The Mysterious Death of the Manson Family Lawyer
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What happened on the morning of March 27th, 1971?
Due to the nature of today's story, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. On the morning of March 27th, 1971, Donald Chessman and John Wells headed out into the wilderness north of Los Angeles. The two friends planned to spend the weekend far off the grid at Cespi Hot Springs, where they could fish and enjoy an escape from city life. They set up camp near a creek eight miles into the wilderness. Chessman and Wells cast their reels and allowed the sounds of nature to wash their worries away. It was exactly the kind of relaxing trip the two men wanted, at least until Chessman noticed something in the water. They saw a strange lump jutting out from between two boulders on the other side of the stream. The men were too far away to get a good look, so they decided to investigate. They pressed through the rushing water and finally recognized what they were seeing. A dead body.
Who was Ronald Hughes and why is he significant?
They'd found an attorney named Ronald Hughes. Before his disappearance, Hughes was defending a member of the Manson family in her highly publicized trial. But he'd never know the result because he might have just become Manson's latest victim. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy. New episodes come out every Wednesday. You can listen to the audio everywhere and watch the video only on Spotify. And be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. Stay with us. A few minutes past midnight on August 9th, 1969, a dilapidated Ford Galaxy came to a stop outside actress Sharon Tate's house on Cielo Drive in Los Angeles.
What were the events of the Manson Family murders?
Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel, and Charles Tex Watson sat inside the car. They were all members of the Manson family cult, and that night, they had a job to do. Tex was the first out of the car. He cut the phone lines to the house. Then he led the group over Sharon Tate's fence and up the dark driveway. Suddenly, they were blinded by a pair of headlights. Tex ordered the three women to hide in the bushes as he approached the car. Inside was an 18-year-old named Steve Parent. Tex pointed a gun through the window and ordered Steve out of the car. Then he shot and killed the young man. Next, the family members made their way inside the house. They dragged all four people inside into the living room and bound them together.
The victims who struggled or protested were shot and killed on the spot. The ones who kept quiet only delayed the inevitable. By the end of the night, everyone who had been sharing an evening at 10,050 Cielo Drive was dead, including Tate and her unborn child. As the cult members scrambled to leave the murder scene, Susan Atkins dipped her finger in Tate's blood and wrote the word pig on the front door. The following night, the family struck again. This time, they brought three more assailants with them, including Charles Manson himself. They didn't have a target in mind, but after driving around the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, they settled on a home belonging to Lino and Rosemary LaBianca. Members of the family broke into the home and tied up the LaBiancas. They robbed the home, then stabbed the couple to death. One of them used a knife to carve the word war onto Lino's stomach.
Another cult member wrote rise, death to pigs, and helter-skelter on the refrigerator and living room walls using Lino's blood. Finally, two of them took turns stabbing Rosemary with a kitchen knife and bayonet. Over the course of two nights, the Manson family's terrifying rampage put an end to the idealistic peace and love movement. Charlie and his group of followers may have looked like one of many hippie communes springing up in the late 1960s, but they were actually a brutal and sadistic cult. Manson had convinced his followers that he was the second coming of Christ. But the sermons he preached were a far cry from anything one might find in the Bible. He was fixated on the notion of an impending race war that would bring about the apocalypse. Manson called it Helter Skelter after the Beatles song on the White Album. Both the Tate and LaBianca murders were Manson's attempts at jump-starting Helter Skelter.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What happened on the morning of March 27th, 1971?
0:01–1:06
2
Who was Ronald Hughes and why is he significant?
1:06–2:05
3
What were the events of the Manson Family murders?
2:05–9:51
4
How did Charles Manson manipulate his followers?
9:51–12:04
5
What led to the investigation of the Manson Family?
12:04–17:04
6
Who was Susan Atkins and what did she reveal?
17:04–26:02
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Conspiracy Theories
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