Many girls like bad boys. Only a few fall for murderers and psychopaths. Sixteen-year-old Afton Burton fell in love with Charles Manson . And for years, she dreamed of becoming his wife. “This is the reason I was born,” said the beloved of the psychopath, who died on November 19, 2017.
Afton and Manson’s love
Afton and Manson first met in person in the summer of 2007 at Corcoran Prison, where Manson was serving a life sentence. She is 18 years old, he is 72. He is unassuming, standing just over five feet tall. He has a swastika tattooed on his forehead, and when he smiles, you can see the remains of broken teeth and an old denture. But his gaze is still hypnotic. And his voice is captivating. Even during that first meeting, he calls her Star. A starlet. “Because you’re like a star in the Milky Way,” the monster, who masters the art of seduction, will tell her. Afton is in love. “I married a monster”—the 18-year-old dreams of uttering that single sentence to the entire world.
Charles Manson is one of America’s most unpredictable murderers. And the most charismatic. (On the night of August 8-9, 1969, Roman Polanski’s world collapsed. The Manson gang brutally murdered his wife, Sharon Tate. Their child was soon to be born.) He was able to seduce hundreds of young people, who, under his influence, lost the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. They were blindly devoted to him, transformed into beasts ready to fulfill the cruelest of tasks. Manson spent nearly 50 years in prison, serving a life sentence for inciting the murder of more than a dozen people, including Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife, yet he still managed to ignite the soul and heart. How can one fall in love with a human monster? Afton Burton believed it was possible. And as history shows, she wasn’t alone…
Bastard, thief, prophet, murderer
Charlie was the illegitimate child of 16-year-old prostitute Kathleen Maddox. He never knew his father, but owed his surname to one of his mother’s lovers. “I lived on the streets, where it was really hard, harsh, and cruel. I had to scrounge everything I had. It was a struggle to survive,” he recalled years later. He spent his childhood on the streets, in orphanages, and reformatories. As an adult, he lived by theft and robbery, receiving repeated sentences. In prison, he read countless books on psychology, religion, and magic. He listened avidly to the radio and learned to play the guitar. He was an intelligent observer and, importantly, charismatic.
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When he left prison, he discovered a new world—one of free love, the sexual revolution, and drugs. He liked what he saw. He sat on the steps of university buildings in Los Angeles, playing guitar. Eccentric, barefoot, with a shock of wavy hair, he captivated young people. He asked them if they were ready to die, and when they answered yes, he promised them eternal life. They gathered around him and listened, mesmerized. For his sect, which he called the Family, he selected young white Americans from good families, preferably girls. He brought them to Spahn Ranch, an abandoned estate 30 miles from Los Angeles. Cut off from family and media, the young men quickly lost touch with the outside world. They spent their days in 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔-fueled parties and listening to the “sermons” of their guru. They addressed him as if he were a god; he claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He spoke extensively about the dangers of environmental destruction and the impending great war between the white and black races. He intended to unleash an apocalyptic war by assassinating prominent members of the community. Although he personally did not 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 anyone, he incited the murders committed by members of his sect.
Slaughter
That August evening, Roman Polanski wasn’t at the villa on Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The director was in London on business. Sharon Tate, his beautiful 26-year-old wife, who was eight months pregnant, had invited a few friends: Wojtek Frykowski, his wealthy fiancée Abigail Folger, and Jay Sebring, a renowned Hollywood hairdresser. They were all staying overnight. It was the night of August 8-9, 1969.
Around midnight, Abigail was reading a book, Frykowski was asleep on the couch, and Jay was talking to Sharon. They didn’t hear the gunshots at the gate. They didn’t know that the gardener’s 17-year-old friend was already dead in his car. He was killed by 33-year-old Charles Watson, the leader of a murderous commando of three girls: Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian. They were 20 years old. They had been sent to their slaughter by the prophet Manson.
The killers, dressed in black, enter the living room through the window. Moments later, a macabre spectacle begins. Frykowski is the first to hear them. Suddenly awake, he asks Watson, who is standing nearby, “What time is it? Who are you?”—he’s convinced he’s another guest. “I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business,” he hears. He orders all four of them to lie on their stomachs. Sebring protested and asked if Sharon could sit up, as she was pregnant. A few seconds later, he was dead. A desperate Frykowski begins to fight the knife-wielding women. Although wounded multiple times, he manages to break free and runs out of the house, screaming for help. Moments later, he collapses on the lawn, shot by Watson. Meanwhile, his fiancée dies in the house from 28 stab wounds. According to the prosecution’s key witness, witnessing this bloody spectacle, Sharon Tate begged Atkins to spare the life of her unborn child: “Don’t do this! I don’t want to die! I want to live! I want to have a baby!” The woman glared at her with hatred: “Woman, I have no mercy for you,” and plunged the knife into Sharon’s stomach. She testified in court: “I felt a surge of energy and a wonderful feeling all over my body.” She cursed her victim and stabbed her 16 times until Sharon stopped moving. In blood, Sharon wrote on the wall: PIG. Pig.
“How did it feel to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 a man?” the prosecutor asked her at her trial. “Sharon didn’t seem human. More like some kind of store mannequin.” “Have you ever heard a mannequin talk?” “No, sir, but she sounded exactly like a robot. She just begged and begged over and over. I couldn’t listen to it, so I stabbed her.”
The funeral of Sharon Tate and her friends took place on August 13, 1969.
God and family
Afton Burton grows up in Bunker Hill, in the impoverished Midwest. This desolate place is made up of 20 perpendicular streets, flags on every building, one bar, one church with a bell tower, one Lincoln Memorial. The mythical Route 66, a convenient escape route to California, is a few miles away. In Bunker Hill, only God and family matter. Burton’s parents are devout Baptists who dream of their daughter becoming a model member of the community: a wife, a mother, a homemaker. They don’t know that their daughter is corresponding with one of America’s most brutal murderers. She was 16 at the time. First, she was captivated by his “ecological” writings, then she read his stories about Armageddon. She was drawn to Manson because he possessed the emotional style of a cursed poet. The 𝓈𝒽𝓸𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 details of the crimes—in addition to the attack on Polanski’s villa, the Manson group has been proven to have committed several other equally brutal murders—don’t bother her. In fact, they give her a pleasant thrill and a slight excitement. Manson doesn’t reply to the first 100 letters from Afton. He only responds after she slips her photo into the letter, captivated by her subtle beauty: an innocent face, long dark hair, and enormous eyes. She bears a striking resemblance to Atkins, the murderess Sharon, his favorite, lover, “his most gifted student.”
Afton receives her first reply – a letter full of metaphors, Bible quotes, mixed with snippets of Beatles songs. She feels like she’s in heaven; no one has ever spoken to her like this. An intense exchange of letters begins. Ironically, her parents dreamed of their daughter marrying a pastor. She went further – marrying a prophet. She confesses the truth to her parents on her 18th birthday. They are shocked. Afton packs her things, takes the two thousand dollars she’d saved up, and boards a train. Two days of transfers separate her from the man she affectionately calls Charly.
Dreams
After their first meeting, where they named her Star, Afton is thrilled. She begins a new life. She settles in the nearest town, takes a job at McDonald’s, and every weekend goes to the prison to see her beloved. She fulfills all his whims, which are quite trivial: new socks, an electric razor, guitar strings, popcorn, strawberry shortcakes… The girl rents a small apartment. She is very active online, campaigning for support for Manson’s 12th parole petition. Unsuccessful, but she grows her beloved’s fan base. At his urging, she shaves her head and dresses like his “disciples” from 50 years ago. The guru is delighted.
When Manson feels lonely, she brings Craig Hammond, a 64-year-old former “disciple,” into the visiting room. United by their admiration for the guru, they increasingly visit the prison together. The two come up with the “brilliant” idea of opening a mausoleum in his honor, so that his faithful followers and admirers can have their own place of worship. For a price, of course. Manson vehemently refuses. Then Afton reveals her greatest dream: to become the wife of her beloved Charly. “It’s been six years since I’ve been faithfully with you every week. Isn’t that an expression of the greatest devotion and love?” she asks. In 2013, she issues an official statement about their engagement and future marriage: “This is the reason I was born. Some people think I’m crazy. But I simply love him.” The two petition the prison authorities for permission to marry. Afton’s main argument is: “Charles Manson, the prisoner, wants to become a father.” In November 2014, they received approval. Afton spoke to the media about her search for the perfect dress for the most important day of her life.
Manson and Afton’s wedding
The marriage license expired in January 2015. On her website, Afton laconically states that the wedding date was postponed due to “logistical problems.” American media speculate that Manson learned of his beloved’s 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓇 with Hammond. For several months, the couple had become inseparable. A cellmate in the next cell informed him that, legally, Afton, as his wife, could do whatever she wanted with his body. This news dampened his enthusiasm for marriage. Had he realized that Afton didn’t love him for his own sake, but for his body, which she wanted to profit from? Afton ignored the rumors. In her mind, she was already Manson’s wife. The proof? She “spreads” Manson’s word online. And sells T-shirts with his image.
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Afton and Manson first saw each other in person in the summer of 2007 at Corcoran Prison, where Manson is serving a life sentence.
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The funeral of Sharon Tate and her friends took place on August 13, 1969.
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The 𝓈𝒽𝓸𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 details of the crime – in addition to the attack on Polanski’s villa, the Manson group has been proven responsible for several other equally brutal murders – do not pose a problem for her.
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East News
Afton indulges his every whim. She is very active online, campaigning for support for Manson’s 12th parole petition. At his urging, she shaves her head and dresses like his “disciples” from 50 years ago.
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When Manson feels lonely, she brings Craig Hammond, a 64-year-old former “disciple,” into the visiting room. United by their admiration for the guru, they increasingly appear together in prison.
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Afton was Manson’s wife in her head. Proof? She’s the one spreading Manson’s word online. And she sells T-shirts with his image.
