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Charles Manson (born November 11, 1934) convicted of conspiracy to commit the murder of Sharon Tate and four friends.
He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. When he was 13 his mother put him in a foster home, and unable to find one he ended up at a boys school. He ran away within a year back to his mother, who still wanted nothing to do with him. As a result he began living on the streets, supporting himself by stealing. In 1951, after a string of arrests and escapes Manson was sent to prison for driving a stolen car across state lines. By the end of 1952 he had eight assault charges against him. He was transferred to another facility where he became a model inmate, and was released in 1954. He was arrested again for driving stolen cars across state lines, this time receiving probation. This was revoked in 1956 when he missed a court date and he was back in prison until his parole in 1958. In 1959 he was arrested again for passing stolen cheques, once again he was given probation which was revoken nine months later when he was arrested for pimping. He was released in 1967.
After spending most of his adult life in prison, Manson moved to the San Francisco area in California and gathered a group of followers, which he referred to as "the family." Inspired by the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" -- a song actually about an amusement park ride -- he became convinced of an impending race war and nuclear attack.
On August 9, 1969 four Family members, Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and Linda Kasabian, entered the house on Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills, California and killed Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of Roman Polanski, along with four friends - Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski and Steven Parent. The next day they would kill Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, a wealthy Los Angeles couple.
Manson released an album titled Lie on March 6, 1970 to help finance his defense.
Manson himself wasn't present for the killings, but he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder on January 25, 1971 and on March 29 was sentenced to the death penalty. This sentence was later changed to life in prison after the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty system in California and many other states. Manson remains imprisoned to this day.
On September 5, 1975, another member of his "family", Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate US President Gerald R. Ford.