Looking at a criminals family life weirdly humanizes them, but it also makes their crimes even more unfathomable. Horrible criminals like Charles Manson have parents and kids just like any other person, and it’s hard to imagine that with how horrible of a person he was.
- Manson first got married in 1955. He had a son named Charles Manson Jr. Unfortunately, his son committed suicide in 1993 even after changing his name in an attempt to distance himself from Manson.
- In 1959, Manson got married again and allegedly had another son named Charles Luther Manson. This is only based on what his second wife said, but this child has been able to keep himself out of the spotlight despite who his father is.
- His next son was born to Manson cult member, Mary Brunner. Luckily, this child was able to grow up outside of the cult and become another face in the crowd.
- Charles Roberts is the last alleged son of Charles Manson and the only one who is publically known right now. Roberts was adopted out as a child but soon learned who his father was. According to DNA, he is not Manson’s son.
- Manson’s mother was only 16 when she gave birth to him. She ended up leaving his father and married William Manson to escape him.
- Manson lived most of his childhood with his grandmother, aunt, and uncle. They were quite abusive to Manson and emotionally manipulated him.
- As a child, he garnered the reputation of a problem child. He would lie, cheat, and pick fights with other kids. He was even known to cause scenes when he was getting in trouble just because he knew that it would make it stop.
A troubled childhood is no excuse for the types of crimes that Manson was jailed for. Author Jeff Guinn has researched Manson’s entire past and wrote about it in his book Manson.