Saturday, May 9, 2009

Charles Manson's Last Hideout Burns Down

DEATH VALLEY - Charles Manson's last hideout, Barker Ranch, has been gutted by fire.

Death Valley National Park spokesman Terry Baldino said Thursday that the isolated cabin was discovered burned on Tuesday.

He says it's not known if it was an accident or a deliberate act.

The cabin was last seen intact Friday and may have burned over the weekend.

Manson and his followers hid at the cabin after killing actress Sharon Tate and seven others in the summer of 1969.

He was arrested there that fall and is serving a life sentence.

For years, there were rumors that other Manson family victims might be buried on the property.

Investigators using high-tech forensic gear found nothing when they dug at the ranch last May, however.

A restoration crew was at the ranch about a month ago to clean it and make repairs.

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire.

A park archaeologist will help determine whether the building should be rebuilt.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Manson circle did not hide out at Barkers after the murders. They remained at Spahn Movie Ranch until a police raid in Sept 69 for auto theft and after they were released some moved to Barker but most of the murders actaully went to their prospective former homes out of state.

DARaiente said...

thank you for clearing that up.
I read Helter Skelter a few years ago so the details are way hazy,
and I guess CNN.com couldn't get the story straight.