2. On the night of August 9th 1969, Charles Manson tells the killers from
the previous night they had been too messy the night before, and he was
going to show them how to do it.
He takes Linda Kasabian (driving) Charles Watson (Tex), Susan Atkins,
Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten.
They go to 3267 Waverly Drive. in the Los Feliz - Griffith Park area.
A year earlier Manson had, on several prior occasions visited the
former resident in that address named Harold True. Manson got out of
the car alone, walked to and entered the home next door to Harold True's
former residence, being the residence of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca at
3301 Waverly Drive.
When Manson returned to the car several minutes later he called Watson
and Krenwinkel and Van Houton out of the car. He told them that there
were two people inside tied up (though the evidence showed only Leno
actually had his hands tied.)
The Sequence Of Events From Charles Watson's Trial Transcript
3. Then he instructed them on how to murder the victims. He told them
not to cause panic and fear in the victims, the way they had done the
previous night.
Watson, Krenwinkel and Van Houton then entered the LaBianca
residence and they brutally murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca,
stabbing Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca a total of 67 times.
They carved the word "War", w-a-r on Leno LaBianca's stomach.
They printed the words "Helter Skelter" in Leno's blood on the
refrigerator door, they also printed the word "Rise" and "Death to
pigs" in his blood on the living room wall.
Dr. Katsuyama conducted the autopsies on Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca and
they died from multiple stab wounds.
7. Stabbed so hard in the back it severed
her spine, this wound considered fatal.
22 wounds on the top of her back, 14 on
the lower portion.
4 wounds on the front of her body, 1 on
her face.
Says in the Police Report she had
strands of brown coloured hair in her
left hand.
8. Leno's Injuries
Knife still stuck right through his neck, WAR carved on his stomach, extensive
ligature marks on wrists and skin slippage, wasn't tied gently.
9. Tex is in the living room with Leno tied, Patricia and Leslie go into the
bedroom with Rosemary.
Rosemary thinks they are just being robbed, and is offering them clothing
and valuables, saying "you can have anything you want, we'll give you
anything you want, I won't call the Police."
Leslie says her mentioning the Police makes her start to feel panicky.
When Tex begins to stab Leno in the living room he screams, and Rosemary
begins to scream. Leslie fights with her while Patricia goes to the kitchen
to get knives.
At her first trial Leslie says Rosemary picked up a lamp and started to try
to hit her with it. She blocked it and got it away from her. she wrestles her
onto her bed and puts a pillow case over her head at this point, and is
trying to keep her calm. she says she can't remember if the lamp chord was
tied round her neck or hands, but it was found tied round her neck.
Leno also had a pillow case over his head, and both pillow cases from the
bed were gone, it is unclear when they placed the pillow case over Leno's
head, he aso had throw pillow from the sofa over his face.
What Happened Once Charlie Left?
10. When Patricia returns with the knives, they both begin "stabbing and
cutting the lady up" (or so Leslie testified at her first trial).
They needed to call Tex for help, it looks like Rosemary was trying to crawl
towards the door when he walked in.
Her fatal wound was to the back of her neck severing her spine.
After she is dead they continue to stab her in the back and buttocks 22 times
in her upper back, and 14 times in her lower back. Leslie had said she
inflicted the wounds in her lower back post mortem.
They go into the living room where Leno is presumably already dead, his
fatal wound is the knife through his neck.
Patricia Krenwinkel apparently carves the word WAR into his stomach and
leaves the fork she used sticking out his stomach. And is thought to have
done the writing on the walls and refrigerator.
They hang around at the house for a while, eating food in the kitchen
(watermelon rinds found in the sink) and one of them is even said to have
taken a shower. Before they leave and hitchhike back to the ranch, leaving
behind many valuables they could have stolen.
11. Leno wrote a letter to his first wife saying, "LA is getting to be a scary
place. There are a group of hippies who have taken over Griffith Park,
and two pot parties have been broken up just next door, that's a little
too close for comfort."
Alice says she was told by a cop ""You know Leno had a confrontation
with Charles Manson", because he was next door, he had gone over there, I
don't know what they were doing, noise or something." She describes Leno
as quite a tough guy, who had been a military Policeman in WW2, with a
temper. "Especially if the other party came back at him with some kind
of challenge".
Alice LaBianca Recalls Leno's Confrontation With Charlie
12. These people were killed differently to the victims at Cielo and the
way Hinman was killed, with their presumed fatal wounds all being
to, or near the heart.
The way these people were killed was more sadistic if you think
about it, as they didn't die as quickly as if they had been stabbed in
the heart. How long could Rosemary have actually been alive and
aware of what was happening after she was paralysed for example?
There were also a lot of valuables left behind, which is strange
since the Family were supposed to be desperate for money at this
point. Suggests there was more of a motive here than just to get
money and instill fear.
It strikes Me That...