Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Chaos: The Manson Murders’ living up to its title in every way conceivable by being an adaptation of the 2019 eponymous book, we get a documentary unlike any other. After all, it incorporates not only archival footage but also exclusive interviews to really underscore how the federal government could have possibly been responsible for the Manson story. Among those to thus play a significant role throughout this original is Robert “Bobby” Kenneth Beausoleil, a former associate of Charles Manson who has long been speaking up against him from jail.
Like Many from the Manson Family, Bobby Beausoleil Was a Runaway and a Drifter
Born on November 6, 1947, in working-class Santa Barbara, California, to Helen Mattox and Charles Kenneth Beausoleil as the eldest of their five kids, Bobby grew up in a Catholic household. Therefore, he reportedly had to work extra hard to make himself be heard or seen from a very early age, which ultimately resulted in him evolving into a rather troublesome teenager. In fact, it went to such an extent that he once even ran away from home following a series of pranks, only for it to result in him being sent to the Los Prietos Boys Camp detention center for 10 months.
When Bobby was released, he chose to split his time between Los Angeles and San Francisco instead of returning home, where he then completely immersed himself in the hippie culture. He actually even began dabbling in the creative world of entertainment through music and film – he was a member of several rock bands throughout the mid-1960s – which is how he first came across Gary Hinman. This duo gradually developed such a close friendship that the drifter ended up living with him in Topanga Canyon for a while, which is around when Bobby met artist Charles Manson.
Bobby Beausoleil Never Expected to Find Himself Associated With a Cult
According to reports, Bobby’s initial involvement with Charles and his followers/family was strictly based out of mutual connections, but then they eventually formed a personal relationship too. So, when Bobby went to Spahn Ranch one hot day in the early summer of 1969 just to meet his friends, he learned Gary had caused trouble for all of them through a drug deal gone bad. There were allegedly favors, money, property, as well as substances owed, so he himself went to the place he had previously lived, alongside Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner, to deal with the issue at hand.
Charles had personally asked Gary to return what he owed before using a sword to slice a bit of his face, following which Bobby admittedly employed dental floss to stitch up his friend. However, as days passed and it became evident that keeping the hostage alive would do the Family more harm than good since he could snitch and become a liability, they chose to take him out. On July 27, Gary was fatally stabbed to death, only for his killers to then write different messages in different rooms using his blood to make it appear as if his murder was an act of a race revolution.
Bobby Beausoleil Was Arrested and Convicted of Murder Within Months
After Gary Hinman was horrifically killed, Bobby actually fled the scene and the town in one of his former flatmate’s cars, unaware there would soon be a search for that particular Fiat. Gary’s body was already badly decomposed when he was found days later, yet the signs of struggle made it clear he was killed either in a radical-led attack or by people he knew and had pissed off. In the end, officials were able to locate the victim’s vehicle off a highway between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, immediately resulting in Bobby’s arrest since he was sleeping right inside.
The fact Bobby still had the murder weapon on him didn’t help either, so he was taken into custody, questioned, arrested, and charged with the first-degree murder of Gary on August 6. He had no idea that a mere day later, the Manson Family would go on a killing spree over two nights and take seven innocent lives, including that of 8½ pregnant actress Sharon Tate. Ultimately, following two trials, on April 18, 1970, 22-year-old Bobby was found guilty of first-degree murder before being sentenced to death – he was given the death penalty owing to the brutality of his crimes.
Bobby Beausoleil Remains Behind Bars Even Today
While Bobby was given the death sentence in 1970, it was commutated to a life term in 1972 thanks to a California Supreme Court ruling that invalidated all such verdicts issued in the state prior. With this, the convicted killer even became eligible for parole by the time August 1978 rolled around, only to be unanimously denied release by the Parole and Probation Board. This was likely because it was too soon, especially since the inmate still spoke highly of the convicted cult leader and serial killer – it wasn’t until Bobby was stabbed in prison in 1982 that he lost his loyalty.
Since then, Bobby has not shied away from detailing all his experiences as well as transgressions to reporters, news channels, or filmmakers because he wants his truth to be out in the world. We should mention that a panel of commissioners of the California Board of Parole did recommend his release in 2019, but it was denied by the Governor, and now, in 2015, the state panel has again recommended the same. This request is under review as of writing, but we should mention that Bobby has already been denied release a total of 20+ times, with the last one being around 2022.
Therefore, today, at the age of 77, Bobby remains incarcerated at the medium-security California Medical Facility in Vacaville in Solano County, California. Here, the family man – a father of one who married at least twice while behind bars; one lasted less than a year, whereas the other lasted until his wife sadly passed away – mostly spends his time making music and creating art. He did face trouble in 2016 for recording music for sale without permission, but it appears as if he has since obtained the necessary approvals to work on his craft.
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