Charles Manson, 83, Dies After Hospitalization

LOS ANGELES, CA — Charles Manson, possibly the most infamous killer in U.S history, died at Kern County hospital Sunday night. He was 83.

Manson died of "natural causes," according to a press release. It was previously reported that Manson had been hospitalized and was "near death."

Without laying hands on any of his victims, Manson was responsible for nine murders, a court found in 1971. Prosecutors convinced jurors and the nation that Manson controlled the minds of his followers, forcing them to do his murderous bidding.

The Association of Deputy District Attorneys issued a statement after the news broke quoting Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi about the man he put behind bars.

"Manson was an evil, sophisticated con man with twisted and warped moral values," Bugliosi said. The association added: "Today, Manson's victims are the ones who should be remembered and mourned on the occasion of his death."

He was sentenced to death for his crimes, but in 1972, the Superior Court of California in the county of Los Angeles struck down the state's death penalty. Manson, along with all others who had been sentenced to death in California, was instead given life in prison.

The "Manson family" — the name given to his group of followers — lived together on Spahn’s Ranch, an Old West movie set near Chatsworth. The "family" appeared to outsiders to be a hippie commune, but prosecutors said it was a cult, and its members were controlled with drugs, violence and sexual abuse. Their grisly killings did more than shock a nation; they are credited with bringing a bitter end to the free-love era.

Even after his imprisonment, Manson's grip on his followers remained strong. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of the "Mason family," was arrested for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975 as a part of a wild scheme for environmental justice.

Manson was born in 1934 to a single mother in her teens, and he spent much of his troubled childhood in juvenile detention. He married and had a child while spending time in and out of prisons for crimes such as car theft. In 1968, the Manson Family took shape with its members on the fringe of LA's music scene thanks to the patronage of Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson.

It was August 9, 1969 when Manson's family set out for the crime that would put him in prison for the rest of his life. They went to the Los Angeles home of director Roman Polanski and his pregnant wife Sharon Tate, killing Tate and four of her house guests: Abigail Ann Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent and Jay Sebring. The brutal murder scene stretched from the driveway to the house, where one of the killers wrote "PIG" on the front door in Tate's blood.

Susan Atkins, one of those found guilty for the murders, testified that Tate begged for her life and that of her unborn baby.

The next night, the Manson family struck again, killing grocery store owners Leno and Rosemary LaBiancain an apparently random attack. Manson and one of his followers were also convicted for the earlier murders of musician Gary Hinman and Donald Jerome Shea.

Linda Deutsch, a reporter with The Associated Press, recalled the high drama that accompanied the murder trial. Observers had LSD flashbacks and were dragged screaming from the room, she said, while Manson devotees camped outside. Some threatened to burn themselves alive if Manson were convicted, Deutsch remembers.

Eventually, it was Manson's time to speak, she writes:

“These children that come at you with knives, they are your children,” he pronounced. “You taught them. I didn’t teach them. I just tried to help them stand up. ... I am just a reflection of every one of you.”

In the next breath, he uttered his most quoted line: “I have killed no one, and I have ordered no one to be killed.”

It was a lie, and everyone knew it.

Since his conviction, his stay in prison was not peaceful. A target of other prisoners, he was housed in protective custody, and in 1984, another inmate poured paint thinner on Mason and set him on fire.

In his book "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders," Bugliosi gave his thoughts on the country's fascination with Manson, writing, “Since we place so much value on human life, why do we glorify, in a perverse sort of way, the extinguishment of life? The answer to that question, whatever it is, is at least a partial answer to why people continue to be fascinated by Hitler, Jack the Ripper —Manson.”

Bryan Cranston, an actor best known for his role in "Breaking Bad," shared a story of his close encounter with Manson on Twitter.

"Hearing Charles Manson is dead, I shuddered," he wrote. "I was within his grasp just one year before he committed brutal murder in 1969. Luck was with me when a cousin and I went horseback riding at the Span Ranch, and saw the little man with crazy eyes whom the other hippies called Charlie."

He has been denied parole 12 times. Most of his followers have been denied parole as well. Manson girl Susan Atkins died in prison, and Patricia Krenwinkel is California's longest serving female prisoner. A parole board granted Leslie Van Houten parole earlier this year, but she can't be released without approval from Gov. Jerry Brown, who overruled her parole last year.

In January 2017, Manson was rushed to Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield for what authorities at the time would describe only as a serious medical problem. He was reportedly close to death then, but he recovered and returned to the prison within days.

Over four decades of incarceration, Manson has been cited for assault, repeated possession of a weapon and threatening staff.

Watch: Charles Manson Dies At 83

Paige Austin and City News Service contributed to this report.

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