Charles Manson, mastermind of 1969 murders, dies at 83
LOS ANGELES - Charles Manson, who masterminded a string of bizarre murders in Los Angeles in 1969 that both horrified and fascinated the nation and signified to many the symbolic end of the 1960s and the idealism and naivete the decade represented, has died. He was 83.
Considered one of the most infamous criminals of the 20th century, Manson died at a Kern County Hospital at 8:13 p.m. Sunday of natural causes, according to Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Manson did not commit the murders himself; instead he persuaded a group of his followers to carry out the killings. The crimes received frenzied news coverage, because so many lurid and sensational elements coalesced at the time - Hollywood celebrity, cult behavior, group sex, drugs and savage murders that concluded with the killers scrawling words with their victims' blood.
Los Angeles residents were terrified by the crimes. Before the killers were apprehended, gun sales and guard dog purchases skyrocketed and locksmiths had weeks-long waiting lists. Numerous off-duty police officers were hired to guard homes in affluent neighborhoods and security firms tripled in size.
Manson was an unlikely figure to evolve into the personification of evil. A few inches over 5 feet, he was a petty criminal and small-time hustler. And his followers - dubbed the Manson family - bore little resemblance to the stereotypical image of hardened killers. Most of them were young men and women in their early 20s, middle-class white kids, hippies and runaways who fell under the charismatic sway of Manson.
Manson and four of
