Linda Kasabian, who was the lookout for members of the Manson Family, whose cult members committed brutal murders, has died. The former cult member, who had followed Charles Manson but later became the key witness in the Manson Family Trials, was 73-years old. She was granted immunity by the prosecutors, and her testimony helped put Charles Manson, the cult leader and many of his accomplices in jail, where they died or are still seeking parole.
The Washington Post obtained a copy of the death certificate from Tacoma-Pierce County. The certificate did not mention a cause of death. She had been living in Washington State before her death. She used a new surname Chiochios, in order to protect her identity, according to a report in The Guardian.
In the summer of 1969, members of the Manson cult killed seven people across two nights. They included celebrity actress Sharon Tate, who was the wife of celebrity film director Roman Polanski. She was eight months pregnant during the time of her death. The next night they killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca inside their own home.
In July 1969, 20-year old Linda Kasabian moved into Spahn Ranch, an old movie set in Los Angeles. It became the commune where Manson lived with his followers, who were mainly young women. He plotted murders to reportedly incite a race war.
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According to a report in the New York Times, Linda Kasabian waited in a getaway car outside a mansion in LA. Her passengers included Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Charles Watson. They forcibly entered the home and murdered Sharon Tate.
Linda Kasabian’s 17-day testimony helped sentence Charles Manson, who later died in prison, at the age of eighty-three. Three members of the Manson family–Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten were also convicted of murder or conspiracy to commit murder.
Vincent Bugliosi, who was the lead prosecutor in the Manson Murder trial, called Linda Kasabian a “star witness” and said that it would have been extremely difficult for him to have convicted Charles Manson and his co-defendants without her testimony.
In 2015, Bugliosi told PEOPLE that although some people had glorified Charles Manson “as a sort of master outlaw” he was “nothing more than an evil, very sophisticated con man.”
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