Shivangi Sinha
Charles Manson’s crimes and the media attention around them have baffled people for decades. Many have tried to understand the man behind the notorious crimes and what may have shaped him. Over the years, various people have revisited different pieces of the puzzle, including his childhood and family life, in an attempt to make sense of his actions. One of the figures often revisited in this context is his mother, Kathleen Maddox. Though she was not a public figure herself, a lot of misinformation and speculation has circulated about her and her relationship with her son. Netflix’s ‘Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’ briefly looks at Manson’s early and childhood days and also touches upon his mother’s role while he was growing up.
Kathleen Maddox Met Her Son in Prison While She Was Incarcerated for Robbery
Ada Kathleen Maddox was the daughter of Charles Milles Maddox and Nancy “Nannie” Ingraham. They welcomed her into their lives as the youngest of their four children on January 11, 1918, in Morehead, Kentucky. Her father was a railroad conductor, which gave the family a stable and safe life, but it was not all rosy. In 1928, the family moved to Ashland, Kentucky, after Charles got a job as a C&O Railroad conductor, but in 1931, he passed away from pneumonia. In 1933, Kathleen’s elder sister, 20-year-old Aileene, also passed away. It was Nancy who was left to raise her four children. As a devout follower of the Nazarene faith, she allegedly exercised a lot of control in the house.
In a 1971 interview, Kathleen said that she was rebellious and would find ways to leave the house to meet friends and would often go to parties with her brother, Luther. There are many contradictions in reporting about this time in her life, but it has been reported that she ran away from her home in Ashland, Kentucky, and became pregnant at 15. Her mother decided that it would be best for Kathleen to give birth in Cincinnati and sent her there. While she was pregnant, Kathleen met William Manson, though he is not believed to be Charles Manson’s biological father. Some reports state that his father was Colonel Walker Henderson Scott Sr., whom Kathleen had met at a dance hall, but the birth certificate does not list anyone as Manson’s father.
Kathleen later claimed that Henderson often visited his son and had a good relationship with him. In November 1934, she gave birth to her son, who was named “No-Name Maddox” on the certificate. In a later interview, Kathleen denied having any doubts and said that she had not given her son a name because she was waiting for her mother to arrive and decide on a name. Kathleen’s first marriage did not last long, and during the first few years with her newborn, she spent time at different relatives’ houses. In 1939, Kathleen and her brother were convicted of robbing a service station in Charleston, West Virginia. She was sentenced to five years, but her son frequently came to visit her in the state prison.
Kathleen Maddox Only Spoke in Public Once After Charles Manson’s Conviction
In 1942, when she was paroled, Manson described the hug she gave him as one of the best moments of his life. By then, Manson was involved in petty crimes, and Kathleen decided to send him to a series of boarding and reformation schools during this time. In 1945, she herself got married for a second time to Lewis Woodson Cavender Jr. Not much is known about her life after Manson went behind bars in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965, she got married to Gale Stanley Bower.
After her son’s arrest, she did not make a public appearance at all, other than a 1971 interview with the LA Times, in which she denied ever being a sex worker. She also said that Manson did not have a tough childhood but rather one where he got everything he wanted. At the time, she said that she was on her third marriage and also mentioned that she was raising a daughter. On July 31, 1973, at age 55, Kathleen passed away in Spokane, Washington. She is buried at Fairmount Memorial Park.
Read More: Manson Family: Where Are The Members Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.