Pictures of the manson family today

As the leader of a messianic cult situated in a desert commune in California, Charles Manson prophesied that a race war was on the horizon and that he and his followers would have to be armed and ready.

Moreover, he believed it was his duty to usher in the war by ordering his Manson family followers to go on a killing spree.

On August 8, 1969, the Manson family, on orders from their leader, murdered pregnant actor Sharon Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski, and four others—Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steven Parent—at 10050 Cielo Drive.

A day later, they killed wealthy grocery store owners Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

Although the majority of the Manson Family members who took part in the massacres were condemned to death after being tried and convicted, the state of California banned the death penalty in 1972 and commuted their sentences to life imprisonment.

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