Charles Manson, the Helter Skelter killer who has died at age 83, has several connections to West Virginia.

 

Manson and his followers went on a bloody two-night murder rampage in Los Angeles in 1969. The slaying spree involved the mutilation and ritual stabbings of seven victims, among them rising Hollywood star Sharon Tate.

 

Charles Milles Manson was born on Nov. 12, 1934, in Cincinnati to a 16-year-old girl who supported herself by committing petty crime. He never knew his father.

 

During his childhood, young Manson shuffled among relatives in small towns in West Virginia and Kentucky. He started engaging in petty theft himself and wound up in foster homes and reformatories. His education stopped at the seventh grade.

 

The author of the book “Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson” delves into some West Virginia connections.

 

In the book, his sister, cousin and childhood acquaintances say Manson’s violent tendencies were apparent from an early age as Manson was living in McMechen, Marshall County.

 

“Beginning in first grade, Charlie would recruit gullible classmates, mostly girls, to attack other students that he didn’t like,” wrote author Jeff Guinn.

 

“Afterward, he’d swear to teachers that his kid followers were just doing what they wanted – he couldn’t be held responsible for their actions. Because no one thought a six-year-old could be capable of such Machiavellian manipulation, Charlie usually got off scot-free while his disciples were punished.”

 

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Editor's Note: Photo courtesy of MetroNews.