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who did charles manson kill

Charles Manson did not personally carry out most of the famous murders himself, but he was convicted of orchestrating a series of killings in 1969 carried out by his followers, known as the “Manson Family.”

Quick Scoop: Who did Charles Manson kill?

Legally and historically, Manson is held responsible for the murders of nine people in 1969, because he ordered, directed, or was deeply involved in the planning of the attacks, even when he did not wield the weapon himself.

The main victims commonly linked to Charles Manson

These are the people whose murders were tied to Manson and his followers:

  • Sharon Tate – 26-year-old actress, eight months pregnant, killed at her home in Benedict Canyon on August 9, 1969.
  • Jay Sebring – 35, Hollywood hairdresser and friend of Tate, killed in the same house.
  • Abigail Folger – Coffee heiress, killed at the Tate residence.
  • Wojciech (Voytek) Frykowski – Polish writer and Folger’s boyfriend, killed at the Tate house.
  • Steven Parent – 18-year-old visitor who was shot in his car in the driveway of the Tate property.
  • Leno LaBianca – 44, grocery-chain owner, killed at his Los Feliz home the next night, August 10, 1969.
  • Rosemary LaBianca – 38, Leno’s wife, killed alongside him in the LaBianca home.
  • Gary Hinman – 34, musician who knew the group; tortured and killed in July 1969 after a dispute involving money.
  • Donald “Shorty” Shea – Ranch worker at Spahn Ranch, killed later in August 1969; followers said he was suspected of talking to police.

Did Charles Manson personally kill anyone?

  • Courts and major reference sources describe Manson as being involved in the murder of nine people and convicted for ordering the killings of Tate, Sebring, Frykowski, Folger, Parent, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, plus the Hinman and Shea murders.
  • Some discussions emphasize that he may not have directly stabbed or shot the victims, but under U.S. law, directing and controlling the killers made him legally as responsible as the people who physically committed the murders.

In other words: the question “who did Charles Manson kill?” is usually answered not by listing people he personally attacked, but by listing the nine victims whose murders he ordered or orchestrated through his cult.

Mini timeline of the 1969 killings

  1. July 27, 1969 – Gary Hinman
    • Manson’s group killed Hinman after days of torture, in his home in Topanga Canyon.
  1. August 9, 1969 – Tate house murders
    • Five victims: Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent.
  1. August 10, 1969 – LaBianca murders
    • Two victims: Leno and Rosemary LaBianca at their Los Feliz home.
  1. Late August 1969 – Donald “Shorty” Shea
    • Killed near Spahn Ranch, where the group lived.

Key context and why this still trends

  • Manson developed a cult-like following and promoted a violent apocalyptic vision he called “Helter Skelter,” which he used to justify sending followers out to kill.
  • The murders terrified Hollywood and the wider public, and they continue to appear in documentaries, films, and online forum discussions, which is why questions like “who did Charles Manson kill” still trend decades later.

TL;DR: Charles Manson is legally tied to the murders of nine people in 1969—Gary Hinman, Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, and Donald “Shorty” Shea—because he ordered and directed the attacks carried out by his followers.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.