Cult leader Charles Manson died at the age of 83, and his death is a reminder of the murders he committed and how it affected the family of one of his victims, Sharon Tate.
Tate, the wife of film director Robert Polanski, was 26 and pregnant when Manson committed the murder. She was just back from dinner together with friends Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski and Steven Parent.
That very same night in 1969, Manson and his followers stabbed Tate and her friends in an attempt to start a race war called "Helter Skelter." The four met their demise in Tate's Los Angeles home, and the crime spree was later known as the Tate/LaBianca murders.
Manson got a life sentence for the crimes. However, the effect it had on the Tate family was compelling enough that Debra Tate, the actress' sister, admitted that it was her life's defining moment. Through the years, she fought to keep Tate's murderers from gaining parole.
"I said a prayer for his soul," Debra told People Magazine, referring to Manson. However, she confessed that even after decades, she vividly remembers the time when she found out about her sister's death.
Meanwhile, their mother, Doris Tate, championed the Victim's Bill of Rights. Doris was instrumental in passing the bill in California in 1982. This bill allowed "victim impact statements" to become a part of the judicial legal process. It gave victims of crime the opportunity to speak— either on the sentencing of the convicted or at parole hearings.
The actress was one in the series of victims who lost their lives to "The Manson Family." Besides Tate's friends Sebring, Folger, Frykowski, and Parent, Leno LaBianca and Rosemary LaBianca also met their demise through the named cult. The LaBiancas were apparently tied-up, and Manson left the killing to his cult members.
Charles Manson met his demise on Sunday, Nov. 19. He died of natural causes while serving his life sentence at the Corcoran State Prison in California.
