LOS ANGELES, Jun. 24 – A spokesman for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office told The Capital Times this morning that members of Charles Manson’s “family intimidated Mary Brunner with their visits to Madison” in recent months and thereby caused her indictment for murder.

James M. Leavy, director of central operations for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, charged that the Madison visits of “family” members probably caused Miss Brunner, a librarian here, to retract her testimony against Robert Beausoleil in the Gary Hinman murder case. Beausoleil has been sentenced to death.

Miss Brunner’s retraction, prepared in a Madison affidavit, “made her worthless as a witness” Leavy said. Destroying her own credibility, according to Leavy, “broke our agreement” to give her immunity from prosecution and resulted in her indictment for first degree murder — largely on the evidence of her own earlier testimony for the prosecution.

Leavy said Charles Manson and his family “told the girls, ‘Go back and visit Mary in Madison.'” The purpose of the visits, including one by three female family in who stayed in a downtown Madison hotel, was allegedly to “persuade” Miss Brunner to retract her earlier testimony in order to impeach her credibility and so to save Beausoleil from the gas chamber.

Called before a Los Angeles grand jury which was considering the merit of an appeal by Beausoleil for a new trial, Miss Brunner said she lied on the witness stand when she accused Beausoleil of murder. Shortly afterward she made another turnaround and said she was lying about lying.

The district attorneys office figuratively threw up their hands. “Her on-again off-again statements made any future testimony of hers useless,” Leavy said, “so the deal was off.”

The “deal,” according to Leavy, was that she would be granted immunity in return for testimony against Manson and Atkins, as well as Beausoleil.

A source close to Miss Brunner, who asked not to be named, denied the district attorney’s statement that Miss Brunner violated the agreement first. “They promised to give Mary back her child as soon as she testified against Bobby (Beausoleil). When she returned to Madison she found out she couldn’t get her son back until after she testified against Charlie (Manson) and Sadie (Susan Atkins). So they broke the deal first,” the source said.

Miss Brunner had a son by Manson. The boy, Michael, lives in Eau Claire with her parents.

Already convicted of slaying bagpipe musician Gary Hinman in his Topanga canyon home, handsome Robert Beausoleil, 22, was recently removed from the Los Angeles county jail to San Quentin’s death row.

Others charged with first degree murder in the case, besides Miss Brunner, are Charles Manson, mesmeric leader of a desert love cult, and Susan Atkins, the “Sadie Glutz” of the Tate-La Bianca murders.

Commenting on the possible penalty if Miss Brunner is found guilty as charged, Leavy indicated that his office would not seek the death penalty. “We call them as we see them,” Leavy said, “and you have to be realistic: Mary didn’t do any of the stabbing. Now, Beausoleil and Manson, that’s a different thing…”

According to Miss Brunner’s earlier prosecution testimony, Beausoleil stabbed Hinman to death hours after Manson had severed the musician’s ear with an ornamental sword in an attempt to extort money from the victim.

Miss Brunner testified that she and Miss Atkins sewed the ear back on with dental floss. Miss Atkins also has a child by Manson, named Zo Ze Sc C Zadfrack.

Commenting on Miss Brunner’s present lack of immunity, Leavy said “she never had immunity. We promised it to her if she would testify for us.”

When Miss Brunner allegedly broke the deal, the promise of immunity was withdrawn. Leavy confirmed that his office would use her testimony against her, since it was “freely” given. He denied any violation of the Fifth Amendment was involved.

By JIM HOUGAN