Hunting Charles Manson: The Quest for Justice in the Days of Helter Skelter

313 Pages·2018·2.17 MB·English

by  Lis Wiehl

PRAISE FOR HUNTING CHARLES MANSON
“Hunting Charles Manson is the best true crime book you will ever read. No one
could tell this story better—from its very beginnings to the riveting end—than
Lis Wiehl: former prosecutor, legal commentator, and bestselling crime novelist.
Fact is so much stranger than fiction, and Manson’s dark and deadly life is proof
of that. Lock your doors, keep the night lights on, and read this book.”
—LINDA FAIRSTEIN, New York Times bestselling
crime novelist and former prosecutor
“Lis Wiehl is a pro who does her homework and knows what she’s talking
about. She’s a storyteller extraordinaire and this one, though nonfiction, reads
like a thriller. She gives voice and life to a troubling aspect of our history, one
that is definitely worth remembering.”
—STEVE BERRY, New York Times bestselling author
“You think you know everything about an infamous criminal case until brilliant
writers and researchers like Lis Wiehl and Caitlin Rother come along to expose
new layers and new insights. This is a must-read for true crime fans—and those
who think they know everything about the Manson case.”
—GREGG OLSEN, #1 New York Times bestselling
author
“Lis Wiehl’s real-life page-turner is jam-packed with new, fascinating,
thoroughly researched, and relevant-today details about the making of a monster,
the evolution of his dangerous charisma, and how he was finally brought to
justice.”
—KATE WHITE, New York Times bestselling author

© 2018 Lis Wiehl
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief
quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas
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Epub Edition May 2018 9780718092115
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wiehl, Lis W., author.
Title: Hunting Charles Manson : the quest for justice in the days of Helter skelter
/ Lis Wiehl.
Description: Nashville, Tennessee : Nelson Books, [2018]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017059418 | ISBN 9780718092085
Subjects: LCSH: Manson, Charles, 1934-2017. | Murderers--California--Los
Angeles--Case studies. | Mass murder investigation--California--Los Angeles-
-Case studies. | Murder--California--Los Angeles--Case studies.
Classification: LCC HV6248.M2797 W54 2018 | DDC 364.152/30979493--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059418
Printed in the United States of America
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To the victims of the Manson Family.
May they rest in peace.
CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Prologue
CHAPTER 1: Charlie the Guru
CHAPTER 2: Indoctrination at Spahn Ranch
CHAPTER 3: The Gary Hinman Murder
CHAPTER 4: Lotsapoppa
CHAPTER 5: “Political Piggy”
CHAPTER 6: “Do whatever Tex says.”
CHAPTER 7: The Sole Survivor
CHAPTER 8: The Bloody Aftermath
CHAPTER 9: “How could anybody be so cruel?”
CHAPTER 10: “Call the police!”
CHAPTER 11: Drug Burn or Robbery Gone Wrong?
CHAPTER 12: Raid at Spahn Ranch
CHAPTER 13: “I felt I could conquer the world.”
CHAPTER 14: Doing Hard Time
CHAPTER 15: The First Family Members
CHAPTER 16: “Dennis Wilson: I Live With 17 Girls”
CHAPTER 17: Searching for a New Home
CHAPTER 18: “Somebody dropped the ball.”
CHAPTER 19: Looking for Terry Melcher
CHAPTER 20: The Murder of Shorty Shea
CHAPTER 21: Hiding Out in Death Valley
CHAPTER 22: Connecting the Dots
CHAPTER 23: The Dominoes Begin to Fall
CHAPTER 24: Forced to Cooperate
CHAPTER 25: The First Death Sentence
CHAPTER 26: “Mockery of justice”
CHAPTER 27: The Trial of the Century
CHAPTER 28: Ronald Hughes Disappears
CHAPTER 29: Folie à deux
CHAPTER 30: Death Penalty Overturned
CHAPTER 31: Manson Comes up for Parole
CHAPTER 32: Alternative Scenarios
CHAPTER 33: The Fight Against Parole
CHAPTER 34: Jason Freeman: “Charles Manson III”
CHAPTER 35: Manson’s Legacy
CHAPTER 36: “I’m dying.”
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Sources and Methodology
Cast of Characters
Index
About the Author
Photos
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I
n taking on the quest for justice in the tragedy that was the summer of 1969, I
thought about what made Charlie Manson do what he did.
Those killings changed American culture. People who didn’t have home
alarms quickly bought as fancy a system as they could afford. Mothers began
walking their children to school. And parents and children alike had trouble
falling asleep at night. Charlie Manson and his “children” robbed America of its
innocence.
Nearly fifty years later, Charles “Tex” Watson, the man who carried out
Manson’s murderous plans, was asked by a parole board commissioner, “What
made a God-fearing, churchgoing young man from Texas move to California
and commit the worst killings this state has ever seen?” The commissioner’s
question was asked in a thunderous tone. He was met with silence from the
prisoner and straight-on stares from family members of the victims. I could
understand the silence. What answer could there be?
As the only reporter allowed in that parole hearing in California, I brought
into the room fifteen years of national television crime reporting and, as a former
federal prosecutor, hundreds of federal prosecutions. I am proud to be a third-
generation federal prosecutor, after my father and grandfather before me. That
same grandfather was also a judge, and my father had also served as an FBI
agent. I have had a lifetime of law enforcement exposure and experience, and yet
I was as bewildered as the parole commissioner by the crimes.
This mystery is part of the reason behind this reexamination of arguably the
most notorious crime in American history. How could it have happened? I also
wanted to explore the process by which justice was done. The Christian
tradition, of which I am a part, has justice at its center, a consequence of the
belief that God will ultimately put all things right. We should take seriously the
process by which our governments work to see justice accomplished, and this
book—as well as subsequent books in this series—attempts to do just that.
As a result of my legal experience, I knew when embarking on this quest
what law enforcement agents on the scene in 1969 would have or should have
been looking for, which made my discoveries of what they actually did all the
more shocking. I knew what the lead prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, was
attempting to do with his various motions and strategies, and how successful he
was or was not. (Long after the Manson case, I got to know Bugliosi when he
asked for assistance in writing a book about the Supreme Court.) And my
television crime reporting experience was invaluable as I researched, wrote, and
analyzed the defense’s case and the various alternative theories about the crime.
Investigative journalist and true crime author Caitlin Rother brought thirty
years of research and storytelling experience, as well as a breadth of knowledge
about the criminal justice system, addiction, and mental illness. We agreed to
approach the “known” sources—including the criminal case files—with fresh
eyes. But we also set out with the goal of uncovering new details that would
enhance readers’ overall understanding of the case. I believe the book does just
that, offering new and illuminating material that will not only surprise but
possibly even astonish the reader.
In the end, I’m not sure we will ever be able to answer definitively the
question of why. But I do believe these pages bring us closer than ever before.
Read on.