Charles Manson dies at 83

Charles Manson, the cult leader and mastermind behind one of the 20th century's most famous murder sprees, died Sunday, TMZ reports and The Associated Press confirms. He was 83.

Debra Tate, the sister of victim Sharon Tate, told TMZ that the California prison where Manson had been incarcerated called her to say he died at 8:13 p.m. local time. Last week, he was taken to a hospital in Bakersfield. Manson came to Los Angeles in the 1960s, hoping to become a musician, and soon attracted several followers, dubbed the Manson Family. On August 9, 1969, several of his followers murdered Tate, an actress who was nearly nine months pregnant, and four others at her Los Angeles home; the next evening, they killed husband and wife Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

Manson hoped their murders would start a race war, and for his role in the slayings, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. He received the death penalty, but after the state ruled it unconstitutional, he was given nine consecutive life sentences.

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