Barbara Hoyt
| Barbara Hoyt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 27, 1951 Seattle Washington, United States |
| Died | December 3, 2017 |
| Cause of death | Kidney Failure |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Known for | Former member of the Manson Family |
Barbara Hoyt (born December 27, 1951- December 3, 2017) is a former member of the "Manson Family", led by Charles Manson.
Hoyt was a witness in District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi's prosecution of Manson and his followers for the Tate-LaBianca murders, one of the highest-profile murder trials in history.
She began living with the family at Spahn Ranch in April, 1969. On the night of the Tate murders, Susan Atkins instructed Hoyt to retrieve three sets of dark clothing from the family's garment pile. Upon her return, Hoyt was greeted by Charles Manson, who told her that Atkins and crew had already left. The following day, Barbara became suspicious when some family members watched television reports of the Tate murders with delight. Hoyt was arrested with the family in the August 16 Spahn Ranch raid. A week later, she was awakened by the screams of Donald "Shorty" Shea, as other family members were killing him behind Spahn Ranch.
In Death Valley, Hoyt overheard Susan Atkins tell Ruth Ann Moorehouse that she had killed Sharon Tate, after which Hoyt, along with a girl named Sherry Cooper, fled the family. Charles Manson eventually caught up with the pair at a diner in the town of Ballarat, California. After a short conversation, Manson gave the girls enough money to get back to Los Angeles. It was rumored that Manson later sent three family members to L.A., to retrieve or kill the two girls.
In the fall of 1970, Hoyt was unsure if she wanted to testify in the Tate-Labianca murder trial. The family offered her an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii in return for not testifying. Hoyt accepted, and flew to Hawaii with Moorehouse. On September 9, Moorehouse flew back to Los Angeles after feeding Hoyt a hamburger laced with ten doses of LSD. When the drug took effect, Hoyt became disoriented, ran for several blocks, collapsed, and was brought to a hospital emergency room. She was repeating her name over and over again and asked for Bugliosi as she stated she didn't want to die a Jane Doe. Hoyt's father flew to Hawaii the following day and brought her back to California. Hoyt was then eager to testify against the family, where she provided substantial incriminating testimony at the murder trials.
Hoyt returned to high school, graduated, and then pursued a nursing degree in college. She was married and later divorced, and lived the remainder of her life in Washington State with her daughter. In later life Hoyt attended parole hearings alongside Debra Tate and other victims family's to assist them. As an eyewitness to the Manson family her presence and testimony at parole hearings helped ensure that The Manson family remained incarcerated. On December 3 2017, Hoyt died at 2:45 a.m. Pacific Standard Time due to kidney failure.
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