Didn’t Coerce Key Witness, Woman Says
Thursday, June 11th, 1970
LOS ANGELES, Jun. 11 – A member of Charles Manson’s hippie clan yesterday denied under oath that she pressured a prosecution key witness to recant testimony that Robert Kenneth Beausoleil killed Gary Hinman.
Beausoleil 22, also a member of the clan, has been condemned to death by a jury for the fatal stabbing last July 27 of Hinman, a 34-year-old musician.
Acting as his own attorney, Beausoleil is attempting to get a new trial largely on the basis of an affidavit signed by Mary Brunner 26, a principal witness against him.
Superior Court Judge William B. Keene continued the hearing on a new trial until today.
Miss Brunner testified earlier at the trial that Beausoleil murdered Hinman. Beausoleil claims Manson is the murderer.
In her affidavit, Miss Brunner now claims her testimony was false.
She contends she was coerced into testifying by authorities who threatened to charge her with murder and to take her 2-year-old son from her.
Tuesday, Miss Brunner’s mother, Mrs. Elsie Brunner of Eau Clair, Wis., denied that anyone had ever threatened to take away the younger woman’s son. The boy reportedly was fathered by Manson.
Mrs. Brunner testified that she talked to her daughter last week and asked her why she had signed the affidavit.
According to Mrs. Brunner, her daughter responded, “I couldn’t stand to be free and have the others in jail.”
In support of the affidavit, Beausoleil called to the witness stand Lynette Fromme 21, known in the clan as “Squeaky”.
Tuesday Dep. Dist. Atty. Burton Katz presented evidence that Miss Fromme and another clan member went to Madison, Wis. last May around the time Miss Brunner signed the affidavit.
Miss Fromme testified she went to Wisconsin to see Miss Brunner because they are good friends and because Miss Brunner was “so depressed.”
Beausoleil asked the witness. “Did you in any way pressure, trick or threaten her (Miss Brunner) into writing or signing the affidavit?'”
Miss Fromme answered, “No.”
She said Mss Brunner showed her a hand-written copy of the prospective affidavit and that she typed it up for her.
Miss Fromme testified that Miss Brunner also said she was ready to give up her son rather than see Beausoleil go to the gas chamber.
Miss Brunner, the witness said, claimed her testimony at Beausoleil’s trial was a “lie.”
Under questioning by Judge Keene Miss Fromme said Miss Brunner told her nothing of what happened at Hinman’s Topanga Canyon home at the time of the murder.
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