Criminal Background
Young Manson's Mugshot
in 1956 Manson's 1968 mugshot
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Charles Manson, Originally called No Name Maddox, was born to Kathleen Maddox, a sixteen year old girl who had recently run away from home. His mother was an extreme alcoholic, spending a lengthy period of time imprisoned for armed robbery, leading to a young Manson being raised by various relatives. His grandfather was a religious extremist and his Uncles commonly ridiculed him for his feminine appearance. Another Uncle of Mansons committed suicide while Manson was placed under his care.
At nine years old, Manson turned to thievery, resulting in his being sent to Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, Indiana with the hope it would reform him. However, this was not the case, and his experience at the institute only further advancing his crimes to burglary, auto theft, larceny, and arson. After a series of repeated escapes from various reformation schools, he was sent to The Indiana Boys School. At this school, Manson was allegedly raped and beaten by his classmates with encouraging support from the school’s staff. Manson and two other students would escape together to continue their crime spree. Manson was imprisoned twice before his most famous case; the first being the rape of a boy at knife point, the second being the pimping of a sixteen year old girl. Upon being discharged from the prison, Manson began swiftly attracting a cult following of mostly women from around the California, this group would be dubbed the Manson Family. The Beatles song “Helter Skelter”, a song intended by Paul McCartney to tell the story of the fall of the Roman Empire, was translated by Manson to the family who believed the hidden meaning of the song told of a future race war between the black and white populations of America. Manson would preach this information to his followers, encouraging the future series of murders. |