Charles Manson cult kills five, including actress Sharon Tate

Charles Manson cult kills five, including actress Sharon Tate

On Aug. 6, 1969, Sharon Tate was eight and a half months pregnant with Hollywood director Roman Polanski's child. Three days later, she would be stabbed 16 times by Charles Manson's cult members. 

Tate is most closely associated with the Manson murders that brought America’s optimistic, hippie-centric 1960s to a violent end. But besides being a mere footnote in the history of the Manson family, Tate was a fascinating star of her own.

See the photos and learn how Sharon Tate went from a budding Hollywood star to a Manson murder victim — by clicking the link in our bio.

Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she appeared in advertisements and small television roles before appearing in films as well as working as a model. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers.

She made her film debut in 1961 as an extra in Barabbas with Anthony Quinn. She next appeared in the horror film Eye of the Devil (1966). Her first major role was as Jennifer North in the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination.[3][4] That year, she also performed in the film The Fearless Vampire Killers, directed by her future husband Roman Polanski. Tate's last completed film, 12+1, was released posthumously in 1969.

On August 9, 1969, Tate and four others were murdered by members of the Manson Family, a cult, in the home she shared with Polanski. She was eight-and-a-half months pregnant.

On August 8, 1969, Tate entertained actress Joanna Pettet for lunch at her home, confiding in her disappointment at Polanski's delay in returning from London. Polanski telephoned her that day. Her younger sister Debra also called, to ask if she, her boyfriend and another friend could pick up a saddle that Sharon had bought for Debra in Europe. Tate declined, offering to have them over another time. Later that evening, she dined at El Coyote Cafe with Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger, returning at about 10:30 pm.

Shortly after midnight, Tate, Sebring, Frykowski and Folger were murdered by members of the Manson Family cult. Their bodies were discovered the following morning by Tate's housekeeper Winifred Chapman. Police arrived at the scene to find a young man shot dead in his car in the driveway, later identified as Steven Parent. Inside the house, the bodies of Tate and Sebring were found in the living room; a long rope tied around each of their necks connected them. On the front lawn lay the bodies of Frykowski and Folger. All of the victims except Parent had been stabbed numerous times. The coroner's report for Tate noted that she had been stabbed 16 times and that "five of the wounds were in and of themselves fatal".

Police took the only survivor at the address – the property's caretaker William Garretson – in for questioning. Garretson lived in the guest house that was located on the property a short distance from the house. He was questioned and submitted to a polygraph test and stated that Parent had visited him at approximately 11:30 p.m. and left shortly after. He told police that he had no involvement in the murders and did not know anything that could help the investigation, and he was subsequently released.

Polanski was informed of the murders and returned to Los Angeles where police questioned him about his wife and her friends. On Wednesday, August 13, Tate was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, with her son Paul Richard Polanski in her arms, named posthumously for his grandfathers. Sebring's funeral took place later the same day; the funerals were scheduled several hours apart to allow common friends to attend both.

Life devoted a lengthy article to the murders and featured photographs of the crime scenes. Polanski was interviewed for the article and allowed himself to be photographed at the entrance of the house, next to the front door with the word "PIG" still visible, written in Tate's blood.

 He was widely criticized for the photoshoot, but he argued that he wanted to know who was responsible and was willing to shock the magazine's readers in the hope that someone would come forward with information.

Curiosity about the victims led to the re-release of Tate's films, which achieved greater popularity than they had in their initial runs. Some newspapers began to speculate about the motives for the murders. Some published photographs of Tate were alleged to be taken at a Satanic ritual, but were in fact production photographs from Eye of the Devil. Friends spoke out against the portrayal of Tate by some elements of the media. Mia Farrow said that she was as "sweet and pure a human being as I have ever known", while Patty Duke remembered her as "a gentle, gentle creature". Polanski berated a crowd of journalists at a news conference, asking them, "Did you ever write how good she was?"

 Polanski said he began to suspect various friends and associates, and his paranoia subsided only when the killers were arrested. Newspapers claimed that many Hollywood stars were moving out of the city, while others installed security systems in their homes. Dominick Dunne recalled the tension:

The shock waves that went through the town were beyond anything I had ever seen before. People were convinced that the rich and famous of the community were in peril. Children were sent out of town. Guards were hired. Steve McQueen packed a gun when he went to Jay Sebring's funeral.

In September 1969, members of the Manson "Family" were arrested on unrelated charges, eventually leading authorities to a breakthrough on the Tate case, as well. They explained that the motive for the murders was not the identity of the victims, but rather the house at that address, which had previously been rented to record producer Terry Melcher, an acquaintance of Manson. In 1994, the house was demolished and a new house was constructed on the site.