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JULY NEWS: ABCNews.Com has a story on the level of medical care that Susan Atkins is receiving. Atkins has again been denied a compassionate release by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza. Her attorney had filed a petition with the judge. Susan Atkins has been denied a compassionate release by the California Board of Parole Hearings. Since March 18, her medical care has cost the state $1.15 million. Guarding her hospital room has been $308,000. She can only speak a few full sentences per day and is paralyzed on one side. Be sure to check the "OC Weekly" for a photo of Susan Atkins with Arnold Schwarzenegger (before he was Governor). The parole board has set July 15th as the date for a hearing to determine if Susan Atkins should be released. It will be a closed door session but the public may address the board first. If you want to write the board, you must do so very quickly since the date is quickly approaching. Read the story at the Press-Enterprise. JUNE NEWS: Virginia Graham has given a brief interview to LA Weekly concerning Susan Atkins. The same site has another story about Atkins with a link to download her 2005 parole hearing transcript. The director of adult prisons for California has recommended that Susan Atkins be denied a compassionate release. It's not the final decision, though. Click here to read. Many readers will remember Buster the cadaver sniffing dog from the recent Barker Ranch search. He was just involved in the successful location of a body that had been buried in the desert for eight years. Click here for the video story which includes some comments from Debra Tate. Susan Atkins' lawyer has confirmed she has brain cancer. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor but it could not all be removed. She has been hospitalized since March. It also sounds like she would probably remain in the hospital even if released. The latest info can be read here. ABCNews.com had a story on June 16th with a 2002 interview with Atkins. Susan Atkins may be released from prison soon. The Department of Corrections announced Atkins has less than six months to live. Reportedly, she has brain cancer and has had a leg amputated. You can read news stories here and here. MAY NEWS: The limited Barker Ranch excavation came to an end without any finds. The digs were limited to about three feet deep whereas Susan Atkins once stated the bodies were eight feet down. Also note that due to some sites being in washes, forty years of flash flooding could have added several feet of soil deposits. The digging was limited to areas three feet wide by six feet long. Due to the way scent can travel underground (roots and water), actual gravesites can be quite a distance from scent locations. Ten feet is not uncommon and the distance could even be thirty feet. It should also be noted that this was a multi-disciplinary approach that did not rely only on dogs. Other scientific methods also pointed to these sites. Perhaps the best article can be found by clicking here. Some may consider the excavation a failure but it did bring new methods to the extreme sites for field testing. Everybody involved should be commended for the hard work involved and the experience gained. Digging will begin at Barker Ranch on May 20. The excavation will run through about the 23rd but extra days may be added. I've recently heard rumors that Susan Atkins is dying due to brain cancer. I've not reported this rumor earlier since it is of a sensitive and personal nature. I only mention it now because it has appeared elsewhere on the internet. I've heard conflicting claims so I can't confirm or deny the rumor. I feel the story is true but that means little. If true, my sympathies go out to her loved ones. I feel everyone should leave them in peace during this hard time. Lindsay Lohan is not going to be in the new Manson movie. According to DeadlineHollywoodDaily, other actors were reluctant to be in a film with Lohan, so she had to go. APRIL NEWS: A decision on excavating at Barker Ranch has been delayed due to damaged equipment. The new date for deciding is May 9. Susan Atkins has been hospitalized for more than a month. Her illness has not been disclosed. Read about it at The Press-Enterprise. MARCH NEWS: Inyo Sheriff Bill Lutze wants additional testing performed at Barker Ranch before committing to an excavation. A news release on additional soil testing will be released around April 25th. Another story is here. Lindsay Lohan has signed to play the part of Nancy Pitman in a new movie to be titled "Manson Girls" (or possibly "Manson's Girls"). The film is being produced by Brad Wyman and Donald Kushner for Junction Films. They previously produced "Monster," the true story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The Manson film will tell the Family story from the viewpoint of Pitman. It will be interesting to hear if this is being done with her cooperation and input. Shooting begins on July 21. Check out the Emmet Harder interview by the Associated Press. He states he was told by former members they had seen people they were sure were murdered. KSRW has a new story with a bit of additional information on the Fillippo Tennerelli case along with some on Karl Stubbs murder. The later case has largely been ignored by Manson-related books. I believe "5 to Die" may be the only one to cover the case and it stated that Pat Krenwinkel was questioned about the murder. For another very interesting story on the Barker Ranch search, click here. I didn't previously reveal it, but note the material near the end about a new look at the Fillippo Tennerelli case. His "suicide" has long been suspected of being another Family murder. Of special note, Debra Tate says she was informed there was a drug link between Tennerelli and the Manson Family. So far, I'm not finding anything on the Discovery show I previously mentioned below. If I learn more, I'll post it here. Discovery is putting together a show for Thursday night, March 20. It sounds like it might be an hour long. Possibly a re-edit of the "Most Evil" episode with additional footage, including the original dog search. The Associated Press has done an extensive article on the Barker Ranch grave search. It will likely appear in multiple places over the next few days but the first appears to be on the website of the International Herald Tribune. Note there is now some additional science to backup the need for a dig. Additional copies at ABCNews and AP. FEBRUARY NEWS: KNBC, in Los Angeles, will run a story on the Barker Ranch search on Wednesday, February 13, at 11:00pm (west coast time). For people with DirecTV who receive the west coast NBC channel, you very likely get KNBC. The story was partially filmed at Barker Ranch and should also have an interview with Debra Tate, which was filmed today (Monday). KNBC recently ran an unrelated story on Buster, the cadaver dog. If you happened to see the story on the dogs that can find people caught in avalanches then you saw Buster and Sgt. Dostie. UPDATE: You may view the KNBC story by clicking here. JANUARY ANNOUNCEMENT: On January 24 of last year, I received an e-mail from Sgt. Paul Dostie of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. Sgt. Dostie was interested in the rumors of murders and burials at Barker Ranch. He has a certified Cadaver Dog that is receiving training in Historic Grave Detection. These special dogs can detect graves well over 100 years old and sometimes over 1000. We have exchanged over 500 e-mails during the course of this investigation. On February 24, Dostie led a group with several specially trained dogs to Death Valley and identified four possible grave sites in the Barker Ranch area. Sgt. Dostie and his dog have returned an additional six times (including once with Debra Tate) and his dog continues to alert on these same areas. A separate group had negative results in November, but this was probably due to the low humidity. I made a small hint in last February's news section when I said the Discovery Channel had done some very interesting filming and that Emmett Harder had been interviewed. These both took place at Barker Ranch on the day of the initial search. Unfortunately, the Discovery Channel will not be including the search footage in the new "Most Evil" episode as originally planned. Perhaps it will appear in a future show if further searching produces positive results. I'd like to commend Paul Dostie for bringing new interest and investigative techniques to the Manson case. Hopefully funding and, possibly, volunteer experts will step forward to further this investigation.
For my full story, click here. Mammoth Times is now running their story on the investigation. Click here. Sierra Wave Radio/Television has a story. Click here. Sierra Wave Television has a video story. Click here and then pick "Segment 3." This link will probably be online a very short time. JANUARY UPDATE: Thanks to Steve Groppe for photos of Devil's Hole and the Shoshone Caves. JANUARY NEWS: Dennis Wilson's solo album is finally being re-released on May 13. A bit of old news. Click here to view a video news story of Pat Krenwinkel training dogs for the disabled. Susan Atkins filed a suit against the warden of her prison on September 20, 2007. I know nothing except the cause is listed as "petition for writ of habeas corpus." Click here for a bit of information. Thanks to Nightshade for the tip. Update to the above legal action. Click here to read part of the warden's response to Atkins' suit. Basically, Atkins is complaining about not being paroled. Thanks to an anonymous contributor for the document. Pat Krenwinkel requested a postponement of her parole hearing. Reportedly, the reason for the delay is she has a new attorney. February will see two extremely interesting DVD releases! Robert Hendrickson will release the original "Manson" documentary on DVD. It will be its first legitimate release and should be better quality than the bootlegs that have been floating around. Perhaps of most interest though, he's also releasing his new film "Inside the Manson Gang" on DVD! They will be available on Robert's website for $39.95 each or $59.95 for both if purchased at the same time. JANUARY REMINDERS: The new "Most Evil" about the Manson Family will air on January 31 at 10:00pm (eastern time) on Investigation Discovery (formerly Discovery Times Channel). Pat Krenwinkel should have a parole hearing very soon. She did not appear on the January schedule as expected so you have some extra time to get your letters into the parole board. JANUARY READING: Were deputies told to leave Manson alone shortly before the murders? Click here for the story. Did Manson father a nun's child? Click here. For some reading that is definitely fictional, look for a book entitled "Sway: A Novel" by Zachary Sway. It spins a tale connecting the Rolling Stones, Kenneth Anger and Bobby Beausoleil, along with the Manson Family. Happy New Year! For those new to the website, this main page will grow as the year proceeds. Until then, you will probably want to check the previous year update page below.
2007 UPDATES: Updates and news for the year 2007 can be viewed here. 2006 UPDATES: Updates and news for the year 2006 can be viewed here. 2005 UPDATES: Updates and news for the year 2005 can be viewed here. 2004 UPDATES: Updates and news for the year 2004 can be viewed here. 2003 UPDATES: Updates and news for the year 2003 can be viewed here. 2002 UPDATES: Updates and news for the year 2002 can be viewed here. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyrighted material on this website may not be reproduced, archived or redistributed in any form without written consent. |
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