Charles Manson Charles Manson. He and his cult, "The Family," together killed seven people, bloodied and butchered. The people who he and others killed, the Tate and LaBianca families, were wealthy and well-off. What could have made them do such a thing without pity or remorse? Read on........ MANSON: The Man Himself In 1954, Manson set up a commune-based cult, drawing in hippies, drifters. and the unemployed at the Spahn Ranch, near Los Angeles. Manson had lovely ideas and his followers or "Family" regarded him as a Christ- like figure. They indulged in free love practices, pseudo religious