Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties

by Tom O'Neill

Over the years, Manson researchers have generally agreed that Melcher was stretching the truth. Karina Longworth, whose podcast You Must Remember This devoted a whole season to Manson, said in one episode that Melcher “was vague about the details of his meetings with Manson, and probably shaved a couple of visits to the ranch off the official record.” It would be one thing to fudge the numbers a bit—it’s easy to see why someone would want to understate their relationship with Charles Manson. But I became convinced that this was graver than that. I found proof that Melcher was much closer to Manson, Tex Watson, and the girls than he’d suggested. A year before the murders, he’d even lived with a member of the Family at the house on Cielo Drive. There was a strong likelihood that Melcher knew, immediately after the crimes, that Manson was involved—but he never told the police. I found evidence that Melcher lied on the stand, under oath. And Bugliosi definitely knew about it. Maybe he’d even put him up to it, suborning witness perjury.