Tate murders
| Tate murders | |
|---|---|
| Location | 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates | 34°05′38″N 118°25′57″W / 34.09389°N 118.43250°WCoordinates: 34°05′38″N 118°25′57″W / 34.09389°N 118.43250°W |
| Date | August 8–9, 1969 |
| Target | Home invasion |
|
Attack type
|
Mass murder, stabbing |
| Weapons | .22 caliber revolver, pocketknife |
| Deaths | 5 (including Sharon Tate) |
| Perpetrators | Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Charles "Tex" Watson |
The Tate murders were the notorious and brutal killings of five people by members of the Manson Family on August 8, 1969. Four members of the family invaded the home of married celebrity couple, actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. They murdered Tate (who was eight months pregnant), along with three friends who were visiting at the time, and an 18-year-old visitor, who was slain as he was departing the home. Polanski was not present on the night of the murders as he was working on a film in Europe.
The murders were carried out by Tex Watson under the direction of Charles Manson. Watson drove, with Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel, from Spahn Ranch to the residence on Cielo Drive. Manson, an aspiring musician, had previously attempted to enter into a recording contract with record producer Terry Melcher, who was a previous renter of the house along with his then-girlfriend, actress Candice Bergen. Melcher had snubbed Manson, leaving him disgruntled. In retaliation, Manson ordered the attack, thinking that Melcher still owned the house, but which had by then been rented to Polanski.
On the night of August 8, 1969, Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel to "that house where Melcher used to live" and told them to "totally destroy everyone in [it], as gruesome as you can." Manson had told the women to do as Watson would instruct them. Krenwinkel was one of the early Family members and one of the hitchhikers who had allegedly been picked up by Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. The current occupants of the house at 10050 Cielo Drive, all of whom were strangers to the Manson followers, were movie actress and fashion model Sharon Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski, who was eight and a half months pregnant at the time; her friend and former lover Jay Sebring, a noted hairstylist; Polanski's friend and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski; and Frykowski's lover Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folger coffee fortune. Polanski was in London working on a film project; Tate had accompanied him, but returned home only three weeks earlier.
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