Taming the Beast: Charles Manson's Life Behind Bars by Edward George, Dary Matera
Authors: Edward George, Dary Matera
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something monstrous for him and then die on her shield. Her love for Charlie was not woman to man, but woman to god. She was totally dedicated to carrying out his will to the point of both murder and self-sacrifice.
The interprison files, police reports, local newspapers, and Vincent Bugliosi’s definitive book, Helter Skelter, revealed a disturbing series of events that led to Squeaky’s grand hurrah. On December 22, 1972, she ushered a hooded rat pack of four female Manson followers to the front gate of Folsom Prison. Each had an X carved into her forehead. The three women with Squeaky were identified as Nancy “Ice” Pitman, Maria “Crystal” Alonzo, and Sue Bartell. The files offered little background on the supporting trio.
There were, however, pictures. In typical sledgehammer Manson fashion, the girls had previously dispatched photos to Folsom showing them clutching an impressive array of automatic weapons and submachine guns. That prompted prison officials to search the beat-up Dodge van they used that afternoon. Inside, the guards discovered a rifle scope, gun-cleaning materials, and several empty cartridge belts—all legal. Confronted, the eerie four admitted that they were doing a great deal of target practice in preparation for the coming revolution.
The girls weren’t allowed visit Manson, but taking advantage of a loophole, they were allowed to visit other prisoners. These cons could then relay the messages to and from Charlie, thus establishing a critical line of communication.
Like a Mafia don, Manson had trained his followers to insulate him at all costs. The girls on his infamous Hollywood murder spree had followed that policy well, confessing their involvement while absolving Manson of all blame. Prosecutor and Helter Skelter author Bugliosi saw through it and was able to crack their armor and convict Manson of conspiracy. Angered that he had taken the fall with his minions, Charlie reacted by laying a big guilt trip on them. He was incarcerated, he reasoned, not because of his deadly orders, but because his troops had failed to distance him from the horrors they had committed. It was thus their responsibility to make up for it by freeing him by any means.
Squeaky was clearly overwhelmed by guilt and determination. She tried everything she could think of to spring her master, eventually going after the President in a desperate kamikaze run.
The question was, what now? Which one of the men or women who continued to write and phone me on a daily basis was possibly being groomed for the latest shocking assault on the nation’s consciousness? Which was the ticking time bomb ready to embark upon another suicide mission for his or her leader? It was a question that was maddeningly hard to answer. How do you spot a festering rotten apple in a barrel of festering rotten apples? How do you weed out a sociopathic crazy from an entire clan of sociopathic crazies? They all sang the same tune, a warped, garbled version of Charlie’s rantings. They each spoke of massive violence, bloody revolutions, and worldwide catastrophes. How could anyone sort out the next assassin from such a menacing choir?
I dug further, searching for a clue. On September 19, 1974, a month prior to Manson’s transfer back to Folsom, a note written in Manson’s distinctive hand was discovered during a search of another inmate’s cell. The note instructed the inmate to tell “them” where Manson was locked up in the prison and to find out if “they [can] help us over the fence if we get through the [barred] window.” It also suggested that grenades could “help us blow our way out.” The note cryptically concluded by asking “if Rainbow was in the north and if the queen of the south was out of jail.”
Investigators believed that the inmate had found access to a prison phone and was to make a call for Manson. They also suspected that Rainbow was a code name for Squeaky and The Queen of the South, was Sandra, who had been
The interprison files, police reports, local newspapers, and Vincent Bugliosi’s definitive book, Helter Skelter, revealed a disturbing series of events that led to Squeaky’s grand hurrah. On December 22, 1972, she ushered a hooded rat pack of four female Manson followers to the front gate of Folsom Prison. Each had an X carved into her forehead. The three women with Squeaky were identified as Nancy “Ice” Pitman, Maria “Crystal” Alonzo, and Sue Bartell. The files offered little background on the supporting trio.
There were, however, pictures. In typical sledgehammer Manson fashion, the girls had previously dispatched photos to Folsom showing them clutching an impressive array of automatic weapons and submachine guns. That prompted prison officials to search the beat-up Dodge van they used that afternoon. Inside, the guards discovered a rifle scope, gun-cleaning materials, and several empty cartridge belts—all legal. Confronted, the eerie four admitted that they were doing a great deal of target practice in preparation for the coming revolution.
The girls weren’t allowed visit Manson, but taking advantage of a loophole, they were allowed to visit other prisoners. These cons could then relay the messages to and from Charlie, thus establishing a critical line of communication.
Like a Mafia don, Manson had trained his followers to insulate him at all costs. The girls on his infamous Hollywood murder spree had followed that policy well, confessing their involvement while absolving Manson of all blame. Prosecutor and Helter Skelter author Bugliosi saw through it and was able to crack their armor and convict Manson of conspiracy. Angered that he had taken the fall with his minions, Charlie reacted by laying a big guilt trip on them. He was incarcerated, he reasoned, not because of his deadly orders, but because his troops had failed to distance him from the horrors they had committed. It was thus their responsibility to make up for it by freeing him by any means.
Squeaky was clearly overwhelmed by guilt and determination. She tried everything she could think of to spring her master, eventually going after the President in a desperate kamikaze run.
The question was, what now? Which one of the men or women who continued to write and phone me on a daily basis was possibly being groomed for the latest shocking assault on the nation’s consciousness? Which was the ticking time bomb ready to embark upon another suicide mission for his or her leader? It was a question that was maddeningly hard to answer. How do you spot a festering rotten apple in a barrel of festering rotten apples? How do you weed out a sociopathic crazy from an entire clan of sociopathic crazies? They all sang the same tune, a warped, garbled version of Charlie’s rantings. They each spoke of massive violence, bloody revolutions, and worldwide catastrophes. How could anyone sort out the next assassin from such a menacing choir?
I dug further, searching for a clue. On September 19, 1974, a month prior to Manson’s transfer back to Folsom, a note written in Manson’s distinctive hand was discovered during a search of another inmate’s cell. The note instructed the inmate to tell “them” where Manson was locked up in the prison and to find out if “they [can] help us over the fence if we get through the [barred] window.” It also suggested that grenades could “help us blow our way out.” The note cryptically concluded by asking “if Rainbow was in the north and if the queen of the south was out of jail.”
Investigators believed that the inmate had found access to a prison phone and was to make a call for Manson. They also suspected that Rainbow was a code name for Squeaky and The Queen of the South, was Sandra, who had been
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