Helter Skelter (Director's Cut)

Starring:Jeremy Davies, Clea DuVall, Allison Smith, Eric Dane, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Michael Weston, Hal Ozsan, Rick Gomez (II), Robert Joy, Graham Beckel, Chris Ellis, Isabella Hofmann, Robert Costanzo, Yvonne Delarosa, Crystal Rivers, Cheselka Leigh, Keith Szarabajka, John Pleshette, Whitney Dylan, Susan Ruttan
Director: John Gray
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Based on the bestselling book by Vincent Bugliosi, the two-part TV movie Helter Skelter is a clinical but often chilling recount of the arrest and trial of Charles Manson and his cult for a pair of horrific murders in 1969. Character actor George DiCenzo is a bit dry as prosecutor Bugliosi, who must patch together a series of far-flung clues to incarcerate Manson for the murder spree, which claimed the life of actress Sharon Tate, among others; he and the rest of the capable cast (which includes Marilyn Burns from the '74 Texas Chainsaw Massacre) are completely overshadowed by Steve Railsback's disturbing performance as Manson. Railsback is the main reason to revisit this feature, which shocked many during its network run in 1976, but now seems methodical in its pacing and direction. Warner Bros.'s DVD is the longer 184-minute version of the film, which should please viewers accustomed to the 119-minute rebroadcast cut; otherwise, the disc is disappointingly supplement-free. --Paul Gaita

Description

The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".

Customer Reviews:

Helter Skelter.......2007-07-03

A truly engrossing, disturbing made-for-TV movie based on Bugliosi's bestseller, Tom Gries's "Helter Skelter" revisits all the hair-raising details of the infamous case, including how Manson engineered the killings, believing they were ordained via a secret message on the Beatles' "White Album." Railsback is nothing short of terrifying playing the manic, crazed, intensely creepy Manson. By contrast, DiCenzo gives an appropriately measured performance as hungry trial prosecutor Bugliosi, while actors Nancy Wolfe, Cathey Paine, and Christina Hart eerily convey the deadening spell Manson cast over his most loyal disciples.

Tate and LaBianca.......2007-05-28

The movie wasn't bad but I have to admit that after reading the book, I expected more. I would liked to have seen more on the before Mansons.

Without a doubt one of the people that have left a mark on me .......2007-05-04

Charles Manson. When I think of him I see many things crop out. Angry, Demented, Bruised, Scarred, Hateful, and all of this from the world. He was born into dysfunction, and lived out most of his life in dysfunction. His mother had no name to give him as she was mostly a criminal herself, and a prostitute who probably had no idea who fathered Charlie, or even cared. That's the hard part to swallow when your mother has no idea who your father is, and doesn't even care. She thought in her self-centered mind that she was doing the best for Charlie by shuffling him around to the different family members for she knew she couldn't raise Charlie as that would cut into her drug habit, and sex time. However, it was later determined that Charlie was bi-sexual as he wouldn't think twice about having sex with either a man, or a woman. I am left to wonder if perhaps a male family member raped Charlie perhaps out of anger at Charlie's mother for not taking responsibility for her little brat. I remember hearing a line in the film: "The Bad News Bears In Breaking Training" where Kelly's father asks Kelly: "You want to be your own man?" Meaning that Kelly take responsibility for himself; I'm sure Charlie wanted that, but the question I'm sure Charlie would ask: "How to do this?" No one showed Charlie how to be his own man, and the closest he came was his stint at Boy's Town, but when he was there I'm sure he couldn't look at Boy's Town without looking at his mother, family, and society in general, and they all hurt him, rejected him, and now as he's nearing 73 the hate will not die, and it looks as though it's the only thing keeping him going, but for how long? I feel that Charlie somehow learned that when he grew up that he could learn power, and take people down just give your soul to the devil. Susan Atkins would also take that route as her life was marred by dysfunction as both parents were alcoholics, and mean towards her and her brothers. She turned to Christ at an early age, but she was dissulousined especially after her mother died, and her father didn't stop drinking. Patricia Krenweinkel grew up in a more loving home, but after her parents divorced her self-esteem already not strong was even dashed upon the rocks more. Leslie Van Houten would also have her world fall apart when her parents divorced, so without a doubt on edge, and nothing to lose Charlie would create his own family. A family that was his to rule and reign one where he would be able to call the shots, and he would make it appealling to his followers with sex, drugs, and music. Now bring this up to August 9, 1969, and the Tate murders. In Charlie's mind he thought that he was doing the world a favor because after all Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger and others were all smoking marijuana, and doing other drugs, and they thought they were better than him? As for his motive I feel while it was created in a drug stupor quite a bit did come true. I would feel the fact that Terry Melchner not taking Charlie seriously as a musician, and standing him up would be a more rational motive for murder, but Manson didn't know that Melchner had moved out of that house a few months earlier. Mind you this wouldn't have been acceptable either, but more rational. Many wannabe followers called this trial: "The Second Crucifixtion Of Christ" Anyway as I mentioned earlier quite a bit of his prophecy came true; In certain people they feel that minorities are getting preferential treatment, definition of family is becoming more and more broader, children are becoming more and more aggressive, and motive for crime is becoming more and more trivial, and God doesn't seem to be on most people's minds anymore. I don't even know where to begin as to where the country began it's downfall; was it when sexuality was starting to become more studied, was it during McCarthyism?, or when Madeline Muhaney O Hare successfully lobbied to have prayer banned from school. I know I have said I hate the 80's, but to be honest wouldn't the 80's be fruit of what the 60's became? America seems to just wish that anniversaries like this would just go away. Woodstock would be an attempt to save the 60's from despair, but got upstaged by Camille as she ripped through the Mississippi Delta destroying homes. Let's face it folks we as Americans tend to want to repress the negative, and just go on with the positive. We want to think that if we think about it that it will just come back to us, but when the pain is so much we tend to not care anymore, and just do whatever it took to just prove to everyone that we had our act together. I feel with Charlie it was repression that more or less caused him to collapse under all that weight that he carried all his life to come to August 9, 1969. This was the original telemovie aired on Thursday and Friday April 1 and 2nd, 1976 on CBS. I remember this because I was 8, and I wanted to watch it real bad, and was upset that I couldn't. I finally did at 23, and to be honest I see what I missed. The performance by George DiCenzo was good, but to be honest he's forgetable now, Steve Railsback as Manson was almost comical, but impressive. This would also introduce the world to the most famous Beatles tribute band "Beatlemania", and they would do an American tour the Summer of 76. This was above-average telemovie, and has the makings of a wonderful story. Not wonderful in the sense of what happened, but it stayed with what really happened.

a great movie (mini series).......2007-03-17

Finally I found the ORIGINAL version of this film! There exists a condesed version which is the version you will find at vidio stores. That version is just not the same as the long (original) version which has so much more info and much more inpact. THIS VERSION IS A MUST SEE AND IS WORTH THE EXTRA VIEWING TIME!! Thank you Amazon for making this classic available!

Swivel.Hips Review of Helter Skelter.......2007-01-16

This CD set provides a very accurate and riveting portrayal of the history of the notorious Charles Manson and the activities of the Manson family in a time period that not many of today's up-and-coming young adults are even likely to remember.

It is a must see for anyone who is even remotely curious about the events that took place involving this group of predominently young teens, led by this self-appointed "guru," in the late 1960s in southern California.

Average customer rating:

intelligently written and directed
Not better then the 1976 version but it ain't THAT bad either!
The other side of the mountain
It doesn`t surpass the 1976 outing, but...
Surprisingly good version of this crime

Helter Skelter (Director's Cut)
Starring: Jeremy Davies , Clea DuVall , Allison Smith , Eric Dane , and Mary Lynn Rajskub
Director: John Gray
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Helter Skelter
The Manson Family (Unrated 2-Disc Special Edition)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Manson in His Own Words
The Family

ASIN: B0002WZRVS
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Amazon.com

Solid performances are the high point of this 2004 adaptation of L.A. prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's book about Charles Manson's Family, the Tate-La Bianca murders, and the subsequent trial that caught the world's attention in 1969. While the 1976 TV movie focused mainly on Bugliosi (here played by Bruno Kirby), writer-director John Gray turns his film's attention to cult member Linda Kasabian (a typically fine Clea DuVall), who eventually testified against Manson (a mannered Jeremy Davies) and his followers after they were arrested for several brutal murders, including actress Sharon Tate. Gray gets chilling turns from Allison Smith, Marguerite Moreau, and Mary Lynn Rajskub as "Manson Girls" Patricia Krenwinkle, Susan Atkins, and Squeaky Fromme, respectively, and the production is atmospherically photographed, but the dialogue is often ham-fisted, and rushes to an all-too-early conclusion (midway through the trial). The DVD offers the 180-minute film in a 1:78:1 anamorphic transfer, and includes a brace of deleted scenes (including some violent moments cut for TV broadcast), commentary by Gray and executive producer Mark L. Wolper, and footage of Davies in rehearsal. --Paul Gaita

Description

Jeremy Davies stars as convicted killer Charles Manson in this new television movie based on the true story of the August 1969 Tate/LaBianca murders, as chronicled in the bestselling book Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi. Almost 35 years ago Manson's followers, at his instruction, brutally massacred seven people over two consecutive nights in Los Angeles and scrawled bloody messages on the walls of the crime scenes. The first night, director Roman Polanski's wife, eight-month-pregnant actress Sharon Tate, was murdered along with coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski and Steven Parent. The second night, supermarket chain president Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, were found stabbed to death in their home.

Customer Reviews:

intelligently written and directed.......2007-06-02

Way better than the 1976 tv version, in fact, superior in every way--with the exception of Railsback's take
on Manson. Pretty damn gruesome, by the way. The actress who portrays Linda Kasabian is very good here.

Writer/director John Gray does fine work. Am glad they showed what they showed of the courtroom scenes--because not only were they dull and went on too long in the '76 flick, but we already know what the verdict was and what happened.

Not better then the 1976 version but it ain't THAT bad either!.......2006-11-22

What is missing in the 2006 version of this film is the creepiness that the 1976 version had.

First off the guy who played Manson did a good job. I give him that.

The girl who played Sadie I wanted to smack the smirk off her face.

Where was the court scene? There was no court scene. In the 1976 version those court scenes were magic.

Also the scene where Sharon, Voytek, Steven, Abigail, Leno and Rosemary (The victims) were a bit too graphic for me. I almost threw up seeing Abigail getting stabbed to death. I couldn't bare seeing the Sharon character getting killed.

It's an OK movie but not beter then the 76' version.

The other side of the mountain.......2006-11-03

If you saw the original, this DVD shows you the other side. It completes it all.

It doesn`t surpass the 1976 outing, but..........2006-09-23

still this product shows us the brutality of Manson first hand. In 1976, the tv-film gave us a chilling insight into intelligent madness - yup who can deny that the brain of Manson in not unlike Hitler; mad, but with vision and control of the environment.....

In this version we get to know the victims... they`re no longer just names and figures... The last scene in which Sharon whispers "Cut the baby" to Susan Atkins never happened, but she d i d try to negotiate with her killers; "take me with you, let me have my baby and then kill me" and "can you remove the baby from the womb" when she realised there was no hope...

This is a trashy account of the story and it SUCCEEDS in showing us that the kilings were not some sort of great ritualistic thing as been presented over the years.... But this was a total senseless massacre and THAT`s why this film succeeds; it speaks volumes why not the killers should ever be released.

Surprisingly good version of this crime.......2006-07-14

The 2004 made-for-TV version of "Helter Skelter" certainly received harsh treatment from both professional and amateur critics alike. This is not particularly surprising, considering the ghoulish subject manner and the intense sensibilities in relation to this legendary crime. Going into this film my expectations were low. While watching the DVD version, which included a variety of violent scenes not shown during its original TV broadcast, I was surprised to discover this was a quality production.

This new perspective of "Helter Skelter" is probably the best film ever made about this lurid tale, and Jeremy Davies' thoughtful performance as Charles Manson comes about as close to the truth as we are ever going to get. For the most part, the filmmakers had their facts straight. I rolled my eyes throughout several miscalculations, most notably the elimination of the murder of Spahn Ranch employee Shorty Shea. Granted, there's only a certain amount of information this film could pack into its busy two-plus hours running time, but Shorty was a known victim of this hippie-creepy cult - a human being murdered in the dead of night. If you're going to tell this story yet again (and the question as to whether it was necessary would require an entirely new post), don't eliminate victims simply to create a prime time package for mass consumption.

In addition, the meeting of Charles Manson and Sharon Tate is disputed to this day. While Manson most definitely visited the Tate property prior to the murders, the filmmakers' choice to have them meet eye-to-eye was tacky. That being said, there was an honest attempt by the filmmakers to portray the conditions that led this family of psychotic youths to commit such horrible murders in 1969.

"Helter Skelter" was not gritty enough for my taste, as the Spahn Ranch commune was far more picturesque than the horse fly-covered, greasy-haired reality. Manson and his clan are portrayed as humans rather than demons, and I suppose if we are going to understand this subject matter, this difficult truth should be emphasized.

Casting Clea DuVall as the controversial Linda Kasabian was an excellent move. Not only is DuVall one of the finest actresses of her generation (and her performance rivals Davies'), but Kasabian was just about the only member of Manson's Family to show remorse following the murders. If you are going to find a single glimmer of hope in this tawdry epic, Kasabian is about as close as you are going to get to sunshine.

"Helter Skelter" essentially follows her journey as a member of Manson's Family, from introduction to drug-induced indoctrination, eventually leading to the nights of murder. Historically, Kasabian left the Manson clan soon after the crimes, was arrested and became one of the few members to give testimony during the grueling trials.

The original "Helter Skelter" (1976) has always been a bit overrated, with Steve Railsback giving an over-the-top, circus-like performance as Manson. The film emphasized the investigation and devoted a couple of hours to the trial itself. This new version is a companion film, if you will, detailing the year leading up to the arrests and trial, abruptly ending about the time Kasabian decides she will testify, thus insuring the killers will be convicted.

The Tate and LaBianca murders are portrayed more-or-less realistically. There's really nothing shown TV viewers do not witness on the "CSI" and "Criminal Minds" programs. But these atrocities actually took place, and perhaps that haunting fact makes for uncomfortable viewing. I certainly wanted to turn my eyes away, and was disturbed by the amount of blood shown. This is absolutely R-rated subject matter, but prime time crime produces high ratings. So who am I to question modern-day TV sensibilities?

When reading about the Manson crimes - books which are equal parts fascinating and repulsive - one almost always asks "Why?" This new film version of "Helter Skelter," factually close to the truth, with better performances and production values than this subject deserves, attempts to answer nagging questions. It succeeds far better than one would expect.

Average customer rating:

This FILM!
Spooky Atmospherics Done in Black in White...
Bad movie, but historical footage
Piece of crap
Don't Waste Your Money

The Helter-Skelter Murders
Starring: Brian Klinknett , Erica Bigelow , Paula Shannon , Linda Van Compernolle , and Debbie Duff
Director: Frank Howard (VII)
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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Helter Skelter
Manson Family Movies
Helter Skelter (Director's Cut)
Charles Manson: Superstar
The Manson Family (Unrated 2-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B00005OCKS
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Description

You are there every terrifying moment as the Manson "family" commits the most hideous murders in the history of Hollywood. Filmed while the Manson trial was still in progress, this modern "noir" proved so shocking it was banned in Los Angeles. Superbly photographed and directed by award-winning filmmaker Frank Howard, with sequences actually filmed with the "family" at the Spahn Ranch. Charlie Manson performs his songs "Mechanical Man" and "Garbage Dump" on the soundtrack.

Customer Reviews:

This FILM!.......2007-06-09

First off, if you are looking for an Oliver Stone style film about the manson incident then run away, run far away. This film is amazing, the soundtrack is priceless. I am into this sort of exploitation film, it is very roughly based around the manson thing, but it does contain some amazing footage. Yes a good bit of the film has no dialogue but mysterious black and white footage of drug use, nudity and even Hitchcock style murder footage makes it a "late night" must for me. It is very over the top and slightly psychedelic, definitely makes you wish you were apart of the manson family. This one is for my collection. long live tp rainbow

Spooky Atmospherics Done in Black in White..........2007-01-03

Oh it was done in black and white booh hooo! It makes the film work! This stark realism of B/W is especially true in the murders scenes. It also gives a feeling past-tense which is how the script is set up. As for dialogue -- can you say Noir Film? Atmosphere folks, body language, reviewing minds and time-periods through narrative/scenery/cinemaphotograpy, all done well. The lighting could have been better in the beginning but gets better towards the middle. This movie is very dark and moody and quite frankly more than I expected. I think this is the rub with some of the other reviewers on here, they wanted the Docudrama - Helter Skelter - and got another film instead. That isn't a valid reason to low rate a flick. Quite Frankly this film "takes you there" to the crime scenes, insides the killers heads and the victims suffering, an empathic immediacy the the TV docudrama didn't achieve -- check this one out! I was actually surprised!

Bad movie, but historical footage.......2006-11-22

I bought this movie, basically knowing it would be awful and I wasn't disappointed. All the reviewers on here are right (except the two that gave it 5 stars) -it is a horrible movie. BUT, I gave it two stars.
Why, you may ask? Because I read the great book by the same name, and it was very cool to see the scene with actual footage of Spahn ranch. (burned down not long after), and to see the scene with authentic hippies.
The rest of the movie is throw away. If you want a good movie, don't buy this. If you loved the book, or are very interested in the Manson trial/family and want to see footage of Spahn ranch, here it is. Be warned - you'll get five or ten minutes of hippie/Spahn ranch footage.

Piece of crap.......2005-05-08

I bought this movie thinking it would be an enlightening and interesting account of the Manson family and the murders. It was TERRIBLE! It was all in black and white, with barely any dialogue. Manson and his family were depicted as zombies reminiscent of "Night of the living dead". I actually fast forwarded through most of this movie hoping to find a scene worth watching. Don't waste your money! I wish I hadn't.

Don't Waste Your Money.......2003-12-24

This movie was an unrealistic portrayal of the Tate La Bianca murders that occured in August, 1969. If you want the real version buy the 1976 Helter Skelter if you can find it. It is obsolete.

Don't waste your time or money watching this movie. The guy who portrays Manson has a booming voice and Charles Mansion did not. "I am God, I am Satan, I am you, and you are me."

Description

TRUE CRIME AUTHORS goes between the lines with the men and women who have written the definitive accounts of some of the most infamous crimes in American history. Each episode features surprising revelations, insights that did not make it into print, and a revealing look at what it takes to bring a balanced story to an eager public. Vincent Bugliosi did more than write the book--he was the attorney who prosecuted Charles Manson and his demented ""family"" for their murderous spree. As a result, Helter Skelter had a genuine insider's feel that made it one of the most successful and influential true crime books in history. Here, Bugliosi revisits the murders and 41-week trial in a riveting interview that sheds new light on one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century.

Customer Reviews:

"I'm The Devil, And I'm Here To Do The Devil's Work" -- Charles "Tex" Watson; August 1969.......2006-02-16

On successive nights in August of 1969, 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate and six other people in Los Angeles were brutally slaughtered at the behest of 34-year-old Charles Manson, a bearded and diminutive 5-foot-2 crazy person who thought he was doing his victims "a favor" by having them killed; and thus, in Manson's demented mind, was setting off a "race war between the blacks and whites". A war he thought of as "Helter Skelter".

This DVD from The History Channel's "True Crime Authors" series of programs shines the spotlight on Vincent T. Bugliosi and "Helter Skelter", which was also the title of Vince's best-selling 1974 book about the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders and the nearly year-long Los Angeles court trial that followed those seven senseless slayings.

Peter Stacker provides skillful narration throughout this well-told and to-the-point 44-minute documentary; while former L.A. prosecutor Vince Bugliosi (who handled the Manson case for the State of California and secured a guilty verdict from the jury) gives a fairly in-depth on-camera interview. Vincent talks candidly about the celebrated trial and his own thoughts regarding Charles Manson, and Manson's "family" members who physically carried out the seven Tate-LaBianca murders.

The program's interview portions with Mr. Bugliosi are interspersed with an ample amount of stock video footage of Manson and his three co-defendants (Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel), including a few video clips I had not seen on similar documentaries dealing with Manson and his trial.

But, overall, there's nothing really new or groundbreaking about this "True Crime Authors" program; it is, however, presented very well and gives Vince Bugliosi himself quite a bit of air time.

Mixed in with the vintage 1969-1970 video footage are several "re-created" scenes that were produced (I assume) exclusively for this A&E/History Channel broadcast, which include actors portraying Manson and "family" members. The Tate and LaBianca murders are "re-constructed" via these actors' re-enactments. It's done fairly well (albeit with a bit more blood and gore, naturally, than the real-life photos and films depict), but I truly don't think the re-created parts were actually necessary at all here. The stock footage, mixed with Mr. Bugliosi's own first-hand comments about this fascinating murder case, would have sufficed (IMO).

This DVD, produced in 2002, is part of A&E's "DVD Library" series of Digital Discs, which are all created on DVD-R type discs. Therefore, unlike the "DVD-Video" format, this disc doesn't include any fancy Menus or subtitles or other interactive features of any kind. (There's no Menu at all in fact; the disc just begins playing automatically upon being loaded into the DVD player. Chapter stops have been inserted exactly every ten minutes.)

But the video quality here is excellent; and the audio is too. The price of the disc is outrageously high, but the A/V quality is very good indeed. There's a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track employed for this program. The video (in color) is Full Frame (1.33:1). .... The silky-smooth label used on the disc itself is very attractive and caught my eye. Nothing super-fancy, it just looks classy and nice. .... Keep Case packaging. .... No inserts included.

--------------

On the more personal side of the Tate-LaBianca killings which are documented on this "True Crime Authors" DVD, here's a list of the seven people who were butchered in 1969 at Charlie Manson's request (with some brief bio info included about the victims):

>>> Sharon Tate-Polanski (age 26 when she was killed; born January 24, 1943, in Dallas, Texas). .... Sharon's roster of acting roles included the part of "Janet Trego" on multiple episodes of the popular 1960s sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies", as well as four movie roles in the year 1967 alone. Two of those '67 films were "Valley Of The Dolls" and "The Fearless Vampire Killers", the latter being directed by Sharon's soon-to-be husband Roman Polanski (whom she wed on January 20, 1968, shortly after making "Vampire Killers"). ....

Sharon was in her eighth month of pregnancy when she was stabbed 16 times just after midnight on the morning of Saturday, August 9, 1969. Sharon's zombie killers, IMO, should have been charged with a total of eight murders, instead of just seven, with number eight being the murder of the soon-to-be-born baby boy inside the womb of Sharon Tate. The baby was going to be named "Paul Richard Polanski".

>>> Jay Sebring (age 35; born Thomas John Kummer on October 10, 1933, in Birmingham, Alabama). .... Jay was a well-known and highly-regarded hair stylist in Hollywood. His clients included Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, and Paul Newman. Jay was engaged to Sharon Tate for one year. .... Sebring died as a result of one gunshot wound (from Manson's very own "Buntline" revolver) and seven stab wounds.

>>> Voytek Frykowski (age 32; born in Poland on December 22, 1936). .... Voytek was dating Abigail Folger in 1969 and was one of Sharon Tate's houseguests on the night of August 8-9. .... Frykowski suffered the largest number of wounds at the hands of Manson's relentless killing machines -- he was stabbed 51 times, shot twice, and beaten over the head 13 times with a blunt object (probably the "Buntline" revolver also used in the murders). The savagery of it still boggles the mind even today.

>>> Abigail Folger (age 25; born August 11, 1943, in San Francisco, California). .... Affectionately known as "Gibby", Abigail was the heiress to the Folger Coffee fortune when she was murdered. She would have celebrated her 26th birthday in just two more days, but Susan Atkins, Tex Watson, and company intervened on the morning of August 9th instead. ....

Gibby was killed by being stabbed with a knife a total of 28 times. She was nearly able to get away from Manson's murderous clan, as she ran out of the Tate house fleeing for her life. However, she was tracked down on the lawn and repeatedly stabbed, resulting in her death. Her white nightgown was blood-red when her body was discovered by police several hours later.

>>> Steven Parent (age 18; born February 12, 1951, in California). .... Just two months prior to his death, Steven Earl Parent had graduated from Arroyo High School. .... Parent was visiting William Garretson, the Tate's caretaker, on the night of the murders. ....

Steve was the first to die that early Saturday morning at 10050 Cielo Drive in Hollywood's Benedict Canyon. He was in his car, attempting to leave the Tate property, when he was stopped in the driveway by murderer Charles "Tex" Watson. Watson proceeded to shoot Parent four times at near point-blank range, killing the teenager instantly.

>>> Leno LaBianca (age 44; born in Los Angeles, California, on August 6, 1925). .... Leno was president of "Gateway Markets", a Southern California supermarket chain. .... He was also the owner of nine thoroughbred race horses. ....

After Charles Milles Manson had personally tied up Leno LaBianca and his wife with rope inside their home at 3301 Waverly Drive in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, Manson sent his killing machines into the LaBianca house to murder both of them. Leno was stabbed 12 times with a knife and another 7 times with a carving fork. A knife was found lodged in Leno's throat, and the word "war" had been physically carved into his stomach, while the double-tined fork used to create that word in his flesh was left protruding from Mr. LaBianca's abdomen following the grisly act.

>>> Rosemary LaBianca (age 38; born in Mexico on December 15, 1930). .... Wife of murder victim Leno LaBianca. She and Leno married in 1968. .... Rosemary was the owner of her own successful business, a shop known as "Boutique Carriage". When she died, her net worth was 2.6-million dollars. ....

Mrs. LaBianca was stabbed with a knife a total of 41 separate times. Both of the LaBiancas were found with pillowcases over their heads and lamp cords tied around their necks. After slaughtering the two helpless LaBianca victims, the three murderers (Watson, Van Houten, and Krenwinkel) decided they'd take a shower and grab a bite to eat from the LaBianca's refrigerator before departing the scene of the crime. (Unbelievable, isn't it? But true just the same.)

Thank you, Mr. Bugliosi, for convincing the jury to render that "Guilty" verdict against Charles Manson and his "family" of savages in 1971.

You can read every word of Vince Bugliosi's lengthy and powerfully-delivered "Final Summation" (Closing Arguments) that he gave during the last day of the Manson murder trial on January 15th, 1971, via the following weblink:

www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/manson/mansonsummation.html

--------------

For a good overview of the bizarre, yet compelling, Charles Manson murder case, this History Channel DVD more than adequately fills the bill.

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