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Closing Argument... In addition to those instructions, ladies and gentlemen,
Linda also recalls hearing Manson telling Tex, Katie, and Leslie not to cause
fear and panic to the people. He was concerned about the people. And although
she is not positive, she testified: "It keeps ringing in my head that he
said, 'Don't let them know you are going to kill them.' " Now, wasn't that
considerate, wasn't that considerate of Charles Manson? Since Manson was
able to leave Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca in their home all by themselves while he walked
back to the car, we can assume that Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca believed Charles Manson
when he told them that everything was going to be all right and he was not going
to hurt them. If they didn't believe him, right after he left, it seems to me
that one thing they could have done would be to run out of the house, to get help.
There is evidence that Leno's wrists were tied. There is no evidence that Leno
and Rosemary had their feet tied. So if they did not fall for Charles Manson's
lies when he left the house, they could have ran out of the house for help, or
they could have locked the door. Manson probably left them still alive
with pillowcases over their heads, and they probably thought he was just some
freaked-out hippie, and if they did everything he told them to do and did not
resist him, no harm would come to them. To fool the LaBiancas, ladies and gentlemen,
Charles Manson had to wear the same mask that he is wearing in this court, just
a peace-loving individual. In assuring them everything was going to be all right,
and not to be afraid, obviously Manson had to talk to Mr. and Mrs. LaBianca. Can't
you just picture the scene, ladies and gentlemen, Leno and Rosemary with pillowcases
over their heads, Manson saying to them: "You two piggies just stay put,
now, and everything is going to be all right." And then silently snaking,
snaking out of that residence to go down and get his bloodthirsty robots. Mr.
and Mrs. LaBianca had no way of knowing that Charles Manson and his soft voice,
his soft demeanor, was preparing them for their horrible death. Linda testified
that she did not hear all of the instructions Manson gave to Tex, Katie, and Leslie.
Outside of the car, you recall, she said she heard bits and pieces. She testified
that when Tex, Katie, and Leslie left the car, she thinks each of them were carrying
a change of clothing in a bundle. Manson then got back in the car and handed Linda
a wallet. Linda testified that she did not see the wallet in the car before Manson
got out of the car. She also said it was the only thing that Manson appeared to
have brought back to the car with him. "Did he tell you to do anything
with respect to this wallet after he handed it to you?" "Yes, he
did." "What did he tell you?" "He told me to take
the change out of the wallet and to wipe off the fingerprints, and then-this is
while we were driving off-and we drove a few blocks, and he told me that he would
stop, and he wanted me to throw it out on the sidewalk." "Well,
when he gave you those instructions about wiping the fingerprints off the wallet,
did you do that?" "Yes, I did." "Did you remove the
change from the wallet?" "Yes, I did." "What did you
do with the change?" "I believe I put it in the glove compartment."
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on the closing argument
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