How did the Manson Family become associated with the end of the 1960s counterculture?

The Manson Family became a powerful symbol of the dark side of the 1960s counterculture and the hippie movement due to their communal lifestyle, drug use, and the brutal violence of the Tate-LaBianca murders.1

The group's association with the end of the era is often viewed as a synecdoche for the widespread disillusionment that occurred in the late 1960s. Cultural observers, such as writer Joan Didion, famously noted that the decade ended at the exact moment news of the murders at Sharon Tate's residence spread through the community.1

While the Family practiced ideals often associated with the era—such as free love and communal living—their actions under Charles Manson stood in stark contrast to the movement's peaceful aspirations. The horrific nature of the crimes, combined with the media spectacle of the subsequent trials, solidified the group's status as a haunting representation of the era's collapse.12