Manson Family Guest Book Signature

 

 
This guest book was purchased on eBay by researcher Deborah Silva who has kindly allowed us to post it on this site. On the bottom line of this page of the book we find pictured that Charles Manson signed the guest book for his Family on 12-20-1968. This date is a familiar one to Zodiac researchers. It was the date that Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were shot and killed by Zodiac on Lake Herman Road in Benicia, California. See our book for information on this double murder.
 

The following discussion with the seller on eBay was to pinpoint where this guestbook was located when it was signed by Charles Manson.

 

 
Law Enforcement in Inyo County, California verified the signature as Manson's in 1972. They had arrested Manson and his people and sent them to Los Angeles to be tried for murder. It certainly looks like one of the ways Manson wrote his name when he printed.
 

 

 
Charles Manson taught his Family that whenever one was involved in a crime they should always set up an alibi if at all possible. How would this instruction apply to Manson? He was supposed to be in Southern California not Northern California. Would he have a reason to place this date in a guest book at a cabin very near where this double murder transpired?
 
Researchers of and authors about Charles Manson point out that Manson suddenly decided to take a trip with a few of his associates to Sacramento in Northern California in December of 1968. This stay lasted for two weeks or more. Our best source says they came back to Los Angeles late in December of that year. Tex Watson said that while there they "traveled all over Northern California" visiting friends, etc. It was during this trip that Tex noted a very "strange transformation going on in Manson." He had never seen so much of this before that years later he still wondered about the change in his personality during this journey. He said, "I've never really known exactly what Charlie was looking for during the aimless weeks we hung around Sacramento . . . It was as if Charlie were waiting for some kind of direction, something to happen . . . Now he seemed to draw into himself sometimes. There seemed to be something going on in his head that he couldn't share with us."

 

We believe that, after interpreting the Beatles' Only A Northern Song, that "something going on in his head" was Manson planning to kick off his coming revolution in Northern California by "murdering people at random" to "spread fear" for Helter Skelter. Later others would kill and spread fear in Southern California. Both areas would experience seemingly random murders during the same time period. When one reads the news accounts of those years 1969-70 it can be seen that the Zodiac in Northern California and Manson's people in Southern California were terrorizing the populations in their respective areas. As is shown elsewhere on this site, Tex Watson said that Manson's plan was to terrorize three west coast cities with murders and violence – "[J]ust like Sharon Tate and the LaBianca's." We believe he was referring to San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Click HERE to view this article.
 
If Charles Manson had directed that two young people were to be murdered for no apparent reason in Northern California then placing his name in this guestbook on 12-20-68 (which was then at a location about 85 miles south of Benicia) could possibly have been for alibi purposes. Regardless it is quite a coincidence that Family members were in the general area on that date! If Tex was not involved in the Lake Herman Road double murder then we think his "wondering what was going on in Charlie's head" on that trip would be resolved!
 
Bruce Davis was seen on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California (which is about 29 miles south of the Lake Herman Road area) "during Christmas time 1968" He was known to have flown to Great Britain in December 1968; so perhaps alibi was on his mind as well.
 

 

A.

Is Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley.

B.

Is Lake Herman Road in Benicia.

 
 

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