At this moment 50 years ago (1145pm PT) 18 year old Steven Parent entered the Cielo Dr property after getting off work at his 2nd job. Some weeks earlier he'd given a ride to the property caretaker, and while he wasn't expected this night, Steven took the opportunity to stop by and say hello to him. He and the caretaker enjoyed a beer, and Steven, an electronics fan, unsuccessfully tried to sell the caretaker a Sony Digimatic alarm clock.
As the calendar flipped to August 9th on Cielo Drive, Frykowski was asleep on the living room couch; Folger was reading in bed and had booked a 10am flight to visit her mother; 8 month pregnant Tate and celebrity hairdresser Sebring sat talking on her bed. And outside the main gate, Manson disciple Tex Watson was about to climb a telephone pole and cut the wires to the house. . .
At 1215am PT, Steven Parent used the caretaker's phone to call a friend and tell him he'd be stopping by shortly. He said goodbye and started his car. As he drove toward the main gate he was stopped and approached by Watson. Four shots followed, ending the young man's life. Although neighbor's later claimed to have heard the shots (and went back to bed) they apparently went unnoticed by the residents of the property. Moving past the body in the car, the four killers approached the house. .
At around 1220am PT 50 years ago Watson cut a window screen and entered the home, then unlocked the front door to admit Atkins and Krenwinkel, leaving Linda Kasabian outside as a lookout. Watson woke Fykowski with a kick to the head and announced that he was the devil, there "to do the devil's business.' The two women went down the hall to collect the others; Folger initially waved to one of the killers, believing her to be just another guest of Sharon's. The killer cheerfully waved back.
At about this time 50 years ago (1230AM PT) the four friends were forced into the living room. A rope was tied around both Sebring and Tate's necks and tossed over a rafter. Sebring objected to the treatment of the pregnant Tate; for his efforts Watson calmly shot him, leaving him to bleed out on the rug....
With Sebring dying chaos erupted. Realizing this was no mere robbery Frykowski escaped his bonds and grappled with Atkins. Despite stabbing him repeatedly in the legs she was losing and appealed to Watson for help. Eventually Wojciech would make it as far as the lawn before succumbing; it took multiple gunshots, 13 verifiable blows to the head, and 51 stab wounds to kill the Pole. The head injuries came from the pistol Watson carried, whose grip broke during the struggle, leaving behind a vital piece of evidence.
Meanwhile Folger attacked Krinwinkel and despite a stab wound escaped out the pool door in Sharon's room. She was overtaken on the lawn and stabbed to death as she pled for them to stop, saying she was "already dead.". In the morning the police would initially think her white nightgown was red, given the amount of blood it bore.
Tate died last, unable to flee because of the rope and the pregnancy. She begged to be kept a hostage long enough to have her baby; instead she died brutally near Sebring, calling out for her mother. Susan Atkins dipped a towel in her blood and wrote PIG on the door, then casually tossed the towel back into the living room. It landed on Sebrings face, erroneously creating a rumor the victims were hooded. By 1245, if not sooner, it was done.
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