The Closing Argument...

"Did Miss Atkins tell you anything about who was the last to die at the Tate residence?"
"Yes, she did."
"What did she say?"
"She told me Sharon was the last to die."
"Did she say anything about a knife of hers?"
"Yes, she did. She told me that she lost her knife up there; that she looked for it for a few minutes but could not find it, and then she said she thought the dog had taken it outside and buried it." "As Miss Atkins was discussing these murders with you, did she
say anything about how it felt to stab a human being with a knife?"
"Yes, she did."
"What did she say?"
"She said that when the knife went in, it felt soft and that it was quite a thrill."
"Did you ask Miss Atkins if she knew the people who lived at the
Tate residence?"
"Yes, I did."
"What did she say?"
"She said no, that she did not know the people that lived there, but that it did not matter who was there because they would all die."
"Did you ask Miss Atkins how she felt after these murders?"
"Yes, I did."
"What did she say, if anything?"
"She said that she was tired but she felt elated and at peace with herself"

It is too bad that Sadie was tired. What right did these victims have to cause Sadie to be tired?

"During your conversation with Miss Atkins did you again remind her that she should not tell people about what she was telling you?"
"Yes, I did."
"What did she say, if anything?"
"She smiled and she told me that she wasn't worried about it; that she knew how to play crazy and how to act like a little girl, and besides that, she had an alibi anyway."
"Would you describe for the judge and the jury in your own words Sadie's demeanor, Susan Atkins's demeanor, when she spoke to you about these murders?"
"Well, I would say she was highly excited about it, and was very intense about it, almost to the point of reliving it again and enjoying it."
"Did she speak to you loudly when she told you about these murders?"
"Yes, she did, she raised her voice quite a bit. In fact, a few times I told her to lower her voice."
"Did Miss Atkins say that she was sorry or had any remorse for these murders?"
"Absolutely no remorse, nothing."

Now, we must discuss the testimony of witnesses whose testimony primarily pertained to the LaBianca murders.

Harold True testified that he lived at 3267 Waverly Drive in Los Angeles, from the early part of'67 until September of'68, the next door to where True lived was the LaBianca residence.

True testified that in March of '68, Manson, Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and several other people who were with Manson, mostly girls, stayed overnight at the True residence. True also testified that in the summer of 1968, Linda Kasabian and her husband visited him at his home once. Linda and her husband were not with Mr. Manson and his group. True testified that on four or five other occasions after the March '68 incident, Manson visited him at his residence. On one of those occasions Manson again stayed overnight. Now, note the tremendous significance, ladies and gentlemen, of this testimony. This testimony by Harold True places Charles Manson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins right next door to the LaBianca residence, right next door, on occasions prior to the LaBianca murders.

Manson and the others probably never even knew the LaBiancas; in fact, True indicated that when he was living there it was his impression that the home next door was vacant.

The evidence in this trial showed that Charles Manson was on the Tate premises twice, and right next door to the LaBianca residence on several occasions prior to these murders. Now, that is not just a coincidence, ladies and gentlemen, it can't be.

Linda testified that the night after the Tate murders, that is the night of August 9, 1969, she had dinner with the Family in the saloon. We are getting back to Linda again now. This is the night of the LaBianca murders, ladies and gentlemen, the next night after the Tate murders, the very next night of the La Bianca murders.

I asked Linda whether she recalled what time she finished dinner with the Family that night and she said, "Usually an hour after we started."

"After dinner what did you do, if you recall?"
"Charlie came in and called Katie and Leslie and myself aside and told us to get a change of clothes and meet him at the bunk room, which we did."
"Did Mr. Manson say anything to you and the others, once you were all together in the bunk house?"
"Yes, he did."
"What did he say?"
"He said we were going to go out again tonight. Last night was too messy and that he was going to show us how to do it." "Now, Linda, you testified that the first night you had the idea that you were going on a creepy-crawly mission; you did not know there was going to be any killing, is that correct?"
"Yes, that's right."
"The second night did you know what was going to happen?"
"Yes."
"Did you want to go along with Mr. Manson and the others on the second night?"
"No."
"Why did you go along if you didn't want to?"
"Because Charlie asked me and I was afraid to say no."

more on the closing argument