Blonde bombshell, Sharon Tate, was one of old Hollywood’s most promising newcomers. After appearing in Barabbas (1961) and Eye of the Devil (1966), Tate landed a breakout role as Jennifer North in 1967 drama (and future cult classic) Valley of the Dolls. The role earned her a Golden Globe nomination and secured her place as Hollywood’s sexy new “It Girl,” even drawing comparisons to Marilyn Monroe.
Tate met director (and future convicted pedo), Roman Polanski, and the two were married in London in 1968. After returning to Los Angeles, Tate became a socialite, spending time with the biggest names in Hollywood. By year’s end, the 25-year-old actress was pregnant, moving into a new home, previously rented by record producer, Terry Melcher, with his girlfriend, Murphy Brown star, Candice Bergen.
However, in 1969, Tate’s life was tragically cut short. After dining with celebrity hairstylist, Jay Sebring, friend, Wojciech Frykowski, and Frykowski’s girlfriend, Abigail Folger, at El Coyote Cafe, the 8 1/2-month-pregnant Tate (whose husband was in London) and her friends returned to Tate’s Los Angeles home. The following day, the bodies of Tate, Sebring, Wojciech, Folger, as well as Steven Parent (a friend of the Tate/Polanski home’s caretaker), were found by Tate’s housekeeper, brutally murdered.
In September of 1969, individuals, identified as members of the “Manson Family,” were arrested on other charges, eventually leading to a breakthrough in Tate’s unsolved murder. Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian, under the direction of Charles Manson, murdered Tate, Sebring, Wojciech, Folger, and Parent.
Members of the Manson Family explained that the motive for the murders had nothing to do with Tate or the other victims. Rather, it was the home in which Tate lived – previously occupied by record producer, Terry Melcher (who had previously passed on signing aspiring musician, Charles Manson) – that was the true focus of the Manson Family’s bloody display.
In 1970, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Van Houten, Watson, and Manson, himself, were convicted for their roles in the murders and sentenced to death. In 1972, the Supreme Court of California ruled the death penalty unconstitutional, and the Manson Family sentences were commuted to life in prison (with the possibility of parole).
While Sharon Tate’s legacy is irrevocably tied to the Manson Family, her murder was the catalyst for change. After the murders, Sharon’s mother, Doris Tate, became an activist, founding the Coalition for Victims’ Equal Rights. Doris and her coalition helped push through the 1982 Victims’ Bill of Rights, of which a key stipulation is that victims, or their family members, be allowed to read a statement in court. This became what we know now as a Victim Impact Statement.
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