Police Investigations of the Manson Murders.

After arriving and securing the scene, officers proceeded to assess the extent of the damage. What they found was shocking. A scene of a massacre like no one had ever seen before.

Upon making the grizzly discoveries the officers became less strict on their adherence to procedure and more intent on finding the killer or killers. The officers got sheets from the linen closet and covered the bodies. One week later the blue sheet that was used to cover Abigail Folger on the lawn would still be there. Although placing the sheets on the bodies was not a good idea, not transferring them to the lab with the bodies was worse. Police officers, being the first to arrive at the scene of a crime, must follow strict procedures in an effort to protect any shred of evidence that may be needed to obtain a conviction.

LAPD officers made several mistakes that could have potentially seriously damaged the prosecution's case. For example, Officer DeRosa, while he was escorting a possible suspect, down the driveway of the Tate estate noticed that there was blood on the button that opened the electric gate. According to Bugliosi in his book "Helter Skelter", "Officer DeRosa, who was charged with securing and protecting the scene until investigating officers arrived, now pressed the button himself, successfully opening the gate but also creating a superimposure that obliterated any print that may have been there". Fingerprints would be a problem area for police throughout the investigations.

gathering the evidence