The Closing Argument...

At this time, I would like to tie all the evidence together in a concluding summary. I will separate the wheat from the chaff and tie everything together.

In all murder cases, ladies and gentlemen, evidence of motive is extremely powerful and extremely important evidence. Motive points toward the killer. There is always a motive for every murder; for instance, revenge, hatred, money, fear, passion, escape. People simply do not go around killing other human beings for no reason whatsoever. There is always a reason, there is always a motive.

Likewise, there was a motive for these murders. The fact that the motive for these murders was not a typical motive does not make it any less of a motive. Charles Manson and Charles Manson alone had a motive for these barbaric murders. It was an incredibly bizarre motive. The motives that the codefendants, the actual killers, had, on the other hand, was a very simple motive. It was not bizarre. They killed the people "Because Charlie told us to."

One thing is abundantly clear. That the motive for these seven horrendous murders was not money, it was not burglary or robbery. These savage murders were not committed to effectuate a robbery. If that had been the motive, there wouldn't have been any need to stab Voytek Frykowski fifty-one times, to hit him thirteen times over the head and shoot him twice. There would have been no need to stab Rosemary LaBianca so many times. There wouldn't have been any need for any of these victims to have been murdered so mercilessly. One gunshot would have sufficed. And if robbery or burglary had been the motive, there wouldn't have been any need to print the words in the victims' blood at the scene of both residences.

In view of the unbelievably savage nature of these murders, and in view of the fact that hardly anything at all was taken from either the Tate or the LaBianca residences, and in view of all the other evidence in this case, including the statements of Manson, Watson, and Atkins that I have just referred to, a conclusion that these seven murders were perpetrated to help carry out some burglary or robbery would not seem to be consistent with the evidence in this case. The mission, ladies and gentlemen, the mission of these defendants on both nights, was murder. Clear and simple, murder. No other reason.

Now, why were these murders committed? Well, this trial answered that question. There appears to be three motives for these murders. There was Manson's hatred, his hatred for human beings, and his passion and lust for their violent death. Anyone who could order these seven savage, horrendous murders had to have a lust, a passion for violent death. The evidence at this trial amply showed Manson's complete immersion and engrossment and preoccupation with death, blood, and murder.

Another motive-another motive-was Manson's extreme antiestablishment hatred. Unquestionably, on both nights, Charles
Manson was viciously striking out at the establishment; and with respect to the Tate residence particularly, the establishment's rejection and repudiation of him. Of course, the principal motive for these murders, the main motive, was Helter Skelter, Manson's fanatical obsession, his mania with Helter Skelter. Helter Skelter was Charlie's religion, a religion that he lived by. To Manson, Helter Skelter was the black man rising up against the white man, and then the
black-white war.

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