Susan Atkins

Over two nights in August 1969, Susan Atkins took part in a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles that made international headlines. As followers of Charles Manson, she and several other members of the Manson Family cult killed seven people in what became known as the Tate-LaBianca murders. One of her victims was actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant. Following a trial that attracted intense media attention, Atkins, Manson, and two other Family members were found guilty in January 1971. They received the death penalty, though their sentences were commuted to life in prison after existing capital punishment laws were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972. Atkins also pleaded guilty to another murder that had taken place in July 1969. In 2008 Atkins was diagnosed with brain cancer, and she died the following year at age 61.

Early life and murders

Atkins grew up in a middle-class family in California. According to Atkins her parents abused alcohol, and when she was 15 years old, her mother died from cancer. Three years later Atkins left home and eventually settled in San Francisco. There she met Charles Manson and joined the Manson Family. He gave her the name Sadie Mae Glutz. In 1968 the Manson Family moved to Spahn Ranch near Los Angeles. Later that year Atkins had a son named Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz.

Acting on the orders of Manson, Atkins was involved in eight murders in 1969. Atkins, Bobby Beausoleil, and Mary Brunner went to the home of musician Gary Hinman in late July, mistakenly believing that he had inherited a large sum of money. (A botched drug deal was also suggested as a motive for the crime.) Over several days they tortured Hinman, and Beausoleil eventually killed him. Then, on the night of August 8–9, Atkins and two other Family members—Charles “Tex” Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel—broke into the home of director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant; Polanski was in Europe at the time. A fourth Family member, Linda Kasabian, served as a lookout. As they entered the residence, Watson reportedly said, “I am the devil. I’m here to do the devil’s business.” That night the trio killed five people—Tate, Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger—and Atkins also used Tate’s blood to write “PIG” on the front door. The following night Atkins drove with Manson and other followers to the residence of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Watson, Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten were left behind there, and they killed the couple.

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Arrest and trial

In October 1969 Atkins was arrested for her involvement in the death of Gary Hinman. While in jail Atkins told her cellmates about the Tate-LaBianca murders. In December she testified before a grand jury that Manson had directed her and the others to commit the murders. She later recanted her testimony. In January 1971 Atkins, Manson, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten were found guilty of the Tate-LaBianca murders. During the penalty phase Atkins said she had “no guilt for what I’ve done. It was right then and I still believe it was right.” All the defendants were sentenced to death. (Watson was convicted in a separate trial in October 1971, and he also received the death penalty.) Atkins subsequently pleaded guilty to the Hinman murder. After the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the capital punishment statutes were unconstitutional in 1972, Atkins’s sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Prison and death

While in prison Atkins became a born-again Christian and expressed remorse for her actions. She also distanced herself from Manson, writing that he was “a thief, a dope pusher, a kidnapper, a child stealer, a pimp, a rapist and a child molester.” In 2008 she was diagnosed with brain cancer, and her left leg was later amputated. Several months after being denied compassionate release, Atkins died in 2009. Her survivors included her second husband, James W. Whitehouse, a lawyer. Atkins’s son had been put up for adoption after her conviction, and details about him were unknown.