Charles Manson attracted a group of disaffected young people looking for a way of life different
from their parents, with most of them being young women. Why did they buy into his madness?
Here's a look at Charles Manson's girlfriends.
By the time Manson met 23-year-old librarian Mary Brunner, he already had a long history
of manipulating women. After his first marriage ended in divorce while he was in prison, Manson
became a pimp and married one of his sex workers to prevent her from testifying against her.
That marriage ended in divorce as well, again while he was in prison.
Finally, in 1967, having spent more than half his life in prison, Manson was released and
immediately used his charm to enthrall Brunner. In Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter: The
True Story of the Manson Murders, the late Los Angeles district attorney said that Manson
associate Danny DeCarlo told him,
"She was out walking her dog. High button blouse. Nose stuck up in the air, walking
her little poodle. And Charlie's fresh out of the joint and along he comes talking his
bulls---."
Brunner soon quit her job and began following Manson as he recruited more women into his
"Family." Implicated in the Family's murder of music teacher Gary Hinman in 1969, Brunner
was given immunity from prosecution for her testimony. In 1971, Brunner was arrested along
with other members of the Family for the armed robbery of a Western Surplus Store in Hawthorne,
Calif., that ended in a shoot-out with police. Sentenced to 20 years to life, Brunner was
paroled in 1977 and disappeared from the public eye.
The most notorious of Charles Manson's women, Susan Atkins directly participated in several
of the Manson family murders, including that of Sharon Tate and her unborn child. According
to Atkins herself, it was the culmination of a downward spiral that began in her childhood.
She told 60 Minutes Australia,
"I'm the child of two alcoholic parents. I'm a victim of incest. My mother died when I
was 14."
A runaway at 18, Atkins turned to crime and spent three months in prison for her participation
in an armed robbery before meeting Manson. Sentenced to death for the Tate murders, Atkins
instead served a life sentence when California abolished the death penalty in 1972.
Atkins became a born again Christian; denied a compassionate release, she died of brain
cancer at the California Central Women's Facility at Chowchilla in 2009.
Leslie Van Houten was raised in a conservative, middle-class family in Southern California.
According to Ed Sanders, author of The Family, Van Houten was another typical girl-next-door,
a popular and outgoing teen who was even elected homecoming princess by her high school class.
Yet, all was not well in the Van Houten home. According to court records, her parents divorced
when she was 14. Around the same time, she started experimenting with psychedelic drugs,
such as mescaline and LSD.
After graduating high school, Van Houten attended Sawyer College and earned a legal secretary
certificate. However, she grew dissatisfied with the prospects of a typical, suburban
existence. Seeking spiritual enlightenment, she dropped out, took up yoga, and became
involved with the Self Realization Fellowship. Her quest would eventually lead her to Charles
Manson. She told Diane Sawyer
"(I heard) that he was like Christ and he had the answers. [...] I felt that I had met
someone that by being around him, would have a positive change."
As of 2021, Van Houten is still in prison for her active participation in the Manson
Family murders, and though she has disavowed Manson, she has so far been denied parole
23 times.
Patricia Krenwinkel actively participated in both the Tate and LaBianca killings. Known
to her cohorts in the Manson Family as "Katie," Krenwinkel grew up an overweight, insecure
teen in Los Angeles. Suffering from an endocrine condition that caused her to have an overabundance
of body hair, Krenwinkel was often subjected to bullying by her peers. Haunted by low self-esteem,
Krenwinkel withdrew into herself and turned to religion for solace.
After high school and following her parents' divorce, Krenwinkel moved to Alabama with
her mother where she taught catechism and considered becoming a nun. After a single
semester at a Jesuit college, Krenwinkel dropped out and returned to California. She met Manson
in September 1967.
Preying on Krenwinkel's insecurities, Manson seemed to offer her the acceptance and love
she desperately craved. In a 1993 interview, Krenwinkel recalled meeting Manson to Diane
Sawyer.
"That night, we slept together, and I felt really loved by him. [...] He said, 'Oh, You're
beautiful.' I couldn't believe that. I just started crying. [...] He would look at you
and smile and somehow I felt like, 'Oh, I'm a part of this.'"
Krenwinkel, who stabbed coffee heiress Abigail Folger to death, has been repeatedly denied
parole over the 50 years since her imprisonment.
"I guess when I start thinking of myself mostly the word that comes to mind is what a coward
I found myself to be."
Twenty-year-old Linda Kasabian had been at the Manson Family's enclave at the Spahn movie
ranch for just over a month when Charles Manson ordered her to drive Tex Watson, Susan Atkins,
and Patricia Krenwinkel to 10050 Cielo Drive on the night of August 8, 1969.
Manson's choice of Kasabian was purely utilitarian — she was the only member of the Family
with a valid driver's license, and a traffic violation was a legal hassle they couldn't
afford. She would again take the wheel to ferry Manson and group to the LaBiancas' home
the following night.
Linda witnessed two of the murders at Cielo Drive and likely prevented the death of actor
Saladin Nader the night the LaBiancas were murdered by intentionally directing Manson
to the wrong address. Kasabian testified against Manson in exchange for immunity from prosecution
and was instrumental in convicting the cult leader. According to a 2009 interview with
CNN's Larry King, Linda Kasabian now lives under an assumed identity.
At 28, Catherine Share was the oldest female member of the Family and Charles Manson's
primary recruiter. According to former Los Angeles District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi,
author of Helter Skelter, Share was an ardent Manson devotee and a skilled liar who improbably
attempted to implicate Linda Kasabian as the mastermind of the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Share, who has spoken publicly and often about her role in the Manson Family, also had the
most unusual background of any of Manson's women. Born in Paris, France, in 1942, her
father was a Hungarian violinist and her mother was a German-Jewish refugee. At the height
of World War II, Share's parents, both active members of the French underground, committed
suicide. Share was placed in an orphanage and adopted by an American couple at age 8.
A talented musician, Share was a virtuoso violinist from childhood and possessed a powerful
singing voice. In 1965, she recorded a single titled "Ain't it, Babe?" for Autumn Records
under the stage name Charity Shayne. Share also found work as an actress taking bit parts
in several movies. She met Manson follower Bobby Beausoleil on the set of "Ramrodder,"
a Western-themed softcore porn film shot in Topanga Canyon. Beausoleil introduced Share
to Manson, and she instantly fell for the charismatic ex-con's freewheeling philosophy.
Share was wounded three times in the Family's shootout with police following the attempted
armed robbery of a Western Surplus Store in Hawthorne, Calif. The robbery and ensuing
shootout landed Share in prison for three-and-a-half years.
Ruth Ann Moorehouse was just 16 years old when she ran off with Charles Manson. Ironically,
it was Moorehouse's own father, Dean Moorehouse, who introduced her to the cult leader. In
1967, Dean Moorehouse picked up Manson, Mary Brunner, and Lynette Fromme hitchhiking and
brought them to his home for a meal; Ruth Ann ended up running away with them.
Although Ruth Ann was not involved with the Tate-LaBianca murders, she bragged of her
knowledge of the crimes, stating that she knew of at least ten other killings.
In 1970, she lured former Family member Barbara Hoyt to Honolulu, Hawaii. In a bizarre attempt
to keep Hoyt from testifying against Manson, Moorehouse fed her a hamburger laced with
ten tabs of LSD. Hoyt recovered after a brief hospitalization and eventually took the stand
against Manson; Moorehouse was initially charged with attempted murder, but never did any time,
and reportedly now lives anonymously with her husband somewhere in the Midwest.
Only 14 when she met Charles Manson, Dianne Lake was the youngest member of the Family.
Lake's parents were early adherents of the counterculture who had dropped out of traditional
society for a bohemian existence on hippie icon Wavy Gravy's Hog Farm commune.
Lake left that home to join the Manson Cult, which turned out to be a nightmare. Dubbed
"Snake" by Manson, suffered beatings and sexual assault at the hands of Manson and other members
of the Family. Lake's testimony would prove pivotal in putting Manson behind bars.
Following a stay in a mental health facility, Lake was fostered by one of the detectives
on the case and returned to school. Settling into an anonymous, domestic life with her
husband and children, Lake has spent the ensuing decades putting Manson behind her.
But in 2017, she wrote a memoir of her experiences in the cult titled Member of the Family. For
Lake, writing about her time in the Family was integral to her healing process. She told
Newsweek,
"People who have been victimized as children can carry that shame around like an awful
weight as adults, and they don't have to. I also want my story to help parents with
teenagers. You have to keep lines of communication open no matter what."
A loyal follower of Charles Manson's to this very day, Sandra Good improbably maintains
that the late cult leader wasn't actually involved in the Tate-LaBianca murders. Best
remembered for brandishing a rifle and advocating violence in the 1973 documentary Manson, Good
is the most outspoken of Manson's remaining disciples. Taking on the name Blue as an adherent
of Manson's self-styled religious sect The Order of the Rainbow, Good has spent much
of her life as a militant defender of the environment. With fellow Family member Red,
aka Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, which, incidentally it really is pronounced FROW-mee, not FRAHM,
the two Good founded the International People's Court of Retribution, a proposed "terrorist
group" intent on killing the CEOs of companies that pollute the earth.
As reported by the Sacramento Bee, Good and her associate Susan Murphy were sentenced
to 15 years in prison for sending death threats to 170 people as part of her militant activism.
Released after serving ten years, the unrepentant Good continued to champion Manson and his
psychotic philosophies.
"Manson never killed anyone. It's just hard to explain. He's a very brilliant, wise being."
Like Sandra Good, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme remains loyal to Charles Manson's ideals.
The second of Manson's followers after Mary Brunner, Fromme did not take part in the Tate-LaBianca
slayings but became notorious in her own right when she attempted to assassinate President
Gerald Ford in 1975.
Fromme brandished a loaded .45 caliber automatic and pulled the trigger, but there was no round
in the chamber, so it didn't fire. Fromme was captured and served 34 years in prison
for the assassination attempt. While in jail, she maintained a written correspondence with
Manson before finally being paroled in 2009.
In a 2019 interview with ABC News, Fromme maintained her admiration for Manson, saying
"I feel very honored to have met him.And I know how that sounds to people who think he's
the epitome of evil. [...] Was I in love with Charlie? Yeah. Oh, Yeah! I still am. [...] I
don't think you fall out of love."
The last young woman to fall under Charles Manson's spell was Afton Burton. Renamed "Star"
by the imprisoned cult leader, Burton nearly married Manson in 2014. Burton, 26 at the
time of her engagement to the 80-year-old Manson, became infatuated with the notorious
criminal at age 17. Fascinated by Manson's militant pro-ecology philosophies, Burton
saved her earnings from working in a retirement home kitchen to move from Illinois to Corcoran,
California, to be closer to Manson, whom she would spend hours visiting in jail.
"Somehow I've got half a brain, um, that I can see that he is the one that knows what's
going on."
Although a marriage license was issued for the couple in November 2014, the relationship
ended when Manson was placed in solitary confinement. Some sources maintain that Manson declined
to marry Burton when he learned that she planned to profit from displaying his corpse. Either
way, they never married prior to his death in 2017.
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