Notorious cult leader and mass killer Charles Manson has died according to the sister of one of his victims. He was 83 years old.
Manson has been in prison since 1971 after he was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, and one count of conspiracy to murder after he instructed the members of the "Manson Family" to embark on a gruesome killing spree in Los Angeles in 1969. They were trying to incite a race war he called "Helter Skelter."
He received the death penalty for the murder of nine people, and among the victims was heavily pregnant Hollywood actress Sharon Tate, who was married to Roman Polanski. However, when the the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 1972, he was re-sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
He filed for parole multiple times, but was denied every time. In 2012, he was turned down for the 12th time, after the panel noted that Manson had 108 violations, didn't understand the magnitude of his crimes, and showed no remorse. He would've been eligible for another hearing in 2027.
On Sunday, Sharon Tate's sister, Debra Tate, received a call from a prison official informing her of Manson's death, and she opened up to People about the moment she received the phone call.
Debra said that despite the heinous crimes he committed, she never wished him ill.
"I said a prayer for his soul," she told the magazine. "Each one of these people and myself now have are spirits or our wills are slightly entangled," she added, referring to Manson and his "family."
She believes that God will dole out the appropriate punishment for Manson and his followers' souls, but when they were in prison, she ensured they never got out.
"These are sociopaths," she says. "They're no less violent today then they were then."
Manson's health had been steadily deteriorating since the beginning of year. He was hospitalized back in January for severe gastrointestinal bleeding, and was scheduled to undergo surgery, but he was deemed too fragile for the procedure and sent back to prison.
Manson was once again rushed to a hospital in Bakersfield, California last week, and at the time a source told TMZ that "it's just a matter of time." His condition was steadily deteriorating, and at 8:13 pm on Sunday he was confirmed dead.
