(1948-2009)
Who Was Susan Atkins?
In late 1967, Susan Atkins met Charles Manson and his "Family," went on the road with them briefly, and then moved onto their ranch. On August 8, 1969, Atkins and others, under Manson's orders, burst into the house shared by director Roman Polanski and actress Sharon Tate and murdered Tate and four other people. Atkins was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Her sentence was commuted to life in prison when California banned the death penalty.
Early Life
Susan Denise Atkins was born on May 7, 1948, in San Gabriel, California. She was the second of three children born to alcoholic parents and grew up in Northern California. After she dropped out of high school to support herself (her mother died when Atkins was 15 and her father abandoned the family), Atkins moved by herself to San Francisco.
The Manson 'Family'
In early 1967, while staying with friends, Susan Atkins met Charles Manson, and by summer she was on a road trip with Manson and his group. Atkins settled with the Manson "Family" at their Southern California ranch, where she gave birth to a son, whom Manson named Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz (he had previously dubbed Atkins "Sadie Mae Glutz").
By July 1969, Atkins was a trusted member of Manson's inner circle, and he took her and two others with him to shake down a man named Gary Hinman for money. When Hinman wouldn't comply, Manson slashed his face with a sword and left, and the remaining trio later beat and killed him.
By this point, Manson's visions of a race war were propelling his every move, and he had a bizarre plan to instigate it by murdering people in their homes and blaming it on Black Panthers. On August 8, Manson sent four of his followers, including Atkins, to the house of director Roman Polanski and the pregnant Sharon Tate. By the end of the night, Tate and four others in the house were dead. Atkins later admitted to holding Tate down while Charles "Tex" Watson stabbed her to death (although later still, she recanted and said that she was merely a bystander to the scene).
Conviction and Death
In October 1969, the entire Manson Family was arrested, and they were later tried for the murders. The series of trials was circus-like, and the defendants' bizarre behavior became a striking trait of the proceedings.
On March 29, 1971, Atkins was found guilty and sentenced to death, along with all of the other defendants. However, California's 1972 ban on the death penalty changed her sentence to life in prison. Atkins was the longest-serving female inmate in the state of California at the time of her death on September 24, 2009, at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California.
QUICK FACTS
- Name: Susan Atkins
- Birth Year: 1948
- Birth date: May 7, 1948
- Birth State: California
- Birth City: San Gabriel
- Birth Country: United States
- Gender: Female
- Best Known For: Susan Atkins was a member of Charles Manson's 'Family' and was convicted of the group's infamous 1969 murder of Sharon Tate, which was orchestrated by Manson.
- Industries
- Crime and Terrorism
- Astrological Sign: Taurus
- Death Year: 2009
- Death date: September 24, 2009
- Death State: California
- Death City: Chowchilla
- Death Country: United States
Fact Check
We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us!
CITATION INFORMATION
- Article Title: Susan Atkins Biography
- Author: Biography.com Editors
- Website Name: The Biography.com website
- Url: https://www.biography.com/crime/susan-atkins
- Access Date:
- Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
- Last Updated: March 29, 2021
- Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us
