We’ve all heard about the infamous 1960’s cult leader Charles Manson, and the fact that he recently died in prison at age 83. But all that most people know is that he influenced a series of murders and that he did a lot of drugs with his “family,” comprised of random hippie girls he picked up off the streets and brainwashed. Here are eight facts about Charles Manson and his family that you probably weren’t aware of.
1. Manson was married twice before becoming a cult leader and had two sons- both named Charles. He fathered another son once becoming a cult leader, and it is suspected that he has fathered over 10 other children as well, although none have been proven to be his.
2. The house chosen for the site of the first murders was picked because Terry Melcher used to live there. Melcher was a record producer who denied Manson a recording deal, so he was bitter. It is thought that Manson was aware that Melcher had since moved when the murders occurred, since the victims were the new tenants.
3. The Manson Family lived in Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson’s house and stole his things for drug money, after Wilson picked up two female members (one was pregnant) of the Manson Clan while hitchhiking.
4. One of the Manson Family’s victims was Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folger’s Coffee Company. Another was Sharon Tate, a 1960s actress with the face of an angel, shown below.
5. Mason was only 5 foot and two inches tall.
6. Although he ordered all of the murders, Manson himself did not participate in any.
7. Manson and three of his followers were sentenced to death in 1971 for the murders. But in 1972, the state of California ruled that the death penalty be abolished and their sentences were switched to life in prison.
8. In 2015, Manson’s then 28-year-old fiancee, Star, confessed that she was only planning to marry Manson to be able to put his body on display after his death.
All the remaining members of the Manson Family who participated in the murders are still in jail and only one has become eligible for a chance of parole.