Naman Shrestha
Providing insights into the notorious cult leader Charles Manson and the views he instilled into his followers, Peacock’s ‘Making Manson’ is a three-part documentary series that features his former “Family” members who were closely associated with the criminal. It also makes the 20 years’ worth of his conversations from prison public, as he talked about his life and the crimes of his cult. One of the hot topics of the show was the brutal murder of Gary Hinman in 1969, which reportedly was the first of the many crimes committed by the Charles Manson Family.
Gary Hinman Was Found Dead in His Topanga Residence
On Christmas Eve of 1934, Robert and Frances Hinman were gifted by the birth of their first child — Gary Alan Hinman — in Grand Junction, Colorado. A few years later, he became an elder brother when his parents welcomed two daughters — Carole Ann Hinman Romberg and Barbara J. Hinman. Although he was born in Grand Junction, he was raised in Fort Collins, where he developed a passion for musical instruments such as piano, guitar, drums, trombone, and bagpipes. In the mid-1950s, he attended Colorado University, and soon after graduation, he got married in 1959 and relocated to the Los Angeles area.
Gary continued his studies after his marriage as he pursued a Ph.D. degree in Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At the same time, he served as a music teacher in order to earn some extra income to get by. Since the piano was his favorite musical instrument, he owned a baby grand piano that he kept in his living room. Described as a kind and compassionate person, Gary purchased a house at 964 Old Topanga Canyon Road in Topanga, California, and allowed his friends to stay at the property whenever they felt like it. Despite being busy with other ventures, he still ran a mescaline factory in his basement.
In the summer of 1969, Gary got immersed in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and planned to travel to Japan. Unfortunately, fate had other plans as he was found brutally murdered at his Topanga residence on July 27, 1969, at the age of 34. When the authorities taped the crime scene and inspected the body and the property, they came across a message written with his blood on one of the walls and paw prints. The autopsy report revealed that he was stabbed to death. Thus, a homicide investigation was launched immediately.
Gary Hinman’s Killer Staged the Crime Scene to Divert the Authorities
During the investigation of Gary Hinman’s murder, the detectives learned that in the late 1960s, he had gotten associated with several members of the Charles Manson Family. The victim reportedly even allowed some of them to stay at his residence every now and then. When they delved deeper into the cult members, they found out that he was allegedly killed over some money related to a drug deal with the “Family” gone wrong. As per the prosecutors, Robert Kenneth “Bobby” Beausoleil, along with Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner, went to Gary’s house to demand the money that he owed on July 25, 1969.
When Gary did not oblige to their orders, Charles Manson drove to his house himself and reportedly struck him on the face with a samurai sword or bayonet, severely damaging his face and ear. While the injured Gary requested for his wounds to be treated, Charles Manson and his cult members reportedly held him captive at his own house and tortured him for a couple of days before killing him. In order to make the murder seem like it had been committed by black revolutionaries, Charles Manson allegedly instructed his followers to write “political piggy” on the wall with the victim’s blood. Bobby escaped the scene of the crime in Gary’s car.
Despite the Inconsistent Story, the Perpetrator Was Brought to Justice
As the investigators moved heaven and earth to get to the bottom of the case, they finally found Gary’s Fiat pulled off the highway at Cuesta Grade, between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, on August 6, 1969. When they approached the vehicle, they saw Bobby asleep inside and arrested him on the spot. Upon inspecting the car, the detectives also found the murder weapon in the tire well. Several months later, on April 18, 1970, 22-year-old Bobby Beausoleil was found guilty and convicted of first-degree murder of Gary Hinman in July 1969. For his crimes, he was sentenced to death, but in 1972, his death penalty was changed to life imprisonment after the Supreme Court of California ruled that the death penalty statutes were unconstitutional.
While Bobby was serving his sentence in prison, he claimed that Charles sent him to recover the money that Gary owed the “Family” as he gave them a batch of bad mescaline. However, Susan Atkins claimed that Charles instructed Bobby, Mary, and her to visit Gary and get his inheritance of $21,000. Later, Bobby changed his story, claiming that the cult leader never showed up at the victim’s house, and he himself cut his face with a knife while struggling for a gun. In the late 1990s, he changed the story yet again and asserted that he had no part in the assault.
Read More: Dianne Lake: Where is the Ex-Manson Family Member Now?
