Charles Manson, a notorious murderer and cult leader based in LA, died on November 19, 2017. Manson and his cult–the “Manson family”–first made headlines in the late 1960s, following the heinous murder of famous actress Sharon Tate. At the time, Tate was eight months pregnant, and six other people in her house were viciously murdered on that night by stabbing, gunshot, battery, and hanging. One day after the murders in the Tate residence, Manson and his family traveled to the house of Leno LaBianca, tied up him and his wife, then stabbed them to death. These seven consecutive murders were full of bloodshed and brutality.

The trial occurred months after the murders occurred, and they were nothing short of absurd. Throughout the trial, Manson tried to stab the judge with a pencil, punched his lawyer in the face, and came to court with an “X” carved into his forehead, which the other members/defendants did as well. Manson later added to the carving and changed the “X” into a swastika.

Manson and four accomplices from his “family” were sentenced to life in prison and would have received the death penalty, had it not been recently eliminated in California. Since then, Manson and his followers are believed to be responsible for two more deaths.

Manson has tried to be granted parole several times, the most recent being in 2012, but has always been denied. He also admitted that he never felt remorse for the crimes he committed.

Although Manson has passed away, his name and his cult will always live in infamy. Manson is the archetype for brutal murderers and crazy cults. Senior Samuel Reyzelman commented, “I think that Charles Manson and his cult could influence people in the future to do similar things. I think it’s very possible for a person today to have a following like Charles Manson did.”

Hopefully, the idea of brutal and vicious murder will die with the world’s most notorious murderer/cult leader, though such hopes are admittedly a bit quixotic.