Category Archives: Uncategorized
LAPD Interview Transcript of Virginia Graham, November 26, 1969
Tuesday, January 28th, 2014
Jan. 28 – On Wednesday, November 26, 1969, the Homicide division of LAPD received a phone call from prison officials in Corona, after an inmate, Virginia Graham, had informed them she had information about the Tate murders.
Graham, who had been recently transferred from the Sybil Brand Institute, told authorities that her former dorm mate, Sadie Glutz, had told her she was among a group of people who had committed the Tate-LaBianca murders. In response, LAPD sent Sergeant Michael Nielsen, one of the homicide detectives investigating the LaBianca murders.
Audio Archives, Danny DeCarlo interviewed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department – Part Two
Tuesday, January 14th, 2014
Jan. 14 – Part two of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Homicide Bureau interview of Straight Satans motorcycle club member Danny DeCarlo, regarding the murder of Gary Hinman. This interview was conducted at the Hall of Justice on November 19, 1969.
(Unintelligible)
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Were you there when Bobby called?
DANNY DeCARLO: No.
I wasn’t there but he called the ranch and he asked to go down to a pay phone. Gary said – Charlie said, pay phone.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Mmm hmm.
DANNY DeCARLO: That fella called (unintelligible)
Alright, Charlie gets on the phone and Bobby ran it down to him, “Gary ain’t cooperating.”
Charlie says, “Alright, I’ll be up there.”
So him and Bruce, went up to Gary’s house. And Charlie brought that big long sabre, that I gave to Sergeant Gutierrez, Big long cutlass. And so he walked in the house. And uh, right away Gary ran out to Charlie, “Charlie,” said “I don’t want no trouble. I just want you to leave and take everybody with you. And get out of my house. I’m not gonna tell the police about nothing. Just get out of here.” Charlie didn’t say a word. Smack, cut his ear off.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Charlie now —
DANNY DeCARLO: Charlie —
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: — hit Gary.
DANNY DeCARLO: — cut Gary’s ear with this knife. And Bobby – the way Bobby ran it down, he said blood was pouring from the side he chopped his ear right off. Gary hit the ground.
Charlie says, “Listen here little partner, I ain’t bullshitting with you, I’ll kill you. I want your money. I want your house, I want everything.”
And that was the idea. Get everything he owned. ‘Cause they talked about him before, as being a Political Piggy. See, a political fuck up. “Gary’s fucked up in his head, he’s a pig, he’s gotta go. He’s just like society, part of society, so let’s get rid of him. First lets get his money.” They wanted money. To get to the desert they needed money to get out to the desert. He needed money to buy his dune buggies, and buy all his supplies, and walkie talkies and radios, anything he wants, with that 20 grand would set them off on the road. And he knew that he had it, I don’t know how he knew that he had it. And I don’t know for sure whether he had it. I’m going by what he told me.
Then after Charlie hit him with the sword, he and Bruce immediately left. Came back down to the ranch. I didn’t see them come down to the ranch. Or uh, I don’t know when they left to go up there and I didn’t see them when they came back. These are all conversations that Bobby told me.
Alright, so, Bobby started, telling Gary, ya know, they were there for two days. Gary Hinman and his house, two fucking days, man, with this guy.They were just beating the living shit out of him. (unintelligible)
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Bobby’s told you —
DANNY DeCARLO: Bobby’s telling me this right from the horse’s mouth.
So, a little bit while goes on, a little bit, like 37 hours, half a day or whatever the fuck it is. Bobby calls Charlie up at the ranch.
Says, “Charlie, I don’t know what to do about Gary.”
so he says he wants to get out of his house, he guy isn’t gonna give us nothing.
Then Charlie told Bobby, “Well, you know what to do, brother.”
And then he — “you know what to do,” his exact words.
So uh, Bobby says to him, “You want me to kill him?”
Charles goes, “Yeah, brother, that’s the only way to do it, you got to do it. Don’t think much about it.”
So Bobby hung up the phone. Went over to Gary and pulled out his little knife, and hit him with it. He hit him about four – he hit him more than once. From what I understand, three or four, five or six, maybe ten. But, the first three or four times didn’t do him in, he didn’t die. He kept struggling, he uh, kept on breathing. He says, the more times he hit him, the more he wanted – he kept having a desire to live. And Bobby wouldn’t die on him. Bobby says, when he finally went, well, he’s laying on the ground and Bobby knelt beside him and, told him, “Gary,” ya know, “sorry, but,” uh, “it’s a lot better that you go this way.” And uh, tell him he loved him. “I’m your brother, you’re nothing but a pig, and this is the best thing I can do for you.” And he said, he was right I’m going to meet with Bruce. He said, he was going out to lunch. So as he was dead, the plan was, take his blood and smear piggy on the wall, and put a Black Panther paw, in his own blood, on there. Alright, he did that, now this is. Now after — he had actually told me this. After he had told me what he had done, they went back to the house. To wipe all that stuff off of the wall. Cus they decided, for some strange reason, I don’t know why, they didn’t want it to be charged to a Black Panther. I, I don’t know the trip behind it. But they went back there to wipe it off. This is Bobby told me, he went back there and he could hear, he could hear the maggots eating away at his body. He said the place stunk like a motherfucker. So they went back there to really, double check and wipe the place down (unintelligible). And I’m not sure, I’m not positive, but I think Sadie went back with him, to the same house again. This is approximately a week later after he’s dead. I know he’s, he’s — I don’t know how long he was dead before you found him. But, uh, what he told me, it must’ve been four or five days after they killed him, they went back. So he said that it already been four or five days since he killed him, he still found him. And he went back and wiped all that shit off the wall. He dusted the house, wiped all the fingerprints off.
Alright, a Toyota, a white Toyota and that funny Volkswagen bus, show up at, the ranch. The same time, everybody was living down there at the back house. The back house was (unintelligible). If they brought the Volkswagen bus down there, well they can’t bust and run. In fact, (unintelligible) not knowing whose it was or is, as far as I was concerned. So, for driving around with that bloody car with the head out, a radiator. There was a radiator that didn’t belong, it wasn’t stock. It was another radiator that was put on there. (unintelligible)
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Do you remember, Danny, about what time this was, you know, what month, this all went down?
DANNY DeCARLO: It’s either the, the last of July or the first of August.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Ok.
DANNY DeCARLO: That —
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: And you said —
DANNY DeCARLO: — Let me —
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: — ok, go ahead.
DANNY DeCARLO: Let me tell you something. (unintelligible) Now you start asking me about time.There was no clocks.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: I know that.
DANNY DeCARLO: There was no calendars. All I know, it got light, it got dark, it got light and it got dark. I didn’t even know when Friday come around, so I’d go down to Venice for my meetings. I even forgot, I didn’t even know when Friday was. Like, so there’s no clocks, no calendars, so don’t, quote me on the time. I can be more honest —
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Sure, sure —
DANNY DeCARLO: — no clock.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: — you say roughly it was the last part of July.
DANNY DeCARLO: Last part of July, roughly.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Ok. Now, when you had this conversation with, with Beausoleil, did he say how long ago this had happened? That all of this went down?
DANNY DeCARLO: It was, it was the day before.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: He told you they had —
DANNY DeCARLO: the day after
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: the day after?
DANNY DeCARLO: Right, the day after he ran it down to me, cus he bragged about the —
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: You were in the bunkhouse, you say?
DANNY DeCARLO: The bunkhouse, I took you to a ride to.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Ok, and was anybody else in there, when he told the story?
DANNY DeCARLO: There might’ve been a few girls in and out of the place. But he directed the conversation like I’m directing to you.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Just between the two of you?
DANNY DeCARLO: Just between the two of us.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Ok, was it daytime or night time.
DANNY DeCARLO: Day time, it was the afternoon. It was around four, five o’clock in the afternoon. He got back to the ranch about that time.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Did Sadie ever talk to you about what happened up there?
DANNY DeCARLO: Never.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Did uh, Mary ever talk to you about what happened?
DANNY DeCARLO: No, not ever.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Anytime that Beausoleil is talking, did he, tell you what they did? What each one of them participated in?
DANNY DeCARLO: He only told me what Sadie did. That’s when he went in the other room, he gave the gun to Sadie. The 9mm automatic, gave it to Sadie, to hold on Gary, who was sitting behind his desk. That’s all I knew, he was sitting behind his desk. And he got Sadie to hold the gun on Gary, while Bobby went searching around the house for shit to dig up. Bobby said he heard Sadie say, “Gary sit down. Gary stay there now, Gary. I’m telling you, Gary.” Then Bobby said he heard it and he ran back in there, about the same time, that Bobby got to Sadie.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Did he say how he wrote on the wall? What with?
DANNY DeCARLO: No. He just said, we took his, we took his blood and wrote on the wall. He didn’t say whether it was with a paint brush, whether it was with a rag, whether it was with his own bare hands, that he didn’t say.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Did he say what he wrote on the wall?
DANNY DeCARLO: He said he wrote, uh, you are a pig, kill the piggies, it had something to do with pigs. Then he put a panther paw. The panther paw I know he put, because he described it to me. Like a panther paw. Cus that was the idea, ??? the fact, that, to put this on the Panthers. See, cus Charlie, before that, had shot a Panther. And the police knew that the Panthers were after Charlie. So, he was trying to put shit on the Black Panthers, on Hinman’s death.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: While we’re speaking, did you ever have a conversation with Bobby, that Charlie Manson was present and heard Bobby relay these facts?
DANNY DeCARLO: No.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Did you ever Charlie Manson ever say to you, or did he ever say anything like, “I sent Bobby there to do a job,” or anything like that?
DANNY DeCARLO: No.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Did Bobby ever tell you that Charlie sent him?
DANNY DeCARLO: Yes.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: To get money?
DANNY DeCARLO: To get money, right.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: To get his cars, the pink slips?
DANNY DeCARLO: Why is it before they went up there – now this is Charlie’s plan.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Charlie made the plan then, before he went up there.
DANNY DeCARLO: Before he went up there, to get twenty-thousand dollars.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: And included in that plan, he also sent up there to get what else?
DANNY DeCARLO: Anything they could get their hands on.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Why is it he needs the property?
DANNY DeCARLO: But, he didn’t have it. Now, when Bobby came back, the only thing he brought back was that (unintelligible) Corolla and that Volkswagen bus. Let me tell you another thing. There was a tape player taken out of that Toy- I mean that Volkswagen bus, that the Malibu Sheriffs had. It was taken out of his bus. Now, when I was, busted up there out on the ranch, that particular tape player was there. Now, it came out of that bus. Now, the bus belonged to Hinman and that tape player came out of that bus.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Now, when Bobby was talking to you, Danny, did he use the name, Gary Hinman?
DANNY DeCARLO: Right, Gary.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: So you have no doubt in your mind that he was talking about Gary Hinman? You don’t know Gary Hinman?
DANNY DeCARLO: I don’t know Gary Hinman, no.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: So he had to be talking to you about Gary Hinman? I mean, he had to say that.
DANNY DeCARLO: Yes. Now, the name Gary Hinman was mentioned. That name was mentioned even before they went up there, Gary Hinman.
Now, when I read in the paper that Sadie Glutz had been arrested on suspision of murder of Gary Hinman, that when I really found out his last name. Other than that it was just Gary, as far as I knew, just Gary.
But, apparently they (unintelligible), This is the same Gary.
Now, he came back and says, “Yeah,” and he pulled the knife out of the sheath, and he says, “I did it with this knife, right here.”
I said, if you did it, then you’re an idiot. If you carry that son-of-a-bitch around with you, if you did do it.
But he says, attitude was so carefree, so, like he was telling me again, I just had to go out of the trailer. It was, just a casual conversation.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: He was trying to be a big wheel, like Bruce.
DANNY DeCARLO: That’s what I thought it was. I figured he was just bullshitting, he’s trying to play on me because I’m a motorcycle rider.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Now, after Bobby got done telling you these things, Danny. Did he ever say that he planned on leaving town or —
DANNY DeCARLO: No.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: As far as you knew he intended to stay right there at the ranch
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: As far as you knew he intended to stay right there at the ranch?
DANNY DeCARLO: (Indistinguishable)
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Did he tell ya– Did he tell you, about, that he had the car? That he got the cars out of the deal?
DANNY DeCARLO: (Inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Did he tell you how they left the location?
DANNY DeCARLO: No. He didn’t say how he left the location, no. But, for what I understand, the cars, not the car (unintelligible)later on, when, when he got busted in that Toyota. Then I found out, that that Toyota and the Volkswagen bus, belonged to Gary Hinman. Now they had found out that allow that was all they got out of the place, was the Toyota, and was the, uh, Volkswagen bus. And, Charlie told him to take that fucking Toyota down to the valley and dump it, get rid of it; wipe it down, clean; for Bobby to do that. For some strange reason, he drove up north with it. And when he got busted, well Charlie says, “it was his own fucking fault. I told him to drop it off down at the (unintelligible).,” he says. “I didn’t tell anybody,” he says, “so Bobby got busted by himself. It was his own fucking fault.” Now when he did, he had the knife on him. That’s the knife that he killed Hinman with.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: He took the knife —
DANNY DeCARLO: I think it was this knife right here.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Would you recognize the knife
(Unintelligible)
DANNY DeCARLO: little stubby knife,
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: You say it has mexican writing on it?
DANNY DeCARLO: Not mexican writing, it’s uh, mexican style knife, like a bowie knife.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Oh, oh, I thought you said it had mexican writing on it.
DANNY DeCARLO: No, it has —
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Let’s, take a break for just a minute. How about I go down and get a cigarette. What do you smoke?
DANNY DeCARLO: Uh, Marlboro.
SGT. PAUL WHITELEY: Want more coffee?
DANNY DeCARLO: Yeah, I better.
(Unintelligible)
In Memoriam: Sgt. Michael J. McGann
Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Nov. 5 – We have been informed by the Los Angeles Police Department that retired LAPD detective Michael J. McGann passed away last Friday in Palm Desert, California, due to complications from cancer. McGann was a 1st Lieutenant in the 185th Armored Squadron before he joined the LAPD in May of 1959. He was promoted to Sergeant in February of 1967 and 16 months later was assigned to the special unit investigating the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy. McGann investigated the activities of Sirhan Sirhan at the Pasadena and San Gabriel gun clubs, as well as Sirhan’s alleged attendance at Peace and Freedom Party meetings. In August of 1969, McGann found himself on another high profile case, when he was made a lead detective assigned to the Tate murders. During the course of the investigation, McGann interviewed several key witnesses and his tireless work was instrumental in establishing cases against the Tate-LaBianca killers. After his retirement, McGann assisted researchers and also made several television appearances discussing the case. He was 77 years old.
Coming November 4th: LAPD Interview Transcript of Ronnie Howard, at Sybil Brand Institute on November 25, 1969
Wednesday, October 30th, 2013
Oct. 30 – Coming Nov. 4th, we open up the LAPD Files with a transcript of the November 25, 1969 interview of Ronnie Howard, conducted by Sergeants Michael McGann and Frank Patchett at the Sybil Brand Institute.
Bobby Beausoleil’s 2005 Parole Hearing
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013
Statement made by attorney Carolyn M. Hagen, read by Bobby Beausoleil in 2005. Much of this statement is uncorroborated. Further, many claims made within are contradicted by witness statements
Review of the most recent parole consideration hearing transcript of Robert Beausoleil, dated May 11, 2000, has revealed inaccuracies and confusion regarding the commitment factors. In order to fairly address the (indiscernible) factors of the offense, and by extension Mr. Beausoleil’s rehabilitation, Mr. Beausoleil request that the Board incorporate this statement by reference into the current and any and all future proceedings. The commitment case factors as described below are based entirely on previous parole hearing transcripts, Board reports and psychological evaluations.
‘Statement of Facts’ – on the night of Friday, July 25, 1969, approximately 45 hours prior to the fatal stabbing of the victim, Gary Hinman, Robert Beausoleil went to Hinman’s residence to buy drugs. Hinman was, at that time, dealing Mesculine that he made himself. Beausoleil was buying drugs on behalf of members of the Straight Satan’s Motorcycle club who had supplied money for the purchase in the amount of $1,000. Danny DeCarlo, who would later testify as a witness to Beausoleil, was a member of the Straight Satan’s club and an active participant in the drug transaction. Beausoleil delivered the mesaculine he had purchased from Gary to the Straight Satan’s at Spahn Ranch where Danny DeCarlo resided with his girlfriend, Susan Atkins, who would become co-defendant in Beausoleil’s case. DeCarlo and other members of the Straight Satans then took the drugs to Venice Beach for a party involving several motorcycle clubs that was to take place the next day.
On Saturday, July 26th, DeCarlo and other members of the Straight Satans, accompanied by members of the Satan’s Slaves and Hell’s Angels motorcycle clubs, returned to Spahn Ranch and confronted Beausoleil. They accused Beausoleil of conspiring with Hinman to burn him for the money for selling them bad drugs. The bikers roughed up Beausoleil and threatened him with a knife. Beausoleil told the bikers that he did know the drugs were bad and promised to get their money back from Hinman.
DeCarlo and co-defendant, Bruce Davis, told Beausoleil that they would drive him to Hinman’s residence to make sure that he did. Two young women, co-defendants Atkins and Mary Brunner, who were initially unaware of the difficulites between Beausoleil and the bikers and Hinman, came along “for the ride.” Upon arrival at the Hinman residence, Brunner and Atkins went ahead into the house to visit Hinman with whom they had more then casual relationships. Davis then gave Beausoleil a 9mm pistol. Davis and DeCarlo instructed Beausoleil to keep the gun concealed, but to produce it if Hinman failed to cooperate and return the money. They told Beausoleil to phone them at the Ranch when they obtained the money and they would return to pick him up. Davis and DeCarlo then left with the car. In addition, Beausoleil was carrying a knife in a sheath on his belt.
Beausoleil confronted Hinman about the allegedly bad drugs and commanded the return of the $1000.00 he had given him the day before. Hinman claimed that the mesculane was not bad, and in any case that he had already spent the money. Beausoleil became agitated and pulled the gun out and threatened Hinman with it. He struck Hinman with the gun two or three times. Hinman produced his checkbook to prove that he had already spent the money. Convinced that Hinman was telling the truth, Beausoleil handed the gun to Atkins and told her to keep in trained on Hinman and not to let him move, that he was going to go into the other room in search of something of value that he could give to the Straight Satans in lieu of the money. While Beausoleil was out of the room, Hinman lunged at Atkins and took the gun away. Atkins cried out and Beausoleil ran back into the room. He grabbed Hinman’s arm and began to fight with Hinman to gain possession of the gun. While the two men were wrestling over the gun, one of the two female co-defendants telephoned Spahn Ranch and apparently and unidentified person that there was trouble, that Hinman had taken the gun and that he and Beausoleil were fighting over it. During the struggle the gun discharged. The bullet pierced the kitchen sink without injuring anyone, but the sudden shock of the gun’s loud concussion enabled Beausoleil to regain possession of the gun.
Hinman offered to resolve the conflict by signing over the two titles for the two old automobiles that he owned, one of which was a dented volkswagon van that Hinman had recently purchased for $800.00. Beausoleil accepted. When the transfer of the titles was complete Beausoleil and the two females were preparing to leave when co-defendants Davis and Charles Manson appeared at the front door. Hinman, who was no longer being held at gunpoint opened the front door for the two men who he considered to be his friends. Manson immediately slashed Hinman across the check with a long swordlike knife taking Hinman’s ear and cutting his cheek. Beausoleil asked Manson why he did that and Manson replied that he was showing Beausoleil, “how to be a man.”
Davis demanded Hinman give him the gun and Hinman indicated to Davis that Beausoleil had the gun. Beausoleil returned the gun to Davis and Davis expressed annoyance that the gun had been jammed. Manson angrily told Beausoleil that he had made a mess of things and that he needed to get it cleaned up. He told the two females, who were members of his commune, to help Beausoleil take care of Hinman. Manson and Davis then left.
Beausoleil spent the rest of the night, and most of the next day, with Hinman, attending to his injury and talking to him in an attempt to convince Hinman that – ” There seems to be a typographical error here. “In an attempt to convince Hinman that the wound was not very serious and would heal without the need of going to see his doctor. Beausoleil feared Hinman would inform on him if he went to the hospital for medical treatment. Hinman became increasingly adamant about wanting to get professional treatment for the injury. Beausoleil phoned Spahn Ranch for advice on what to do. Manson came to the phone and told Beausoleil that he was on his own and hung up. Hinman made additional demands to be allowed to go to the hospital. In a state of panic and desperation Beausoleil made the decision to kill Hinman to prevent him from telling what he knew of Beausoleil’s involvement of the drug deal and the assault. Beausoleil stabbed Hinman once in the chest and when Hinman did not immediately fall he stabbed him a second time.
In court testimony the coroner said that the second stab wound was almost instantly fatal. Beausoleil has stated that neither of the two female co-defendants had any foreknowledge of the fatal assault and were out of the room when it occurred. The females had seemed shocked. Beausoleil asked them to help him remove evidence of their presence and to take measures that might help him evade detection by the authorities. Hinman was known to associate frequently with radical militant (indiscernible) on the UCLA campus and Beausoleil decided to try to make it look as though Hinman had been killed by some of these other associates by burning some of Hinman’s Marxist newspapers on the floor, and by drawing ‘political pig’ on the wall in the victim’s blood.
The three left Hinman’s residence at nightfall on Sunday, July 27th. DeCarlo and members of the Straight Satans accepted the old VW van as repayment for the allegedly bad drugs and took it to Venice Beach. It was subsequently found in Santa Monica. Beausoleil was arrested in San Louis Obispo on August 6th. He had been driving Hinman’s other vehicle at the time and it had broken down on the freeway. The knife used in the slaying of Hinman was in the vehicle.” This is dated May 30, 2003, signed Carolyn M. Hagen, attorney for Robert Beausoleil.
