Manson Family convicted of seven Tate-LaBianca murders in 1971

On the night of August 8–9, 1969, five people were murdered at 10050 Cielo Drive in the Benedict Canyon area of Los Angeles. The victims were actress Sharon Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant; coffee heiress Abigail Folger; hairstylist Jay Sebring; writer Wojciech Frykowski; and Steven Parent, a young man visiting the property’s caretaker. The following night, August 9–10, grocery chain owners Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Feliz home. The crimes were discovered the following mornings by housekeepers and family members. The Tate murders were initially reported as a drug-related killing, and the LaBianca murders were not immediately linked.

The perpetrators were members of a commune led by Charles Manson. Those convicted for the murders were Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten. Charles “Tex” Watson was also convicted. The victims were Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, Steven Parent, Leno LaBianca, and Rosemary LaBianca. Key figures around the case included prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who wrote a widely known book about the case, and the lead detective, whose name has been widely reported as Lieutenant Earl Deemer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The victims’ families, particularly Sharon Tate’s mother, Doris Tate, became public advocates for victims’ rights.