• Follower of Manson Guilty of Murders

Follower of Manson Guilty of Murders

LOS ANGELES, Mar. 15 — Bruce McGregor Davis, 28-year-old follower of hippie cult leader Charles Manson, was found guilty Tuesday of murdering Malibu musician Gary Hinman and ranch hand Donald (Shorty) Shea.

The guilty verdicts on the two homicide counts and a separate conspiracy charge were returned on the 12th day of deliberation; by the eight-man, four-women jury.

A few hours before they found him guilty, jury foreman Hugh Gould had informed Superior Judge Raymond Choate that the jurors were deadlocked at 11-1 on all three counts.

Coprosecutors Stephen Kay and Anthony Manzella presented evidence during the four-month trial that tied Davis in with the two-day torture slaying of Hinman in late July, 1969, at his Topanga Canyon home.

They also convinced the jurors that Davis participated in the killing of Shea sometime between Aug. 16 and Sept. 1, 1969 on the Spahn movie ranch near Chatsworth. Shea’s body was never found.

Manson, 37, previously was convicted for both the Hinman and Shea murders in addition to the seven Tate-LaBianca slayings in August of 1969.

Steve Grogan, 19, another member of the Manson “family,” has been found guilty of the Shea murder. Evidence presented during Grogan’s trial indicated that he beheaded Shea with a machete.

A conviction for Hinman’s murder also has’ been returned against still another Manson follower, 23-year-old Robert Beausoleil.

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