Helter Skelter

On June 15, the court case titled The People Vs. Charles Manson began, with Judge Charles Older presiding. The jury was chosen on two important criteria; Bugliosi recounts that “anyone who stated that he or she could not vote the death penalty under any circumstances was automatically excluded, as was anyone who had read Susan Atkins’ confession” (404): “The heart of our case was the ‘vicarious liability’ rule of conspiracy,” which allows for the leader of a conspiracy to be held responsible for crimes committed by co-conspirators, writes Bugliosi (405). He was granted the right to instruct the jury as to this important but subtle legal precedent. By July 14, selection was finished, and the jury was sequestered during the highly publicized trial. While the Family caused no disruptions during jury selection, Manson did stare with “incredible concentration” at the judge, and at the prosecution, for hours (406). He continued to harass Family defense attorneys behind the scenes, influencing Van Houten to fire her attorney and take Manson’s last attorney, Hughes. 

The first day of the trial, Friday, July 24, was a media circus. Manson showed up on the first day of the trail with an “X” carved onto his forehead, declaring, “I have X’d myself from your world” (412). Bugliosi began with an opening statement, with a preliminary summarization of his argument: “This evidence of Mr. Manson’s total domination over the Family will be offered as circumstantial evidence that on the two nights in question it was he who ordered these seven murders,” Bugliosi argued before the jury (413). He went on to explain that, while the prosecution was under no burden to prove motivation, he would provide evidence of his “Helter Skelter” theory to that end, implicating Manson in the murders along with Van Houten, Atkins, and Krenwinkel, who were being tried in the same case. Though Kanarek made several objectives during Bugliosi’s opening remarks, he reserved his remarks until after the prosecution made its case.

The first witnesses for the defense were from the families of the victims. Colonel Paul Tate, Sharon’s father, took the stand, followed by Parent’s father, Wilfred. Winifred Chapman, the housecleaner who first discovered the bodies, came after, followed by William Garretson, to whom the jury seemed favorable. Over the weekend, the other Family members on trial and regularly in attendance burned an “X” onto their foreheads in a show of solidarity: “graphic evidence that when Manson led, the girls followed” (419).

Starting Monday, Kasabian’s testimony would take three days, during which Kanarek repeatedly interrupted. This was a practice so frustrating to Judge Older that he ruled the defense in contempt of court, forcing Kanarek and Hughes to spend a night in county jail. Bugliosi concedes, however, that Kanarek did make one substantial point when he objected to Kasabian’s testimony on the grounds of Hearsay. In establishing Manson’s hold on the Family, Bugliosi felt he had to refer to testimony which could, in other contexts, be interpreted as Hearsay, such as cult addresses and overheard instructions. After the first evening’s recess and some late-night research into precedent on the part of the prosecution, the judge allowed that some forms of Hearsay would be permitted. Kasabian’s testimony was crucial to Bugliosi’s case, and her immunity deal seemed to pay off in the form of credible and relatable testimony from a close eyewitness. For her part, Kasabian was the object of screaming protests of betrayal and general harassment from the Family: “Charlie, seated at the council table, put his hand up to his neck and, with one finger extended, made a slitting motion across his throat,” recounted Bugliosi (424).

On August 3, the Associated Press quoted President Richard Nixon, who weighed in on the highly publicized case: “Here is a man who was guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders. Yet here is a man who, as far as the coverage is concerned, appeared to be a glamorous figure,” said Nixon (429). In failing to use the word “alleged,” Nixon made it seem as if the highest authority on the land had already passed a verdict in an ongoing trial, which made Bugliosi’s job more difficult. Though the jury was being sequestered, it would be harder than ever to keep the pool untainted by the news. For his part, Manson smuggled in a copy of the Los Angeles Times with the large headline “MANSON GUILTY, NIXON DECLARES” (432). It was confiscated, Bugliosi claims, before the jury had a chance to see it or be influenced by it.

Kasabian would be examined and cross-examined for 17 days, often repeating answers to questions posed by the pedantic Kanarek relating to sex, drugs, and other habits that could be used to make Kasabian look less credible. His relentlessness backfired on him, however, showing Kasabian to be a person of conscience, deeply affected, for instance, by the photographs of a dead Tate. Released on immunity, she left for New Hampshire to be with her family. On August 7, Randy Starr, a witness for the defense, tied to the rope and the gun used in the murder, was declared dead of an “undetermined illness” (435). Other witnesses skipped down or faced intimidation over the course of the trial, presumably fearful of the attention. Lanky Spahn Ranch worker Juan Flynn, who claimed that Manson had admitted the murders to him, remained in touch with Bugliosi but hidden for fear of his life. Estranged Family member Barbara Hoyt, scheduled to testify for the prosecution, was given a large dose of LSD hidden in a hamburger by Family member Ruth Ann “Ouisch” Moorehouse. 

Going into September, witnesses called by the prosecution after Kasabian mostly served to corroborate her testimony, and Kanarek hectored them in cross-examination with a focus on discrediting her. Outside the courtroom, the Family made a vigil, talking to reporters and camping in the bushes outside of the courtroom. While there was some confusion about the nature of the knife wounds in the LaBianca case, the LAPD Special Investigation Unit connected the .22 in evidence to the Tate murders. By the end of the trail, Bugliosi had called as many as 80 witnesses, including a recovered Barbara Hoyt: “In a case of this magnitude and complexity this was a remarkable low number,” Bugliosi writes (475). Bugliosi used them to strengthen his “domination” case against Manson.

When Bugliosi was followed down the street by Family members in an act of intimidation, he turned around and swore at them. The next day, Kanarek “asked that [Bugliosi] be arrested for violating Section 415 of the Penal Code, charging that [Bugliosi] had made obscene remarks in the presence of a female” (472). Bugliosi also learned that the defense lawyers were routinely being intimidated, and on September 26, a large-scale brushfire enveloped the Spahn Ranch. Juan Flynn, one of the last to take the stand, credibly identified Manson as a person with dominating control over the Family. On October 5, an enraged and cornered Manson lunged at Judge Older and was physically restrained. On November 19, when it came time for the defense to make its case, they surprised everyone involved: “Thank you, your honor. The defendants rest,” said Paul Fitzgerald (504).