COLUMBIA, Mo., Apr. 8 – Vincent Bugliosi, prosecutor in the Charles Manson murder trial, smiled out at the large crowd assembled in the University’s Jesse Auditorium.

“This is really a good crowd,” he said. “I think some of you thought Manson would be here.”

And although Manson, the leader of the “family” responsible for seven dead in the Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969, was not present, his memory was strong among those in attendance.

Bugliosi explained the mystique:

“Probably because it is the most bizarre murder in the annals of recorded history, people tend to be fascinated by it and hence remember it.”

The question uppermost in many minds was the possibility of Manson’s parole in the near future. Bugliosi discounted Manson’s chances.

“Although someone convicted of murder can apply for parole in California after seven years,” he said, “most who have been convicted of murder serve around 10 or 11 years.

“But Manson has been connected with nine murders, and because of that I think he has zero chance of getting out soon. I believe he will serve a minimum of 25 years, with a good possibility of serving for the rest of his life behind bars.”

“In jail they have a code of ethics, and according to that, what he did wasn’t a first class crime!” Bugliosi said. He said fellow inmates beat Manson twice after he was released from solitary confinement to show their contempt for a man who had murdered a pregnant woman.

Bugliosi attributed Manson’s crime to three factors.

“First, Manson had the inherent abiliy to dominate another human being. I stress inherent because he actually had this faculty, without ever trying to develop it.” But other factors helped Manson believe he could create a race war that would leave him ruler.

“Finally,” he said, “the mood of the times, the late ’60s, had reached a point of strong unrest against the establishment. Manson borrowed heavily from this unrest in his rhetoric.”

By JOE RASSENFOSS