Three revelations from ‘Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’
Conversations with a Killer takes viewers deep inside the treacherous territories of the criminal underworld with The Charles Manson Tapes, now streaming on Netflix.
While the three-part documentary marks the fifth and final instalment of the hit true-crime series comprising The Ted Bundy Tapes, The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, The John Wayne Gacy Tapes, and The Son of Sam Tapes, The Charles Manson Tapes packs a punch regardless.
Directed by Joe Berlinger, the true-crime documentary, through unreleased prison call recordings, never-before-seen archival footage, and first-hand accounts, traces the rise of the American criminal cult leader during the height of the hippie movement, who was the mastermind behind the 1969 string of murders.
Speaking of his venture, Berlinger recently told USA Today, “It’s a horrifying story about a mastermind manipulating other people to do their evil bidding, where these people at the time of the crime, because of drug use and his influence, were remorseless. It was Hollywood’s worst nightmare.” While Berlinger shoulders the responsibility to challenge Manson’s motives behind the murders, here are the three biggest revelations from Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes.
Three important details from The Charles Manson Tapes:
Charles Manson and the race war theory
In the three-part true crime documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes, Joe Berlinger challenges the race war theory behind the 1969 Manson Family murders, which started when Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi convinced the jury and the public that Charles Manson was obsessed with The Beatles’ ‘White Album,’ and had sworn to start a race war he dubbed “Helter Skelter,” named after The Beatles’ song.
According to Bugliosi, Manson’s family members reportedly worked under his order to murder rich white people, and disguised themselves as the Black Panthers.
It all began with a botched drug deal by Bobby Beausoleil
The Netflix true-crime docu-series features several old and never-heard-before audio tapes, through which Joe Berlinger argues that the brutal bloodshed actually started with a botched drug deal by Bobby Beausoleil. He reveals in the documentary that Manson invited the biker gang Straight Satans to his ranch, who would provide female companions and protection from the Black Panthers. Beausoleil reportedly warmed up to the bikers and acted as an intermediary in the drug purchase they allegedly made from Gary Hinman.
But they supposedly embroiled themselves in a serious confrontation when the motorcycle crew turned upset with the drugs, which Berlinger believes may have ended with Manson and Beausoleil physically overpowering Hinman, killing him, smearing “Political Piggy” and a Black Panther paw print with blood on the wall.
How Bobby Beausoleil became a liability to Charles Manson
The Charles Manson Tapes details how Bobby Beausoleil’s arrest actually transformed him into a liability. According to Joe Berlinger’s conversation with USA Today, Beausoleil turned into a threat to Manson the minute he ended up behind bars, since he could easily identify the cult leader in the Gary Hinman murder.
“So they went out, and they did a murder and did the “piggy” and the Black Panther paw print to make it seem like it was connected to the Hinman murder. And then the next day, when the newspapers talked about the Tate murders without any mention of the Black Panthers, he was frustrated, and they went out and did another murder,” Berlinger explained.
Essentially, former family members also believe that the killings were intended to get Beausoleil out of jail, and not because of Bugliosi’s argument. “We’re giving this guy too much credit, that yes, he ranted and raved about a coming race war. Yes, he was racist. But the motivations for the murders were an unplanned series of blunders designed to correct mistakes that were made.”