be back with us to chat with the "little rockers" and talk about his attempt to break the world record for thehannity" and the san diego freedom concert. have a great weekend. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] greta: this is saleo drive where 40 years ago the summer of evil began. nestled high in benedict canyon, here in los angeles, it's always been home to many of hollywood's a-list celebrities. hello, i'm greta van susteran. it was august, 1969, during a blistering heat wave, it was close to midnight. when three women and a man all around 20 years old crept up the driveway behind me, carrying ropes, knives and a gun. on the order of charles

mannson, they were there to unleash what he called helter-skelter. hell bent on murder, they slaughtered five people, people that he -- they didn't even know shocking the world. two more brutal murders would took place -- would take place the following night. in less than 48 hours, los angeles was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. this is the chilling story of what happened to a beautiful young actress named sharon tate and six others at the hands of a twisted family of drug-crazed hippies. it's a story that has it all. sex, drugs, rock and roll, movie stars, and murder. >> we have a weird homicide -- >> in a scene described by one investigator as reminiscent of a weird religious rite, five persons including actress sharon tate, were found dead at the home of ms. tate and her husband, screen director roman plan ski. -- polanski. while the police said they had no suspects, there were two

more murders in silver lake, los angeles. rosemary and l -- bianca were found stabbed and mutilated. >> the sale of guns, guard dogs, rose. >> it was a story on page one all over the country. it was shocking. if you aren't safe in your own home, where are you safe? >> the tate, labianca, people started locking their doors. people stopped picking up hitchhikers. it really brought the curtain down on the 1960's. greta: a nomadic band of hippies led by a career criminal and aspiring musician named charles manson were later arrested for the 1969 tate -labianca murders. the killers in the counterculture would prove to be the death knell for the hippy movement. >> you got it stuck in your mind that i murdered somebody.

i never killed anyone. i don't need to kill anyone. i have it here. greta: the hippy dream of peace and love was very much alive in the spring of 1967. the burgeoning counterculture had turned its back on straight society and instead embracing long hair, drugs, psychedelic music and free love. the hippy mecca was the asbury district of san francisco. one. thousands that poured into maight-ashbury was ex-con named charles manson. born out of wedlock in ohio to a teenage runaway who would later be jailed for armed robbery, the 5'2" manson never knew his father and had spent most of his life in prison. >> i've been with prostitutes and bums and win pofment s all my life. -- winos all my life.

this street is my world. >> when he was released from long island in march of 1967, federal penitentiary of long beach, 32 years of age. 17 out of those 32 years had been spent in jails, reformatories and prisons. you look at the crimes he committed, nonviolent. stealing from the mails. forging a government check. taking a woman across the state border. for prostitution purposes. his background certainly was not the portrait of what one would expect of a future mass murderer. >> he got out of jail when haight-ashbury was in blossom and flower power was the word at the time. and he got out and he went to the haight and a young girl came by and handed him a flower and said "love." and he thought, gee, things

have changed while i've been inside. >> he said he couldn't have even imagined in his wildest imagination this type of life up there. >> and he became kind of a self-styled guru. most of the kids at the haight were in their late teens, early 20's. and he spoke to them and his line of metaphysical con and prison jargon. street rap. >> you got a circle, man. that man lives inside of. he lives inside this circle. he's responsible for this circle. and this circle only. >> ♪ don't do anything illegal ♪ >> he could sit down with a guitar in front of people. would he charm your socks off and sing about -- he would sing about the flies buzzing around his head or the shirt he had on. >> this was very impressive to these young kids and before long they were following him. >> he began to collect young people. greta: school buses were

popular and before long manson had this one. >> he was picking up youngsters and forming what he called his family. >> their lifestyle was sex, orgies and l.s.d. dreams. the first girl that joined the family had a degree in history from the university of wisconsin. greta: the growing family also included 19-year-old susan atkins from san jose, california. manson had a penchant for nicknames and christened atkins -- >> susan atkins had a more troubled past than most of them. susan had a father who was an alcoholic and her mother who she adored died very young of cancer. >> she didn't get along with her father. she gravitated to san francisco and became a topless dancer and met manson at the haight. >> also patricia crenwinkle from los angeles and nicknamed katie and once wanted to become a nun. >> she was not a very attractive young woman. and designee said that he focused on her.

and took her in another room and told her to take off all her clothes and look in the mirror. and see how beautiful she was. talk about telling people what they wanted to hear about themselves. she left her car there with her paycheck in the glove compartment and never came back. greta: the bus carrying manson and his minions and what they call their magical mystery tour arrived in los angeles for an extended stay in early 1968. manson began hanging out on the sunset strip. >> sunset strip was really the hub of what was going on in the rock music business in the late 1960's. it was the beginning of everything. it was where they had go-go and the various clubs that came to symbolize the era. and everybody was making it in the rock music business at that point. and manson got the idea that he too could make it in the rock music business. >> charlie was serious about anything, he really wanted to perform. he really wanted to be in the

music business. greta: it was a chance meeting with rock royalty that got manson closer to the heat. as drummer for the beach boys, 23-year-old dennis wilson had it all. good looks. hit records. and fast cars. while cruising around los angeles, wilson was often pick up hitchhikers, sometimes bringing them back to his mansion at 14400 sunset boulevard. >> dennis wilson picked up two members of the manson family. female hitchhikers. and brought them back to his residence on sunset boulevard. >> dennis wilson. >> had sex with them. gone away. came back. and found his house overflowing with members of the manson family including charlie. >> called me and said you got to come down here. this guy and all the girls and i said, dan, it was late at night. he said no, no, you got to. you got to listen to in guy. i got my clothes on and i came

down. and that was the first time i met charlie. there were a lot of girls, some guys, everybody was partying. it was at night. it was fun. greta: one of those other men was 22-year-old charles "tex" watson. a former wig salesman, watson had picked up a hitchhiking dennis wilson on sunset boulevard. when the beach boy invited him into his mansion, watson came face-to-face with his future. charles manson. >> tex watson didn't have the long hair and the gruffy look you could confuse him as a freshman at cornell university. from farmersville, texas. he had an a average in high school. football, basketball, track star. >> one. sweetest guys i ever met -- one of the sweetest guys i ever met. drove a restored pickup truck and was just a sweetheart. loved to smoke weed. and just was always out for a good time. and party with the girls and go swimming. greta: with the family, life with the beach boy was pretty

good. but they were beginning to wear out their welcome. >> manson was always hitting wilson for money. they appropriated his wardrobe, they did a lot of damage to the house. the gonorrhea bill, used his doctor, was the highest gonorrhea bill probably in beverly hills history. >> it was a continual party. and dennis was paying for everything. charlie and the girls would just stay there. they didn't leave. i know it started to get old for dennis. ultimately he had to get out of there. greta: now you'll hear how manson cleared the dance floor at sunset strip's legendary

greta: in march of 1967, the same month that charles manson was released from prison, a beautiful 24-year-old actress

named sharon tate began filming her fourth film "valley of the dolls." >> hello? yes, i'll accept the call. hello, mother? greta: tate had small roles in television shows like mr. ed and the beverly hillbillies before starting her film career with 1966's "eye of the devil." >> you're mad. >> she was a so-so actress. she wasn't anything particularly special. as she was stunningly beautiful. >> sharon was aware of the fact that she was extremely beautiful. but she didn't act as if she had an edge on anybody. because of that physical beauty. she was just a regular person. and that made her even more attractive. if that's possible. greta: while filming "eye of the devil" sharen met and began dating 33-year-old film

director roman polanski. polanski was known for his dark and sinister films, niche in the water and repulings. -- knife in the water and re pulsion. >> there was buzz about roman at the time he met sharon. greta: and celebrity hairstylist jay sebring. >> i made up my mind i was going to do all i could to elevate the profession. >> i'm absolutely positive that sharon was jay's one true love. once sharon met roman, that was it. there would never be another chance. greta: stharne and roman married in -- sharon and roman married in london in 1968. >> i think they were a fabulous match. roman is a very interesting person. he is one of the most brilliant people i have ever known. greta: roman and sharon settled in los angeles. where polanski continued work on his next film. >> rosemary's baby.

written for the screen and directed by roman polanski. greta: released in june of 1968, "rosemary's baby" was a critical and financial success. >> and really catapulted roman to sort of the top of ranks of directors. around the world and at that time being married to sharon, they sort of became this very glamorous, very modicum. >> they were very, very charming. very emblematic of the new hollywood. but roman polanski and sharon, they are completely in love with the new wave, this whole hollywood with the stars and the kind of movies they were making. >> my. i'm sorry. i didn't see you come in. >> how do you feel about doing nude scenes in a film?

>> well, i feel that if it's a real scene, and if it's something where you're stripped naked, that you would be doing naturally, you know, making love, which is natural, taking a bath, you know? that's lovely. >> gosh, she was so cute. greta: but tate and polanski living the high life in hollywood, beach boy dennis wilson decided to flee his home at 14400 sunset boulevard to get away from the manson family. >> he said i'm going on the board. the beach boys are going out and can you get me out of here? move me. so i found another house down at the beach. and literally moved out. that was the only way to get rid of the family. >> after the family left, wilson's residence, they moved to spawn ranch. greta: located about 30 miles north of beverly hills in chatsworth, california, the movie ranch was owned by 80-year-old george span, the nearly blind span let the

family live there in exchange for help with the ranch. he was a far cry from sunset boulevard. >> it was dusty and dirty. and it definitely lacked the amenities. greta: greg jacobson would visit with the 20 or so members of the family, the mood was getting darker. >> one time, charlie, he was fooling around with a gun and he pointed it at me and said what would you do if i pulled the trigger? i said charlie, i guess i would be dead. and that was the end of it. because if you weren't afraid, then charlie lost the handle. but if i said put that down, then charlie would love it. he would continue on with the skit. it was always a skit with charlie. greta: despite no longer living together, dennis wilson was still trying to get manson a record deal. he persuaded a friend, record producer terry melcher who worked with the birds and paul revere and the raiders for

charles manson. >> i don't think terry found charlie especially interesting musically speaking. but he certainly found his lifestyle interesting and the girls and the bus and the ranch. greta: greg jacobson will never forget the night he, melcher and wilson accompanied manson to the whiskyagogo on sunset boulevard. >> 40 years ago, same booth. here at the whiskey. charlie slipped away from the booth without any of us knowing. and the next thing we knew, there was something happening on the dance floor. and it was charlie by himself in the middle of the floor and people were literally moving back, clearing the dance floor for charlie. it was as if electricity were coming out of his hair, out of his head. and people were just dumb struck. it was quite a spectacle. greta: dennis wilson helped arrange recording sessions for manson. one recorded was this tune. "cease to exist." >> ♪ cease to exist

come and say you love me ♪ greta: this is the beach boys' version. >> ♪ say you love me greta: dennis changed the phrase "cease to exist" to "cease to resist" when he and the beach boys record the song in september of 1968. now called "never learn not to love." although credited to dennis wilson, manson still got paid when the song was included on the beach boys' 1969 album " 20/20." but the lyric change infuriated him. >> he was livid. i don't want to have my name on it. you guys ruined it. and after he saw that side where manson really got angry about the changing of the lyrics. never learning not to love. there was a whole new side. and didn't see the peace, love and tye-die thing anymore. he was an angry young man. greta: charles manson thinks

the beatles are speaking directly to him on their white album and seven people end up album and seven people end up dead.

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greta: in the fall of 1968, the beatles released what's known as the white album featuring songs like revolution, and "helter skelter." the album totally mesmerized long-time beatles fan charles manson. >> charlie really felt the beatles were prophesying to him personally. he would listen to every word and then interpret or put his spin on it. greta: for years, manson ranted about a looming race war. now in his twisted logic, it had a name. "helter skelter." >> the -- to manson, it referred to the last final destructive war on the face of this earth among men. he called it "helter skelter." >> charlie really believed

there was going fob a revolution. -- going to be a revolution. it would be the black against the white. >> he said the black would win this war but black only knows what whities told them to do and would never handle the reins of power and turn the power over to those who survived "helter skelter," i.e., charles manson and his family. greta: manson said the family's only hope for survival was here in death valley. some 200 miles east of l.a., temperatures regularly soared to 115 degrees in summer. it was in this surreal landscape that manson claimed they would find a bottomless pit. >> somehow, some way, charlie was convinced that they were going to find this gateway, this hole in the ground, and it was going to be some kind of paradise. greta: back at spahn ranch, manson convinced his followers that "helter skelter" was coming down fast. manson's control over the family had become mind boggling. >> manson was the dictatorial ruler of the family.

the king. the maraja. everyone was slavishly obedient to him. greta: with l.s.d. trips and his preaching had convinced family members that manson was the second coming of christ. >> he controlled them with drugs. he controlled them with group sex. >> you have all these kids and couples having sex. and then at a given moment, would he say change partners. >> he was a master of making people follow him. >> he asked saidy, go down to argentina and fet a coconut for me -- and get a coconut for me. and if i know sadie, she would go down to argentina and get a coconut for him. greta: one thing not eager was record producer terry melcher. >> charlie counted on terry, this is the guy, this is my savior. he'll get me into the music business. terry appreciated charlie for what he was, but not as a musician. and terry had to give charlie

the old speech, got some talent, charlie, but there's nothing i can do for you. and charlie, he was terribly bitter about that. >> melcher's rejection of manson undoubtedly increased manson's hostility toward the establishment. >> i think he felt that he was being abandoned. he was being deserted. something he lived with all of his life so he was becoming more and more desperate. and he was becoming more and more threatening. greta: when doris day offered her malibu beach house to her son, terry melcher decided to vacate the house on cielo drive. the new tenants, roman polanski and a now pregnant sharon tate. the couple moved in in the spring of 1969, before taking off to europe to work on separate film projects. >> her departure was very rushed. it was chaos. knowing that by the time she got back home, it would be just prior to her delivery. >> in the summer of 1969, sharen finished filming what was to be her last movie "13

chairs in rome." she returned to the house on cielo to watch the moon landing with her mother and younger sisters. >> it was very hot. and she was extremely pregnant. and we all went into the master bedroom. and piled into the bed. and i was at her feet. and we watched the moon landing. and that was the last time that any of us saw her. alive. greta: two consecutive nights of slaughter shocks the world. that's next on summer of evil, the manson murders. "on the

record" right here on fox. greta: friday, august 8, 1969. film director roman polanski was in london working on "the day of the dolphin." 5,000 miles away, a sweltering los angeles was blanketed by a brutal heat wave. at their benedict canyon home, polanski's 8 1/2 months pregnant wife, sharon tate, was counting the days until the birth of their baby. >> august 8, i was supposed to go up there. sharon was so miserable. and the last stage of her pregnancy. and she said can we do it another time? and i said absolutely. greta: sharon did have some

company that night. her friend, jay sebring, was a regular visitor and also had two houseguests staying with her while roman was away. 25-year-old coffee heiries appear gail folger and her boyfriend. he was a long-time friend of polanski. >> sharon, abigail, jay, they all went out to dinner that night. greta: the four came here to this mexican restaurant, the el yoyote. unbeknownst to them this would be their last meal. >> after 10:30, got back to cielo. greta: and a sinister plan was being hatched by charles manson at spahn ranch. >> he told his family we can ignite "helter skelter," start this war between blacks and whites. by committing the murders ourselves. >> manson told watson to go up to the house at 10,050 cielo drive and kill everybody there.

greta: why that house? >> the house was a symbol. it didn't matter who lived there. it was striking out at something that melcher had been attached to. >> he knew that melcher was no longer living there. greta: manson remained behind as watson, crenwinkle drove off in a ranch hand's car. joining them on their mission of murder was a recent addition to the family, 19-year-old linda kasabian. >> linda kasabian was a runaway. she had left home and was traveling around the country. and she wound up at the manson spahn ranch. she, crenwinkle, susan atkins and tex and myself were in the car. and getting ready to leave. and charlie came out and said something like oh, you girls, leave a sign. you know what i mean. something witchy.

greta: linda in her only television interview told fox's steve dunn leavey in 1988 on the savagery on cielo. >> tex had some rope. and wire cutters. and we got to a -- he climbed -- we got to the gate and he climbed up the telephone pole and cut the wires. and we started going around the 'em bankment and after we got around to the other side the car started coming toward us. >> they had been visit being the caretaker and driving his car toward the gate. must have been terrified out of his mind. to see these people in black climbing over the gate at midnight. pulled his car to a stop. said i won't say anything, don't hurt me. greta: a delivery boy from el monte, california, steven parent, had just graduated from high school. >> watson shot him four times. two times in the face. and a couple of times in the chest. killing him.

greta: in the house on the hill, nobody had heard a thing. >> abigail was reading a book. voitek napped out on the couch on the living room. sharon and jay were sitting in the bedroom talking. >> and i was told to stay and watch. and the three of them continued on to the house. >> they went into the house, rounded up sharon and jay and abigail folger from her bedroom, when tex watson entered the living room, he awoke up and said who are you? watson said i'm the devil. and i'm here to do the desm's business. >> -- the devil's business. >> i started hearing loud screaming. >> when jay sebring tried to stop watson from man handling tate, he shot him and kicked him several times in the head before stabbing him seven times. voitek who put up a fierce fight managed to get to the front door as susan atkins slashed his legs with a knife and tex pummeled him with the butt of a gun.

>> i started walking toward the house. and next thing i know, a man comes stumbling out of the house. covered in blood. and falls down and tex starts stabbing him. >> do you railroad what was going through your mind as you see tex stabbing -- >> i remember looking up at the sky, realizing that charlie was definitely the devil. greta: frytotski was stabbed 51 times and bludgeoned with a gun 13 times and shot twice. >> and in the background, i see a white figure of a lady gh a nightgown. -- of a lady in a nightgown. and stabbing her. >> abigail folger died after being stabbed 28 times by patricia krenwinkle and tex watson. the killers then turned their attention to a terrified sharon tate. >> sharon was the last to die. she was left alone in the

living room with atkins. begging, pleading, crying for her life, the life of her unborn child. >> susan atkins told sharon, look, bitch, i don't have any mercy on you. you're going to die. greta: tate was stabbed 16 times in the chest and back. following manson's order to leave a witchy sign, susan atkins used sharon tate's blood to scrawl the word "pig" on the house's front door. then the killers fled. at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, the polanskis' made arrived for work. >> i live at 100900 cielo drive. >> then 15 years old, jim asin was warming up the family car when the horrified maid came running down the street. >> she was horribly shaken up, just screaming when she first came down and made a phone call down to west l.a. station. >> almost unbelieveable and it was more plike a slaughterhouse. greta: lieutenant robert helder

was put in charge of the investigation. in had a 1990 interview he recalled the search for a motive. >> they startd turning up small quantities of narcotics, cocaine and so immediately, you think up a drug connection. greta: 16-year-old teb are a tate was in the -- deborah tate was in the shower when her mother ran into the bathroom. >> mother said -- flung the door open and said sharon's dead. and what are you talking about? and she collapsed. greta: that morning the police took into custody the only survivor on the property. the care taker, 19-year-old william garrettson. >> he was at that stage the chief suspect. >> he wasn't really termed the chief suspect. there was no blood in his quarters. whoever did this had to be covered in blood themselves. greta: as the lapd scoured cielo drive for clues, manson decided there would be another night of murder. this time he went along.

behind me at this home on waverly drive, 20 miles away from the slaughter on cielo, the manson family butchered rosemary and len. no labianca. >> they were looking for the victims completely at random in los angeles. eventually they stopped in front of the roam of rosemary and leno labianca. they had been in that area before, one who lived next to labianca was a friend of the family. >> len hofment labianca was the head of -- leno labianca was the head of a supermarket chain and he and his wife, rosemary had returned from a weekend of boating when manson slipped into their home. >> he convinced leno that if he cooperated no harm would come to him. he tied his hands behind his back with his leather thong is -- thongs and sent his killers in there. >> he was joined by leslie van houghton from california. >> leslie van houghton had been

the homecoming queen in her hometown. but she fell in with a young man who turned her on to drugs. and he brought her to spahn ranch. greta: the three slaughtered the couple. leno labianca was stabbed 12 times with a niche and 14 times with a carving fork. the fork was left protruding from his abdomen and the knife was jabbed into his throat. the word "war" had been carved into his stomach. rosemary labianca was stabbed 41 times. death to pigs, rise, and a misspelled "helter skelter" had been screbled on the walls and refrigerator in the victims' blood. >> the total stab wounds on these two nights of murders of 169. greta: two nights of savagery, seven dead bodies, and no suspects. >> my initial feeling at that time was it was a copycat murder. there is just no way of compecting the -- connecting the people didn't run in the same circles and didn't know each other. greta: on august 10, dr. thomas autuchi conducted autopsies on

the cielo drive victims. >> the only time in my career he walked out of an autopsy room is when dr. -- he cut open sharon tate's stomach and removed that baby. i had chills go up and down my spain. i turned around and walked out. greta: a jail house confession breaks theaksthth faster and ear than ever before? well now you can, introducing the new... powerful... lightweight... oreck xl platinum vacuum. you don't vacuum open floors, you vacuum rooms filled with furniture. and the xl platinum makes cleaning under, around, and behind them, fast and easy! so take advantage of this limited time no-payments-no-interest-for-one- full-year offer and order your new oreck xl platinum today! call now and for cleaning stairs or up high we'll also send you the powerful oreck handheld vacuum-- a $250 value-absolutely free. hi, i'm david oreck, and this is my new platinum upright vacuum. it's the best upright we have ever built.

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the tate-labianca murders had the city of los angeles paralyzed with fear. >> everybody felt like they might be next. >> it was almost like los angeles was having a nervous breakdown. greta: at spahn ranch, deputies of the los angeles county sheriff's department came looking for charles manson. but it had nothing to do with murder. >> the property owners around the spahn ranch were complaining about these hippy type people driving their do you know buggies on the other ranch's private property. >> 102 deputy sheriffs surrounded this ranch. greta: the raid netted a huge stockpile of firearms and some stolen vehicles. >> and i'm sure that they felt we were being arrested for murder. greta: more than 20 people arrested. but the family's leader was nowhere to be found. >> manson was hiding under one of the buildings on the property. and he refused to come out and was eventually forcibly removed. greta: when the district attorney decided there wasn't

enough evidence to prosecute, the group was released from the county jail. manson decided that staying at spahn was getting too risky. >> charlie talked about getting out of the desert. he said -- go to death valley. there is no society in death valli. -- in death valley. >> getting to this ranch was not easy. it was difficult, very difficult. >> they showed up with this bus. it was a miracle that they got the bus up here. greta: the family moved here, to barka ranch built in the 1930's it is located in a rugged and des desolate area of death valley. you are looking at the last footage of the ranch shot by fox news before it was gutted by a suspicious fire in may of 2009. >> charlie wasn't very impressive. to carl and i. greta: the process pecting partner, pictured here. >> he was trying to talk religion with carl about the book of revelation. that didn't go very far.

greta: manson's family was splintering. a few days after the murders, linda kasabian had returned home to new hampshire. tex watson decided to bolt the ranch and head back to texas. >> tex wars the only one that i was ever suspicious of at that time. the butcher boy. greta: krenwinkel, atkins, van houghton and other members of the family remained with manson at the ranch. >> there was much like living at spahn ranch but it was different. it was much darker. and it was more desperate. you could feel the tension. greta: racing through the desert in stolen do you know buggies manson dreamed of re-creating the days of ram movement and the desert corp. they took a closer look at the family. >> our interest in the group was as a group of hippies in a stolen car ring. we had no knowledge that this

was a group from the los angeles crime. greta: pursell and a park ranger made a visit to barka ranch where they located a group of scruffy young women. >> the manner of dress was from totally nude to totally clothed. the gal later identified as squeaky fromme said they were girl scouts from the bay area. greta: purrsell began hearing wild tales of drug use, sex orgies and a leader who thought he was jesus christ. in early october it was confirmed that the group was in possession of stolen vehicles. >> we hiked into the barka ranch and fook positions around the cabin waiting for everybody to get in place. greta: 17 family members were arrested but manson was nowhere in sight. two days later he was spotted entering the cabin. >> i went back to the back door of the cabin and shotched the door open. i could see seven people in the room.

i directed each out. greta: once again, the 5'2" manson seemed to have vanished. purrsell searched the cabin's tiny bathroom. >> a sink and a cupboard beneath it. long hair was hanging out and had figure emerged from this tiny cupboard and i asked him who he was. and he said charles manson. charlie was booked in as manson. charlie m. a.k.a. jesus christ. a.k.a. god. greta: he was right here on this corner, outside the now abandoned hall of justice, where the manson girls put on a freak show during the trial. coming up, swastikas, shaved heads and calling on -- crawling on handsdsdsdsdsds dsds . ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause we're taking a ride ♪ ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller aster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me:

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held for car theft charles manson and the family were slowly being tied to a string of murders. from her -- one manson girl began talking about one of the killers, musician gary hinnman who had been spent two years before the murders. atkins was transferred to the civil grand institute for women in l.a. suddenly, everything came crashing down. >> she told these two co-inmates of hers the family was responsible for the tate-labianca murders. one of the girls called the lapd, with a dime at a pay phone. >> it broke the case. >> the persons for whom warrants have been issued are charles v. watson, patricia krenwinkel, and linda kasabian. greta: one week after the announcement, charles manson and five of his followers were charged with seven counts of murder. >> they were kids from average american homes. it shocked the country.

hippies up to that point were never associated with violence. and murder. greta: i'm not committed to nonviolence in any way. greta: yet the killings did not go unnoticed by the radical weather underground leader bernadin dorn. dorn said her weathermen dig charles manson and offing those rich pigs with their own forks and knives. weatherman mark rud said the group adopt add four finger fork salute. 24 july, 1970. manson, atkins, krenwinkel and van houten went on trial at the hall of justice in downtown l.a. >> the problem was that manson was not physically at the murder scene participating in the murders. and the two main pieces of evidence that i used to connect manson with these murders were motive, domination over his family. greta: back in texas, tex watson was still fighting extradition to california. in l.a., a cleaned up linda kasabian became the star witness for the prosecution. >> i would like to see them fall on their knees and beg for

forgiveness. >> because she was so necessary as a witness, kasabian was given sole immunity. as every prosecutor says, you don't find witnesses to a crime in hell in heaven. >> the trial was as bizarre as the murders. >> manson, with a pencil in his hand, screamed "shun should cut your head off, old man." he held up a newspaper that said manson guilty, nixon declares. the women, they did whatever he told them to do. greta: they carved x's in their foreheads. manson changed his into a swastika. when he shaved his head the girls did, too. outside the courthouse, the circus never ended. the manson girls staged their crawl for freedom. >> the manson family people were like creatures from outer space to the majority of americans. >> what i remember most are his eyes. he was staring at me as i testified. and dark, piercing, evil eyes.

greta: rumors ran wild when leslie van houten's lawyer ronald hughes disappeared four months into the trial. >> hughes goes up to the hot springs area of ventura county to work on his argument. the court reconvenes the following monday and he did not show up. >> my god, i just wonder if the family -- >> from what anyone could discern, a flash flood came along and washed him away. greta: in january of 1971, it took the jury seven days to reach a verdict. >> it was our belief that the jury could only come to one verdict, guilty. >> each defendant was convicted of every count of which they were charged. greta: the four were sentenced to death. on march 29, 1971, in october, tex watson was also convicted for the tate-labianca murders and sentenced to death. >> next year, 1972, the california and u.s. supreme court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional

and everyone on death row in the country, their death penalty sentenced were reduced from death to life in prison. greta: the five remain incarcerated and have regular parole hearings. >> i don't harbor hate for them. i wish them the best. within controled environment situations. greta: squeaky fromme tried to assassinate president gerald ford in 1975. after serving more than 30 years, she is set for parole next week. after 40 years, the public's fascination with the manson saga has yet to wane. >> how could this have happened? >> it's unbelievable. >> it goes beyond the weirdest concepts of sick fiction. >> the store is just too far out. greta: stay tuned for more. summer of evil, the manson murders.

greta: 40 years have passed since the utter madness that was "helter skelter" was unleashed. the image of young, wide-eyed glaring charles manson remains an iconic symbol of evil. but the most recent prison photo of 74-year-old charles manson says it all. he j