Hollywood actress Sharon Tate was 8 months pregnant and tipped to be a mega star when she was brutally murdered by members of the Charles Manson family.
Sharon had landed roles in Eye Of The Devil, The Fearless Vampire Killers, before getting her biggest role in the lead role of Valley Of The Dolls and looked like she would have a bright future in the film industry.
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She was savagely stabbed 16 times on August 9, 1969 along with friends Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski and Abigal Folger at luxury home she was renting with her film director husband Roman Polanski, who was away in Europe.
All the others were also killed in a sickening manner, Jay was was shot and then stabbed seven times, Abigail was stabbed her 28 times, Wojciech was stabbed 51 times.
While Sharon, who died aged just 26, was stabbed many times in the chest and strangled – despite pleading with her killers to just take her hostage.
The gang, who were made up of Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Charles (“Tex”) Watson, were arrested for the murders and all were found guilty on 27 counts.
Sharon had enjoyed a typical day before her death, Daily Star Online looks back at her final moments before her chilling murder.
Sharon's tragic final day
At 11am Polanski called Tate and the couple argued over Polanski again delaying his return home from a work trip to Europe.
Tate had planned a birthday party for him 10 days later, and she told him she would split from him if he hadn’t returned by then.
Tate started later invited her friends Pettet and Lewis over for lunch at her home and she discussed with them as they sat by their pool how disappointed she was that her husband had not yet returned from his trip.
She also talked about how elated she was to have a child.
Writer and filmmaker Frykowski and socialite Folger arrived around 3 p.m before Tate went inside to take a nap.
After she got up from her nap, celebrity hair stylist Jay Sebring, Tate’s ex-fiance, came to the house around 6pm.
A man who worked at a local bicycle shop owner also popped over to exchange a bike that Folger had bought – and was the last person to see the group alive.
In the early evening Tate was phoned by her younger sister Debra, who asked if she could pick up a saddle that Sharon had purchased for her in Europe with her boyfriend and another friend. Tate said no and offered to have them over another time.
Later in the evening she went out for dinner at the El Coyote Cafe with Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger, before the group went to Sharon's home at about 10:30 pm.
When they arrived home Folger called her mother to talk about her plan to fly to San Francisco the next day to celebrate her birthday.
It was “a night so quiet you could almost hear the sound of ice rattling in cocktail shakers in the homes way down the canyon,” according to the book “Helter Skelter” by Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted Manson.
As the group slept in the early hours of the morning, four of Manson’s followers climbed over the driveway gate before carrying out the evil killings.
"PIG" was written in Sharon’s blood on the front door, and Roman later posed for a photograph beside it – attracting widespread criticism – but he claimed he did so as he wished it would shock viewers into volunteering information.
How were the killers caught?
in December 1969, members of the Manson Family were arrested for a series of car thefts and while Atkins was in custody she told her fellow prisoners of the other crimes she had been involved in – including the murders.
The rest of the gang were arrested a few days later and their trial began on June 15, 1970.
Guilty verdicts were returned on 27 separate counts and all four were sentenced to death.
Atkins died of a brain tumour in 2008, having had her application for parole refused 18 times.
Charles Manson died of a heart attack on November 19, 2017. He was 83.
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