Five months ago, when cult leader and convicted murderer Charles Manson was denied parole for the 12th time since he was sentenced to life in prison in 1971, it came to The Santa Barbara Independent's attention that Manson may have lived in town at some point in his life. But more important and less creepy stories, as well as ever-looming deadlines, brushed the report off our radar, and it was forgotten until this week when the 77-year-old's name again popped up in news feeds: A letter he penned during his days as the messiah of the Los Angeles-based Manson Family sold Wednesday for £400 (around $625) during a “murderbilia” auction in Glasgow, Scotland.
Paul Wellman
705 Bath Street (Aug. 17, 2012)
So we decided to give the tip from a reader a look. After an investigation that landed somewhere between cursory and comprehensive (closer to the former), there's real reason to believe Manson called Santa Barbara home, at least for a short while.
The most telling piece of evidence came from a man named Mark Turner, webmaster of CharlieManson.com. He emailed a scanned driver's license with the name “Charles Willis Manson” on it and a photograph of what looks like a young version of the now-grizzled criminal. (See above.) Listed for an address is 705 Bath Street, Santa Barbara, California. Turner wouldn't say where he got the copy of the license, but a quick Google search reveals it's featured on a number of websites, including some that claim Manson resided in Santa Barbara.
It's hard to determine if the license's signature is authentic since Manson signed his name different ways over the years, but the height, weight, and eye and hair color look accurate. The birthday is one day off from what's been listed as Manson's official date of birth; then again, criminologists and Internet bloggers alike remain split on whether it's actually November 11 or November 12, 1934.
Excerpt from Ed Sanders's 2002 book "The Family"
A short passage from Ed Sanders's 2002 book on Manson and his followers, titled The Family, seems to lend some credence to the license's authenticity. Sanders writes: “Sometime, perhaps in August '67, Charlie and Lynn Fromme aka Squeaky and Mary Brunner acquired a residence at 705 Bath Street in Santa Barbara, California, 334 miles south of San Francisco.” The license talked about above was issued July 21, 1967.
Michael Redmon, director of research for the Santa Barbara Historical Museum and an Independent columnist, checked old Santa Barbara city directories by address and phone directories by name for any sign of Manson or Family members Fromme and Brunner, but he had no luck. Redmon pointed out, however, that some of the apartments at that address had high turnover rates at the time.
Redmon also passed along that one of the museum's library volunteers owns a painting of the small market next to 705 Bath Street, and that the artist, Martin Murphy, told her Manson had indeed lived in the apartment building. “That’s all I could find out,” Redmon summed up. “No absolute confirmation.”
California Department of Corrections
Charles Manson (June 2011)
Manson, convicted on eight counts of first-degree murder, is serving his life sentence in Corcoran state prison in Kings County, California. After his parole denial last April, he won't be up for review for another 15 years.
Fromme was never charged with any involvement in the Manson murders but served short jail terms for contempt of court and trying to dissuade imprisoned Manson followers from testifying. In 1975, Fromme tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford and was sentenced to life in prison. She was released on parole in August 2009 and now lives in New York.
Brunner testified against Manson in one of his murder trials and received immunity in return. She was arrested in 1971 with a number of Family members who tried to steal rifles from a hunting store and then exchanged fire with responding police. Released in 1977, Brunner changed her name and lives in Wisconsin.
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Comments
In addition, there was a young couple murdered along our coast here in that time period. Members of "The Family" were also in the custody of the Oxnard PD at one point.
If the Beach Boys had their compound in that time period, he most likely was in town to glom onto them.
People are familiar with Prosecutor Bugliosi's book, but I highly recommend "The Family" by Ed Sanders (yes, the very same musician-poet from the 60s band The Fugz.)
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
August 16, 2012 at 6:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is true. I know someone who used to live on the Mesa in the 60s, and they knew of Manson and some other "family" members spending lots of time at a house next door. And it's Charles "Willis" Manson, not "Willie". And the brother of one of the killers (i shall not name him here) still lives in SB.
Brier (anonymous profile)
August 16, 2012 at 9:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
He's just another killer in the long run and doesn't deserve the attention.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
August 16, 2012 at 9:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Indy: Thanks for the correction to "Willis". Many of his followers made a big deal of his name ostensibly translating to "Charles's Will is Man's Son". Signifying that he was Jesus Christ. They actually believed that. Scary that such a psycho once lived in our lovely little town... I am somewhat of a Manson Family scholar and there's not much I don't know about him and the murders.
Brier (anonymous profile)
August 16, 2012 at 10:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The library used to have "Polk" directories that were published annually listing who lived where. Manson might be listed in one or two of those volumes.
Speaking of Ed Sanders and the Fugs--I saw a concert of theirs in NYC back around 1966 in the lower east side. Still have an album they recorded from those days. Terrible recording technically, but sweet hippie lyrics.
pnortonsb (anonymous profile)
August 16, 2012 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You can see Sanders in a really cool performance doc "Poetry in Motion", with Burroughs, Giorno, Waldman, Bukowski, Ginsberg and many many more.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
August 16, 2012 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember my dad saying he went to school with one of the manson family members(Bobby Beausoleil) at S.B. high school. Makes sense now if Manson lived here too.
anon84 (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 7:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Whoopity do. Does it really matter? People act like this guy was something special or something.
AZ2SB (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The book by Vincent BugliosiI (Helter Skelter) mentioned an address on Bath Street that Manson had stayed in. I visited a friend at that house in the early 70's. The name Manson was legible on the mailbox.
The elderly neighbor lady recalled young people that lived there previously that were very noisy.
JoeSixPack (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
anon84: I went to school (La Cumbre Jr. HIgh and SB HIgh) with Bobby's kid brither, Danny. Small world.
winddancer1562 (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Manson would use Beausoleil and Charles Watson to lure in the young girls.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 12:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Need you blog-trolls drag the family names though the mud here? Give the family some peace and leave their names out, will ya? They still live here, and don't think they want or need to hear y'all dropping names etc.
Not speaking for them, but I sort of doubt they want to re-live what their family member did back then. Give them a break, please.......
azuresees (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Many families have members in the past who've done terrible things. We can't rewrite history nor should we ignore history simply because someone has the last name or even common DNA with a notorious figure.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
August 17, 2012 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Are you sure he didn't live on Indio Muerto? No one's seen the injun since Charlie moved out. Just sayin'.
Draxor (anonymous profile)
August 18, 2012 at 7:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you knew your news that place has a history.
jw (anonymous profile)
August 19, 2012 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Rumors that the Manson family hung out here in IV a bit... 1967 was chaotic. But they lived in SB.
Didn't `Your Muslim Bakery' start in SB too?
pardallchewinggumspot (anonymous profile)
August 20, 2012 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Trying to find when manson was going by Charles Willis Manson... His names is Charles Milles Manson, and he was 5'0 not 5'7.... Also, the fact remains he never killed anyone, funny how his story remains the same to this day, that he never gave orders, there were no leaders, nor followers. It was Tex Watson....
lifer13 (anonymous profile)
August 25, 2012 at 11:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tying up the LaBiancas so they could be stabbed to death, as Manson did- is commiting murder.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
August 25, 2012 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah thats why there were never mention of him saying kill. So If I tie up someone, and some one else kills that person, Without me telling them, I have to goto jail??? Fair enough, then the Doctors and the people that get abortion should be sent to jail... its still murder, its a living being.... Cant have it 4 ways.
lifer13 (anonymous profile)
August 26, 2012 at 1:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Trying to find when manson was going by Charles Willis Manson... His names is Charles Milles Manson, and he was 5'0 not 5'7.... Also, the fact remains he never killed anyone, funny how his story remains the same to this day, that he never gave orders, there were no leaders, nor followers. It was Tex Watson..."
Partially true. I too remember Charles MILLS (or Milles) Manson, and that he is much shorter than 5'7.
I had heard it was Manson who gave the orders, and I would say that based on the fact that surviving Manson Family members try to contact him and not Watson that Manson was the consciousness of the group. Either way, he and Watson are where they belong. The irony of this is that Manson, like Hitler, never actually killed anyone, but that certainly doesn't get them off the hook for mass murder.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
August 26, 2012 at 3:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I dont believe that for a min, sorry. mansons story never changed and hes almost dead... everyone elses story has. do I believe hes alot weird an off, yes... and isnt it funny tex doesnt want anyone to hear these new tapes from the past??? funny how manson says there should be no followers or no leaders, whatever a persons will should be? sorry, think the media made manson into a the devil... and i dont think the devil should be people like albert fish, or ed gein, not some car thief that wrote some bad checks, and wanted to live off the land smoking weed, and have orgies...
lifer13 (anonymous profile)
August 26, 2012 at 7:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)