Charles Manson and the Manson family committed gruesome crimes that shocked Los Angeles in 1969. Actress Sharon Tate and four others were ritually massacred in her home on the Hollywood Hills. The killers had left cryptic messages on the walls in the victims' blood, and law enforcement was baffled by the multiple stab wounds found on the victims. The next day a married couple, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, successful store owners, were found murdered in their Las Feliz home in the same manner as Sharon Tate and her friends. The turning point came when a young woman confessed to the crime. Susan Atkins was arrested for car theft and admitted to being part of the group also known as "The Family". He explained their theory that the killings were meant to be the first step in a global race war, which the group called HelterSkelter. It would cause the end of the world, with the Manson family emerging as leaders of the survivors. Atkins brought in several others, including Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Tex Watson. They were all young, middle-class white men living like hippies in a desert near Los Angeles. They came from ordinary American families and had no history of violence, leading police to conclude that someone else must have been in charge. Atkins told them of their leader, who they followed with unwavering devotion, and who was the only one who knew the truth, Charles Manson who has now come to represent true evil in the eyes of most people. Manson was born in 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio. , an unwanted child of a 16-year-old prostitute mother. He had a life full of rejection and abandonment that began early. He never knew his father and his mother left him alone for days, sometimes weeks. Leaving him... in the middle of paper... at any time he will not oppose Manson's will. Even today, Manson gains new followers every day, who believe his theories and treat him like the authority figure he sees himself as. himself as. This is why he is still considered one of the scariest and most compelling villains of the era. Works Cited Bardsley, Marilyn. "Homocide!" Charles Manson and the Manson Family — — Crime Library. Np, nd Web. March 12, 2014. "Charles Manson - Documentary." YouTube. Discovery Channel, April 14, 2013. Web. March 13, 2014. "Charles Manson - Dianne Sawyer Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, February 24, 2013. Web. March 13, 2014.Watson, Charles D. “Chapter 2 The Cult: Manson's Right Hand Man Speaks Out!” Chapter 2 The cult: Manson's right-hand man speaks out! Np, 2010. Web. March 13, 2014."Charles Manson and the Manson Family." Crime Library:. Np, nd Web. March 13. 2014.