Cult leader Charles Manson, who in 1969 directed his followers to carry out a series of brutal murders in Southern California, has died at the age of 83 from natural causes. His followers thought Manson, who plied them with drugs, was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
Actress Sharon Tate was among those killed. She was 8 and a half months pregnant and married to moviemaker Roman Polanski.
Manson was sentenced to 9 life terms and became a symbol of the dark side of the counter culture.
Prosecutors argued Manson hoped blacks would be blamed for the killings, leading to a race war he called Helter Skelter which was a song by the Beatles.