Nov. 19 (UPI) — Charles Manson, the former cult leader whose followers killed seven people during a two-day killing spree in 1969, has died at the age of 83 after 46 years in prison.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Manson died of “natural causes” at 8:13 p.m. PST on Sunday at a hospital in Kern County, Calif.
Debra Tate, the sister of actress Sharon Tate, one of Manson’s victims, received a phone call Sunday night from prison officials, confirming his death, according to CBS Los Angeles.
TMZ reported that Manson was in grave condition Sunday as he was taken to a hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., with five police officer escorts. After his death, prison officials contacted family members of all five victims.
Manson had been in state prison since April 22, 1971, for seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for the August 9, 1969, deaths of Abigail Ann Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent, Jay Sebring, and Sharon Tate Polanski, who was eight months pregnant. Manson’s followers also killed Leno La Bianca and Rosemary La Bianca the next day.
On Dec. 13, 1971, Manson was also convicted for the July 25, 1969, murder of Gary Hinman and the August 1969 murder of Donald Shea.
Manson was originally sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole. However, he had been denied parole 12 times over the past 46 years and his next hearing wouldn’t have been until 2027.
