Serial killer Charles Manson died on Sunday (19Nov17) at the age of 83.
The California Department of Corrections said in a statement that the former cult leader “died of natural causes at 8.13pm” on Sunday at a hospital in Kern County. He was hospitalized last week and was said to be in a critical state.
Earlier, Debra Tate, the sister of his most famous victim Sharon Tate, told TMZ she was informed Manson had died in a call from Corcoran State Prison in California on Sunday evening.
He was serving multiple life sentences after being convicted of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1971.
Tate was among seven victims Manson’s ‘Family’ of followers murdered during a two night killing spree in August, 1969. At the time of her death, Tate was married to Hollywood director Roman Polanski and was eight months pregnant.
The vicious attack on Tate and her four house guests at her home shocked America. The Valley of the Dolls star was stabbed 16 times and the word “pig” daubed on her front door in blood.
The night after the murders at Tate’s home, his followers Charles ‘Tex’ Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten murdered supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in their home. Krenwinkel and Watson were also involved in the Tate murders, as was fellow Family member Susan Atkins.
Manson was sentenced to the death penalty, but this was changed to seven life terms in 1977 after capital punishment was abolished in California.
The cult leader and his followers were also convicted for the deaths of two other men – Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald Shea. They were also responsible for a number of other crimes, including the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford.
At the time of his death, Manson had spent more than 45 years in jail and had been denied parole 12 times.
Manson was taken from Corcoran State Prison to the hospital back in January (17), when he was treated for intestinal bleeding.
