THE TATE MURDERS

After cutting the line and moving the car down the drive, Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian walked up the street and climbed over the embankment right of the gate.

The mailbox at 10050 Cielo Drive, located just outside the gate and next to the telephone pole that Charles "Tex" Watson climbed.

When the killers arrived at 10050 Cielo Drive, Charles "Tex" Watson climbed this telephone pole with a pair of bolt cutters and cut two lines that led to the Tate residence

LAPD detective Mike McGann shows the cut phone that lay hanging outside of the 10050 Cielo Drive gate.

Steven Parent's Rambler parked next to the cut phone lines in the driveway of the residence. Jay Sebring's black Porsche is parked next to Abigail Folger's Firebird.

Steven Parent was John Doe 85 for much of Saturday, August 9, 1969, until a reporter ran his license plate - visible from the gate at 10050 Cielo Drive - through the Department of Motor Vehicles and learned of Parent's identity.

When Parent pulled up to the gate to leave 10050 Cielo Drive, Charles "Tex" Watson stuck this Buntline styled revolver into the window and said, "Halt!" Parent pleaded, but Watson shot him four times in quick succession.

Steven Parent, pictured here at his prom, was the first victim. He had visited the caretaker in the guesthouse and was leaving the property when the killers came over the gate.

A LAPD photograph of the shirt worn by Steven Parent.

A LAPD photograph of blood on the steering wheel of Steven Parent's Rambler

One of the bullets removed in the autopsy of Steven Parent on Sunday, August 10, 1969.

Aerial view of the 10050 Cielo Drive main house and parking area. LAPD guards the residence.

The main house at 10050 Cielo Drive. Charles "Tex" Watson cut the screen and entered the house via the window in the far right of the photograph.

The window to the dining room where Charles "Tex" Watson cut the screen and entered the house.

Interior view of the window where Charles "Tex" Watson cut the screen and entered the house.

Charles "Tex" Watson came in through the dining room window and walked to the front door where he let Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel both in.

Abigial Folger and her boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski house sat for the Polanski's and were staying with Sharon Tate until Roman Polanski returned from London. When the killers arrived, Frykowski was sleeping on the living room couch.

When the killers arrived, Abigail Folger was reading a book in her bed. Susan Atkins walked down the hall and Folger looked up at her, smiled and waved hello.

Sharon Tate was 8 ½ months pregnant and laying in her bed talking to Jay Sebring when Susan Atkins came into the room with a buck knife in hand telling them to come into the living room.

Tex Watson told everyone to lay in front of the living room fireplace. Sebring said, "Can't you see [Sharon Tate] is pregnant, let her sit down." Watson then shot Sebring and chaos ensued.

The living room and loft of 10050 Cielo Drive.

Wojciech Frykowski's American flag is draped across the couch where the bodies of Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring were found in front of.

Watson took this 3 strand nylon rope and tied it around the necks of Jay Sebring, Sharon Tate and Abigail Folger and then looped it over a rafter.

According to Danny DeCarlo, the 3 strand nylon rope was purchased at the Jack Frost surplus store in Santa Monica in June of 1969 by Charles Manson. Tagged as evidence in the trials, the tag marked 11/16/70 was from the girls' and Charlie's trial. The tag marked AUG 31, 1971 was from the Watson trial.

Dried blood remains on the tag that Coroner Thomas Noguchi used to mark the spot where he cut the rope that was around the neck of Sharon Tate Polanski.

"This bullet is recovered between [Jay Sebring's] shirt and back found loosely during fluroscopy examination at 10:15 am on Aug. 10, 1969," signed Thomas Noguchi.

An officer points to a mark on the beam in the living room of 10050 Cielo Drive.

An officer points to marks on the beam in the living room of 10050 Cielo Drive.

The blood of Abigail Folger near where the hallway meets the living room.

An officer points to blood left by Abigail Folger as she tried to escape by running out of the living room towards the bedrooms.

A close-up of blood left by Abigail Folger.

A view of the hallway leading from the living room down to the master bedroom. Abigail Folger attempted to escape by running down the hall and out the french doors leading out to the pool.

An officer points to blood left by Abigail Folger as she tried to escape by running out of the living room towards the bedrooms.

An officer points to blood left by Abigail Folger on the walkway from the master bedroom to the pool area.

The pool area behind the main house.

Buck brand clasp-type pocketknife found in a chair in the living room of 10050 Cielo Drive

LAPD photograph of a Buck brand clasp-type pocketknife and buckskin sheath

Wojciech Frykowski, case No. 69-8793. This .22 caliber bullet was removed from him at 12:15 pm, Sunday, August 10, 1969

After the gun jammed, Charles "Tex" Watson began using it to beat Frykowski over the head, in the process breaking the right side grip.

Winifred Chapman noted that the phone was out and walked through the house until she came upon Sharon Tate's blood-stained steamer trunks. She ran screaming out of the house after she looked outside the open front door and saw the body of Wojciech Frykowski.

An officer points to pools of blood out on the front porch near the entryway to the main house of 10050 Cielo Drive.

A massive pool of blood on the front porch near the entryway to the main house of 10050 Cielo Drive.

A view of the guesthouse at 10050 Cielo Drive from the patio area by the pool.

A view of the guesthouse at 10050 Cielo Drive from the walkway leading from the pool.

The porch of the guesthouse at 10050 Cielo Drive.

The guesthouse at 10050 Cielo Drive. The only survivor, caretaker William Garretson, spent the entire night here and told LAPD he didn't hear a thing.

The 10050 Cielo Drive guesthouse living room

The desk in the guesthouse on the morning of Saturday, August 9, 1969. The only survivor, caretaker William Garretson, told officers he had been up all night listening to music and writing letters.

"Then Tex told me to go back into the house and write something on the door in one of the victim's blood," said Susan Atkins. "He said, 'Write something that would shock the world.' And I got the towel with Sharon Tate's blood, walked over to the door and with the towel I wrote pig on the door."

Bloody footprint left on entryway of 10050 Cielo Drive by Susan Atkins. Atkins was barefoot on the night of the Tate murders because of sores on her feet from an infection she had.

Fingerprint expert Jerrome Boen, SID, points to the location where Charles "Tex" Watson's print was lifted.

After the killers left 10050 Cielo Drive, they stopped outside the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rudolf Weber on 9870 Portola Drive, and used the garden hose to wash the blood off of themselves.

The car driven by the killers belonged to Johnny Swartz, a ranch hand at Spahn's.

After leaving the 10050 Cielo Drive the killers changed clothes. "We stopped two or three times," said Susan Atkins. Linda threw away all the bloody clothes over the side of the hill along with the weapons at different intervals."

A pair of Roebuck's jeans worn by one of the girls during the Tate murders were recovered near Benedict Canyon by a television news crew on Monday, December 15, 1969.

According to the trial testimony of Linda Kasabian, this is the velour shirt that Charles "Tex" Watson wore on the night of the Tate murders.

When maid Winifred Chapman arrived on Saturday morning, she walked to the rear of the residence, retrieved a spare key hidden atop a rafter and entered through the service porch entrance.

While scores of officers come and go from the crime scene, news crews stand outside the gate of 10050 Cielo Drive trying to get information on what has happened within the property.

The gate control outside the gates of 10050 Cielo Drive.

Steven Parent's Rambler parked next to the cut phone lines in the driveway of the residence. Abigail Folger's Firebird can be seen in the background.

Sergeant Mike McGann pointing to the utility lines within the property of 10050 Cielo Drive.

The back side of the garage at 10050 Cielo Drive.

The utility lines between the garage and the main house at 10050 Cielo Drive.

Lieutenant Robert Helder (in the Brown sport coat) was in charge of the Tate investigation. Sergeant Mike McGann (standing atop the wall) takes a closer look at the pole that supports the utility lines coming into the property.

A view of the parking area at 10050 Cielo Drive.

A view of the garage and main house at 10050 Cielo Drive.

An officer searches the area around Sharon Tate's rented Camaro. Sharon Tate had rented the 1969 Camaro when her red Ferrari was being repaired following an accident. It's license plate, ZLR 694, was confused with Steven Parent's in Vincent Bugliosi's 1974 book Helter Skelter.

A view of the main house from the 2nd story window of the garage at 10050 Cielo Drive.

A view of the main house at 10050 Cielo Drive from the small back yard. The door on the far right goes into the living room where the bodies of Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring were found.

A view of the main house at 10050 Cielo Drive from the walkway that led to the guesthouse on the far end of the property.

A view of the main house at 10050 Cielo Drive from the walkway that led to the guesthouse on the far end of the property.

A view of the walkway that led from the guesthouse back to the parking lot.

Sgt. Mike McGann standing by the front gate of 10050 Cielo Drive.

Aerial view of the entire 10050 Cielo Drive property, including the guesthouse and twin house, 10048 Cielo Drive (upper-left). The closest neighbor, Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Kott lived at 10070 Cielo Drive (bottom-left).

Aerial view of the 10050 Cielo Drive main house and parking area.

Aerial view of the entire 10050 Cielo Drive property, including the guesthouse. The closest neighbor, Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Kott living at 10070 Cielo Drive (upper-left). The next house, 10090 Cielo Drive (upper-left corner) was the residence of Ray Asin.

A helicopter circling the residence. In the foreground, you can see one of the Christmas lights put on the split-rail fence by actress Candice Bergen.

Aerial view of the entire 10050 Cielo Drive property, including the guesthouse and twin house, 10048 Cielo Drive (upper-right).