Latest news with #MK-ULTRA
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."
CBC
26-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Ottawa, hospitals argue Montreal brainwashing lawsuit should be dismissed
Alison Steel was a young child when her mother was sent to Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron and his colleagues at Montreal's Allan Memorial Institute in the 1950s, to treat what her daughter believes was likely depression triggered in part by the loss of another child. After rounds of electroshocks, induced comas and experimental drugs her mother, Jean, emerged from the psychiatric hospital a changed person — childlike, unable to perform everyday tasks, and as her daughter puts it, "in her own world." Now, hopes for compensation for Steel and the families of other patients allegedly brainwashed decades ago at the Allan Memorial rest in the hands of a judge who must decide on a bid by the federal government and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) to dismiss their lawsuit. Last week, a Quebec Superior Court judge heard arguments from lawyers for the government and the hospital who argued the families waited too long to file claims of the treatment their siblings and parents received under the MK-ULTRA program, funded by the Canadian government and the CIA between the 1940s and 1960s at the Allan Memorial. Steel is joined by about 50 families who have brought the lawsuit alleging their loved ones were subjected to psychiatric experimentation that included powerful drugs, repeated audio messages, induced comas and shock treatment. "Our families were treated like guinea pigs," she said outside a Montreal courtroom on Friday. In court, David Baum, a lawyer who represents the MUHC and its affiliated hospital the Royal Victoria, said while the hospitals felt compassion for the families, they believe their legal efforts to secure compensation to be "ill-advised, misguided and doomed to fail." Baum told Justice Christian Brossard that the procedure was prescribed — meaning it was filed after the window to bring forward a suit — and sought to re-litigate issues that have already been "extensively addressed" by previous court cases going back decades. "It's our view that, in the interest of justice and the parties themselves, that this court should not advance a recourse that ultimately has no chance of success," Baum told the court. Baum and a lawyer for the Attorney General of Canada claimed Steel and the other family members had all the information they needed to sue years or even decades ago. They noted that some former patients received $100,000 in compensation beginning in the 1990s, which was offered without an admission of guilt on the government's part. Those patients also signed releases renouncing further claims. Alan Stein, the lawyer representing the families, bristled at the claims that his clients' case represents an "abuse of procedure," as the other side has argued. "If anyone is abusive, it's the government of Canada and the Royal Victoria Hospital in this case," he told the judge. In court, he also suggested the current motion to dismiss is a delaying tactic from hospital and government lawyers, noting the issue of time limits were not raised in previous court proceedings. Experimentation also hurt family members, say plaintiffs While Cameron's treatments have spawned decades worth of reports and legal action, Steel and the other family members argue that they were only able to obtain their families' medical records in the last few years, and had only recently realized that there was an avenue open to them to sue, as family members. Stein said that while previous compensation was offered to some former patients, nobody has sufficiently recognized the impact of the alleged treatments on their children or siblings, who lived for decades with the repercussions. "They say we are abusing their they're abusing us by making us wait this long," Steel said. She said the full scope of what happened to her mother only became clear in recent years, when she managed to obtain her mother's medical records and, with Stein's help, obtain compensation for her mother's estate. That settlement was part of what encouraged others now involved in the suit to seek out medical records and explore legal options. Glenn Landry, a member of the lawsuit, says he was raised by foster families after his mother became incapable of caring for him after she received treatments. While he maintained a relationship with her, he described her as an "empty shell" who never shared insights on her life. Landry said he and others have faced resistance over the years when trying to obtain their family members' medical records. He said he acted to join the lawsuit as soon as he finally got his mother's records in 2018. He sees the argument over time limits as an "excuse" by institutions who want to avoid addressing a historical wrong by delaying as long as possible. He noted the government and hospital lawyers have also suggested suspending the case until a separate proposed class action by another set of alleged victims can be held. If that happens, and the case is delayed further, "more of us [will be] dead," he said. Brossard said Friday he will issue a decision at a later date.
