Charles Manson

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1934. In 1967, after spending most of his adult life in prison, Manson moved to the San Francisco area in California and gathered a group of followers, which he referred to as "the family." Inspired by the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" -- a song actually about an amusement park ride -- he became convinced of an impending race war and nuclear attack.

On August 9, 1969 four Family members, Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and Linda Kasabian, entered the house on Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills, California and killed Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of Roman Polanski, along with four friends - Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski and Steven Parent. The next day they would kill Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, a wealthy Los Angeles couple.

Manson released an album titled Lies[?] on March 6, 1970 to help finance his defense.

Manson himself wasn't present for the killings, but he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder on January 25, 1971 and on March 29 was sentenced to the death penalty. This sentence was later changed to life in prison after the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty system in California and many other states. Manson remains imprisoned to this day.

On September 5, 1975, another member of his "family", Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate US President Gerald R. Ford.