50
Unlike ex-Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney, George Harrison refused the authors permission to quote from the lyrics of any of his songs, including “Piggies.”
51
It is first heard two minutes and thirty-four seconds into the song, just after the crowd sounds that follow “lots of stab wounds as it were” and “informed him on the third night” and just before “Number 9, Number 9.”
52
The points of similarity included color, diameter, length, as well as the medullary characteristics.
53
My interviews with Linda Kasabian were not taped. Exact quotations are from either my interview notes, her trial testimony, or her narrative letters to me.
54
At 3:07 P.M., July 30, 1969, someone at the Tate residence called the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California, telephone number 408-667-2335. It was a brief station-to-station call, total charge 95 cents. It is unknown who placed the call, or—since the number is that of the switchboard—who was called.
Since the call occurred just six days before Charles Manson’s visit to Esalen, it arouses a certain amount of speculation. A few things are known, however: none of the Tate victims was at Big Sur during the period Manson was there; Abigail Folger had attended seminars at Esalen in the past; and several of her San Francisco friends visited there periodically. It is possible that she was simply trying to locate someone, but this is just a guess.
Though both the call and Manson’s visit to Esalen remain mysterious, I should perhaps note that, with a single exception—the Hatami-Tate-Manson confrontation on March 23, 1969—I was unable to find a prior link of any kind between any of the Tate-LaBianca victims and their killers.
55
Much later I discovered that LASO deputies George Palmer and William Gleason had obtained much of the same information from Stephanie Schram on December 3, 1969, but LASO had not informed LAPD of this.
56
Frost recalled stocking some three-strand, white nylon rope, but he believed it was ? inch thick. The Tate- Sebring rope was 5/8 inch thick. While it was possible that Frost had been mistaken, or the rope had been mislabeled, the defense could argue that it simply wasn’t the same rope.
57
When Manson was brought to Los Angeles from Independence, Ruby Pearl visited him at the jail. “I only came here for one reason, Charlie,” she told him. “I want to know where Shorty was buried.”
Manson, unwilling to meet her gaze, looked down at the floor and remarked, “Ask the Black Panthers.”
“Charlie, you know the Black Panthers have never been up to the ranch,” she responded, turning her back on him and walking out.
58
The gun, serial number 1902708, had been among a number of weapons taken from the Archery Headquarters in El Monte, California, during a burglary on the night of March 12, 1969. According to Starr, he obtained it in a trade with a man known only as “Ron.” Manson was always borrowing the gun for target practice, and Randy finally gave it to him in trade for a truck that had belonged to Danny DeCarlo.
59
None of the .22 caliber bullets recovered during the two searches matched up with the bullets found at the murder scene or those test-fired from the weapon.
60
Lee determined this by comparing the rim marks on the Spahn shell casings with (1) the rim marks on the shell casings found in the cylinder of the weapon; (2) the rim marks of shell casings test-fired from the gun; and (3) the firing pin of the gun.
61
On calling the social worker, Linda learned that another girl, posing as Tanya’s mother, had attempted to reclaim Tanya a short time before. Though I couldn’t prove it, I suspected that Manson had sent one of his girls to get Tanya, as insurance that Linda wouldn’t talk.
