Shivangi Sinha
In August 1969, when the news broke that five people had been killed at Cielo Drive in the Benedict Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, fear broke out in the neighborhood. The fact that Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski’s eight-month-pregnant wife, was one of the victims raised concerns about safety in the neighborhood. It was only a day later that Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, who had themselves expressed concern over their safety, were also killed in their home. Netflix’s ‘Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’ gives a detailed timeline of the case and the manner in which the various perpetrators were identified and caught.
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca Had Very Different Childhoods From Each Other
Pasqualino Antonio “Leno” LaBianca was born on August 6, 1925, to Italian immigrants Antonio and Corina LaBianca. They had made their home in Los Angeles, California, where Leno grew up with his two elder sisters, Stella and Domenica. Their father had built two grocery businesses, Gateway Ranch Markets and State Wholesale Grocery Company, which quickly gained traction and became one of the biggest chains in Southern California. Leno was the pride of the family. He was a smart student who had even skipped a grade at Benjamin Franklin High School. Leno first enrolled at Los Angeles City College, but after just a semester, he transferred to USC to pursue a degree in business administration.
In 1942, while Leno was still a college student, he started working for his father’s business. He was also able to marry his high school sweetheart, Alice Skolfield, in 1944, and by 1950, he had been named Vice President of both Gateway Markets and State Wholesale and was named as one of the board directors. After his father’s passing, Leno became President of both businesses and eventually decided to sell State Wholesale and focus solely on expanding Gateway Markets. He had also been blessed with three children, Anthony, Louise and Correen, and the house was brimming with happiness. In 1956, when Alice and Leno decided to separate, there was not much animosity between them, and they remained cordial co-parents.
Ruth Katherine Elliott was born on December 15, 1929, and reports give differing accounts of that time. Some say she was born in Mexico, while others say she was born in Arizona. Not much is known about her birth parents, but she was around 12 years old when she was placed for adoption and was adopted by Ernest and Clara Harmon, who named her Rosemary Harmon. Her adoptive brother, Henry, was a true confidant and friend to her while she was growing up. In the late 1940s or early 1950s, she got married to Frank Struthers and had two children, Suzan and Frank Jr. By 1958, the couple had separated, but Rosemary maintained a close relationship with her children.
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca Had Come Back From a Vacation the Night They Were Killed
Rosemary and Leno met for the first time in 1959 at a carhop in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, where she was working at the time. They were soon married, and their blended families came together seamlessly. Rosemary eventually opened Boutique Carriage, a pricey women’s clothing boutique on North Figueroa Street with a partner, and it was a total success. In 1968, Leno decided to purchase the house on Waverly Street that had belonged to his parents and make it their home. Both of their children used to visit often, and it was a place brimming with happiness. On August 9, 1969, Leno and Rosemary were just coming back from a vacation at Lake Isabella with Rosemary’s kids.
It had been less than 24 hours since the Tate killings on Cielo Drive. They had stopped at a newspaper vendor in the early hours of August 10, 1969, and Rosemary had been visibly upset by the news. That was the last time they were seen alive. During the day on August 10, 1969, Rosemary’s kids grew concerned when they were unable to reach the couple. They made their way over to the house, where they found both Leno and Rosemary stabbed to death. Leno had 26 stab wounds, while Rosemary had 41. He was in the living room, and she was in the bedroom. Both had pillowcases over their faces, which had been bound with lamp cords, and Leno’s hands had also been bound. The word “WAR” was carved into Leno’s stomach, and a carving fork was found still protruding from his remains. “Death to Pigs,” “Rise,” and a misspelled “Helter Skelter” were also written in blood on the walls and refrigerator of their house.
Leno and Rosemary LaBianca’s Killers Were First Arrested for a Much Lesser Crime
In the days after the killing of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, there was a lot of terror in the neighborhood. Still, there was no officially established connection between their deaths and the Tate killings, which had happened just a day prior. In the weeks leading up to the incident, Rosemary had also expressed concern to her friends and family that things were missing from their house or that it felt like they had been moved around. She had also once claimed to have found her door unlocked, which she found concerning. It was only in October 1969, when Charles Manson and many of his followers were arrested from Barker Ranch on suspicion of grand theft auto, arson and vandalism, that a breakthrough came.
One of the girls, Susan Atkins, who had been arrested with Manson, casually mentioned to a fellow prisoner that she was involved in the Tate-LaBianca killings. The authorities were quickly informed, and they brought her in for questioning. Soon, four others, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten, Linda Kasabian and Charles “Tex” Watson, were also believed to be involved in the killings. Based on questioning and piecing together the evidence, the detectives determined that Manson and his group had been “crawling” around the neighborhood and had supposedly even been at the LaBiancas’ home before the actual killings. Manson had himself been at the house that day but had left before the killing started.
Based on all the testimonies, they concluded that the couple had been tied up while Watson attacked Leno. He has confessed that at one point, he heard Rosemary putting up a struggle with the other girls, so he went and stabbed her before coming back and continuing to stab Leno. They then proceeded to write the words in an attempt to mislead the investigation into Gary Hinman, in which Bobby Beausoleil had been arrested. All five of them were charged and convicted in the case, along with being charged for the Tate killings as well, and were handed down life sentences. However, their death sentences were commuted following California’s change in law regarding the death penalty. Subsequently, the death sentences for each of the five perpetrators convicted in the Tate–LaBianca murders were commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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