With her face partially obscured to protect her identity, Linda described the horror that took place at the Tate residence the night of the murders. (Linda's role in the murders was limited to driving and keeping lookout.) In this clip, she talked about the initial aftermath of the murders, and feeling remorse and fear.


Linda drove with the Family to the LaBianca's house on the second night, but did not stay for the murders. She decided that she needed to flee—with her baby daughter—in order to save her own life. However, she could not gain access to her daughter at Spahn Ranch, so she was left with no choice but to leave without her.


Forty years later, Linda is still deeply affected by the murders and her association with the Family. She says that she feels guilty that she was never punished, and received immunity in exchange for her testimony.

The clip above is from the 1973 documentary Manson, which featured interviews with some of the female family members, as well as footage shot by the family, in which they explain Charles' philosophy and the Family's way of life. (Squeaky Fromme, seen in the clip, had no involvement in the Tate/LaBianca murders, but was convicted of attempted assassination of the president, for which she served 34 years. She will be released on August 16. She is still believed to be a follower of Manson's.)

Susan Atkins
THEN: Atkins, aka "Sadie," was a 21-year-old mother of a 10-month-old baby the night she stabbed pregnant Sharon Tate to death, saying, "She asked me to spare her. I told her I didn't have any mercy for her," and that Sharon's whining got on her nerves. (Atkins' son, Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz, has since been adopted and renamed.) Also involved in the LaBianca and Hinman murders, Sadie was sentenced to death in 1971, (which was automatically commuted to life in prison after a 1972 California Supreme Court case that outlawed the use of capital punishment). Her cellmate said of her,"Sadie was so far out, even the bull dykes wouldn't mess with her." In 1974, she removed herself from the Family and became a born-again Christian. In 1977 she published her autobiography, Child of Satan, Child of God.

NOW: Atkins, now 61, has been married twice while in prison. She has been denied parole 17 times. In 2002, she filed a lawsuit with the federal court claiming she was a "political prisoner" due to the parole denials despite her suitability. Atkins is currently dying of cancer—and reportedly can only turn her head from side to side, and move one arm—and her husband has asked that she be released and allowed to die at home, arguing that it would save the state $10,000 a day in health care. Her next parole hearing is scheduled for September 2.

Leslie Van Houten
THEN: The onetime homecoming queen joined up with the Family shortly after graduating high school in 1967. At 19, she was the youngest defendant in the Tate/LaBianca murders. Having only been involved in the LaBianca murders (she stabbed Rosemary LaBianca 16 times), she said she wished she had been there the night of the Tate murders. Van Houten would giggle during testimony, thus lost the sympathy of the jurors. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. Three years after her imprisonment she fell away from Manson and the Family. She won a retrial in 1977 on the grounds of ineffective representation by counsel. While out on bail in 1978 she attended the Oscars with a friend, and wasn't recognized. She was later convicted again and sentenced to life in prison.

NOW: Van Houten, who will turn 60 this month, is in the California Institution for Women, where she's spent the past 39 years. While there, she's become a model prisoner. She's taught other illiterate inmates to read, stitched a portion of the AIDS quilt, made bedding for the homeless, and recorded books on tape for the blind, all while holding down various jobs as a clerk for different members of the prison staff. Of her remorse over the murders she says, "It's not easy. If anything, the older I get, the harder it is. I took away all that life." Filmmaker John Waters began what turned into a close friendship with Van Houten in 1985 when he attempted to interview for her Rolling Stone. Van Houten—whom Waters described "looked then, and still does, very much like actress Hilary Swank"—has been denied parole 18 times. During one parole hearing, a judge told her, "You've dug yourself quite a hole and it's going to take a little time to get out of it." Waters asks, "Can you ever dig your way out of that hole by trying to explain LSD to a parole board whose members have never taken a trip?" She is eligible for parole again this year.

Patricia Krenwinkel
THEN: Krenwinkel was 20 when she joined up with Manson. Two years later, she participated in both the Tate and LaBianca murders (specifically, stabbed Abagail Folger to death) and is the one who notoriously wrote in blood on the walls of the LaBianca home, "DEATH TO PIGS" and "HeaLter SkeLTter." She was sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison.

NOW: Like Van Houten, Krenwinkel is active with prison programs. She's in AA and NA, and has also taught illiterate prisoners how to read, gives dance lessons, and participates in a service-dog training program. She has been denied parole 11 times.


Mary Brunner
THEN: Charles Manson's third wife, and mother of his child Michael Valentine Manson (aka "Pooh Bear"). She was arrested and jailed for credit card fraud the night of the Tate murders. She was later charged (with two other family members) for the July 1969 murder of Gary Hinman. She received immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying against Atkins and Beausoleil. (She later repudiated her statements.) In 1971, Brunner—along with several other Family members—was arrested and convicted for taking part in the robbery of a gun store and subsequent shootout with the cops. She served six years in the California Institution for Women, where Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel were serving their time.

NOW: After her release from prison, she disassociated herself from the Family, regained custody of her son, changed her name and now lives in anonymity somewhere in the Midwest.

Linda Kasabian
THEN: Kasabian had the only valid driver's license of all the Family members, so she was ordered to drive the group to the Tate residence, and the LaBianca residence. (It's bizarre that they cared about traffic laws.) She later turned state's evidence against the Family, and testified at their trials.

NOW: She has refused an media interviews in the past, aside from one for A Current Affair in 1989, but on September 7, as a way to mark the 40th anniversary of the Tate/LaBianca murders, the History channel will air a special on the Family, featuring a new, and extensive interview with Kasabian.

Manson's lasting legacy: 'Live freaky, die freaky' [CNN]
Restoring Sharon Tate [LA Times]
Manson Family Women Seek Parole After Decades Behind Bars [ChattahBox]
40 Years Later, Manson Murders Remembered [ABC News]
Leslie Van Houten: A Friendship, Part 5 of 5 [HuffPo]
Manson Family member interviewed for special [Reuters]

According to CNN, a spokeswoman at the Federal Medical Center at Carswell, Texas—where Fromme has been housed—wouldn't say whether or not she continues to correspond with Manson, although in a 1987 interview, Fromme was still an avid supporter of, and in contact with, the convicted murderer, saying he was "a once-in-a-lifetime soul…He's got more heart and spirit than anyone I've ever met."

In 1969—at the cusp of second-wave feminism—Fromme and the other female members of the Manson family challenged the public's widely-held stereotypes of female behavior, helping to debunk the idea that women are, by nature, nurturing and delicate creatures. On the other hand, the fact that they did so by blindly and wholeheartedly following the orders of a man sort of canceled out any "progress" in gender politics.

Fromme was perhaps the perfect representation of the dichotomous disposition of the Manson family members: free love, at-one-with-nature types with sociopathic, violent tendencies. In September 1975, Fromme went to Sacramento's Capitol Park, where she heard President Ford would be, in an attempt to plead with him about the plight of the California redwoods. She approached him about her environmental concerns, armed with a .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol. She pointed it at him, but never fired.

She was convicted of attempted assassination of the president, which requires a maximum sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Fromme was first eligible for parole in 1985, but reportedly waived her right for a hearing, and remained in prison.

In 1987, she escaped from the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia, after she learned that Manson had testicular cancer. She was attempting to meet up with him, but was captured two days later. That breakout came back to bite her in the ass when she was actually granted parole in July 2008, but was forced to serve extra time for the infraction.

After 34 Years, Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme To Be Released [CNN]

• Mark Wahlberg married his longtime girlfriend Rhea Durham yesterday in a small ceremony in Beverly Hills. "She looked like a princess and beyond stunning. Mark looked ecstatic," says a source. So much for Nicole 4 Eva! [People]

• In more wedding news, Ali Larter was married this weekend, as well, to actor Hayes MacArthur in Kennebunkport, Maine. [USWeekly]
• And Milla Jovovich is set to walk down the aisle on August 22 to marry her fiance of six years, director Paul W.S. Anderson. [DailyMail]
• Demi Moore, meanwhile, will celebrate her fourth year of marriage to Ashton Kutcher by adopting his surname. "Demi didn't want to change her name at first because it didn't seem right but now she finally feels ready," says a source. [ShowbizSpy]
• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have allegedly had a bit of a tiff over their final resting places: "Angelina initially wanted to be buried beside her ex-husband Billy Bob (Thornton)," says a source, "She bought his and hers cemetery plots in Louisiana but since then she's changed her will. She's been trying to persuade Brad to make a decision on where they should be buried but he thinks the whole thing is morbid." [DailyMail]
• Pitt has been dealing with the stress by retreating to his separate two-bedroom home, where neighbors say he has been "playing Nick Drake quite loudly." Oh, dear. [DailyMail]
• G.I. Joe star Channing Tatum says he loves being a newlywed: "We've been together, and nothing's really changed. It's pretty much the same as I've felt every day since I met her – and that's just about perfect." [People]
• Disturbing: Charles Manson allegedly runs a memorabilia business out of his cell, selling autographs to morbid collectors. [PageSix]
• Whitney Houston won't be singing live on Good Morning America this September; instead, her performance will be taped the day before, as Whitney "is not a morning person" and would rather not perform at 7:30 am. [PageSix]
• "Michael, after 50 years of waiting, God has finally called you home to do what you do best. He shared your extraordinary talent with us all for many decades and now it's time for you to spread your wings to a much higher level, which of course I know you will do, and join the other angels and give them an incredible eternal performance. Keep the angels smiling, Joker!"- LaToya Jackson, in a post on her website, dedicated to her brother Michael. [USWeekly]
• Jackson's death has been devastating for his mother, Katherine Jackson, who currently has custody of his children: "This pressure is tearing her apart physically and emotionally," says a source, "At her age and in her fragile state of health, more exertion could trigger another stroke. She has full time nursing care but the strain is visibly taking its toll." [DailyExpress]
• Judd Apatow's Funny People won the Friday box office with 8.6 million dollars. [EW]
• Kate Gosselin has reportedly purchased a condo in Rockville, Maryland that's only about a mile away from the home of her bodyguard, Steve Neild. [E!]
• Blind Item:"Which Oscar winning actor has used this as a chat-up line? 'Why don't you to come back to my trailer and let me impregnate you? Think about it – 20 grand a year for life.'" [BlindGossip]
• "I could not be happier. I'm absolutely thrilled with her as a person, as an actor. I've gotten to know her a bit over this time, and I can't speak highly enough of her."-Joan Jett, approving Kristen Stewart's portrayal of her in The Runaways. [ONTD]
• Courtney Love has allegedly been taking the growth hormone Genotropin in an attempt to slow the aging process. "Courtney has been struggling with her weight,' says a source, "She's been using the hormones to help her gain muscle and for anti-ageing and likes the results. But she's not very discreet. She even left a vial of it in her LA hotel room." [DailyMail]
• A source claims that Jessica Simpson's Barbie and Ken themed birthday party was the last straw for Tony Romo, who broke up with Simpson the night before the party was supposed to take place: "There was no way Tony was going to dress up like a Ken doll. He never would have lived it down. His teammates would have roasted him to death. But sadly, Jess just didn't get it!" [ShowbizSpy]
• "I love kids, don't get me wrong, because without them I wouldn't be where I am today, but they do follow me around to the most peculiar places. And they're very loud! When they start screaming it's sweet to see how enthusiastic they are, but I'm going to go deaf sooner than most people. It's impossible to calm them down when they start, I just cover my ears."- Vanessa Hudgens [ShowbizSpy]
• "I don't drink, so how am I going to meet people? I'm going to go up to a drunk guy and be like, ‘Hey, let me take advantage of you'? Not that I'm antisocial. I am kind of antisocial. It's just so intimidating to go from, like, ‘You want to play basketball and get to know each other?' to ‘Let's go on a date and see if it might get dirty.'"- Charlyne Yi on the difficulties of dating. [NYTimes]

[Image via WENN]

Dear Judy,

When her boyfriend broke up with her, a young girl — 17 — committed suicide. She is (was) the daughter of a longtime friend. And to put it candidly, my friend was a so-so mother. Always criticizing the girl, never praising her, telling her she was "fat" or that her grades weren't up to par. Like that.

So I really think my friend's attitude contributed to that poor girl's suicide. My friend talks about it a lot, obviously, keeps pinning the tragedy on the boy who broke off with her daughter. And keeps saying she was always "a good mother."

What should I say? If anything? Should I correct her? In my mind she was an awful mother, and maybe she should acknowledge that.

Lidia

Dorothy Parker: If I trusted you behind the wheel and I wasn't already sipping a martini, you'd have just driven me to drink.

Ayn Rand: How does this serve your rational self-interest? You are a fool.

Freud: Seriously?

Leopold and Loeb: Our superior intellect impels this kind of honesty. Carry on.

Saint Paul: I hate women.

Agamemnon: You know, "acknowledging it?" Doesn't really help that much.

Joan Crawford: Maybe she was fat.

Hume: Honesty is part of letting go. It is seeing the need to let go. (The desire for humility comes from admitting that one is prideful.)

Innocent III: The only sinner here is the miserable girl who's now in hell. Let's pray for her.

Edith Piaf: It was love! IT WAS LOVE, I SAY!

H.L. Mencken: Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends. And you make me glad to be dead.

Judas: You're a good friend.

Aurelia Plath: Go to hell, go directly to hell.

[Jack Kerouac was not apparently available for comment at this time.]

A Second Opinion, The Oversharing Widower And A Guilty Mother [Obit]

Earlier: What To Do When You're In Love With Your Sister's Widower?

"How Do I Keep My Sullen Daughter From Alienating My Wealthy Boyfriend?"

Bent is a former Seventh Day Adventist who founded the church in 1987, though most of the current members of the cult do not have roots in Adventism, reports CNN. Bent moved the whole operation to a remote corner of New Mexico in 2000, which was also the year, he says, that God informed him he was the Messiah. It gets better: Bent says on his church's website that the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal was the first harbinger of the apocalypse and also told his followers, around the same time, that the world was ending on October 31, 2007 (he also claims to have predicted 9/11).

Um, but then it didn't! (Apparently, according to Bent, the apocalypse is a "process"!) Anyway, a former cult member, John Sayer, says he broke away from the church in late 2005, but only after Bent said he wanted to sleep with 7 virgins, two of whom were Sayer's 14 and 15-year-old daughters. "I just told him no. ... I'm not in agreement. I don't see it's right," Sayer tells the AP. (Sayer still allowed his daughters to "lay naked" with the prophet, though he insists that nothing sexual occurred.)

Interestingly, the National Geographic Channel is airing a documentary tonight about Bent and his Lord of Righteousness followers called Inside A Cult. NYT reviewer Neil Genzlinger says, watching the documentary "you might find yourself thinking, 'These people obviously didn't understand the power of the medium or how insane they would sound on film.' But think again: the cult is thoroughly media-savvy, maintaining an extensive Web site (strongcity.info) full of video and blogs." Reading the church's blog just shows how utterly brainwashed the followers of Bent are — so much so that the impact of the outside world just doesn't register. Sayer's younger daughter, posting on the cult's website under the name "Healed" is clearly one of the true believers. She wrote on the site late last year, "Michael DID NOT molest me, and my laying with him was not sexual in any way, either. Michael sacrificed himself and was willing to look like a pedophile so that I might be bonded inseparably to the Father in Heaven." Jesus Christ.

Church Leader Arrested On Sex Charges In Northeast N.M. [AP]
Sect's 'Messiah' Arrested On Sex Charges [CNN]
Strong City [Lord Our Righteousness Official Website]
Ex-follower: 'Messiah' Wanted To Bed 7 Virgins [AP via CNN]
New Mexico Compound's Enraptured Believers [NYT]