New Charles Manson tapes reveal what may have sparked Sharon Tate murders

For decades, the prevailing story of the Manson murders held that Charles Manson masterminded a murderous plot to ignite a race war inspired by the Beatles.But Joe Berlinger argues the infamous story never added up.The true crime filmmaker directed a three-part Netflix docuseries titled “Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes.” It features previously unreleased prison audio from the cult leader and some of his “Manson Family” members.In 1969, the career criminal who surrounded himself with runaways and other lost souls directed his followers to commit a series of murders in and around Los Angeles.

Prosecutors argued the killings were part of Manson’s “Helter Skelter” plan to ignite a race war.But after studying the previously unreleased recordings, Berlinger argues the murders were instead a desperate attempt to cover up “a series of blunders.“This whole idea of starting a race war was a false idea,” Berlinger told Fox News Digital.“He certainly believed a race war was coming, or at least that’s what he told his followers to control them.

But the murders, in particular the Tate and LaBianca murders, were an attempt to get associate Bobby Beausoleil out of prison.He told his followers, ‘He’s my friend.

You guys owe me a favor.Let’s get him out of prison.’“The truth is I believe, and others believe, that if they had succeeded in this crazy idea of getting Bobby Beausoleil out of prison, I think Manson would’ve killed him because he was a liability,” said Berlinger.

“But listening to those tapes made the story come alive, not these crazy conspiracy theories and myths that turned Charles Manson into the most mythologized figure in the history of true crime.Berlinger traces the chain of events that led to the murders to a botched drug deal.According to the documentary, Manson invited members of the Straight Satans motorcycle club to Spahn Ranch to protect him from the Black Panthers, whom he feared, offering t...