SACRAMENTO, Jul. 16 — For more than an hour and a half, supporters of Manson family killer Susan Atkins had the floor to themselves, painting for parole board members a picture of a remorseful, changed woman who should be released […]
Surfin’ Era Singer, Songwriter Dead of Cancer
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 23 – Terry Melcher, surfin’ era singer songwriter and recording executive who produced the Byrds’ No. 1 hits Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn and co-wrote The Beach Boys’ well-loved Kokomo, has died. He was 62. […]
Message In A Shampoo Bottle
A cut above: Jay Sebring, who invented a new way of styling men’s hair, with Paul Newman on the “Harper” set in 1965. Fall 2002 – I have interviewed many celebrity hairstylists in my day, but this would be my […]
Paul Fitzgerald, 64, Lead Attorney for Charles Manson
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 — Paul J. Fitzgerald, a pugnacious former public defender who became the lead defense attorney in the bizarre 1970 murder trial of cult leader Charles Manson and his followers, has died. He was 64. He was […]
Board Refuses Parole for Manson Follower
SACRAMENTO, CA, Dec. 31 – Former “Manson Family” member Susan Atkins has been denied parole for the 10th time for the murders 31 years ago of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others, a spokeswoman for the parole board said […]
City Acts to Protect Rocky Terrain of Santa Susana Area
CHATSWORTH, Jun. 26 — If the rocky outcroppings around Stoney Point could speak, they’d spin plenty of tales about mountain lions, the Lone Ranger, even Charles Manson. History and nature abound in these rugged peaks, from the trail that retraces […]
Chatsworth Man Dies; Two Escape Crash
CHATSWORTH, Feb. 9 — A World War II German Army captain who emigrated to America after the war and found success as a businessman became a victim early Sunday of the recent series of powerful storms that slammed the Southland. […]
How a Life Can Go So Wrong
BERKELEY, Dec. 4 — Jess Bravin and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme never met, never talked and view each other across a cultural chasm once called “the generation gap.” Yet each is intrigued with a question about the same strange moment in […]
Manson Found Guilty of Trafficking Drugs in Prison
CORCORAN, Calif., Jun. 11 – Charles Manson had his visitation, day room and commissary privileges restricted after being found guilty of trafficking drugs in prison, a corrections official said. After a hearing Monday, Manson was ordered into administrative isolation, said […]
Theo Wilson; Celebrated Courtroom Reporter
Jan. 18 – Theo Wilson, the storied consummate news reporter who thought nothing of hiring a taxi to take her 250 miles to a crime scene or of telling mass murderer Charles Manson to “shut up,” died early Friday. She […]
Up Close: Peter Pitchess
Jan. 30 – He may not be familiar with Hootie and the Blowfish, but Peter Pitchess, who completed his law degree at the University of Utah in 1940 and received the U.’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1975, knows everyone else. […]
Charles Manson Juror Recalls Months in Limbo
SANTA CRUZ, Jan. 24 –A young Bill McBride was puzzled by the maze-like path to the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles through which bailiffs led him and other prospective jurors. It was a labyrinth — and now a […]
A Violent Deja Vu: Officer’s Arrival at Scene of Slayings Brings Back Memories of Tate Murders
LOS ANGELES, Jun. 25 – The murder scene at Nicole Brown Simpson’s condominium, said Los Angeles Police Officer William Richard Walley, one of the first officers to arrive, was as gruesome as any he has ever seen: The former wife […]
Manson Murders Mansion Torn Down
LOS ANGELES, May 28 — The home where actress Sharon Tate and four others were brutally slain in 1969 has been razed and a new mansion is under construction in its place. The Benedict Canyon residence was being rented by […]
Atkins Defends Attack on Manson, Rose
Feb. 27 – I wrote a letter (Jan. 30) in which I described the recent choice by Guns ‘N Roses to produce a song written by Charles Manson. My letter has been rebutted. Since some people freely admit that they […]
Using Manson Song Irresponsible
Jan. 30 – I have to express my deep dismay at the recent decision by the rock group Guns ‘N Roses to release a song written by Charles Manson (“Look at Your Game, Girl” on “The Spaghetti Incident.”) While, to […]
Promises to Keep
Jan. 10 – Patti Tate is thinking back. It’s the summer of ’69, and she’s got her hands on her sister’s stomach, feeling the baby inside kick. She was 11 years old then and her 26-year-old sister, actress Sharon Tate, […]
Judge Laurence Rittenband Dies
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2 – Retired Superior Court Judge Laurence J. Rittenband, who once vowed to remain on the bench until director Roman Polanski returned to the United States for sentencing on a child sex charge, has died. He was […]
Charles Manson Gets Royalties on T-shirts
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25 — Charles Manson T-shirts are riding a wave of popularity among surfers and rockers. They’re also putting money in Manson’s pocket. Manson, serving a life sentence for his role in the 1969 slayings of actress Sharon […]
Guns N’ Roses Does Charles Manson
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21 – You’d expect to hear old songs by the Damned, UK Subs and maybe even Nazareth on the new Guns N’ Roses album saluting some of the band’s punk and hard-rock influences. But a song written […]
