Bugliosi, no less colorful a character than Manson, made what was already a sensational case even more so. The motive he presented for the murders was spellbindingly bizarre. In Bugliosi’s telling, it crossed racism with apocalyptic, biblical rhetoric, all of it set to a melody by the Beatles—“the English musical recording group,” as he primly referred to them: Manson was an avid follower of the Beatles and believed that they were speaking to him through the lyrics of their songs… “Helter Skelter,” the title of one of the Beatles’ songs, meant the black man rising up against the white
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