Shivangi Sinha
During Charles Manson’s trial in the 1970s in Los Angeles, California, a lot of speculation around him and his “family members” poured in. Some women were tried along with him, whereas some held vigil outside the courtroom, all of which drew as much media attention as the trial itself. Many young women who had brief involvements with him have eventually distanced themselves and shared their experiences. Netflix’s ‘Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’ features an interview with one of them, named Stephanie Schram, who came to be known as one of Manson’s last girlfriends.
Stephanie Schram Was With a Friend When She Met Charles Manson at a Gas Station
Stephanie Schram was born on November 13, 1951, in San Diego, California. She was raised in an upper-middle-class family and admittedly had a good upbringing. Just the day after she graduated from high school, she took her car and set out to see the world on her terms. She met friends along the way and was doing things as they came by. In August 1969, she was outside a gas station in Big Sur when a man whistled at her, complimented her and asked what she was doing out in the night. At the time, Stephanie was with a friend, but she said she liked the stranger’s attention. She added that she found him very charismatic and decided to go along with him because he offered to show her more of Big Sur — that man was Charles Manson. Stephanie said there was something about him that made her feel seen and appreciated.
According to Stephanie, they spent a night together and then went on to the Esalen Institute, where Manson tried playing guitar for the crowd but left upset when it drew little interest. Before long, she had gone with him and joined the other girls who were living at Spahn Ranch. Stephanie said everyone was warm and welcoming, and she did not know what would follow. She said that because she was new and did not know anyone, Manson spent a lot of time with her and often comforted her. Stephanie said that he even gave her a ring made from an engine hose clamp to show his appreciation.
Stephanie even stayed in his trailer on the nights of August 8 and August 9, 1969, when the Tate murders and the LaBianca murders were carried out. She later said that she did not see anything untoward at the time and that Manson was with her through the night. However, she has said that she noticed he was gone for a few hours on the night of August 9. She maintained that she did not know anything about the killings. Stephanie was at Spahn Ranch when detectives raided the property as part of an investigation into auto thefts. She was arrested along with other members, but they were released shortly after without charges. Stephanie even went back to live with her parents. However, at the time, she said she was so in love with Manson that she left and rejoined them at Barker Ranch in Death Valley.
Stephanie Schram Escaped From the Barker Ranch in the Middle of the Night
At the new place, Stephanie Schram said she felt they were all hiding because Manson had asked them to dig deep holes. She said that soon doubts about her life started creeping in, and they were also asked to learn to use weapons. After Manson’s Helter Skelter prophecy, she began to have doubts about it and soon sensed that Kitty Lutesinger felt the same way. They confided in each other, and she said that both of them had started missing regular things like Thanksgiving dinners and ice cream. On the night of October 9, 1969, Stephanie and Kitty made a plan to leave the group. They got far away and soon heard other members pursuing them, but they managed to get help from a law enforcement officer and flee.
Stephanie said that she immediately went back to live with her parents. She has said that she was scared for her safety but never thought she would rejoin the group. She has also said that a few members of the group came to convince her to join them while Manson was being held and awaiting trial, but she refused. She was a witness for the prosecutors but largely remained out of the public eye at the time. Stephanie shared that she lived in San Diego, California, for a while and became a dog groomer. In 2011, she spoke for the first time on ‘The Truth on Tate-LaBianca Radio Program’ about her time with Manson.
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Stephanie Schram is Being Interviewed for Her First-Hand Account Even Today
Stephanie Schram has largely remained a private person, with only a limited amount of information available about her life after leaving the Manson Family. Her screen appearances have mostly been connected to her experiences with Charles Manson and the group. In 2020, she appeared as herself in the TV miniseries ‘Helter Skelter: An American Myth’. In 2026, she also made an appearance in ‘My Grandfather Charles Manson’, which features her conversations with Manson’s granddaughter, Sophia Maddox.
Stephanie has also spoken about having a few failed marriages over the years, but she is also a mother of three children. She has described them as an important source of grounding in her life. Beyond these details, not much is publicly known about her personal life, as she has largely stayed out of the public eye. It is only in more recent years that she has started speaking more openly about her time with Manson and her experiences as a member of the group.
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