On March 7, 2025, Netflix released the documentary “CHAOS: The Manson Murders,” directed by Errol Morris. But what is it really about? Here is an overview of Charles Manson, the “family” he led, and the conspiracy theories surrounding him.
Who was Charles Manson?
Charles Manson (November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, musician, and cult leader. He was the leader of the Manson Family in the late 1960s and the early 1970s.
As a child, Manson was seen as having a troubled childhood. His parents were Kathleen Maddox and Colonel Walker Henderson Scott Jr. When Maddox informed Scott of her pregnancy, he left for army duty without any intention of returning. Manson was often left alone with babysitters or with his aunts and uncles while his mother was either incarcerated or drinking with Manson’s uncle. At the age of nine, Manson burned down his school and was involved in offenses such as petty theft and truancy. After robbing a gas station, his alcoholic mother attempted to put him in a foster home, but was unsuccessful. Charles was placed in a school for male delinquents, but later ran away due to the strict rules imposed on him. For more than half of his life, he has been either incarcerated or institutionalized.
The Cult
On March 21st, 1967, after serving 10 years in prison, Manson moved to San Francisco. By the summer of 1968, he had gained many family members, and they all moved to Spahn Ranch in southern California. His followers, primarily females, considered him to be their leader since they thought he looked similar to Jesus Christ, a reincarnation. With the family, Manson was enthralled by the Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter.” With this song, the Manson family got the idea to try to provoke a race war.
The Manson Family had 34 members, excluding the cult’s leader. The most “loyal and notable” followers included Susan Atkins, Bobby Beausoleil, Charles “Tex” Watson, Leslie Van Houten, Linda Kasabian, Phil Kaufman, and Patricia Krenwinkel. The cult was formed in 1967 and continued until it dissolved in 1970, following the arrest of Manson and other members. It was believed that the cult had grown to about 100 members.
The Murders
The Manson family was convicted of nine murders, each one more gruesome than the last.
The violence started before the infamous Tate Murders, with the victim, Gary Hinman, an aspiring musician, being the first of the many that would follow. Gary Hinman made the mistake of becoming friends with Charles Manson and his followers, mixing himself with the wrong crowd. As for the motive of Hinman’s death, it is unclear. The LA Times has speculated it could be because of a financial issue.
On August 8th, a cluster of Manson’s followers chose to rob a home. The victims included aspiring actress Sharon Tate (who was about eight and a half months pregnant at the time), celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger (the heiress to the Folgers coffee company), aspiring writer Wojciech Frykowski (Abigail Folger’s partner), and Steven Parent, an 18-year-old high school student.
Tate and her filmmaker husband, Roman Polanski, rented Cielo Drive 10050. While her husband was indisposed, filming “Rosemary’s Baby” in London, she invited her close friends to accompany her. The Tate murders are considered one of the most violent murders in American history.
As the parent was driving at around midnight, he encountered Tex Watson, who confronted the high-school student with a .22 caliber and a buck knife, slashing his wrists and shooting him 4 times.
Shortly after midnight, Susan walked into the home with a buck knife. The other people were in separate rooms: Abigail Folger retired for the night, reading a book in a nearby bedroom, Frykowski fell asleep on the living room couch, while Tate and Sebring were on the bed, talking. Tex tied a rope around Sebring’s neck and hung it over the ceiling beam, then around Sharon’s neck. Everyone was being tied up until Tex shot and stabbed Sebring. Tex later confessed he described the four victims as “running around the place like chickens with their heads cut off”.
Frykowski freed himself, while Krenwinkel and Abigail Folger began wrestling. After being stabbed multiple times, Abigail broke free and began down the hallway in an attempt to escape. Krenwinkel, following her with the knife in hand, began stabbing her once more until Tex told her to stop. Abigail tried to plead for her life, but said, as she died, “I give up, you got me,” and “I’m already dead.”
Frykowski, after being freed, began wrestling with Susan Atkins. Atkins stabbed Frykowski in the legs 4 times. Atkins lost the battle with Frykowski, with Tex intervening. Tex beat him with the butt of a .22 revolver. Frykowski managed to make it outside, but not for long. He screamed for help as Tex shot and stabbed him, succumbing to his injuries.
The victim who was spared last, Tate, sobbed, pleading with the killers to let her keep the baby. Sharon Tate was stabbed to death by Atkins and Watson, with most of the followers carving words onto the victims’ bodies. Atkins used Tate’s blood to spray blood on the walls, writing, “PIG”. Atkins then carved the baby out of her stomach, using the blood of the baby to spray blood on the walls.
2 days following, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were violently killed. Rosemary had a pillowcase covering her face and was gagged with a lamp cord. Leno LaBianca was awoken at gunpoint by Tex Watson and Manson, and was tied up with a leather thong. Watson began stabbing Leno with a bayonet, yelling at Tex, “Stop stabbing me!” After stabbing Leno, Krenwinkel carved the word “WAR” on his stomach. More of the girls continued to stab him, writing words like “HELTER SKELTER”, “DEATH TO PIGS”, and “RISE” on the walls around them.
A couple of weeks later, on August 28th, Donald “Shorty” Shea, an American stuntman and actor, was brutally killed. The Manson “family members” gave Shea a ride. Steve Grogan, one of Manson’s followers, struck Shea with a pipe wrench while Tex was stabbing him. His body wasn’t found until December 1997, eight years after his death.
Trial and Statement
On October 12th, 1969, Charles Manson was arrested and charged with grand theft auto. Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Tex Watson, and Patricia Krenwinkel were tried for murder. During the trial, he maintained a calm demeanor, stating that he was innocent and society was guilty. In CBS News, he says in the courtroom, “These children that come at you with knives, they are your children. You taught them; I didn’t teach them. I just tried to help them stand up.”
At the trial, Charles Manson was found guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. At first, they were all going to be sentenced to death, but they were commuted to life imprisonment when the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty.
Atkins died behind bars in 2009, while Krenwinkel, Watson, and Van Houten continue to remain in prison.
In 1975, one of Manson’s followers, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but the gun was not functioning correctly, serving 34 years in jail.
The trial transcripts concerning the Manson family are available at: https://www.cielodrive.com/manson-family-trials.php.
Conspiracy Theories
In the documentary “CHAOS: The Manson Murders,” speculation surrounds the Manson Family and Charles Manson regarding the use of CIA mind control techniques involving LSD (acid) and methamphetamine.
MKUltra, a CIA program that was made operational in 1953 and practiced throughout the 1960s, was used to identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to force confessions out of subjects via brainwashing. One method that was used on subjects was administering high doses of psychoactive drugs, such as acid, without the subject’s consent. The documentary describes how Manson was possibly influenced by the MKUltra program to manipulate his followers to kill.
The best-selling novel, “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties,” written by Tom O’Neill and Dan Piepenbring, explores the endless conspiracy theories surrounding the Manson family. While this violent event shocked America, many aspects remain either misunderstood or unexplored from that night 56 years ago.
