Cult leader and mass murderer Charles Manson died Sunday, Nov. 19. He was 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.
The notorious killer was taken from California State Prison Corcoran earlier this week and hospitalized in Bakersfield for an undisclosed ailment, authorities confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
Manson was serving a life sentence for orchestrating the 1969 killings of seven people in southern California, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski at the time.
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Manson was reportedly hospitalized earlier this year for what was only described as a serious medical problem, the Los Angeles Times reported in January.
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An ex-convict, Manson assembled a group of runaways and outcasts and formed a cult dubbed the “Manson Family,” where the group of mostly young females lived on a ranch in the outskirts of Los Angeles. Manson eventually amassed about 100 followers and the ranch became a commune filled with sex, drugs and Bible readings. Manson had sold himself as a reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
The cult leader would go on to order a handful of his “disciples” to carry out the gruesome slayings over the course of two nights in August. The Manson followers left the word “pig” written in Tate’s blood at the crime scene.
Authorities would learn that Manson had hoped the killings would touch off a race war. He had apparently gotten the idea from a twisted reading of the hard-rocking Beatles song Helter Skelter.
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Manson, along with followers Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, Charles (Tex) Watson, Robert Beausoleil and Bruce Davis, were convicted in the killings linked to the Manson family.
In September, Van Houten was recommended for parole after spending more than 40 years in prison for her role in the Manson family killings. Atkins died of cancer while Krenwinkel, Watson, Beausoleil and Davis are still behind bars.
Manson has been denied parole 12 times and is not eligible again until 2027.
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In 2015, apparent Manson admirer Afton Elaine Burton obtained a wedding licence to marry the cult leader. The 90-day marriage license expired without a wedding taking place.
– With files from the Associated Press
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