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Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Charles Manson's cult killings fueled by 'perfect storm' as theories get new analysis: criminal profiler
The mystery of Charles Manson's motive in notorious cult killings is getting a fresh look as an FBI criminal profiler reveals a "perfect storm" of factors came together for the infamous murders. Countless theories about how Manson managed to convince a group of young adults to kill for him have been dissected, but director Errol Morris is offering a new perspective into the mind of the notorious cult leader in his Netflix documentary "CHAOS: The Manson Murders." Based on the 2019 book "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties," authored by Tom O'Neill and Dan Piepenbring, the documentary delves into the theory Manson may have been influenced by an external force when directing his followers. New Charles Manson Murder Admissions Could Point To Even Darker Pattern For Psychopath: Experts "I've found myself trapped in a number of different true-crime stories, and the Manson murders are peculiar," Morris told Netflix's Tudum. "You could encapsulate the mystery in just one question: How is it that Manson managed to convince the people around him that killing was OK?" Netflix and Morris did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Read On The Fox News App Morris explores the widely circulated theory suggesting Manson may have been operating under the influence of the CIA's controversial MK-ULTRA program, leaning into the cultural interest surrounding mind control, a widespread fascination throughout the 1950s and 1960s. However, experts have expressed skepticism about the idea that Manson was acting under government control. Hippie Cult Leader Charles Manson Dead At 83 "[Manson] was influenced by what he wanted to do," former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole told Fox News Digital. "He was influenced by the fact that he wanted to become a very well-known musician at the time, which is why he made friends with the influential people that he did. But was there this outside force that compelled him to do that? I don't believe that there was. There was still his personality that was distinct to him [and] was not created by an outside force." The CIA has also discredited the theory, first explored by O'Neill, in recent years. "The author cannot definitively tie Manson to MK-ULTRA or CHAOS; he can only imply it on circumstantial evidence," the CIA said in a review of O'Neill's book. O'Neill did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Danny Trejo Recalls Meeting Charles Manson Behind Bars In New Memoir: He Was A 'Slick Little Wimp' In 1969, the Manson family carried out the brutal murders of seven people under his watchful eye. Pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steven Parent, Abigail Folger and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were massacred by the family in a string of killings. SIGN UP TO GET True Crime Newsletter The group carried out five of its murders inside Tate's home Aug. 9, 1969. One day later, the final victims of the Manson family, the LaBiancas, were fatally stabbed inside their home. Cult Leader Charles Manson Confessed To Additional Murders In Newly Revealed Phone Call "[Manson] met up with a lot of his later-to-be followers in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, which, at that time in the '60s, was known for being a gathering place for people in very formative years," O'Toole told Fox News Digital. "There was the use of drugs and alcohol, and people came together without a lot of external oversight by a parent or a caregiver, so they were very vulnerable at that point. [Then], here comes Charlie Manson, with his personality and his ability to get people — especially young people — to follow him, and that's what I'm talking about in regard to the perfect storm." After the killings, Manson and his "family" moved to Spahn Ranch, located approximately 30 miles north of Los Angeles, where he subjected his followers to outlandish lectures while providing them with drugs and overseeing orgies. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X Authorities arrested Manson three months later as details of the killings rattled Los Angeles and investigators delved into theories about the murders. During the trial, prosecutors argued Manson was using his status with his all-white followers in an attempt to ignite a race war, citing his supposed misinterpretation of the Beatles' 1968 song, "Helter Skelter." Manson never actually carried out the murders himself, relying entirely on his followers to kill for him. Manson Family Members Speak Out 50 Years Later In Shocking Doc, Recall Meeting Cult Leader: 'I Felt Accepted' "[Manson] really was someone that knew right from wrong," O'Toole said. "He knew the repercussions and the end results of his actions. He took no responsibility for his actions or the actions of his group, and he was very deliberate in his thinking." In 1971, Manson and three followers — Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel — were convicted for their roles in the murders and subsequently sentenced to death. A fourth "family" member, Charles "Tex" Watson, was convicted several months later. The four defendants were resentenced to life in prison after a 1972 ruling from the California Supreme Court abolishing the state's death penalty. California Legal Battle Over Charles Manson's Estate Worth Up To $1M Includes Dna Tests, Signature Comparisons Manson was 83 years old when he died of natural causes Nov. 19, 2017. In 2023, Van Houten walked free after serving more than 50 years in a California prison for the killings of the LaBiancas, making her the only member of the Manson family to be released from prison. While Manson never actually carried out the murders he was imprisoned for, Peacock's 2024 "Making Manson" documentary revealed he may have committed more killings himself. Sharon Tate's Sister Says There Are Unsolved Manson Murders, New Doc Investigates In a teaser clip, Manson can be heard confessing to additional crimes while on a jailhouse phone call. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub "There's a whole part of my life that nobody knows about," Manson can be heard saying. "I lived in Mexico for a while. I went to Acapulco, stole some cars." Manson goes on to reveal more details about the supposed murders. "I just got involved in some stuff over my head, man," he added. "Got involved in a couple of killings. I left my .357 Magnum in Mexico City, and I left some dead people on the beach." "I would never draw the line and say Charlie Manson could manipulate people to do his bidding, but he himself would never do it," O'Toole said. "I would never draw that line. You can't simply say that because Charlie hurting other people was part of his repertoire. So, whether he had somebody else do it or he did it himself is certainly something that has to be explored." Fox News Digital's Ashley Papa and Greg Wehner contributed to this report. Original article source: Charles Manson's cult killings fueled by 'perfect storm' as theories get new analysis: criminal profiler
Fox News
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Charles Manson's cult killings fueled by 'perfect storm' as theories get new analysis: criminal profiler
The mystery of Charles Manson's motive in notorious cult killings is getting a fresh look as an FBI criminal profiler reveals a "perfect storm" of factors came together for the infamous murders. Countless theories about how Manson managed to convince a group of young adults to kill for him have been dissected, but director Errol Morris is offering a new perspective into the mind of the notorious cult leader in his Netflix documentary "CHAOS: The Manson Murders." Based on the 2019 book "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties," authored by Tom O'Neill and Dan Piepenbring, the documentary delves into the theory Manson may have been influenced by an external force when directing his followers. "I've found myself trapped in a number of different true-crime stories, and the Manson murders are peculiar," Morris told Netflix's Tudum. "You could encapsulate the mystery in just one question: How is it that Manson managed to convince the people around him that killing was OK?" Netflix and Morris did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Morris explores the widely circulated theory suggesting Manson may have been operating under the influence of the CIA's controversial MK-ULTRA program, leaning into the cultural interest surrounding mind control, a widespread fascination throughout the 1950s and 1960s. However, experts have expressed skepticism about the idea that Manson was acting under government control. "[Manson] was influenced by what he wanted to do," former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole told Fox News Digital. "He was influenced by the fact that he wanted to become a very well-known musician at the time, which is why he made friends with the influential people that he did. But was there this outside force that compelled him to do that? I don't believe that there was. There was still his personality that was distinct to him [and] was not created by an outside force." The CIA has also discredited the theory, first explored by O'Neill, in recent years. "The author cannot definitively tie Manson to MK-ULTRA or CHAOS; he can only imply it on circumstantial evidence," the CIA said in a review of O'Neill's book. O'Neill did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. In 1969, the Manson family carried out the brutal murders of seven people under his watchful eye. Pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steven Parent, Abigail Folger and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were massacred by the family in a string of killings. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER The group carried out five of its murders inside Tate's home Aug. 9, 1969. One day later, the final victims of the Manson family, the LaBiancas, were fatally stabbed inside their home. "[Manson] met up with a lot of his later-to-be followers in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, which, at that time in the '60s, was known for being a gathering place for people in very formative years," O'Toole told Fox News Digital. "There was the use of drugs and alcohol, and people came together without a lot of external oversight by a parent or a caregiver, so they were very vulnerable at that point. [Then], here comes Charlie Manson, with his personality and his ability to get people — especially young people — to follow him, and that's what I'm talking about in regard to the perfect storm." After the killings, Manson and his "family" moved to Spahn Ranch, located approximately 30 miles north of Los Angeles, where he subjected his followers to outlandish lectures while providing them with drugs and overseeing orgies. Authorities arrested Manson three months later as details of the killings rattled Los Angeles and investigators delved into theories about the murders. During the trial, prosecutors argued Manson was using his status with his all-white followers in an attempt to ignite a race war, citing his supposed misinterpretation of the Beatles' 1968 song, "Helter Skelter." Manson never actually carried out the murders himself, relying entirely on his followers to kill for him. "[Manson] really was someone that knew right from wrong," O'Toole said. "He knew the repercussions and the end results of his actions. He took no responsibility for his actions or the actions of his group, and he was very deliberate in his thinking." In 1971, Manson and three followers — Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel — were convicted for their roles in the murders and subsequently sentenced to death. A fourth "family" member, Charles "Tex" Watson, was convicted several months later. The four defendants were resentenced to life in prison after a 1972 ruling from the California Supreme Court abolishing the state's death penalty. Manson was 83 years old when he died of natural causes Nov. 19, 2017. In 2023, Van Houten walked free after serving more than 50 years in a California prison for the killings of the LaBiancas, making her the only member of the Manson family to be released from prison. While Manson never actually carried out the murders he was imprisoned for, Peacock's 2024 "Making Manson" documentary revealed he may have committed more killings himself. In a teaser clip, Manson can be heard confessing to additional crimes while on a jailhouse phone call. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "There's a whole part of my life that nobody knows about," Manson can be heard saying. "I lived in Mexico for a while. I went to Acapulco, stole some cars." Manson goes on to reveal more details about the supposed murders. "I just got involved in some stuff over my head, man," he added. "Got involved in a couple of killings. I left my .357 Magnum in Mexico City, and I left some dead people on the beach." "I would never draw the line and say Charlie Manson could manipulate people to do his bidding, but he himself would never do it," O'Toole said. "I would never draw that line. You can't simply say that because Charlie hurting other people was part of his repertoire. So, whether he had somebody else do it or he did it himself is certainly something that has to be explored."
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'CHAOS: The Manson Murders' Examines Attempts to Explain the Mystery Around Charlie Manson
Few have met Charles Manson face-to-face. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris is among those rare first learned about the Manson murders when the press covered the story, like most Americans. "It's a story that everybody knows about in one way or another," said Morris. "To say that [the murders] were well known and well covered is an understatement."He described being on a trip to Vacaville in the 70s to visit another inmate and serial killer, Ed Kemper. After the interview, the guard asked him if he was interested in meeting Manson. "And I said sure," Morris he explained he wasn't particularly interested in making a documentary about the subject at the time, it wasn't until his editor was having problems with a book. "The writer had taken an advance," said Morris. He was then asked to assist in finishing his editor with the book."This was my introduction to Tom O'Neill and the book, which eventually became ['CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties']," said Morris. "I first interviewed [O'Neill] some 10 years ago, and at that time, I really didn't want to help finish the book, but I was interested in turning it into a movie from the very beginning."In Morris' new film, "CHAOS: The Manson Murders," the iconic filmmaker doesn't aim to answer the questions that circulate around the Manson Murders, rather, the documentary aims to examine attempts to explain what Morris called "the Manson Phenomenon."The documentary covers the killing of Hollywood figures including Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant when murdered. It also delves into Manson's early life, his musical aspirations and feelings of betrayal, and the racial tensions that characterized the ' film juxtaposes the known "Summer of Love" mantra of the time and explores the dark undercurrents of its history, such as the relation between the CIA, LSD, and Manson himself. "There's a much deeper and darker mystery about human personality here — the how and why we do things," said Morris in a film immediately draws viewers in. Utilizing Morris' iconic interview style and music from Manson himself, reflecting the all the more eerie feelings that Morris explains that, like the Manson murders, there's always mystery revolving around true crime stories, and explains nothing is ever really "wrapped up with a bow.""There are not really so many mysteries about who Charlie killed, or who Charlie and the 'Family' killed," said Morris. "I think [the] central mystery is defined by [O'Neill] and I would agree with him. How is it that Charlie was able to convince others to participate in this madness and those answers are not so easily forthcoming." The film encapsulates every detail of Manson's life and organizes the events into chapters. In an effort to explore these answers, Morris details that a central difficulty is to try to make sense of everything."Trying to tell a story about it that somehow seems true [and] seems correct. It captures what happened," said Morris. "And there is a mystery, an ongoing mystery of Charlie Manson. Maybe it's not a mystery that can ever be completely solved, but I try to examine the nature of the mystery and attempts, the various attempts that have been made to provide solutions."When asked what sets this film apart from others about this topic, Morris shared that "it doesn't purport to give you a definitive answer.""CHAOS: The Manson Murders" premieres March 7 exclusively on Netflix. Stay in the Know! Get the top news from Los Angeles Magazine sent to your inbox every day. Sign up for The Daily Brief below or by clicking here.
