New Charles Manson Photo Released

by Rachel Nixon | March 19, 2009 at 09:40 am

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California prison officials have released a new photo of mass murderer Charles Manson - the first in almost 40 years.

The cult leader, 74, is now bald and with a grey beard, but with the same distinctive swastika on his forehead.

You can see an image of Manson as he looks now here.

The picture was taken as part of a regular update of images of inmates by Corcoran State Prison north-west of LA, where Manson is serving a life sentence.

The release of the photo comes nearly 40 years after the infamous 1969 killings.

Manson and other members of his so-called family were convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people during a bloody rampage in the Los Angeles area during two August nights in 1969. Prosecutors said that Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war that he believed was prophesied in the Beatles' song "Helter Skelter."

Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, was 8 1/2 months' pregnant when she was killed at her hilltop home in Benedict Canyon on Aug. 9, 1969. Besides Tate, four others were stabbed and shot to death: Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32; Abigail Folger, 25, a coffee heiress; and Steven Parent, 18, a friend of Tate's caretaker. The word "Pig" was written on the front door in blood. The next night, Manson rode along with his followers to the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, then left three to kill the couple.