Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson Hardcover (72 page)

His apparent intent was to provoke:
Oden “O.P.” Skupen interview.

Linda Kasabian gave birth to a son:
Bugliosi, pp. 265–66.

Investigators got a copy of the ticket:
Ibid., p. 276.

“Lotsapoppa” wasn’t dead after all:
Sanders, p. 337; Bugliosi, pp. 279–80.

Pat Krenwinkel refused to give:
Bugliosi, p. 283.

He and his attorneys discussed:
Browne, p. 220.

The prosecutors thought:
Bugliosi, p. 289.

Charlie felt good enough:
Ibid., p. 292.

Spring antiwar demonstrations:
Browne, pp. 168–71; Reeves, pp. 212–14, 216; Lorraine Chamberlain interview.

Jury selection took an agonizing five weeks:
Oden Skupen and Gus Carlton interviews.

In twenty devastating pages:
Fulton and Dalton, “Year of the Fork, Night of the Hunter,”
Rolling Stone.

Los Angeles District Attorney Evelle Younger didn’t like:
Bugliosi, p. 342.

Stovitz and Bugliosi had a battle plan:
Ibid., p. 305.

He believed that he had control over:
Oden Skupen interview.

Pat and Leslie had both made attempts:
Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten interviews.

Proximity was always crucial:
Patricia Krenwinkel interview.

Charlie warned the Family:
Leslie Van Houten interview.

Chapter Eighteen: The Trial

Readers who want every detail of the trial are referred to
Helter Skelter
by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry or George Bishop’s
Witness to Evil.
I wanted to recount the most critical moments and events, providing new information and insights gleaned mostly from interviews with defendants Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, prosecutors Vincent Bugliosi and Stephen Kay, and court bailiffs O. P. “Scoop” Skupen, and Gus Carlton. Observers outside the Hall of Justice, most notably William W. Collier, were also helpful.

The prosecutors were determined:
Stephen Kay and Vincent Bugliosi interviews; Bugliosi, pp. 309–15.

The other bailiffs said:
Gus Carlton and Oden Skupen interviews.

Charlie called it the “mouse house”:
Patricia Krenwinkel interview.

Charlie would tell Susan, Pat, and Leslie what they were to do:
Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten interviews.

Fitzgerald went home one night to find Squeaky:
Patricia Krenwinkel interview.

they were never alone with their lawyers:
Leslie Van Houten interview.

The trial bailiffs reached an understanding with Charlie:
Oden Skupen interview.

Privately, they thought it was weird:
Gus Carlton and Oden Skupen interviews.

He had done his best:
Didion,
The White Album
, p. 45.

Sandy Good confronted Linda:
Bugliosi, p. 317.

The moment the court clerk began:
Ibid., pp. 317–23; Bishop, p. 106.

Charlie Manson’s trial was a godsend for Nixon:
A. J. Langguth interview.

Nixon gave a speech in Denver:
Vincent Bugliosi interview; Perlstein, p. 521; Bugliosi, pp. 323–28; Bishop, p. 200. Vincent Bugliosi told me that several years later he met Richard Nixon and told him, “Mr. President, what you said [about Manson] was right. You just said it at the wrong time.”

But Charlie got the last word:
Oden Skupen interview.

Fitzgerald asked Older if it would be all right:
Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel interviews.

Charlie refused to leave his cell:
Bishop, pp. 227–29.

He’d cadge a smoke and often would practice:
Oden Skupen and Gus Carlton interviews.

Judge Older formally granted Linda immunity:
Bugliosi, p. 330; Bishop, pp. 222–23.

these losses were more than offset:
Bugliosi, pp. 332–35.

Stovitz and Bugliosi wanted that on the record:
Bishop, p. 253.

“We did pretty good at the first of it”:
Bugliosi, p. 336.

Susan began fidgeting:
Sanders, p. 416; Bugliosi, pp. 342–43.

there was no time for Kay:
Stephen Kay interview.

In the months since she’d returned:
Bravin, pp. 122–24; Oney, “Manson,”
Los Angeles Magazine
;
What Happened After
, History Channel.

Tex Watson was finally extradited:
Watson,
Will You Die for Me?
, pp. 163–67; Bugliosi, pp. 356–57.

The Weathermen broke Timothy Leary out:
Rudd, pp. 225–31; Ayers, pp. 255–56.

pedestrians on the sidewalk:
William W. Collier interview.

Sandy stood up and followed him:
Bugliosi, p. 358.

Sandy and Squeaky approached Kay:
Stephen Kay interview.

During a courtroom break:
Bugliosi, p. 359.

Barbara’s sexual vocabulary failed her:
Bishop, pp. 270–72.

He glared at Charlie:
Bugliosi, pp. 363–69.

For that day and several more:
Bishop, pp. 275–77.

But before Whiteley could step down:
Oden Skupen interview; Bugliosi, pp. 369–70; Bishop, pp. 278–79.

Older banned the defendants:
Bugliosi, pp. 370–80.

The bailiffs did their best:
Oden Skupen interview.

When Charlie heard the news:
Bugliosi, p. 379.

As soon as he did:
Ibid., pp. 387–92; Bishop, pp. 307–14.

he was clumsy and constantly tripped:
Leslie Van Houten interview.

a massive search for Hughes ensued:
Bugliosi, pp. 393–95; Bishop, pp. 314–18; Stephen Kay and Leslie Van Houten interviews.

On December 21, Older called the court to order:
Bishop, p. 318; Bugliosi, pp. 398–401; Stephen Kay interview.

Paul Fitzgerald, speaking on behalf:
Bugliosi, pp. 401–7; Bishop, pp. 321–30.

He responded to the closing arguments:
Bugliosi, pp. 407–9; Bishop, pp. 330–33.

As the jury filed out:
Gus Carlton and Oden Skupen interviews.

Kathleen Maddox was in Los Angeles:
Nancy interview.

Over the next months she received letters:
Nancy interview. She brought the letters for me to read.

Charlie sent word through Sandy and Squeaky:
Patricia Krenwinkel interview.

Charlie yelled at Kanarek:
Oden Skupen interview.

Bugliosi rested the prosecution’s case:
Bugliosi, pp. 417–55.

Then Charlie lost his nerve:
Oden Skupen interview.

Lennon replied that Manson was “barmy”:
Jann S. Wenner,
Lennon Remembers
(Verso, 2000), p. 71.

Chapter Nineteen: The Wrong Man in the Right Place at the Right Time

This is a summation rather than an extended examination of people and events over a period of more than forty years. For those who want more information, I strongly recommend Jess Bravin’s
Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme
, which provides both details and insight into the Family after Manson’s conviction for the Tate-LaBianca murders. I refer readers in particular to Bravin’s description of events surrounding the murder of James Willett. In a very few cases, events in this chapter are presented out of chronological order for readability.

Though they have been especially shaped by my interviews with Nancy, Jo Ann, Phil Kaufman, Gregg Jakobson, Dr. David E. Smith, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkel, the conclusions at chapter’s end are my own.

his execution wasn’t imminent:
Bugliosi, pp. 458–59.

she wrote later that after she arrived:
Atkins, p. 156.

they were just too emotionally exhausted:
Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel interviews.

Como and the Family believed:
This is based on my interview with the former Family member who later asked to be removed from this project.

He was adopted and his name was changed:
Atkins unpublished memoir, p. 53.

Squeaky began writing a book:
Bravin, p. 144.

His Death Row sojourn got off to a bad start:
Roger Dale Smith letter to Bob George, April 22, 1997.

the California Supreme Court voted:
Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten interviews; Bugliosi, p. 488; Faith, pp. 47, 78.

A Family crisis ensued:
Bravin, pp. 174–75.

she received a pointed query:
Bravin, p. 160.

She never recovered emotionally:
Nancy interview.

She initially misunderstood:
Atkins, pp. 199–206.

The two women would not speak:
Leslie Van Houten interview.

Charlie’s response included:
George with Matera, p. 141.

Charlie had a new faith, too:
Bravin, pp. 187–88.

Squeaky and Sandy assembled a hodgepodge:
Livsey, pp. 57–58; Bravin, pp. 188–94.

Squeaky Fromme hated the book:
Bravin, p. 189.

President Gerald Ford walked across the street:
Ibid., pp. 3–8, 233.

But after they arrived in Pleasanton:
Ibid., pp. 394–95.

doused Charlie with paint thinner:
Bugliosi, p. 497; George with Matera, p. 189; Marynick, p. 106.

Squeaky pined for contact:
Bravin, p. 396; Bugliosi, pp. 509–10.

Leslie Van Houten felt frustrated:
Leslie Van Houten interview.

He was never certain:
“Helter Shelter” by Lorraine Ali,
Entertainment Weekly
, March 18, 1994.

When he’s not deprived of privileges:
My descriptions of Manson’s daily life at Corcoran and his response to questions about the Tate-LaBianca murders are derived from a series of letters sent by inmates Roger Dale Smith and Kenny Calihan to Bob George. A complete list of letters can be found in the Bibliography.

Books and Studies

Ambrose, Stephen E.
Eisenhower: Soldier and President.
Touchstone, 1990. (One-volume condensation of
Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army
and
Eisenhower: The President.
)

———.
Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician, 1962–1972.
Simon & Schuster, 1989.

Amburn, Ellis.
Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin.
Warner, 1992.

Atkins, Susan, with Bob Slosser.
Child of Satan, Child of God.
Bantam, 1978.

Atkins, Susan, with James Whitehouse. “The Myth of Helter Skelter.” This is a rough draft of a book project that was not completed at the time of Susan Atkins’s death. It can be viewed at
www.susanatkins.org
. It has recently been published in print.

Ayers, Bill.
Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Antiwar Activist.
Beacon, 2001.

Beail, Linda, and Greg Crow. “Wesleyan or Fundamentalist? Political and Theological Stances of Nazarene Pastors.” Association of Nazarene Sociologists and Researchers, Kansas City, March 12, 2004.

Benson, Jackson J.
The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer.
Viking, 1984.

Beschloss, Michael.
Reaching for Glory: Lyndon Johnson’s Secret White House Tapes, 1964–1965.
Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Bishop, George.
Witness to Evil: The Uncensored Inside Story of Charles Manson and His Murderous Family.
Dell, 1972.

Boyd, Patti, with Penny Junor.
Wonderful Today: The Autobiography.
Headline Review Publishing, 2007.

Bravin, Jess.
Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme.
Buzz Books/St. Martin’s, 1997.

Brown, Peter, and Steven Gaines.
The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles.
McGraw-Hill, 1983.

Browne, David.
Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970.
Da Capo, 2011.

Bugliosi, Vincent, and Curt Gentry.
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders.
W. W. Norton, 25th Anniversary Edition, 1994.

Burner, David.
Making Peace with the 60s.
Princeton University Press, 1996.

Carlin, Peter Ames.
Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.
Rodale, 2006.

Carnegie, Dale.
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.
Simon & Schuster, 1948.

———.
How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Simon & Schuster, 1936.

———. Revised by Dorothy Carnegie.
The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking.
Association Press, 1962.

Caro, Robert A.
The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent.
Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.

Clemins, Jonathan D.
West Virginia Penitentiary.
Arcadia Publishing, 2010.