Where are Manson Family members now 50 years after killing 9 people? Inside the CHILLING REALITY of their modern lives

Over 50 years ago, Charles Manson convinced a group of young adults to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 nine people in his name.

Several theories have been put forth as to why Manson wanted his followers to commit murder, most notably that he was trying to ignite a race war he dubbed “Helter Skelter,” but so many questions about the case remain unanswered today.

During July and August of 1969, Manson instructed a handful of his followers to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Gary Hinman, actress Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Steve Parent, Leno LaBianca, Rosemary LaBianca and Donald “Shorty” Shea.

Manson allegedly ordered Bobby Beausoleil, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten, Mary Brunner, Linda Kasabian, Charles “Tex” Watson, Bruce Davis and Steven Grogan to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 (or help him 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁) the victims.

Seven members, along with Manson, were eventually convicted. Though many, including Manson, were sentenced to death, they were spared after California’s Supreme Court invalidated all death sentences before 1972. Kasabian and Brunner were granted immunity in exchange for their testimonies.

Many of Manson’s followers disassociated themselves from the family during their incarceration, but a few remained loyal to him until his death in November 2017. Two of the seven Manson family members convicted of murder have since been granted parole.

New information concerning the Manson family has continued to emerge in the years since the cult leader’s death. In July 2026, a new Hulu documentary, My Grandfather Charles Manson, chronicled actress Sophia Maddox’s discovery that Manson is her biological grandfather.

Here’s everything to know about where the Manson family is now.

Linda Kasabian

Linda Kasabian at press conference on August 19, 1970 in Los Angeles, California.

AP Photo/David F. Smith

Linda Kasabian drove the group during both the LaBianca and Tate murders, per her court testimony. During the latter, she stood guard outside and claimed to witness Watson shoot and 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Parent as he was trying to flee.

Kasabian received immunity for her testimony against Manson and his followers. At trial, she told jurors that Manson’s women did “anything and everything” for him.

Kasabian had two children — one of whom was with her while she was in the Manson family, per the 2002 book The Family. Later, she was unable to work after a car accident left her disabled, per CieloDrive.com.

Kasabian died in January 2023 in Washington, per The New York Times. She was 73.

Mary Brunner

Mary Brunner during a hearing at a Los Angeles court on June 22, 1970 in Los Angeles, California.

AP Photo/George Brich

Mary Brunner was initially charged with Hinman’s murder but later received immunity when she testified against Beausoleil and Atkins.

In 1971, Brunner assisted other members in robbing a gun store with the ultimate goal of hijacking a plane and breaking Manson out of prison. As a result, she received a sentence of 20 years to life, though she was released on parole in 1977, per NBC.

Brunner has stayed out of the public eye since her release and was last reported to be living in the Midwest, according to CieloDrive.com. She had one son with Manson, Valentine Michael Manson, whom Brunner’s parents reportedly raised.

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme at Manson’s pretrial hearings in 1970 in Los Angeles, California.

AP Photo

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme allegedly didn’t participate in any of the murders, but she remained a dedicated follower of Manson’s long after he was incarcerated.

She later co-founded a terrorist group that threatened to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 CEOs of companies she believed were contributing to pollution, per CieloDrive.com.

In 1975, Fromme pulled a loaded gun on President Gerald R. Ford in Sacramento. She was convicted of attempted assassination and received a life sentence.

Fromme was released on parole in 2009, per NBC News, and published a memoir in 2018 about her life.

Susan Atkins

Susan Atkins is shown in a 1969 file photo.

AP Photo

Susan Atkins was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to death for her roles in the Hinman and Tate killings. Her sentence was commuted to life in prison after California changed its death penalty laws in 1972.

During her incarceration, Atkins became a born-again Christian, wrote an autobiography and was married twice, according to UPI.

Atkins was denied parole multiple times before dying in prison from brain cancer in 2009, per The Guardian. She was 61.

Leslie Van Houten

Leslie Van Houten is escorted by two deputy sheriffs as she leaves a courtroom on December 19, 1969 in Los Angeles, California.

AP Photo/George Brich

Leslie Van Houten was charged with first-degree murder for the LaBianca killings. Because her lawyer disappeared (and was later found dead) during her initial trial — some alleged that the Manson family killed him, per the Los Angeles Times — she was granted a retrial in 1976.

After the jury deadlocked, Van Houten was granted a third trial, where she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. While incarcerated, she married a former prisoner, edited the prison newspaper and earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature, per CieloDrive.com.

After decades behind bars, Van Houten was released in 2023 on “parole supervision.” She was then taken to a transitional facility.

Patricia Krenwinkel

Patricia Krenwinkel entering court on March 3, 1970 in Los Angeles.

AP Photo

Patricia Krenwinkel was convicted of first-degree murder for her role in the Tate and LaBianca murders. She became the state’s longest-serving female inmate after the death of Atkins, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In May 2022, the California State Board of Parole Hearings recommended Krenwinkel’s release, CNN reported. However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom blocked her parole, citing the inmate “still poses an unreasonable danger to society if paroled at this time.”

Her parole was denied a 16th time in October 2025.

Charles “Tex” Watson

Charles Watson sits in Collin County courtroom on February 16, 1970 during a hearing to extradite Watson to California.

Bettmann/ Getty

Charles “Tex” Watson was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder and one conspiracy to commit murder for his roles in the Tate and LaBianca killings and was sentenced to death in 1971. His sentence was commuted to life in prison the following year.

While incarcerated, Watson married, became a father of four through conjugal visits and then divorced. He also earned a degree in business management and was ordained as a minister, per his website.

In October 2021, Watson was denied parole for the 18th time, per NBC. His next hearing will be held in October 2026, per the Los Angeles Times.

Bobby Beausoleil

Robert Beausoleil leaves Los Angeles County Superior court on June 15, 1970 in Los Angeles, California.

AP Photo/David F. Smith

Bobby Beausoleil was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of Hinman and he has been denied parole over 20 times.

In 2025, Beausoleil was interviewed for the Netflix documentary CHAOS and recalled to filmmakers the role Manson played in Hinman’s murder.

“This is not a crime where someone was careful or thoughtful,” director Errol Morris told The Guardian in March 2025. “It’s a crime of confusion and idiocy and Bobby Beausoleil is not stupid. In fact, quite the contrary. How does Manson get someone to do something really, really, really, really stupid?”

In July 2026, Beausoleil was denied parole for the 21st time, per CieloDrive.com.

Bruce Davis

Bruce Davis leaves court after a hearing on December 22, 1970 in Los Angeles, California.

AP Photo/Harold Filan

Bruce Davis was convicted for the murders of Hinman and Shea, a horse wrangler who lived on the Spahn Ranch with the Manson family. He was sentenced to life in prison, per the Los Angeles Times.

At one point, the FBI considered that Davis could have been the Zodiac killer, but he was eventually ruled out as a suspect, per CieloDrive.com. Davis allegedly became a born-again Christian during his incarceration and helped former Manson member Atkins do the same.

Davis has been denied parole dozens of times, and his most recent hearing in 2024 was postponed after he appeared on a true crime podcast called The Lighter Side of Serial Killers, per Fox News.

Steven Grogan

Steven “Clem” Grogan attends a session of the trial of Charles Manson on July 24, 1970.

AP Photo/Wally Fong

Steven Grogan (who occasionally went by the alias “Clem Tufts”) was convicted for helping to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Shea and was sentenced to death, per CieloDrive.com.

However, the judge later changed his sentence to life in prison, saying that the former Manson follower was “too hopped up on drugs to decide anything on his own,” per the 1974 book Helter Skelter. Grogan helped police find Shea’s remains a few years into his incarceration.

In 1985, he became the first of the Manson family members convicted of murder to be released from prison on parole.

Ruth Ann Moorehouse

Ruth Ann Moorehouse outside the Los Angeles Hall of Justice during the Charles Manson trial on October 23, 1970 in Los Angeles, California.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Ruth Ann Moorehouse was not involved in any of the murders but was part of a plot to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Manson family member Barbara Hoyt, per Gastro Obscura.

While on a trip to Hawaii, she allegedly fed Hoyt an acid-laced hamburger in an attempt to murder her before she was set to testify. Hoyt survived and Moorehouse was convicted of attempting to dissuade a witness in 1971. However, she fled before her sentencing.

In 1975, Moorehouse was found and arrested in Sacramento. A judge then declared her free to go, per The New York Times, citing her rough upbringing.

Moorehouse was last reported to be living with her husband and three children in the Midwest, per CieloDrive.com.