# Sharon Tate/Manson murders. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512 "2019-08-31T04:27:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/21 "2019-09-02T02:56:20Z")
I work for a property restoration company and can confirm that even the decedent’s insurance policy will cover the cleanup work on occasion. I’ve known police departments to help _arrange_ for the cleaning, and the county coroner here will generally remove all significant bodily… “debris,” but they generally don’t do the cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/22 "2019-09-02T14:47:30Z")
Here is an image of part of the cleanup. [https://images.app.goo.gl/j6XRb7qHxtG284ox7](https://images.app.goo.gl/j6XRb7qHxtG284ox7) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/23 "2019-09-03T00:03:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I have no idea when it became a specialized business. I’m not sure why people would think that detectives would stop what they are doing and grab mops or that they take officers off the road for a specialized cleanup they aren’t trained for. Or that there is a clean up crew on stand by. It’s not the police department responsibility to clean up crime scenes on private property any more than it’s the responsibility of the fire department to clean up after a fire. On the other hand, (around here), the police are responsible for calling a (commercial) lockup crew if your windows/doors are broken in a crime, and a (commercial) tow truck if your vehicle is damaged. And they have been forced to provide (minimal) social-worker services to victims of crime, because, for some reason, people seem to expect the police to provide some kind of sympathy and empathy for victims of crime. They could easily become responsible for all kinds of other strange things. And oddly enough, the fire department here does do (minimal) cleanup in some cases. I’ve seen them sweeping the water out of buildings, and they pump out basements. I don’t know why, but there you are. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/24 "2019-09-03T13:39:57Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Really? I thought the police felt they were different perpetrators, or at worst a copy cat until after the arrests? Yes, but Tex supposedly was not in the mood to keep doing this, so made up that lie to Charlie so he’d get spooked and decide to hide out. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/25 "2019-09-03T13:42:01Z")
Watsons book, Will You Die for Me was an insiders view of the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/26 "2019-09-03T16:10:44Z")
The motive for the Tate-Labianca murders was to cover up the murder of Gary Hinman by Bobby Beausoleil. Manson was afraid that Beausoleil would implicate him and tried to stage copycat killings to exonerate Beausoleil. He also wanted to implicate the Black Panthers who he thought were coming after them because he shot a drug dealer who had ties to them during a botched robbery. The reason he picked the houses he did was that he knew the layout of both houses because he had been there previously and wanted publicity so that the police would think they had the wrong man in Beausoleil. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/27 "2020-03-30T14:48:12Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Distant memory: According to Bugliosi, the LAPD detectives that investigate the Tate murders were the least-effective, do-nothingest folks he could imagine. Weeks and months would go by and leads he asked the detectives to investigate would still be on the bottom of the to-do list. I recall that TV crews investigating of their own accord found a lot of evidence, including the murder scene clothing and the gun used. The LAPD believed there was no connection between the murders. Or between those two murders and the earlier murder of the grad student that Manson and Tex killed, writing ‘piggies’ or something on the fridge. > The LA Sherrif’s office, on the other hand, investigated the LaBianca murders and were much more on the ball. They believed there was a connection between all three murder scenes, and Bugliosi in frustration finally turned to those detectives to follow up any number of connections that the LAPD kept dropping. I remember being super angry at how useless the cops were. I don’t remember enough details to even partially encapsulate how many opportunities they passed up and how much evidence they overlooked. Just awful stuff. Forgive the bump…What basically handed the case to investigators was Susan Atkins (chick with long black hair in the movie) \*\*bragging \*\* about having done both murders while in county jail for an unrelated offense. Mostly to her cellmate, who was privately freaked, but kept cool until her release, upon which she told the warden, and the ball started rolling. If not for that, I wonder if it would still be an unsolved mystery. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/28 "2020-03-30T16:06:06Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Helter Skelter is a song about [riding a slide](https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/helter-skelter/), although Paul says he was also using it as a symbol for the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Frankly, I don’t see it and find that to be more than a bit of a stretch. > > Mostly, though, Paul was trying to make it loud and raucous enough to outdo The Who. If “Helter Skelter” is about anything, it’s using the slide ([English people call this a “helter-skelter”](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F500532946059530594%2F&psig=AOvVaw11xKIP9W1rOt6liIlaR7wq&ust=1585670680154000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNC3vd_JwugCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAM) - veterans of Roller Coaster Tycoon will know it as just a slide, which people won’t pay much money to use) as a metaphor for a love affair. Really, though, it’s not about anything in particular. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/29 "2020-03-30T17:16:51Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > chick Is that really necessary? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/30 "2020-03-30T17:45:20Z")
I’m curious as to how Manson was treated in prison by fellow inmates. Any sort of perv, child molester, child killer etc is more or less KOS (kill on Sight). Manson killed an unborn baby. Was he protected by the AB? Or in special solitary… or…? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/31 "2020-03-30T21:00:15Z")
He was crazy, and acted liked Hollywood crazy. That probably meant other prisoners stayed away from him. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/32 "2020-03-30T21:03:21Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I’m curious as to how Manson was treated in prison by fellow inmates. Any sort of perv, child molester, child killer etc is more or less KOS (kill on Sight). Manson killed an unborn baby. Was he protected by the AB? Or in special solitary… or…? He spent most of his life incarcerated. He knew how to survive behind bars. Manson didnt (as far as we know) actually kill anyone. He sent minions to do his killing. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/33 "2020-03-30T22:52:40Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Is that really necessary? In this case, I don’t see the harm. Even if “chick” is offensive in all contexts, in this context it’s one of the milder things Susan Atkins can be called. I wouldn’t call Marie Curie the chick who discovered radium. I wouldn’t call Kathryn Bigelow the chick who won Best Director 2009. But if I’m talking about someone who brutally murdered four people, one of them a pregnant woman, and then bragged about it, I’m not going to call her a lady. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/34 "2020-03-30T23:08:32Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > He spent most of his life incarcerated. He knew how to survive behind bars. Manson didnt (as far as we know) actually kill anyone. He sent minions to do his killing. I recall from the book _Mindhunter_ by John Douglas, who helped pioneer the FBI’s “profiling” department, that the author basically described Manson as someone who was very small as a child and developed a charismatic and manipulative personality to save himself from frequent ass-kickings while growing up. Perhaps this skillset is/was helpful for him in prison as well. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/35 "2020-03-30T23:20:30Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > I recall from the book _Mindhunter_ by John Douglas, who helped pioneer the FBI’s “profiling” department, that the author basically described Manson as someone who was very small as a child and developed a charismatic and manipulative personality to save himself from frequent ass-kickings while growing up. Perhaps this skillset is/was helpful for him in prison as well. Doh, is/was=was. Forgot that he died.:smack: Also, it appears that he was at least held in protective custody while incarcerated at California State Prison, Corcoran, from 1989 to 1997. [Charles Manson - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson#1980s%E2%80%931990s) ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/36 "2020-03-30T23:24:46Z")
I would assume he spent the majority of his time in protective custody he would get murdered in general population. Also not sure if most people know but he was not a physically intimidating guy at all, he was like 5’2". ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/37 "2020-03-31T14:21:24Z")
5’2" with a swastika carved in his forehead. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/38 "2020-03-31T20:25:13Z")
In his autobio, Roman Polanski addressed the matter of the many people who were supposedly supposed to be at the house that night. He said that nobody else was, though Jerzy Kosinski was the only name he named specifically as not having been expected. One of the books suggested as a motive for the LaBianca killings the fact that Manson was not there on the first night, and so felt he needed to lead them personally on another murder spree, lest his leadership of the gang be questioned. I don’t recall which book but the three I’ve read are _Helter Skelter_, _The Family_, and _My Life with Charles Manson_. If that seems like too many, I guess it might be but then I’ve never read a single book about Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/39 "2020-03-31T20:31:23Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Is that really necessary? No necessary but seems fitting for the era. I don’t have any problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/40 "2020-03-31T21:43:42Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > He spent most of his life incarcerated. He knew how to survive behind bars. Manson didnt (as far as we know) actually kill anyone. He sent minions to do his killing. He was the scene of the Labianca murders. He tried to kill a criminal nicknamed “Lotsapoppa” as well (he shot him a bunch of times, and ironically ran into him in jail later). I expect Manson was in a “special area” to protect him. From what I’ve read, when a convict enters a prison, nobody is told what they’re in for. Even the guards might not know details. Pedophiles and the like don’t get stabbed on day one because they don’t look different than anyone else and their faces aren’t always publicized. However, a famous criminal gets protection because the other convicts know what they did, and might take lethal offense to that crime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512.md?page=3)