The Proof Is In The "Putting"...

I hate loose ends. Really, I do. Don't you?

There are a few Tate crime scene evidence pieces that beg to be "put" in their place. Or rather, the people who put them there should see the light of day.

1) Towel draped over and under the noose of Jay Sebring
2) Eyeglasses near the blue steamer trunks
3) Ear Witness evidence after the Cielo murders had ended
 

The LAPD tried to "put" these pieces in their places, in terms of who did what, when, but they more or less failed. Yet, until we have a clearer picture of who placed these items in their last positions and when, and why sounds came from the Tate property after the murders, we may never formulate a complete picture of what occurred at 10050 Cielo Drive, midnight to 4am, Saturday August 9th, 1969.

Of all the questions I receive on the Manson Family murders, one stands head and shoulders above the rest.

"Did Charlie return to Cielo Drive after the killers returned to Spahn?"
Before deciding what camp to be in, I pondered why this question was so important to people.
To put Charlie at the Tate crime is to a) cement his direct involvement in the murders, as if conspiracy to commit mass murder isn't enough to lock Manson up and throw away the key; and b) rationalize his future actions, that to return to Tate — see the ungodly mess that only garnered the Family $72 — was at least the financial impetus for Charlie to go out a second night and kill again. 

There are definitely two schools of thought. 

Some say, "No, he didn't return. He was too smart to get himself anywhere near that crime scene. He's an ex-con; he wouldn't take the risk."

Others say, "Why not? Knowing him, he probably did go up there. Heck, maybe he went back to find Sadie's knife and finish the hanging job that Tex failed to do. That answers why there was blood on the porch that matched Sharon and why blood was so smeared on her body. Charlie moved the corpses while he was there!"

Both camps stand quite firm in their viewpoints. Neither side has completely satisfied me.
After reading all I could on Charles Manson, reading statements, testimony, watching/listening to interviews, and considering prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's case against him, I saw a pattern to Charlie's responses. He always tells the truth. He truly does. If a particular truth sheds a bad light — he can't give you the whole truth without blame directly landing on him — he will utter nonsensical phrases instead, avoiding a direct answer.

Discovering this pattern in Manson allowed me to discard the word game nonsense and uncover the facts. I soon realized Charlie did, in fact, what he said he did that night. He returned to the Tate property after the killers had gone to bed at Spahn's.

For the longest time, I kept that realization to myself, knowing the online community would never accept this premise. Instead, I did what my RCMP Constable father would have done if he had been involved in this case, and revisited the evidence to support or detract from said.

First, to Vincent's take in Helter Skelter — the LAPD taped interviews with Stephanie Schram. 

Stephanie was very specific when she said what time Charlie returned to their bed on those two nights in question — the Tate and LaBianca murders. Quoting from Vince's book: 

"Stephanie had told LAPD that Manson had spent the nights of Friday, August 8, and Saturday August 9, with her. On questioning her, I [Vince] learned that about an hour after dinner on August 8, Manson took her to the trailer at Spahn and told her to go to sleep, that he would join her soon. However, she didn't see him again until shortly before dawn the next morning, at which time he awakened her and took her with him to Devil's Canyon, the camp across the road from the ranch."

Second, to the eyewitness reports from the killers themselves — Charlie greeting them as they returned to Spahn's. 

From Tex's book, Will You Die for Me?

"Charlie was waiting for us on the boardwalk of the old movie set, dancing around naked with Nancy Pitman (Brenda McCann) in the moonlight. His first words were: 'What're you doing home so early?' I told him in the what had happened — it had been messy, like he wanted, lots of panic, everybody dead. Sadie told him the line about the devil, and he grinned, pleased. When he asked why we didn't go to any other houses, I just shrugged. Then he looked each of us in the eye solemnly. ‘Do you have any remorse? He demanded. 'No,' we each replied. 'Okay,' he said gently. ‘Go to sleep and don't tell anyone.' As the girls wandered off, he called me back. ‘Was it really Helter Skelter?' he asked. ‘Yeah, it sure was Helter Skelter."

From Tex's courtroom testimony:

A: I came out of the bathroom and got into the back seat of the car and laid down and ended up at the ranch.
Q: Do you remember what time of day or night it was?
A: Just that it was dark and late.
Q: What did you do when you got to the ranch?
A: We all went into the room at the end of the ranch house.
Q: Was anybody up at that hour?
A: Charlie was running around without any clothes on, I remember that.
Q: Anybody else with him?
A: And Brenda was there, and that's all I can recall.
Confirming that Charlie and Brenda were awake and saw the killers return early.
The Ford's gas tank was full, evidenced by Tex's courtroom testimony:
A: We went up and over and stopped at a filling station.
And by recitation of events in Tex's book:
"Once we got down into the Valley, we stopped for gas (we paid for it out of the seventy dollars we stole from Abigail Folger)…"

This gives Charlie the means and opportunity to return to Cielo Drive. His motive, on the other hand, has many layers.

Manson wanted to view with his own eyes Tex's "Helter Skelter" work, curiosity too deep not to take a peek. With Stephanie stating Charlie was missing from their bed "until shortly before dawn the next morning," gives Manson no Family alibi for that period after the killers returned to Spahn's — most accounts put it around 2 a.m. — but before paperboy, Steve Shannon, delivered the morning paper and looked into the Tate property — 4:40-5 a.m.

That leaves approximately 2.5 hours in which,

• No one in the Family knew where Charlie or Brenda were
• The Ford was not seen at Spahn's by anyone after 2 a.m., and it was filled with gas
• Stephanie noting the time as "before dawn the next morning" when Charlie returned to their bed
• Charlie disappeared from Spahn, taking Stephanie to Devil's Canyon

Yes, this is all circumstantial evidence, but evidence none the less that was piling up.
All you have to ask, "If Charlie and Brenda were not a Tate, then where were they?" To date, no one has ever come out and offered an answer.

To add to the evidentiary pile:

• None of the Tate killers ever stated they had wiped down the crime scene for prints, yet there were no usable prints found on or in the Rambler or in the Tate living room
• Horn-rimmed eyeglasses that could not be connected to any known Cielo resident or visitor were out in full view where no such glasses could be missed by the owners. 

Charlie knew Sadie had lost her knife up at Cielo, going counter to Charlie's standing order of never getting the Family connected to the crimes. This is one of the strongest motives for Manson to return. The irony, of course, is Charlie or his partner ever located the knife. I'll assume it was because it was well hidden under Jay's jacket, blade up, peeking out from behind the seat cushion. And then there were the emotion and time issues. Manson and his partner could have been shocked by what they saw and rushed for time for what they had to do — find Sadie's knife, wipe for prints, place the eye glasses. They knew they had to flee before others arrived, leaving the knife search undone. 

The ear witnesses living around Cielo Drive, who heard activity toward the Tate property after the killings had been done but before dawn broke. Several stated they heard an argument and possible gun shots.
The odd placement of the towel over Jay's head. There is no way the towel could have ended up there by Sadie merely throwing the towel. Also, two other towels were located in the entrance area. One was obviously Sadie's blood writing tool. She wanted out of there. She would have dropped the towel and ran.
The LAPD stated the towel over Jay was tucked under the noose, not merely lying on top of his head. So stated was later corroborated by crime scene photos. None of the killers admitted doing this.
The second night instructions to Katie and Leslie to wipe away prints at LaBianca, when no such direct instruction had been given by Charlie on the Tate night, the assumption being Charlie had wiped away the prints at Tate himself and knew his kids needed the warning.

Charlie and Family members admitted using the eyeglasses as a magnifying glass and fire-starter at Spahn and in Death Valley.

And the final and to date most incriminating statement made by Charlie himself in Nuel Emmons' book, MANSON In His Own Words. 

I abide by law enforcement's Golden Rule in investigations: First Testimony is Closest to the Truth. The fact Manson never deviated from his initial re-telling aligns with this rule.

"A normal person would find the details of the night's events shocking and horrifying, but I had long ago stopped measuring myself by society's standards. The story I was hearing from Tex and Sadie did not shock me. I did not feel pity or compassion for the victims. My only concern was whether it resembled the Hinman killing. Would the police now have reason to believe that Bobby was not the slayer of Hinman? And were the kids, loaded with drugs, clever enough to avoid leaving prints or evidence of their identities? Knowing Sadie and Tex, and their flair for dramatic exaggeration, I doubted the slayings went down as they had described. Most importantly, did they leave a trail that would lead to the ranch? Concern for clues compelled me to get in the Ford and head for Bel Air. I took another member of our circle with me.

Returning to the scene of any crime is risky business, so instead of turning up Cielo Drive, we drove past and looked up the hill to see if there was any activity that might indicate the police had passed, arrived. Everything was quiet. Still not wanting to be too obvious, we parked the car a short distance away and walked to the premises. We entered the grounds by climbing over the fence, as the kids had done. As Sadie and Tex had said, the first victim's car was off the driveway, a short distance from the gate. Going by Tex's description of how he had approached the car and how he had pushed it, I carefully wiped the car clean of finger prints without disturbing the body of the boy who lay dead inside.

Approaching the house where you know there are dead bodies has a spine-chilling effect, and I think if I had been alone, I might have forgotten about continuing any farther. My partner probably felt the same way, but neither of us spoke and we did go on to see the whole gory mess. Tex and Sadie's description had been accurate. What I was seeing was not a scene from a movie or some horrible acid fantasy, but real people who would never see the morning's sun. I'd had thoughts of creating a scene more in keeping with a black-against-white retaliation, but in looking around, I lost the heart to carry out my plans. The two of us took towels and wiped every place a fingerprint could have been left. I then placed the towel I used over the head of the man inside the room. My partner had an old pair of eyeglasses, which we often used as a magnifying glass or a device to start a fire when matches weren't available. We carefully wiped the glasses free of prints and dropped them on the floor, so that, when discovered, they would be a misleading clue for the police. Within an hour and twenty minutes after leaving Spahn, we were back. The sun was already bringing the light of day as I crawled in bed with Stephanie."

That brings Charlie and his partner back to the ranch at approximately 3:50 a.m., some 40 to 70 minutes before the paperboy arrives at Cielo Drive.

To summarize:

1) We know that no usable prints were found/lifted from Steven Parent's Rambler. But we also know the killers admitted to pushing the car back to its resting place. None said they wore gloves. No gloves were found with the bloody clothes or the Buntline.
2) Charlie's statements about being scared to enter the main house, and not having the heart to exaggerate the already gory scene are apropos of Charlie's known personality trait — he had little courage without other men around. He needed his male entourage around him when criminal action was needed. Bringing Brenda along was not enough.
3) No usable prints were found inside the living room. Charlie makes no mention of investigating the bedroom areas of the main house. Because of the darkness, it's understandable how the prints on the front door (Tex's) and on the master bedroom French door (Katie's) were over-looked by Charlie and his partner.
4) There were three towels, not just two, found at the Tate crime scene. Two in the entryway, not counting the one over Jay's battered head, as per Vince's interview with housekeeper, Winifred Chapman, noted in Helter Skelter. 

"There appeared to be blood on the trunk, on the floor next to them, and on the two towels in the entryway…."

Chapman's statement adds to the circumstantial evidence pile — someone used a third towel for some other purpose beyond what we know Sadie pulled from the hall closet to tie Voytek's wrists and to blood write. None of the Tate murderers have ever admitted to placing a towel over Jay's head. Tex may have flung one, as we know he has a penchant for covering victims' heads. But someone else went to the effort to tuck that towel under the noose. Someone who wasn't strong enough to actually hang Jay but wanted to ensure the hanging visual would remain front and center in the shock and awe. Does this align with what we know of Tex, Sadie, Katie, or Linda? Hardly. Three of the four were too high on drugs to care about details like that. Then, we must accept Charlie's version of events as the only one that logically fits. As shocking as this may be to some. Charlie tells the truth. 

5) The eyeglasses never connected to anyone at Tate. They were placed beside the last trunk, in full view, suggesting they were staged, not thrown or accidentally dropped before or during the murders. Regarding the eyeglasses, Charlie says:

"My partner had an old pair of glasses we had often used as a magnifying glass or a device to start a fire. We carefully wiped the glasses free of prints and dropped them on the floor so that when discovered they would be a misleading clue for police."

Those vexing eye-glasses — the red herring of all red herrings in this case.
The LAPD tried their damnedest to uncover their origin and ownership. They looked into any Tate visitors who could have dropped or lost their glasses while socializing or working for Rudy Altobelli, Terry Melcher, and/or the Polanski/Tate residents. No one found.
The cops finally discovered who ground the lenses and who sold that style of frame. But the company had no identification on the purchaser, save for a description of the man who had given the prescription to the store.

LAPD case record:

"On 9-30-69, Doctor Sloan phoned this office [LAPD] from Falbrook, California (714-443-1075). He stated that on 9-3-69 [25 days after Cielo], a male Caucasian, approximately 25 years, 5-8, 135, brown and brown, with an oval face and short hair, came to his office wearing a pair of optical sunglasses. He stated he was teaching English at Del Mar High School and gave an address which later proved not to exist. He stated his name was Owen Davis. He ordered a pair of reading glasses from Doctor Sloan. The doctor took the prescription from the sunglasses. The right eye was the same prescription as on our wanted flyer. The left eye was slightly off. Owen Davis never returned for the glasses (no deposit paid). The doctor has been unable to locate Davis as he did not teach at the school in Del Mar."

In his book, Charlie states. 

"My partner had an old pair of glasses we had often used as a magnifying glass or a device to start a fire."

The one doesn't necessarily prove the other, but it makes the hair stand up on my neck, and a voice in my head scream, BRUCE DAVIS. Or is it just me? 

A man fitting Bruce's general description attempted to purchase new reading glasses with fake ID. My question: Had Bruce done this before? 

And then, we have old Bruce voluntarily surrendering to authorities at the Hall of Justice, where outside in an impromptu media interview he hints at his involvement in many more murders beyond that of Gary Hinman and Shorty Shea. Why is it when bad things happen to good people, Bruce Davis is somewhere in the vicinity?

It is this author's belief that if Charlie returned to Cielo, it was an old pair of Bruce Davis's eyeglasses Charlie's partner dropped as a red herring. 

 
Besides the blind (forgive the pun) alley the cops found regarding the eyeglass owner, no other plausible scenario has been given by any other Manson Family member, convicted killer or otherwise. And with no familiar ties back to Altobelli, Melcher, or Tate — family, friends, maids, gardeners or delivery men — we are left with a pair of men's eyeglasses on the Tate living room rug where no eyeglasses belonged, and only Charlie's tale of the what and why.

The cop's daughter in me grinned when she first saw where the glasses had been discovered — by the trunks, out in full view, near the entryway. The only thing that was missing was a red neon sign flashing, "Hey, Pigs, red herring clue right here! Pick up your red herring clue and blame it on the Panthers, man!"
6) We are left with the ear witnesses in Benedict Canyon, who heard sounds coming from the direction of the Tate property well after the killings had been done, but still in the early morning hours of August 9th — voices, and sounds akin to gunfire.

"(0200 hours to 0300 hours) Mr. Emmet Steele, 9951 Beverly Grove Drive maintains two trained hunting dogs at his residence. These dogs do not generally respond to ordinary traffic or house noises in the vicinity, but become highly excited and bark and howl when they hear gunshots. On 8-9-69, between 0200 and 0300, both dogs became highly excited, barking and howling. Mr. Steele went out and calmed the dogs, checked the area but could see nothing. Mr. Steele did not hear any gunshots himself but was concerned about a Lavender Volkswagen-type dune buggy, XSP 193, and a black foreign-type motorcycle, possibly a Triumph, that have been seen and reported driving about the area for the past six weeks in the late night and early morning hours. These two vehicles have not been connected with the incident at this time."

Dune buggy? Dune buggies can backfire, can't they? I wonder if the LAPD checked that license plate and found it was stolen?

"(Approximately 0330 hours) Mr. Marceau Mounton, an employee of the Bel Air Patrol, works 2130 to 0530. Mr. Mounton was on a fixed post assignment at 10231 Charring Cross on 8-8/9-69, from 2130 to 0530. At approximately 0330, Mr. Mounton heard what he first believed to be three backfires, but on reflection, felt the reports were too sharp and short to be backfires. He said the reports were too close together, and one shortly thereafter. Mr. Mounton was positioned on the south side of the residence and could not be sure from what direction the sound came. This location is approximately 1/4 mile south of the location of occurrence and below the mouth of the canyon. When Mr. Mounton went off duty at 0530, he mentioned this occurrence to Mr. Karlson..., the desk man at Bel Air Patrol."

If a security guard doesn't recognize gun fire, who would?

" (0400 hours) At 0400 Mr. Bullington was stopped in front of 2175 Summit Ridge Drive. He was parked facing northbound with the driver's window down and heart what he believed to be three shots. They sounded as if they came from some distance to the west. The sequence was one shot, a 2/3second pause, another shot, a 4/5 second pause, and a final shot. Mr. Bullington contacted Bel Air Patrol by radio (Mr. Karlson...states time was 0411) and reported this."

" (0411 hours) Mr. Karlson was on duty on 8-9-69, and at 0411 was contacted by radio by patrolman Bullington of Bel Air Patrol who had stopped at 2175 Summit Ridge. Officer Bullington reported to Karlson he had heard three shots spaced several seconds apart. Karlson called West Los Angeles desk at 0412 and reported this to an unknown officer who stated, 'I hope we don't have a murder. We just had a woman-screaming call in that area."

Woman-screaming call, huh? Does anyone know if old Brenda (Nancy Pitman) was sound asleep on her mattress at Spahn Ranch in those wee hours?

" (0400 hours) Carlos Gill, 9955 Beverly Grove Drive, Carlos is a Mexican national, 14 years of age. He had been asleep, awoke at 2300 hours and began writing letters in his room. From his bedroom located on the opposite side of Benedict Canyon, it is possible to look directly across the canyon at approximately the same elevation and view the front of the Polanski residence. The distance is estimated as approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile. At approximately 0400 hours he heard the sound of voices arguing. He believed it was three or four persons. The argument increased in volume and became more heated. It lasted approximately one minute and then subsided abruptly. He indicated that in his opinion the sounds originated from the direction of the Polanski residence. At the time of the occurrence he stood by the window in his lighted room and looked in that direction but could see nothing. He said that the severity of the argument so frightened him that he went immediately to bed after closing the window."

Charlie, Bruce, Brenda, and Clem. These people seem to pop up wherever murder and mayhem occur. What are the odds?

There's just too much going on in Benedict Canyon well after the Cielo killers had finished their "handiwork." It leaves a gaping hole as to the who's and why's.

And remember, Charlie tells the truth.

In his 1986 book, Manson gave us the gift of truth. But by then, Charlie was in prison for life, and no one at the Hall of Justice was interested in reopening the case for an unnamed partner. 

FYI: As of this writing, Charlie's partner, a mother of four grown children, is supposedly living a blessed life in Hawaii. A fairy tale ending for a convicted criminal — charged as an accessory in the double murder of James and Lauren Willett — and "alleged" aider and abettor in five cold-blooded murders on Cielo Drive.

***

So, regarding Charlie and partner returning to Tate, I quote Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."