New York — Charles Manson, the imprisoned wild-eyed cult leader who masterminded the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six other people in Los Angeles, has died, the Associated Press reported. The 83-year-old Manson, who was serving a life sentence at a state prison in California, died of natural causes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. Manson, a career criminal, persuaded a drug-induced flock of followers — the so-called Manson Family — that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and that they would survive and rule the world after a racial apocalypse he called Helter Skelter. The name came from a Beatles song he viewed as prophetic. Manson’s followers may have killed more than two dozen people by some reports, but criminal trials against him and his group focused on the savage killing spree that became known as the Tate-LaBianca murders. With a focus on killing Hollywood celebrities, Manson ordered followers Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atki...
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