{"id":120652,"date":"2020-05-10T13:11:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-10T17:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=120652"},"modified":"2020-05-10T13:11:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T09:24:25","slug":"the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
Charles Manson was the chemical formula for crazy. His messianic influence over his mostly female followers drove them to commit some of the most egregious crimes. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Read Part 1: The Manson Murders: Helter Skelter and the Master of Chaos<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Part 1, we discussed the sordid details of the Manson Family attack on Sharon Tate and her friends. Today we explore the weapons involved as well as the aftermath of these infamous killings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Manson Family Guns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
When police raided the Spahn Ranch they discovered a modest arsenal of weapons. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The arsenal back at the Spahn Ranch was actually fairly impressive. When the cops finally dismantled the place they cataloged a variety of handguns and shotguns as well as a pair of M1 Carbines and a German MP40 submachine gun. One Carbine sported a GI wood stock, while the other was adorned with an aftermarket civilian under folder common at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
John Browning\u2019s brother Ed was an esteemed firearms designer in his own right. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M1 Carbine began as the brainchild of Ed Browning, John Moses\nBrowning\u2019s brother. After Ed Browning died in 1939 the project was taken up by\nDavid \u201cCarbine\u201d Williams, a colorful ex-con who developed the short-stroke gas\npiston-driven firearm action. The actual Carbine prototype was completed in a\nmere thirteen days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The light and handy Carbine became a GI favorite during the Second World War. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M1 Carbine was intended to replace the M1911A1 handgun for second-line support troops but became popular with combat grunts for its modest weight and fast handling. Scads of GIs came home from WW2 in love with the little rifle. Countless thousands of these tidy little weapons were sold freely through the mail prior to the 1968 Gun Control Act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
One of the Carbines seized from the Manson Family sported a civilian underfolding stock like this one. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The folding stocked Carbine seized at the Spahn Ranch\nsported an underfolding buttstock patterned after that of the MP40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Charles Manson\u2019s MP40 caused a bit of a stir when it was discovered. Apparently he was saving it for his coming cataclysmic race war. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Manson MP40 was kept in a music case. In the late 1960s, the country was covered in a thin patina of WW2 bring back guns to include a not insubstantial number of automatic weapons. The 30-day amnesty in 1968 caught a few, but many to most of these old souvenirs still languish in grandpas\u2019 attics all across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The MP40 revolutionized the way the world made military weapons. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The MP40 began life as the MP38 in, you guessed it, 1938. The two weapons were very similar except that the earlier gun featured a machined steel tubular receiver whereas the MP40\u2019s receiver was pressed out of sheet steel. The MP40 was the first mass-produced military long arm to utilize a stamped steel receiver and dispense with wooden furniture altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The German MP40 is an exceptionally controllable submachine gun. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The MP40 cycles at around 500 rounds per minute and remains\none of my all-time favorite automatic weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The High Standard Double Nine Longhorn Buntline .22LR revolver carried nine rounds and featured a 9.5-inch barrel. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The pistol used in the Sharon Tate murders was a cheap\n.22-caliber revolver called the High Standard Double Nine Longhorn Buntline.\nHigh Standard\u2019s first revolver debuted as the Sentinel in 1955. These\ninexpensive Western-style weapons were widely sold over the counter through\nSears stores and elsewhere across the country. America was not so skittish about\nfirearms then as is the case today, so Sears owned a large stake in the High\nStandard gun company at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The High Standard Longhorn was sold over the counter at department stores across America. Rumor has it that the one Tex Watson used was traded for an old beater car.      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

America was enamored with Western lore, so cowboy revolvers\nwere all the rage. Various models of the basic aluminum-framed 9-shot High\nStandard were marketed under names like \u201cLonghorn,\u201d \u201cNatchez,\u201d and \u201cPosse.\u201d\nLater versions went by \u201cMarshal,\u201d \u201cDurango,\u201d and \u201cHombre.\u201d While simple and\ncheap these inexpensive mass-produced plinkers clearly shot just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Contrary to legend, Wyatt Earp likely packed a Smith and Wesson Model 3 during his most famous gunfight. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is a legend that Wyatt Earp carried a long-barreled\nColt Buntline revolver, but this has been reliably discredited. Earp likely\npacked a Smith and Wesson Model 3 for his fateful appointment at the OK Corral.\nThe first connection between Earp and a long-barreled Colt occurred in 1931 in\nthe highly fictionalized novel Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
It has long been rumored that legendary lawman Wyatt Earp carried a long-barreled Colt Single Action Army Buntline revolver. I grew up with that misconception as foundational dogma. Apparently such was not the case. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Purportedly dime novelist Edward Zane Carroll Judson commissioned five 1873 Colt Single Action Army revolvers with 12-inch barrels as gifts for various Old West lawmen. Judson wrote under the pseudonym Ed Buntline, hence the name. However, when Earp purportedly received his gun he was actually under indictment for murder in Dodge City and in no position to be receiving firearms as gifts. Additionally, Judson, the supposed originator of the guns, only traveled west of the Mississippi river once and that was in 1869. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The particular Buntline version of the High Standard Longhorn that Tex Watson wielded had a long 9.5-inch barrel and carried nine rounds. During the course of the pistol-whipping Watson gave Frykowski, the gun\u2019s trigger guard and right grip were broken. The ejector rod was also bent slightly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The High Standard Model 10 shotgun was a radically advanced Law Enforcement weapon for its day. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though this mass-produced recreational pistol was not\nrenowned for its quality, High Standard did produce superb .22 target pistols\nas well as M2 .50-caliber machineguns during WW2. Their later lineup included\nthe revolutionary Model 10 gas-operated bullpup police shotgun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Convoluted Tale of the Gun<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Watson threw the battered pistol along with the killers\u2019 bloody clothes out of his car window while driving away. The murderers actually stopped at a nearby house and commandeered a garden hose to tidy up. The following month, an 11-year-old boy named Steven Weiss found the mangled High Standard revolver while out playing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensing that it might be important, the kid carefully lifted the weapon so as to preserve fingerprints. However, the responding officer pawed all over it, removing seven empty cases and two live rounds from the gun at the boy\u2019s home. The forensic investigation later determined that there had been a total of seven rounds fired at the murder scene that evening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Boy Scouts scoured the countryside looking for evidence, while the gun for which they searched languished in a police evidence locker. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Steven\u2019s find remained inside an envelope at the Van Nuys police station while groups of Boy Scouts mustered out all across the area searching for discarded clothing or other evidence to support the investigation. Throughout it all, young Steven remained convinced that the gun he found must have been connected. Only after the young man contacted the police again 3 and \u00bd months later did investigators finally realize that the gun in their evidence room was the one they had been seeking all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Encore Event<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
This Manson Family rocket scientist is Clem Grogan. His fellow cult members called him \u201cScramblehead\u201d because of his remarkable stupidity. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The night after the Tate murders, Manson took the three original killers along with other family members Leslie Van Houten and Clem Grogan, out for a drive. Manson was concerned that the Tate job had been sloppy, and he wanted to \u201cshow them how to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were randomly targeted. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manson picked a local supermarket executive named Leno\nLaBianca and his wife Rosemary essentially at random and bound them up in their\nhome. When the dust settled Leno had been stabbed twelve times and had the word\n\u201cWar\u201d carved into his abdomen. Investigators later found a carving fork jutting\nfrom his belly. Rosemary was stabbed a total of forty-one times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the Story<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Leslie Van Houten assisted in the killing of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and remains in prison today. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All three of the original killers were eventually apprehended, convicted, and sentenced to death. In 1972 the US Supreme Court ruled that California\u2019s death penalty was unconstitutional. As a result, the sentences for these three family members as well as Manson himself and Leslie Van Houten who was present for the LaBianca killings were commuted to life in prison. This opened up the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This image was taken of convicted killer Susan Atkins at her final parole hearing just weeks before her death. Susan found Jesus in prison and became active in prison ministries. Her final public statement was \u201cMy God is an amazing God.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Susan Atkins remained incarcerated until she died of brain cancer at age 61 in 2009. She was at the time the longest-serving female inmate in the California penal system. She had been denied parole fourteen times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Patricia Krenwinkel is currently the longest-serving female inmate in the California penal system. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Patricia Krenwinkel is still incarcerated. With the death of Susan Atkins, she earned the dubious distinction of being California\u2019s longest-serving female inmate. As of 2017, she had been considered for parole fourteen times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This 2014 picture shows Tex Watson in prison. He is currently an ordained minister behind bars. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charles \u201cTex\u201d Watson remains in prison today as well. He has been denied parole seventeen times. Watson claims to have become a born-again Christian. Considering that true grace has no bounds I have no reason to doubt his claim. Since his arrest, he has been married, fathered four children and divorced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Squeaky Fromme was the second member of Manson\u2019s Family. She tried to kill President Ford and once escaped from prison in an effort at reuniting with Charles Manson. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another of Manson\u2019s followers named Lynette \u201cSqueaky\u201d Fromme\nunsuccessfully attempted to assassinated President Gerald Ford in 1975 and\nspent 34 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
At the time of his arrest, Charles Manson was defiant and bold. His followers took credit for the killings in an effort at deflecting blame from him. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The psychopath Charles Manson had a colorful prison stay. During his trial, he inexplicably carved an X into his forehead. He later transformed the X into a swastika that he carried with him to his grave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Charles Manson was one of the most notorious convicts in America. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manson was denied parole twelve times and gave four\ninterviews. The second, recorded by Charlie Rose for CBS News Nightwatch in\n1986, won an Emmy. Manson granted an interview to Geraldo Rivera in 1986 during\nan investigative special on satanism. His last formal communication with the\noutside world occurred in 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
In the 1980\u2019s a fellow inmate set Manson on fire over a jailhouse noise complaint. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In September of 1984, Manson complained about the Hare Krishna chants of a fellow inmate named Jan Holmstrom. There resulted in a verbal threat by Manson. Holmstrom subsequently doused Manson in paint thinner and set him alight. Manson suffered 2d and 3d-degree burns over 20% of his body. I suppose the message there is that one should choose one\u2019s friends carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Somebody was illicitly talking to Charles Manson on an illegal cell phone in 2009. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1997 Manson was disciplined for trafficking drugs in\nprison. In 2009 he was caught with a cell phone. Lord only knows who he was\ntalking to on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This guy made a little music with Charles Manson while he was incarcerated. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While in prison Charles Manson, ever the musician, recorded\nan album of pop songs accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Only five copies were\nknown to exist. Two went to activist and actor Henry Rollins. The other three\nremained with Manson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Charles Manson died of colon cancer at age 83. As near as I could tell he never showed remorse for his crimes. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On New Year\u2019s Day 2017 Manson was taken to Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield with GI bleeding and was diagnosed with colon cancer. In November of that same year, he died of cardiac arrest secondary to respiratory failure stemming from his GI malignancy. The demised precipitator of Helter Skelter was 83 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This was the folding Buck knife used in the Sharon Tate killings. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Before Charles Manson became a full-time serial killer he briefly had a fairly normal life working as a janitor, marrying a real person, and fathering a child. Sadly, this obviously didn\u2019t last. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charles Manson was the chemical formula for crazy. His messianic influence over his mostly female followers drove them to commit some of the most egregious crimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":120680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[257,772],"tags":[132,102,752,636,2087],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-120652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-guns","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-feature-articles","11":"tag-historical-guns","12":"tag-history","13":"tag-murder"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2 - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Charles Manson was the chemical formula for crazy. His messianic influence over his mostly female followers drove them to commit some of the most egregious crimes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/will.dabbs.9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-10T17:11:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-06T09:24:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"924\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Will Dabbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Will Dabbs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca\"},\"headline\":\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-10T17:11:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T09:24:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2097,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Buzz\",\"Feature Articles\",\"Historical Guns\",\"History\",\"murder\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Historical Guns\",\"Will Dabbs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-10T17:11:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T09:24:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2 - Will Dabbs\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":924,\"caption\":\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\\\/Digest\",\"description\":\"Gun Reviews, Industry News, and Product Reviews for Rifles, Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Optics, and Ammunition. Looking to purchase a firearm online? Look no further than GunsAmerica.com, America's premier destination for buying and selling firearms.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GunsAmerica\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/image-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/image-3.png\",\"width\":286,\"height\":156,\"caption\":\"GunsAmerica\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/gunsamerica\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/gunsamerica\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/gunsamerica_official\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/GunsAmerica\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca\",\"name\":\"Will Dabbs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Will Dabbs\"},\"description\":\"Will is still trying to figure out what he really wants to be when he grows up. However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. Turn-ons include vintage German machineguns, flying his sexy-cool RV6A airplane, Count Chocula cereal and the movie \u201cAliens.\u201d www.word-monkey.com Experience: -Professional Writer-thousands of publishing credits for dozens of titles -Mechanical Engineer\\\/Practicing Physician -Instrument-rated Commercial Pilot -Sunday School Teacher\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.word-monkey.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/will.dabbs.9\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/drwildmanmd\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/author\\\/willdabbs\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2","description":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2 - Will Dabbs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2","og_description":"Charles Manson was the chemical formula for crazy. His messianic influence over his mostly female followers drove them to commit some of the most egregious crimes.","og_url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/","og_site_name":"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/will.dabbs.9","article_published_time":"2020-05-10T17:11:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-06T09:24:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":924,"url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Will Dabbs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gunsamerica","twitter_site":"@gunsamerica","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Will Dabbs","Est. reading time":"16 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Will Dabbs","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca"},"headline":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2","datePublished":"2020-05-10T17:11:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-06T09:24:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/"},"wordCount":2097,"commentCount":6,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg","keywords":["Buzz","Feature Articles","Historical Guns","History","murder"],"articleSection":["Historical Guns","Will Dabbs"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/","name":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg","datePublished":"2020-05-10T17:11:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-06T09:24:25+00:00","description":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2 - Will Dabbs","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27.jpg","width":1200,"height":924,"caption":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-family-murders-helter-skelter-part-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Manson Family Murders: Helter Skelter, Part 2"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/","name":"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest","description":"Gun Reviews, Industry News, and Product Reviews for Rifles, Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Optics, and Ammunition. Looking to purchase a firearm online? Look no further than GunsAmerica.com, America's premier destination for buying and selling firearms.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization","name":"GunsAmerica","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png","width":286,"height":156,"caption":"GunsAmerica"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica","https:\/\/x.com\/gunsamerica","https:\/\/instagram.com\/gunsamerica_official\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GunsAmerica"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca","name":"Will Dabbs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Will Dabbs"},"description":"Will is still trying to figure out what he really wants to be when he grows up. However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. Turn-ons include vintage German machineguns, flying his sexy-cool RV6A airplane, Count Chocula cereal and the movie \u201cAliens.\u201d www.word-monkey.com Experience: -Professional Writer-thousands of publishing credits for dozens of titles -Mechanical Engineer\/Practicing Physician -Instrument-rated Commercial Pilot -Sunday School Teacher","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.word-monkey.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/will.dabbs.9","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drwildmanmd\/"],"url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/author\/willdabbs\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/dabbsmanson2-27-150x116.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120652"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186132,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120652\/revisions\/186132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120652"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=120652"},{"taxonomy":"hunt365","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hunt365?post=120652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}