the era.  

"Many people I know in Los Angeles believe that the Sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969," the author Joan Didion once wrote, referring to the date of the killings.

A Fox News columnist yesterday described Manson as “the embodiment of America’s 20th century embrace of amorality” in a piece about his death.

Actress Sharon Tate, murdered by a gang led by Charles Manson
Actress Sharon Tate, murdered by a gang led by Charles Manson

Law enforcement officials quoted Manson's prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who once called the killer "an evil, sophisticated con man with twisted and warped moral values".

Relatives of his victims expressed little satisfaction in his passing. Debra Tate, the sister of Sharon Tate, said she “said a prayer, shed a tear [and] stuck a flower under my cross in my bedroom” on hearing the news.

She told ABC News: “People are saying that this should be some kind of relief, but oddly enough it really isn’t.

“While Charlie may be gone, it’s the ones that are still alive that perpetrate everything and it was up to their imaginations for what brutal things were going to be done. In an odd way I see them as much more dangerous individuals."

Charles Manson talks during an interview August 25, 1989 - Credit: STR New / Reuters
Charles Manson talks during an interview August 25, 1989 Credit: STR New / Reuters

Anthony DiMaria, the nephew of Manson victim Jay Sebring, said: “Today we derive no joy or comfort from the passing of Mr Manson.

“Nor is there closure because nothing will bring back Jay, or any of the victims sent to their graves 48 years ago. For us, our hearts and thoughts are with them."

Focus has now turned to the five members of the “Manson Family” who remain in prison, with some expected to renew calls for parole.