Charles Manson was sentenced to death for directing the brutal Hollywood murders of actress Sharon Tate and six other people in 1969 but was later spared and sentenced to life behind bars when California did away with the death penalty.

Even behind bars he exerted an almost magnetic influence over other members of the “Manson Family,” and the madness and depravity of his crimes continued to intrigue generations of people who were born long after "Helter Skelter" became part of the vernacular.