The jailhouse confession that finally broke the Manson case wide open

In October 1969, a woman in jail on an unrelated charge began talking to her cellmate.

Her name was Susan Atkins, and the cellmate was Virginia Graham.

What Atkins told Graham, the record does not fully say.

The exact content of that first statement is not in the record; only that she told Graham about the killings, and Graham passed the information to authorities.

Atkins later gave a detailed statement to prosecutors.

The break came after months of stalled work.

The Tate murders had first been treated as a drug-related crime.

The LaBianca murders were initially thought to be a copycat or unrelated.

Two crime scenes, two nights, two cases that were not connected.

At the Tate residence on Cielo Drive, the word “Pig” was written in blood on the front door.

A .22-caliber revolver, a knife, and a rope were used.

The killers drove a yellow or cream-colored sedan.

It was August, and the investigation had theories, not suspects.

Then a whispered confession in a jail cell.

Why did anyone believe her?

What exactly did she say?

That would require evidence, and the record does not establish it.

She was in jail on an unrelated charge.

She told Graham about the killings.

Graham told authorities.

Atkins talked, and the case turned.

TWO NIGHTS, TWO CRIME SCENES

The first night was August 9, 1969, at 10050 Cielo Drive.

Five people were murdered there: actress Sharon Tate, eight and a half months pregnant; coffee heiress Abigail Folger; Folger’s boyfriend; celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring; and a friend of the property’s caretaker.

The victims were stabbed and shot.

Tate and Sebring were also hanged by ropes thrown over a beam.

The word “Pig” was written in blood on the front door.

The second night was August 10, 1969.

Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Feliz home.

“Death to Pigs” and “Helter Skelter” were written in blood on the walls and refrigerator.

The Tate killings were discovered the next morning by the housekeeper.

The LaBianca killings were discovered later that day by the LaBiancas’ son.

Two nights.

Two crime scenes.

The record shows a major mistake early on: the failure to connect the two crime scenes quickly.

The LaBianca case was initially handled separately.

Not because the scenes were identical — they were not.

But because the connection was not made, and the investigation drifted.

The specific reason the two scenes were not connected is not detailed in the record.

Only that the failure occurred, and the LaBianca case was handled apart.

The investigation also faced criticism for missing leads.

A tip about the Spahn Ranch went unheeded.

The Tate murders were first treated as a drug-related crime.

The LaBianca murders were initially thought to be a copycat or unrelated.

What if the link had been made on August 11?

What if the ranch tip had been followed?