Manson’s Family vs God’s Family

What if one of the most notorious murderers in history told you that you were a part of his family? It’s a pretty chilling concept, considering the man’s horrible past. On the night of August 8, 1969, five people slipped into the home of actress Sharon Tate in Los Angeles and committed such unimaginable acts of violence that it shocked the world. When the night was over, five people lay dead; brutally beaten, stabbed, or shot. The following night, two more people, grocery store owners Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, were likewise slain; savagely stabbed and shot. At both crime scenes, the perpetrators left messages scrawled in the victims’ own blood. In the year that followed, the world would eventually come to learn who committed these heinous acts, and would be introduced to the infamous Charles Manson and his “Family” — a group of drug-addled derelicts whose devotion to their leader bordered on being cult-like.

One of those Family members was 24-year-old Charles Watson. Haling from Copeville, Texas, he was a seemingly all-American boy; both an honor student and an athlete. His parents attended church, and were regular townsfolk. Somewhere along the way, however, Watson developed a longing to explore the world. His travels took him to California, where he met Charles Manson. Manson took him under his wing, and led him down a completely opposite path: a free-spirited and debaucherous…