
As a film enthusiast, I’ve always been captivated by the Tate-LaBianca murders, and the journey of O’Neill, an entertainment reporter who delved deep into this tragic event for his Premiere assignment, has become more than just a professional project for me. Over two decades, he transformed into a character reminiscent of Morris, relentlessly pursuing his unique perspective on the world, even if it’s not yet fully defined. He confides, “I still can’t decipher what truly transpired, but I know the account we were given isn’t accurate.”
O’Neill doubts the narrative presented during Manson’s trial and popularized in Vincent Bugliosi’s Helter Skelter, which suggested that Charles Manson aimed to ignite a race war by orchestrating the killings of Sharon Tate and the other residents of her house, followed by the LaBianca murders the next day. Instead, he believes there may have been something far more complex at play – perhaps a covert operation connected to the CIA’s infamous MKUltra program and psychiatrist Louis “Jolly” West, who was not only involved but also conducted mind-altering experiments in Haight-Ashbury around the same time that Manson was gathering his followers.
Though I can’t quite piece together all the fragments, O’Neill is convinced that Manson’s extraordinary control over others, extending to ordering them to commit murder, could not have been self-taught but must have stemmed from West in some way.