Charles Manson

Charles Manson was an American criminal who, by the time he was 32 years old, had spent roughly half his life in reformatories and prisons. In 1967 he established a cult known as the Family. Two years later he ordered his followers to commit a series of brutal murders. On August 8–9, Family members killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. The following night Rosemary and Leno LaBianca were murdered. In addition, two other people were known to have been killed by the Family: Gary Hinman and Donald (“Shorty”) Shea. In 1971 Manson and his followers were convicted of all nine murders. Manson was serving a life sentence when he died in 2017 at the age of 83.

Charles Manson died in 2017, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that his death was from natural causes. On the subsequent autopsy report, cardiac arrest was listed as the immediate cause of death, with respiratory failure and metastatic colon cancer as underlying issues.

In 1969 Charles Manson was involved in the murder of nine people. In a 1970–71 trial, he was convicted of ordering his followers to kill Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, Steven Parent, Rosemary LaBianca, and Leno LaBianca. In a separate trial in late 1971 he was convicted for his role in the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald (“Shorty”) Shea. While in prison, Manson gave interviews in which he claimed to have killed other people before 1969. However, he failed to provide any names, and his claims were never verified by authorities.

According to official documents, Charles Manson was 5 feet 2 inches (1.6 meters) tall. This is supported by a police photograph showing him standing next to a height chart. However, in a 1993 interview with Diane Sawyer, Manson claimed that at the time of his arrest, he was 5 feet 6 3/4 inches (1.7 meters) tall. Manson said that his height had decreased as he aged.

Charles Manson had four known children.

• Charles Manson, Jr. (Jay White): He was born during Manson’s marriage to Rosalie Jean Willis in the 1950s and later changed his name. He died by suicide in 1993.
• Charles Luther Manson (Jay Charles Warner): His mother is Leona Rae Musser (also called “Candy Stevens”), and she and Charles Manson were reportedly married from 1959 to 1962. Charles Luther later changed his name, and he died in 2007.
• Valentine Michael Manson (Michael Brunner): His mother is Mary Theresa Brunner, one of the first members of the Family. The younger Manson was later adopted by Brunner’s parents.
• Daniel Arguelles: In 2022 a DNA test revealed that Manson had a fourth son, Daniel Arguelles. His mother, Darlene Arguelles, had a brief relationship with Charles Manson (who was using the alias “Charlie Dear”), and Daniel Arguelles was born in 1959.

Charles Manson is not alive. He died on November 19, 2017, at the age of 83. Manson was incarcerated at the time of his death, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that he died from natural causes. On the subsequent autopsy report, cardiac arrest was listed as the immediate cause of death, with respiratory failure and metastatic colon cancer as underlying issues.