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This weekend, Dateline NBC investigator Keith Morrison will report on the crimes of Charles Manson and his commune, known as the Manson family. In particular, the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969 shocked people around the world because of their heinousness.
The Manson family consisted of approximately 100 members who were radicalized by Manson's teachings and driven by hippie culture and communal living. They terrorized the residents of California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their unconventional lifestyle was characterized by habitual use of drugs.
The official synopsis for the Dateline NBC episode airing on August 20, 2022, at 10/9c reads:
"Keith Morrison reports on the mind and myth of Charles Manson, featuring rarely-seen video of Manson and interviews with his former parole officer and a “Manson Family” confidant."
TW: Contains graphic details of violence.
Dateline NBC: The Summer of Manson - The members of the "Manson Family"
After his release from prison on March 22, 1967, Charles Manson met Mary Brunner, a 23-year-old library assistant at the University of California, Berkeley. Soon, they were sharing a residence with 18 other women. Manson established himself as a guru in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.
He soon had his first group of followers, eventually dubbed the "Manson Family." He allegedly taught his followers that they were the reincarnation of the original Christians, and that the Romans were the establishment.
Many white, middle-class young women in their late teens and early 20s were headed to cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles at the time, inspired by the hippie culture. They were brainwashed by Manson and became a part of the "Manson girls." He then used them to lure male members into his cult.
Notable members of the Manson family included Tex Watson, Bobby Beausoleil, Squeaky Fromme, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten, Linda Kasabian, Catherine Share, and Clem Grogan.
Dateline NBC: The Summer of Manson - The infamous "Manson Family" murders
On August 8, 1969, Tex Watson was accompanied by Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian in the massacre at 10050 Cielo Drive, the residence of film director Roman Polanski and his eight-and-a-half month pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate.
That night, while Polanski was away for a project, Tate was accompanied by celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski, and 18-year-old Steven Parent. The "Manson Family" members entered the house with the orders from Charles Manson to kill everyone as "gruesomely" as they could.
They stabbed and shot the occupants multiple times, finally stabbing Sharon Tate 16 times despite her pleas to let her live till she gave birth so as to spare the life of her unborn baby.
Manson was displeased with the panic and chaos at the Tate murders and allegedly decided to show his followers how it was done. Thus, the following night, he drove with his followers to commit the LaBianca murders. They brutally killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their Los Angeles home.
Tune in to the Saturday night episode on Dateline NBC to learn more about the members of the Manson family.
