Helter Skelter Revisited: Inside The Manson Family Murders

>>> NOW TO "CULTS & CRIME." THIS MORNING, WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT THE INFAMOUS MANSON MURDERS.
>> JOE FRYER TALKED TO SOME OF THE VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS TRYING
TO MOVE PAST THAT GRUESOME CRIME, NEARLY HALF A CENTURY
LATER. ♪♪
>> Reporter: IT HAS BEEN SAID THE DECADE OF LOVE CAME TO A
SUDDEN, VIOLENT END IN AUGUST 1969, SHATTERED BY THE MANSON
FAMILY MURDERS. >> IT'S SOMETHING THAT STUCK
WITH ME, EVER SINCE THAT DAY. >> Reporter: NOW, EVEN AFTER
HALF A CENTURY, FAMILIES ARE FIGHTING TO TELL THE VICTIMS'
STORIES. >> SPEAK FOR THE PEOPLE WHO
CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. >> Reporter: AND KEEP THE
KILLERS BEHIND BARS. >> GO RIDE A HORSE.
>> I DON'T WANT ONE FAMILY, NOT ONE FAMILY TO GO THROUGH WHAT MY
FAMILY DID. >> Reporter: IT ALL BEGAN WHEN
L.A. POLICE WERE CALLED TO THE HOME OF ACTRESS SHARON TATE,
WIFE OF FILMMAKER ROMAN POLANSKI.
JERRY DEROSA WAS FIRST ON THE SCENE AND STARTED TALKING ABOUT
IT. >> IT AFFECTED MY WIFE.
SHE WAS AFRAID. >> Reporter: TATE HAD BEEN
MURDER AID LONG WITH JAY SEBRING, VOLE TECH WACHOWSKI AND
STEVEN PARENT. WHEN YOU SAW THIS SCENE, WHAT
WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND? >> A LOT OF THINGS GO THROUGH
YOUR MIND. YOU THINK WHAT HAPPENED?
WAS THIS A PARTY THAT WENT BAD? A DRUG DEAL THAT WENT BAD?
>> Reporter: THE NEXT NIGHT, LENO AND ROSEMARY aBIANCA WERE
KILLED. THE WORDS RISE AND DEATH TO PIGS
ON THEIR WALLS. THE DEATHS WERE PINNED ON A
CULT, LED BY CHARLES MANSON. >> HE'S NOT AN EDUCATED MAN.
BUT HE'S A BORN MANIPULAOR OF PEOPLE.
>> Reporter: HE DID THE KILLING SPREE HOPING TO INCITE A RACE
WAR. IN 1987, HE SHOWED NO REMORSE.
>> THERE'S NO NEED TO FEEL GUILTY.
IF I WANTED TO KILL SOMEBODY, I'D TAKE THIS BOOK AND BEAT YOU
TO DEATH WITH IT AND I WOULDN'T FEEL A THING.
>> Reporter: MANSON AND HIS FOLLOWERS WERE CONVICTED AND
SENTENCED TO DIE. BUT WHEN CALIFORNIA'S DEATH
PENALTY WAS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN 1972, THE
PUNISHMENTS WERE CHANGED TO LIFE IN PRISON.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE HAS BEEN TRUE JUSTICE IN THIS CASE?
>> ABSOLUTELY NOT. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE WORD
JUSTICE IS SO INAPPROPRIATE IN THIS CASE.
>> Reporter: TODAY, RELATIVES OF THE VICTIMS REGULARLY TESTIFY AT
PAROLE HEARINGS, AND SPEARHEAD ONLINE PETITIONS TO KEEP THE
MANSON FAMILY BEHIND BARS. >> OUR FAMILY'S INVOLVEMENT HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH ANGER OR REVENGE OR HATRED.
THEY CAM OUT OF LOVE. >> IT IS COUNTLESS HOW MANY
LIVES WERE SHATTERED BY THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION THAT I WAS A PART
OF. >> Reporter: ONE OF THE KILLERS,
PATRICIA KRENWINKEL, IS 65 YEARS OLD.
>> THE THING I TRY TO REMEMBER SOMETIMES, THE WHAT I AM TODAY,
IS NOT WHAT I WAS AT 19. >> Reporter: SHE WAS THE SUBJECT
OF A RECENT DOCUMENTARY CALLED "LIFE AFTER MANSON."
>> THESE ARE MY CHOICES. I LEARNED CHOICE.
I LEARNED CHOICE AT THE MOST HORRIFIC COST.
>> Reporter: KRENWINKEL'S PAROLE HEARING WAS DELAYED UNTIL JUNE.
VICTIMS' RELATIVES WANT THE PANEL TO SEE IF SHE MEETS THE
CRITERIA FOR BATTERED WOMEN SYNDROME.
>> JUST WAKE UP. JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE OVER THE
AGE OF 60 DOES NOT MAKE THEM NONDANGEROUS INDIVIDUALS.
>> Reporter: AS FOR THE OTHERS, LESLIE VAN HOUTEN WAS
RECOMMENDED FOR RELEASE LAST YEAR.
BUT THE GOVERNOR REVERSED IT. TEX WATSON HAS BEEN DENIED
PAROLE 17 TIMES. SUSAN ATKINS DIED IN 1979.
AND THERE'S MANSON. >> EVER SINCE HE'S BEEN
INCARCERATED, EVERY TWO YEARS, MANSON WILL DO SOMETHING THAT
GETS MEDIA ATTENTION. >> Reporter: AT AGE 82, MANSON
WAS REPORTEDLY RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL WITH A SERIOUS ILLNESS.
BUT IS NOW BACK IN PRISON. >> WE HOLD NO DELIGHT IN HIS
DEMISE OR HIS SUFFERING OR HIS DEATH OR ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE.
WE WANT HEM TO LIVE THE REST OF THEIR LIVES BEHIND BARS.
>> Reporter: ANTHONY DEMARIA, NEPHEW OF JAY SEBRING.
>> I'M 35 YEARS OLD. >> Reporter: HE SPENT YEARS
PUTTING TOGETHER A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE GROUNDBREAKING HAIR
STYLIST. >> I FEEL COMPELLED TO RESTORE
HIS FACE, TO RESTORE HIS STORY. >> Reporter: FOR THE FAMILIES
LEFT BEHIND NEARLY 50 YEARS LATER, THEIR WORK IS NOT OVER.
FOR "TODAY" JOE FRYER, NBC NEWS, LOS ANGELES.
>> IT'S HARD TO LOO

Helter Skelter Revisited: Inside The Manson Family Murders | TODAY

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