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Sharon Tate's ex fought Manson Family killers during heroic final moments: nephew
Sharon Tate's ex fought Manson Family killers during heroic final moments: nephew

Fox News

timea day ago

  • Entertainment
  • Fox News

Sharon Tate's ex fought Manson Family killers during heroic final moments: nephew

Jay Sebring fought for his life and defended his friends before he was brutally killed by members of the Manson Family. On Aug. 9, 1969, the celebrity hairstylist, actress Sharon Tate (who was eight and a half months pregnant), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, her boyfriend Voytek Frykowski and recent high school graduate Steven Parent were murdered at Tate's Benedict Canyon home. The following night, grocery chain owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, were slain in their Los Feliz house. Nearly 60 years after the massacre, Sebring's nephew, Anthony DiMaria, wants to "set the record straight" about the celebrity hairstylist and what happened at 10050 Cielo Drive. "If we look at the 35 years of Jay's actual life, it's an extraordinarily inspiring, glorious, amazing life," DiMaria told Fox News Digital. "And if we include even the horrific last 10, 15, 20 minutes – whatever it was – in the most unspeakable situations, Jay fought. People don't know this, but he courageously stood up to evil against all odds… He is an unknown hero in one of the most notorious murders in United States history." DiMaria teamed up with author Marshall Terrill to pen the book, "Jay Sebring: Cutting to the Truth." It explores the 35-year-old's life, groundbreaking work in Hollywood and the circumstances surrounding his grisly death. DiMaria was 3 years old when his uncle passed away. He beamed when discussing the "dynamic and charismatic" figure who visited him and his parents at their Las Vegas home. However, he has more vivid memories of how Sebring's death left behind a wound that has never healed. WATCH: JAY SEBRING FOUGHT MANSON KILLERS DURING HEROIC FINAL MOMENTS: NEPHEW "I was looking at a photo album and there was a beautiful black-and-white picture of Jay looking at me," DiMaria recalled. "I said, 'Mom, when can I see him again?' And she said, 'Well, Anthony, you can't. He's in heaven.' I must have been 4 or 5. That's something you don't understand." "But something that hit me to my core was the look in my mother's eyes," he shared, fighting back tears. "Asking about my uncle caused my mother deep pain. And I felt I [didn't] ever want to do that again." "As a family, we protected each other," he quietly said. "But these crimes, as personal and painful as they were to us, they were treated as popcorn, as entertainment." Growing up, DiMaria wanted to know everything about his famous uncle from Hollywood. With Terrill's help, he uncovered surprising stories about Sebring, a sought-after groomer and trusted confidante to Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Marlon Brando, among others. "As the story goes regarding Jim Morrison, Elektra [Records] sent him to Jay's salon," Terrill told Fox News Digital. "He came to Jay with this photo of Alexander the Great, and he said, 'I want you to make me look like him.' Jay probably thought about it for a few minutes and said, 'OK.' That was the iconic look that Jay created for him." Sebring's innovative approach to men's hairstyles made him fast friends in showbiz. When celebrities weren't sitting in his chair, he trained with a popular martial arts instructor in town – Bruce Lee. When Lee was ready to make his mark as a performer, it was Sebring who vouched for him. "In Jay, he found someone who was his advocate," said Terrill. "When [producer] William Dozier was looking for someone to play Kato in 'The Green Hornet,' it was Jay Sebring who said, 'Bruce is your man.' Dozier at first balked. And Jay kept on… He finally decided to give him a film test. Well, Lee blew up that film test. He was Kato." However, one of Sebring's closest friends was Tate. While the pair were engaged at one point, the "Valley of the Dolls" actress broke up with Sebring and later married Roman Polanski. The trio were close pals. "Some say that they were still involved," Terrill said about Sebring and Tate. "We don't know that as a fact. But they had a… very mature relationship… And they did a lot of things together [as a group]. It was only natural, I felt, that Jay was with her the night they were murdered." WATCH: SHARON TATE, JAY SEBRING HAD 'MATURE' BOND AFTER POLANSKI: AUTHOR Terrill believes that Polanski, who was in London at the time preparing for a film project, asked Sebring if he could look after Tate, who was nesting at home and eagerly awaiting the birth of her son. Meanwhile, a cult-like group was gearing up to "do something witchy." Charles Manson was a failed musician and petty criminal who had been in and out of jail since childhood, when he began surrounding himself with runaways and other lost souls. Portraying himself as a philosopher, he targeted young women whom he used and bartered to others for sex. According to prosecutors, Manson ordered his disciples to butcher some of LA's rich and famous to trigger a race war. He got the idea from a twisted interpretation of the Beatles song "Helter Skelter." "They were labeled a 'hippie cult,' which is a false premise," said DiMaria. "They were not a hippie cult. They were a group with hippie earmarks and optics, but they were a counterculture gang whose crimes extended from late 1967 through the 1970s." "These killers are referred to as 'Manson Followers,'" DiMaria continued. "A follower – that really mitigates the profundity, the severe nature of how they killed and how their victims suffered." "These people were not followers. These people were cold-blooded killers who were so wired and driven beyond killing and terrorizing society that they splashed messages – horrifying messages – in their victims' blood at the crime scene, who laughed, who sang, who performed for cameras at their trials and received all the fame and notoriety that they couldn't get in life." On the last day of his life, Sebring didn't go down without a fight, stressed DiMaria. According to the book, Sebring fought "with everything he had," attempting to give his friends a chance to escape. Manson ordered some of his disciples to go to the property and kill everyone. He was familiar with the home because its previous tenant, music producer Terry Melcher, refused to give him a recording contract. Shortly after midnight, members of Manson's "family" broke into the house and ordered everyone inside to the living room. Parent, who was visiting the home's caretaker, was shot to death. Sebring first attempted to reason with the group, emphasizing that Tate was heavily pregnant. For one moment, Tex Watson, armed with a gun and a bayonet, turned his back, and Sebring charged him. His accomplice, Susan Atkins, yelled out to warn Watson. Sebring was closing in on Watson and threw a left punch towards his head. Sebring was shot in his left armpit, piercing his lung. As Sebring collapsed, Watson repeatedly stabbed him. Watson and Atkins, along with Patricia Krenwinkel, then focused their attention on Tate, Folger and Frykowski. Sebring struggled to get back on his feet, catching Watson's attention. A bleeding Sebring attempted to fight back against his assailants. He was overpowered and tortured. As Watson repeatedly attacked Sebring, Frykowski attempted to escape out the front door as Folger ran down the hallway, escaping through Tate's bedroom to the backyard. The killers caught up with them. The details were corroborated by both investigators and the perpetrators. Despite the horrors they caused, the Manson Family became a pop culture fixation. "The people who committed these horrible crimes… somehow were propped up and catapulted to rock star serial killer status," said DiMaria. "And it has had consequences… with people looking up to these killers or thinking that these crimes are somehow cool or titillating. That's another reason why it is now timely to introduce Jay's true story." In 1972, a California Supreme Court ruling found the state's death penalty unconstitutional. This resulted in the sentences of the convicted killers being changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole. For decades, DiMaria and other loved ones of the victims have spoken out at parole hearings. Manson died in 2018 after spending nearly a half-century in prison. He was 83. However, the fight to keep other members of his family behind bars continues. Leslie Van Houten, who helped carry out the killings of the LaBiancas, was released on parole in 2023. Krenwinkel, who participated in the Tate murders, was recommended for parole for the second time in June of this year. "When my mother learned that the Manson people might be released on parole, she said, 'Anthony, I need to know if this is an actual reality,'" said DiMaria. "My parents and grandparents were told by the district attorney's office when the original death sentences were reversed that it was purely a technicality. There was no way whatsoever that any of these people would ever be released… That's when we became involved in these parole hearings." Today, DiMaria wants people to remember Sebring not as a "sad, tragic figure," but as someone who achieved the American dream in his brief life. "Here was a young man… from Michigan, who arrived in Hollywood with dreams, ideas and a sleeping bag," said DiMaria. "Jay would encourage all of us to live life with the same passion and zeal that he did, to go out to be your best, to express your best, to seek out the best in other people and… make a mark."

EXCLUSIVE I escaped the Manson slaughter house by the skin of my teeth... Sharon Tate's final words will haunt me forever
EXCLUSIVE I escaped the Manson slaughter house by the skin of my teeth... Sharon Tate's final words will haunt me forever

Daily Mail​

time04-06-2025

  • Automotive
  • Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE I escaped the Manson slaughter house by the skin of my teeth... Sharon Tate's final words will haunt me forever

It was late on a summer night when 21-year-old model Ava Roosevelt found herself driving to the Cielo Drive home of her close friend Sharon Tate. She had planned to join the actress and a group of friends for a nightcap. But as she was traveling uphill, a short distance from Tate's home, the fuel light suddenly started flickering on the dashboard of her aging and increasingly unreliable 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. Her gas tank was almost empty.

Former Charles Manson cult member Patricia Krenwinkel recommended for parole
Former Charles Manson cult member Patricia Krenwinkel recommended for parole

News.com.au

time02-06-2025

  • General
  • News.com.au

Former Charles Manson cult member Patricia Krenwinkel recommended for parole

One of Charles Manson's accomplices has been recommended for parole after serving decades in prison for her role in the 1969 murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others in California. A state parole board has again recommended the release of Patricia Krenwinkel, who is the longest-serving female inmate in the state. At 77, Krenwinkel is still serving a life sentence at the California Institution for Women for her role in one of America's most notorious killing sprees. She was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder in 1971. Krenwinkel was just 19 years old when she abandoned her life as a secretary in California to follow Charles Manson, the charismatic cult leader who has since transformed into one of history's darkest and most mysterious figures. Drawn in by promises of love and spiritual enlightenment, Krenwinkel instead became a key figure in one of the most infamous crimes in American history. Krenwinkel personally stabbed heiress Abigail Folger multiple times and then participated in the murders of grocery store owners Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, writing 'Helter Skelter' and other phrases on the walls in the victims' blood. Convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder, Krenwinkel was originally sentenced to death. But in 1972, her sentence was commuted to life in prison after California briefly abolished the death penalty. She has been incarcerated ever since. Over the years, Krenwinkel has expressed remorse and described years of psychological abuse at Manson's hands. She has stated she was under the influence of drugs and fear throughout her time in the cult. Nonetheless, her parole efforts have been repeatedly denied, with authorities citing the severity of her crimes. In May 2022, Krenwinkel was recommended for parole for the first time, but the decision was reversed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Her most recent recommendation in 2024 now awaits approval, reigniting debate over justice, rehabilitation, and the enduring legacy of the Manson Family. The recommendation came on Friday and must still pass several hurdles before being confirmed. It requires final approval from the full Board of Parole Hearings and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who denied a similar parole recommendation in 2022. That review process can take up to 150 days. According to state prison officials, she had previously been denied parole 14 times. Charles Mason died in prison in 2017 at the age of 83. Manson, whose name to this day is synonymous with unspeakable violence and madness, died of natural causes at Kern County hospital, according to a California Department of Corrections statement. Manson — who exerted a form of mind control over his mainly female followers — had been in prison for four decades. In the 1960s, he surrounded himself with runaways and disaffected youths and then sent them out to butcher members of Hollywood's elite. Prosecutors said Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war he dubbed Helter Skelter, taken from the Beatles song of the same name. The Polanski house in Beverly Hills was targeted because it represented Manson's rejection by the celebrity world and society, according to one of the Family member's statements. Manson considered himself the harbinger of doom regarding the planet's future. He was influenced not only by drugs such as LSD, but by art works and music of the time such as The Beatles song, Helter Skelter, from their White Album. He often spoke to members of his 'Family' about Helter Skelter, which he believed signified an impending apocalyptic race war. He preached that the black man would rise up and start killing members of the white establishment, turning the cities into an inferno of racial revenge. Manson also had a strong belief in the notion of Armageddon from the Book of Revelations and looked into obscure cult churches such as the Church of the Final Judgement.

Former Charles Manson follower is recommended for parole
Former Charles Manson follower is recommended for parole

Yahoo

time01-06-2025

  • General
  • Yahoo

Former Charles Manson follower is recommended for parole

A California state parole board recommended parole for Patricia Krenwinkel, a follower of the cult leader Charles Manson, on Friday for the second time. The decision will now have to be approved by the Board of Parole Hearings and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who denied Krenwinkel's first parole recommendation. The governor's review process can take up to 150 days following a parole hearing. The 77-year-old is serving a life sentence in the California Institution for Women for her role in the killings of pregnant actor Sharon Tate and four others in August 1969, as well as grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, the following night in what prosecutors have called Manson's attempt to start a race war. She was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder in April 1971. Krenwinkel was recommended for parole for the first time in May 2022, but Newsom denied clemency five months later, according to Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate records. She was previously denied parole 14 times before then. Friday's parole suitability hearing was Krenwinkel's 16th, David Maldonado, deputy chief of strategic communications and external affairs for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, confirmed. Krenwinkel was 19 and working as a secretary when she met a 33-year-old Manson at a party, leaving her life behind to follow him because she believed they could have a romantic relationship, she said in 2016 testimony. Instead, she was abused by Manson and tried to flee, but was brought back each time and was often under the influence of drugs. Krenwinkel admitted to stabbing an heiress to a coffee fortune, Abigail Folger, multiple times on the night of Aug. 9, 1969, as well as participating in the killings of the LaBiancas the following night. During the LaBianca murders, she infamously wrote 'Helter Skelter' and other phrases on the wall in her victims' blood. She, along with other participants including Manson, were convicted and sentenced to death. However, their sentences were commuted to life with the possibility parole in 1972, after the death penalty was briefly ruled unconstitutional in California. Krenwinkel is now the state's longest-serving inmate. The California governor's office did not immediately respond to NBC News' requests for comment. This article was originally published on

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