• Bored Cult Leader Charles Manson Arraigned in LA Murder Orgy

test

0

Bored Cult Leader Charles Manson Arraigned in LA Murder Orgy

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 – Charles Milles Manson, 35-year-old leader of a hate-oriented cult of wanderers, was arraigned yesterday for the murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others.

The formal charges were read to the long – haired, bearded cult leader when he appeared before Superior Court Judge William B. Keene at the Hall of Justice.

Manson, looking bored and wearing fringed buckskin clothing and moccasins, was ordered held without bail.

The soft-spoken Manson was scheduled to return to court at 11 a.m. on Dec. 22 to enter a plea to the seven counts of murder and one of conspiracy to commit murder.

That is the same time and date two of his co-defendants, female members of his nomadic group of followers, will enter their pleas.

They are Linda Louise Kasabian 20, originally from New Hampshire, and Leslie Louise Van Houten 19, from Monrovia.

The two young women, along with Susan Denise Atkins 21, appeared before Judge Keene Wednesday. Miss Atkins will return to court at 11 a.m. next Tuesday.

Manson, whose middle name has previously been reported as Miller, was asked by Judge Keene When he walked into the court room If his name was “Charles Manson.”

“Yes, sir, it is,” Manson said quietly, as he traced his lower hp with his right hand and brushed his long hair back from his face while Judge Keene advised him of his constitutional rights.

Judge Keene said no bail would be set in the case.

“Do you understand?” asked the jurist as he finished advising Manson of his fights.

“I understand what you said,” replied Manson, but he said that Judge Keene had told him he could question witnesses.

The judge explained that Manson, through an attorney, could confront witnesses at his trial.

“Acting through my attorney?” asked Manson.

Keene replied to the affirmative and asked the hippie leader if he had the money to employ an attorney.

“No,” said Manson.

At this point, Judge Keene appointed Paul J. Fitzgerald, Los Angeles County deputy’ public defender, to represent Manson.

Then Dept. Dist Atty. Aaron H. Stovitz read the, county Grand Jury indictment returned last Monday against Manson and five of his followers.

Manson then notified the court of his true middle name and stood listlessly with his arms crossed in front of him as Stovitz read the indictment charging him with the Aug. 9 slaughter of Miss Tate and four others in Benedict Canyon, and the murders the following day of Los Feliz market owner Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary.

Manson looked bored.

Besides Manson and the four young women, the indictment also names Charles Watson 24 now in custody in Texas, and Patricia Krenwinkel 22, jailed in Alabama.

The pair, both members of Manson’s cult, are fighting ex-tradition to Los Angeles.

Manson, after the deputy public defender from Los Angeles County was appointed, told the judge, “There is a conflict of interest.”

He also expressed a desire to speak to the court, but Judge Keene stopped him when Fred Schaefer, the public defender from Inyo County, rose to address the court.

Schaefer, who represents Manson in a grand theft case Involving stolen dune buggies, accompanied the hippie leader from Independence when he was brought to Los Angeles Tuesday.

The Inyo county official said he was present at the request of Manson.

Judge Keene thanked Schaefer for coming and asked him to return to court on Dec. 22 when Manson enters his plea. Schaefer said he would.

Manson was remanded to the custody of the county sheriff — which signaled the end of the brief proceedings.

Earlier, Dist. Atty. Evelle J. Younger-held a news conference in his office to introduce Stovitz and Dep. Dist. Atty. Vincent T. Bugllosi to the news media.

The two prosecutors, whom Younger termed “competent,” dedicated men, will handle the Tate-LaBianca trial.

Younger said his office believes that Watson and Miss Krenwinkel will be returned to Los-Angeles “within three weeks.”

He said the extradition papers “are on Gov. (Ronald) Reagan’s desk” and both Alabama and Texas state officials had in the past complied with California requests for extradition.

Younger said the prosecution was prepared to go to trial within 60 days after all the defendants are arraigned in Superior Court. And it expected to “try all six on both cases at the same time.”

Younger also said the district attorney’s office did not plan to test the gag rule issued Wednesday by Judge Keene on the case.

Judge Keene imposed restrictions on pretrial comments similar to those made by former Superior Court Judge Arthur Alarcon in the proceedings against condemned assassin Satan Bishara Sirhan.

The district attorney said his attitude on the “gag order” remains the same — ‘We resent it and we resist However, he said he did not consider “this an appropriate case to test the order” and the prosecution would abide by Judge Keene’s ruling.

Younger said he will wait until there was a “relatively simple case” with the-suspect and one victim before the case Is tested.

“lf these orders to unchallenged, the next from another judge in another case will be more sweeping,” the district attorney noted.

Judge Keene’s order also provided that copies of the Grand Jury Transcript will not be released until they are in the hands of all defendants.

Since Watson and Miss Krenwinkel have not been returned, it means there might be a wait of several weeks before the transcripts are made public.

Younger, meanwhile, conceded there “have been a number of rumors” published about the murders, but said most of them would be cleared up by reading the testimony given at the two day Grand Jury probe.

Miss Atkins, also accused in another murder believed connected with Manson and his group, testified before the Grand Jury and it was believed it was her statements which led to the indictment against all six.

This entry was posted in Archived News. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *