Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Last year I read Member of the Family by Dianne Lake. Dianne tells her story about her life in the 60s, how she met Charles Manson, and her brave decision to testify against him. I've always had an interest in the Manson murders, as I'm sure a lot of people have, so I decided that Helter Skelter would be a good follow up novel since it tells the full story, not just the story from one person perspective. Parts are told from Bugliosi's perspective, but he does his best to speak in the third person unless necessary.

(First column: Sharon Tate, Steven Parent, Voytek Frykowski.
Second column: Jay Sebring, Leno LaBianca.
Third column: Abigail Folger, Rosemary LaBianca.
Source: Google Images)

What I liked the most is the Bugliosi tells you about the lives of the people who were murdered. Sharon Tate was a model and actress who was married to Roman Polanski; she was eight months pregnant at the time of the murder. She loved life and was excited to be a mother. It was her and Roman's house that the murders took place at. Roman was in Europe working on a movie he was directing. Jay Sebring was a hair stylist catering to celebrities. He and Sharon dated for a while, but when she began her relationship with Roman, he became a friend to the couple. He loved to party and have a good time. Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski were a couple, although rumor had it they were on the rocks. Abigail Folger was an heiress and driven in her passions of music and caring for society. Voytek Frykowski was an actor. Steven Parent was not part of the group; he was visiting someone who lived in the guest house. He was leaving as the murders were entering the property. He was the first victim. He was only 18 years old. Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered the second night. Their son, daughter, and her boyfriend found the bodies. As I read the first chapters that focus on the brutal murders, I found myself choking back tears.

 These weren't the only murders committed by members of the Manson family. There was Gary Hinmam who had money that he wouldn't give to Manson. There was also Donald "Shorty" Shae who was loosely related to the Family. Also Zero (true name: Joh Phillip Haught) who died while playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun. The one that made me the most upset was the murder of Ronald Hughes who was defending a member of the Family. It was his first case, and through Bugliosi's description of him, I got the impression that he was sweet and friendly. It was never confirmed that he was murdered, but he disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and when his body was found, his head and shoulder were wedged under a rock.

(Top: Gary Hinman, Donald "Shorty" Shae.
Bottom: John Phillip Haught "Zero," Ronald Hughes.
Source: Google Images)

Manson died last November at the age of 83. I am completely infuriated that he got to live such a long life, was permitted to marry even, and never showed any remorse for the lives he took. While he may not have physically killed the people, he orchestrated their murders. I am not a fan of the death penalty because then they get to die and never feel remorse and seek redemption. But Manson never did. And because of him, at least 10 people are dead and a baby never got the chance to live.

The others involved in the murders have realized the awful crime they committed. Susan Atkin, Tex Watson, and Patricia Krenwrinkel have all confessed and are born-again Christians. They acknowledge what they did and feel guilt. While they are still incarcerated, they are upstanding citizens. I do not believe they should be freed, because even they have worried about what they would turn to in the event they are freed.

Linda Kasabian, while at the murder scenes, did not participate in the murders. She felt extreme guilt for what had been committed, and if the Family did not have her daughter, she would have come forward sooner. But she was a key witness in the case and was given immunity for her testimonies. I find her and the other people who testified against the Family as being extremely brave. Obviously Manson how the power to get rid of people he found an inconvenience, even when he was behind bars. Some people did not testify for this reason. But the ones that did, I have a huge amount of respect for.

Part of the reason why I've waited to read this book is because I never wanted to feel like I was idolizing Manson, or promoting his cause of Helter Skelter. But Bugliosi calmed my fears of this.

"Why has this mass murder case-as opposed to every other, and there have been many-continued to intrigue and captivate millions of people the world over? To the point where five-year anniversaries of the murders, as with no other murder case in America except the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, are marked by articles, news reports, and television specials, not just in the United States, but internationally...

A view that's enjoyed some currency is that the murders represent a watershed moment in the evolving social structure of our society. This view holds that the Manson case was the 'end of innocence' in our country, and sounded the death knell for hippies and all they symbolically represent...

Others feel, less extravagantly, that the murders were emblematic of the counterculture flower gone to seed...

Or, some thought for a time after the murders, perhaps Manson and his disciples represented a ten- or twenty-year extrapolation of the direction in which the counterculture movement was going. And so forth.

All of these hypotheses seem to be devoid of supporting empirical evidence...

Although all of these elements have undoubtedly contributed to the durability of the case, I believe the main reason for the continuing fascination with it at such a late date is that the Manson murder case is almost assuredly the most bizarre mass murder case in the recorded annals of crime. And for whatever reason, people are magnetically fascinated by things that are strange and bizarre. If these murders had never happened, and someone wrote a novel with the same set of facts and circumstances, most people would put it down after a few pages; because as I understand it, to be good fiction it has to be somewhat believable, and this story is just too far out.

There is another compelling reason for the continuing fascination with the case. The very name 'Manson' has become a metaphor for evil, catapulting him to near mythological proportions. Charles Manson has come to represent the dark and malignant side of humanity; and again, there is a side to human nature that is fascinated by pure, unalloyed evil." (pp. 491-494)

While all of this may be true, I still do not want Manson to have any power. I do not want his version of "Helter Skelter" to have any power. I do not want any of his ideologies to have any power. So instead, I choose to focus on the lives he took, both known and unknown, and the people who helped put this barbaric man behind bars for good.

Rating: 10/10

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, History

Author: Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry