On 9 August 1969, the murdered bodies of five individuals - including that of Hollywood star Sharon Tate - were discovered by an employee that came to work at 10050 Cielo Drive.
Less than two years later, prolific cult leader Charles Manson was convicted for their brutal deaths - along with several other members of a hippie commune known as the 'Manson Family'.
Initial police investigation
Following a trial in court, police and prosecutors ruled that, under Manson's instruction, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian had entered the Los Angeles property, that belonged to film director Roman Polanski, with the intent of murdering its residents.
On the night in question, whilst Polanski was travelling with work, his long-term girlfriend Sharon Tate - who was eight months pregnant with their first child - remained at the house, along with friends Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski.
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The group were violently slain by the 'Manson Family' who, the following evening, also went on to murder local couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
Prior to the discovery of the latter two bodies, however, a representative from the Los Angeles police department confirmed the identities of the Cielo Drive victims during a press conference.
Footage and audio from the conference has this week been aired for the first time as part of a Netflix true-crime documentary titled Chaos: The Manson Murders, and sees police outright rejecting two particularly disturbing questions from reporters.
The LAPD spokesperson begins by listing the bodies as that of 'Sharon Polanski, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and another man who is unknown'.
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The final individual was later named as 18-year-old Steven Parent, a friend of the property's caretaker, whom Tex Watson had apprehended as he attempted to drive away from the property on the night of the murders.
Watson slashed Parent with a knife several times before shooting him four times in the chest and abdomen, killing him in the front seat of his car.
During the initial press conference, reports inundated the police spokesperson with questions over the details of the grisly crime, two of which were outright shut down.
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According to the new documentary, the first of the two disturbing enquiries heard a journalist ask, 'Is there anything scrawled on the front door of that house in blood?'.
The lead investigator then reluctantly replies, 'I can't answer that question.'
Another reporter than asks, 'Where were the bodies found? All in one room?', to which the officer confesses, 'No, two of the bodies were found inside the house, one in the vehicle, and two on the front lawn.'
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The second question that police refused to answer was, 'Wasn't there a body covered by a hood with a rope around its neck?'.
"These are things that I can't give you too much information on at this time," the officer admits.
The murders
The gory details from the case later emerged as the police investigation continued.
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One of the killers, Susie Atkins, told press in an interview that the group had driven to the house with instructions from Manson to 'kill everyone' inside. Steven Parent, as mentioned, was murdered by Tex Watson after begging for his life whilst departing from the property.
The four 'Family' members then broke into Polanski's property, armed with three knives and a gun.
Watson firstly woke actor Wojciech Frykowski at gunpoint, who was sleeping on the sofa. He later admitted to telling the star, 'I'm the devil and I'm here to do the devil's work'.
Sharon Tate was sleeping in one of the bedrooms, whilst Jay Sebring sat at the foot of her bed, when Atkins and Krenwinkel entered with knives and gathered the group in the living room.
After tying Frykowski's hands with a towel, the group tied Sebring and Tate together with rope.
Sebring attempted to emphasise that Tate was pregnant, after which Watson shot and stabbed him seven times, before hanging his body with a nylon rope.
Frykowski subsequently managed to break free, attempting to escape through the front door, before Watson caught up with him, stabbing him 51 times and striking him 13 times in the head with the butt of his gun.
Abigail Folger also attempted to escape through the front of the house, but was followed by Krenwinkel and Watson, who also stabbed her to death.
Inside the property, Tate was stabbed 16 times by Watson and Atkins before being hanged with the same rope.
Upon exiting the property, Atkins wrote 'PIG' on the front door using a towel that had been dipped in Tate's blood.
The following night, Manson led the group - also joined by members Leslie Van Houten and Clem Grogan - to the property of LA couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, whom they killed in a similarly gruesome way.
Arrests and sentencing
It took police two months to apprehend the Manson Family, and in January 1971, Manson, Atkins, Van Houten, and Krenwinkel were found guilty of the seven killings. Watson was tried and convicted separately later that year.
The group all received the death penalty, but was changed to life in prison after California abolished capital punishment in 1972.
The motives behind the crimes has been disputed ever since. In court, the prosecution argued that Manson had intended to start an apocalypic race war during an unstable time in America's political history.
Others believe the group had intended to murder record producer Terry Melcher that night. He'd lived in the area, and had previously promised Manson a music deal, only to back out.
A third theory alleges that the Tate–LaBianca murders were copycat crimes, carried out in a bid to exonerate former 'Family' member Bobby Beausoleil, who'd already been jailed for another killing.
A fourth alleges that Manson had worked alongside the CIA at the time, as it was investigating the possible existence of mind-control when combined with the drug-heavy free-love movement of 1960s America.
Chaos: The Manson Murders is now available to stream on Netflix.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, US News, News, Netflix, Documentaries, True Life, Real Life
Rhianna Benson