Tragedy for all concerned

This, of all the bizarre Hollywood deaths/murders, is out in front in terms of sheer horror and magnitude. We lived directly below the Tate-Polanski house and I came home while they were still up at the house. Cielo is a small street and the Tate house is at the end of a switchback about halfway up. I saw a strange car when I came home; our house was the last one and necessitated turning around at the switchback, and that's where this car was parked. I thought it was kids making out. My mother claimed to have heard screams; a Boy Scout troop leader on an overnight a few miles away did hear screams, due to the tricky acoustics of the canyons. I heard nothing.

My brother, Ned, had lived at the house when Terry Melcher rented it; a mutual friend of theirs, Greg Jakobson brought Manson over and he was interesting but a bit nutty and they referred to him as Crazy Charlie. Greg met him via some dune buggy deals; Manson immediately tried to get Melcher to get him a recording contract as he fancied himself a singer. Melcher said he would, not intending to, but doing the Holllywood glib bit. Manson took this very seriously, and when he never did get the contract and found out it was all smoke, he vowed revenge on the tenants on Cielo. By that time, though, Terry had moved up to the safety of Big Sur and moved in with his mother, Doris Day.

Manson knew Terry was no longer there but sent his death squad anyway to off everyone in the house because they represented pigs, the establishment, those who ignored him and lied to him.

I saw Sharon Tate at a small dinner party at the home of John Phillips (Mamas and Papas) a few months before she died; what a beauty she was! WOW! On top of all that beauty, she was incredibly sweet. How horrifed we were the next day; I was awakened by cars going up the street; since it was so small, and we never had traffic, this was highly unusual; I looked out my window and saw literally dozens of police cars heading up the street; there were helicopters overhead as well.

We had no idea what was going on until a friend of ours came over and told us. We were so shocked and everyone went out and got alarms, dogs and guns.
When the truth came out months later and we found out who it was, that was another shock, and I remember Terry coming over on his way up to Big Sur; my brother said he wanted to see me; I went outsdie and he was sitting on our diving board, white as a sheet, and I talked to him for awhile. Poor Terry; he never stopped looking over his shoulder after that.

As to the "Family" I say, thank God they're incarcerated; and thank God none of them will ever breathe a free breath again. Rehabilitated? Frankly, I don't care; I think that if it were not for the Death Penalty having been revoked the year before they would be where they should be...

They are all monsters. I worked for an indoor plant company in the early 70s, and we were asked to travel to the prison where the women were being held; I refused to go and was fired. Sorry, I just never wanted to have anything to do with them and whether or not they have been born again, or memorized the Bible, whatever, IMO, they are now and will always be monsters down to their souls.