There was something about Gacy that seemed predictable. His neuroses were categorizable, his method of selecting victims fairly clear. But what about a madman like Charles Manson? There’s no way anyone could make much sense of what he might do next. Perhaps because of the challenge inherent in that, I selected him as the next killer to contact. My research revealed that Charles Manson was the leader of a drug-crazed gang of male and female hippies who were known as “the family.” They were convicted of nine murders, all without apparent motive. Included in their killing spree was Hollywood film star Sharon Tate, who, while pregnant, was slowly tortured and stabbed dozens of times. Also murdered were four friends and a servant. One particularly chilling aspect of this crime was the way the killers scribbled the words “helter skelter” on the wall in the victims’ blood. Manson and seven members of his gang were sentenced to death in 1972.
