The Mysterious Death of the Manson Family Lawyer
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Due to the nature of today's story, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. On the morning of March 27th, 1971, Donald Chessman and John Wells headed out into the wilderness north of Los Angeles. The two friends planned to spend the weekend far off the grid at Cespi Hot Springs, where they could fish and enjoy an escape from city life.

They set up camp near a creek eight miles into the wilderness. Chessman and Wells cast their reels and allowed the sounds of nature to wash their worries away. It was exactly the kind of relaxing trip the two men wanted, at least until Chessman noticed something in the water. They saw a strange lump jutting out from between two boulders on the other side of the stream. The men were too far away to get a good look, so they decided to investigate.

They pressed through the rushing water and finally recognized what they were seeing, a dead body. They'd found an attorney named Ronald Hughes. Before his disappearance, Hughes was defending a member of the Manson family in her highly publicized trial, but he'd never know the result because he might have just become Manson's latest victim.

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You can find the Underworld podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A few minutes past midnight on August 9th, 1969, a dilapidated Ford Galaxy came to a stop outside actress Sharon Tate's house on Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel and Charles Tex Watson sat inside the car. They were all members of the Manson family cult.

And that night, they had a job to do. Tex was the first out of the car. He cut the phone lines to the house. Then he led the group over Sharon Tate's fence and up the dark driveway. Suddenly, they were blinded by a pair of headlights. Tex ordered the three women to hide in the bushes as he approached the car. Inside was an 18-year-old named Steve Parent. Tex pointed a gun through the window and ordered Steve out of the car.

Then he shot and killed the young man. Next, the family members made their way inside the house. They dragged all four people inside into the living room and bound them together. The victims who struggled or protested were shot and killed on the spot. The ones who kept quiet only delayed the inevitable. By the end of the night, everyone who had been sharing an evening at 10,050 Cielo Drive was dead, including Tate and her unborn child.

As the cult members scrambled to leave the murder scene, Susan Atkins dipped her finger in Tate's blood and wrote the word pig on the front door. The following night, the family struck again. This time, they brought three more assailants with them, including Charles Manson himself. They didn't have a target in mind, but after driving around the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, they settled on a home belonging to Lino and Rosemary LaBianca,

Members of the family broke into the home and tied up the LaBiancas. They robbed the home, then stabbed the couple to death. One of them used a knife to carve the word war onto Lino's stomach. Another cult member wrote rise, death to pigs, and helter-skelter on the refrigerator and living room walls using Lino's blood. Finally, two of them took turns stabbing Rosemary with a kitchen knife and bayonet.

Over the course of two nights, the Manson family's terrifying rampage put an end to the idealistic peace and love movement. Charlie and his group of followers may have looked like one of many hippie communes springing up in the late 1960s, but they were actually a brutal and sadistic cult. Manson had convinced his followers that he was the second coming of Christ, but the sermons he preached were a far cry from anything one might find in the Bible.

He was fixated on the notion of an impending race war that would bring about the apocalypse. Manson called it Helter Skelter after the Beatles song on the White Album. Both the Tate and LaBianca murders were Manson's attempts at jump-starting Helter Skelter. He reportedly ordered his followers to commit these gruesome attacks in hopes that they would be mistaken as racially driven crimes—

and forced tensions between the government and the black community to boil over. These murders did not bring about an apocalyptic race war, but they did send shockwaves of terror throughout the country. Americans were forced to grapple with the fact that the summer of love had passed, and something incredibly disturbing was left in its wake.

It cast a dark shadow across the hippie movement at large. For many, it confirmed there were suspicions about the subculture. A few days later, news of the murders was picked up by the international news outlets. The LAPD thought they might be connected. They noticed the similarities between the two crime scenes, right down to some of the same words written in blood.

Somehow, it took almost two months before the truth came out. In October, one of the Manson family's hideouts was raided in connection with a series of stolen cars. As police rounded up the cult members, it was revealed the Manson family might have been involved with more than just auto theft. Once behind bars, one of the members of the group, Susan Atkins, admitted to a cellmate the group had been involved in a murder.

but not the Tate-LaBianca murders. In July 1969, Manson ordered family associate Bobby Beausoleil to murder the Manson family drug dealer, Gary Hinman. Manson told Beausoleil to make it look like the murder was committed by the Black Panthers. Manson hoped the ensuing chaos would spark the race war that would signal the end of times and leave him as the leader of the remaining people on Earth.

The LAPD investigated the tip, and eventually Atkins and Beausoleil were convicted of Hinman's murder. Atkins was sent to Sybil Brand Institute, which was a women's correctional facility in Los Angeles County. She always seemed to be in a strangely bubbly and cheerful mood, even behind bars. But on November 6, 1969, Atkins got too comfortable with one of her new friends, Virginia Graham.

And she started to share a little more than she should have. Atkins asked Graham if she had heard of the murders in Benedict Canyon. Graham asked if she meant Sharon Tate. Then Atkins started to get excited. She asked Graham if she knew who did it. When Graham said no, Atkins smiled and said, you're looking at her.

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Susan Atkins would soon regret placing her trust in fellow inmate Virginia Graham. Graham knew that she could use information about the Tate murders to help leverage a better deal for herself, so she kept asking Atkins for more details, and the young woman was happy to share.

It wasn't long before Graham had a full-blown confession from Atkins and extensive details about both the Tate and LaBianca murders. She and another inmate brought everything straight to the LAPD.

Sharon Tate's husband, director Roman Polanski, among others, gave the two women a portion of a $25,000 reward fund for helping to solve his wife's vicious slaying. And soon, Susan Atkins and four other members of the Manson family, including Charles himself, faced charges of murder. In court appearances, Manson loudly proclaimed his innocence and ordered his acolytes to do the same.

But when Susan Atkins was threatened with a death penalty, she agreed to flip on her friends and speak for the prosecution. In her December testimony to a grand jury, she delivered chilling testimony about the Tate murders and directly implicated Charles Manson, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten, and Tex Watson. But later, Atkins recanted her testimony and lost her death penalty immunity,

She would be tried alongside all her fellow cult members. But her flip-flopping was the least of the court's issues. The real problem was with Charles Manson himself. Manson had the right to a lawyer, but when the court appointed a reputable attorney named Paul Fitzgerald to represent him...

Now, the cult leader had other plans. Later, Manson appeared before Judge William Keene and asked to fire his new lawyer and represent himself. Judge Keene allowed Manson to move forward with his strange plan, but insisted that he meet with an attorney, Joseph Ball, who could help him prepare for trial. And while the seasoned legal veteran did his best to walk Manson through the ins and outs of defending oneself in court...

it didn't have quite the effect that Keene had hoped for. Manson was adamant he'd be his own lawyer, but his court behavior grew more and more erratic. It became clear that this case could not move forward with Manson representing himself, so his privilege to act as his own lawyer was revoked. He was appointed a new attorney, but Manson found the man too straight-laced.

He requested a new one after two weeks, but this time he had someone in mind. At first, Judge Keene was pleased, at least until he found out who Manson wanted to hire. His name was Ronald Hughes, a relatively inexperienced attorney whose casual outfits and knowledge of hippie subculture had earned him the nickname, the hippie lawyer.

It seemed like Hughes fell backward into law, but it was his longtime dream. He was born in Los Angeles in 1935. He fought in the Korean War, then attended college before he finally returned back home to California to attend UCLA School of Law. Unfortunately, his dreams didn't quite live up to the reality of law school. Hughes failed the bar exam three times before finally passing in the summer of 1969. The highly publicized Manson trial continued.

would be his first one. The guy stood out like a sore thumb among his colleagues. Hughes was a hippie, and he wasn't concerned with hiding it from his more conservative co-workers. He grew his beard out to Santa Claus lengths and was soon proudly touting his new nickname, the hippie lawyer. But it's possible Manson didn't want Hughes just for his progressive background. The lawyer seemed incompetent and inexperienced.

And Manson liked it that way. He likely wanted someone who could be easily manipulated to help him get his co-defendants to testify that he had nothing to do with the murders. But Manson seemed to quickly realize that Hughes could be more helpful elsewhere. Because soon, he fired the lawyer, freeing the man up to defend family member Leslie Van Houten. This was likely a calculated move on Manson's part.

Van Houten's former attorney had been pushing the teen to say that the cult leader had brainwashed her and should be held fully responsible for the crimes. It wasn't long before Hughes's incompetence began to show. The lawyer frequently staggered into court wearing mismatched suits covered in food stains.

And he had a very short temper. When prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi introduced evidence that made Hughes mad, the lawyer loudly cursed him out in court. Judge Keene immediately leapt in to break it up. He gave Hughes a choice, a $75 fine or a night in jail. Hughes chose jail. But the hippie lawyer didn't mind. He was much happier to spend the night in a cell than fork over money to the government.

But as the trial continued, Hughes got his act together. He proved himself to be an asset to the Manson family on a number of occasions. His understanding of the hippie subculture and the world of hallucinogenic drugs was incredibly useful, especially in the cross-examination of Manson family member Linda Kasabian. Kasabian was offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for serving as a witness against

But Hughes managed to undermine her credibility with only a few questions. Kasabian talked about her witchy power and feeling Manson's vibrations. Just like that, Hughes had shown the jury how far out there Kasabian was. Manson's plan to dodge responsibility was working.

And Hughes was a big part of that success. But it wasn't long before Hughes started caring less about what Manson wanted and more about what would be best for his client, Leslie Van Houten. With each passing day in court, he began to understand the greater significance of criminal defense. Like any good lawyer, he did not want to see his client take the fall for a crime she did not commit.

And so, in mid-November, the defense rested their case before they could present their counter-testimony. This was a calculated act of resistance against Manson's plan to use his female followers to absorb the blame for the murders, and Hughes was at the helm. Manson was furious. So were his faithful followers.

Van Houten and the other Manson family members stood up in the stands and screamed their opposition. Hughes and the other attorneys had predicted that Manson's followers were willing to take the fall at any cost, even if it meant outright lying about his involvement. They wanted to prevent any of the young followers from giving false and incriminating testimony.

Hughes may not have been the model criminal defense lawyer, but his moral compass was strong enough to prevent him from letting his client take the fall for Charles Manson. Manson knew what Hughes had done. As the court went on recess for the Thanksgiving holiday, Manson pulled the lawyer aside and said, I don't ever want to see you in this courtroom again. Hughes may have just made an enemy of a man accused of orchestrating multiple murders, but

But he didn't let Manson's possible threat get to him. He strolled out of the courtroom that day feeling carefree. He was just doing his job. Unfortunately for him, Manson would soon get his wish. Because when the court resumed session, Hughes was nowhere to be seen. On November 20th, 1970, the Los Angeles County Court announced a 10-day recess in the case of the People v. Manson.

Leslie Van Houten's attorney, Ronald Hughes, wanted to make the most of his time off. He decided to spend the last weekend of November camping with two friends, James Forsher and Lauren Elder. The group traveled to a secluded patch of woods a few miles away from Cespi Hot Springs in Ventura County.

Not long after the group arrived at the craggy terrains of the Los Padres National Forest, the campgrounds were hit by flash floods and rainstorms. The next day, November 28th, Elder and Forster decided that the weather was too bad to handle and they wanted to return to Los Angeles. But Hughes wanted to take full advantage of his days off. His friends agreed to leave him behind, so they left him with their van and hitchhiked back to the city.

Two days later, the Manson family trial was set to resume, but on the first day back in court, Hughes was nowhere to be found. Authorities assumed that Hughes was still in Ventura County and dispatched a team to scour the area for him. The search began on November 2nd. The team first came across Elder's Volkswagen van just where she had left it days earlier.

When they looked through the vehicle, they didn't find any clue to Hugh's whereabouts, but they did notice a few of his court documents scattered around. For some reason, Leslie Van Houten's psychiatric report was missing. The team continued their search on foot and then switched to helicopters, but nothing turned up any sign of Hughes. Police even called in his two friends, Lauren Elder and James Forsher, for questioning, but they stuck to their stories.

Police were completely baffled until March of 1971 when the LAPD received a strange anonymous tip. The caller seemed nervous, but told the dispatcher to search Barker Ranch. That's where police would find the body of Ronald Hughes.

The Manson family is most famously associated with Spahn Ranch, a 55-acre plot of land that was used as a movie set in the 40s and 50s. But the group actually had several base camps across Southern California. One of them was Barker Ranch, an abandoned mining property in Death Valley. It's the place he began planning the August 1969 murders and the place he was arrested for auto theft before anyone connected him to the Tate-LaBianca case.

LAPD raced out to Barker Ranch, but they didn't find any sign of Hughes or his remains. But the idea that the Manson family had a hand in his disappearance made sense. Charlie was the kind of man who would want revenge against the lawyer who betrayed him in court, but the LAPD couldn't prove it. They weren't even certain that Hughes was dead, at least not yet.

On March 29th, 1971, two fishermen discovered a body that was lodged in between two boulders roughly seven miles from the campsite where Hughes was last seen. The corpse was naked and severely decomposed. The man's teeth were one of the only parts of him left intact. Using dental records, police eventually identified him as Ronald Hughes.

Unfortunately, his body had decayed so greatly they could no longer determine his cause of death. That same morning, Charles Manson, Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Tex Watson were sentenced to death for the Tate-LaBianca murders. Even though Manson was finally behind bars, authorities were no closer to agreeing on a cause of death for the cult leader's lawyer. The Ventura County Sheriff investigating the case believed the death was accidental and

The massive rainstorm that took place during Hughes' camping trip might have caused the nearby creek to flood. As far as the sheriff was concerned, Hughes was likely dragged away by the current and drowned. But those who were more connected to the Manson family had very different theories. Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor in the case, was convinced that Hughes was murdered and the Manson family was behind it.

Bugliosi was furious about the Ventura Sheriff's assessment and demanded a follow-up investigation. His request was denied. Evidence may have been scarce, but Bugliosi believed that the Manson family were responsible for far more murders than they were charged for. And a former group member named Sandra Good agreed. According to Bugliosi, Good alleged the family had killed 35 to 40 people. One of those people was

Ronald Hughes, who she called the first of the retaliation murders. Then in 1976, Bugliosi received an anonymous phone call that continued to strengthen his suspicions. The person on the other end of the line told Bugliosi they used to be in the family and they're certain Manson ordered someone to murder Hughes.

The caller didn't give more information, but Bugliosi believed it. He thought the hit may have been retaliation for refusing to allow the Manson girls to take the blame for the murders. It wouldn't be unheard of for Manson to order a hit on someone he felt wronged him.

Even the murders on Cielo Drive were possibly motivated by revenge. See, before Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski moved in, the house at 10050 Cielo Drive was occupied by a man named Terry Melcher.

Melcher was a music producer who was instrumental in the popularity of surf rock in the 1960s. He's most known for working with the Beach Boys. In 1968, Charles Manson was introduced to Melcher by Dennis Wilson, drummer for the Beach Boys. Manson and his family had been crashing at Wilson's home just outside of Los Angeles. The two had struck up a friendship after the drummer picked up two hitchhiking family members.

Manson had aspirations to break into the music business. He'd recorded songs in the Beach Boys' studio and even wrote a song for the band. But he wanted his own record deal, so in May 1969, Manson had Terry Melcher visit him at Spahn Ranch. There, Charlie auditioned for the producer, who was unimpressed. When he later testified, Melcher said the cult leader's talents were...

average. He told Manson he wouldn't be offering him a record deal and went on his way. Three months later, Manson family members broke into the home at 10050 Cielo Drive, where Manson knew Melcher lived and killed five people. Luckily for Melcher, he'd moved out of the home that January. But if this theory is correct, Sharon Tate, her unborn child, and her friends were

were murdered simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, taking into account the tips, Manson's anger at the trial not going his way, his alleged threat to Ronald Hughes, and his penchant for vengeance, it seems possible Manson could have had his former attorney killed. But who did the killing has never been revealed, and no evidence has been found tying the Manson family to Hughes' death.

or proof that he was even murdered at all. And as far as Hugh's client, Leslie Van Houten, since her attorney up and vanished before closing arguments, she was granted a new trial. That one ended in a hung jury, but in 1978, she was convicted of first-degree murder in the Tate-LaBianca murders. She was sentenced to seven years to life and was released on parole in 2023.

Whether his death was an accident or murder, Hughes seemed to just be hitting a stride as a defense attorney during his time representing Leslie Van Houten. The fact that he was able to recognize Manson's manipulations and put a stop to it before the co-defendants could testify are examples of his growing intuition and skill. There's no telling how far his career could have gone had his life not been cut so tragically short.

Thank you for watching Conspiracy Theories. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. If you're watching on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts or email us at conspiracystoriesatspotify.com. For more information on Ronald Hughes, we found Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi with Kurt Gentry, extremely helpful to our research.

Until next time, remember, the truth isn't always the best story. And the official story isn't always the truth. This episode was written by Kylie Harrington and Chelsea Wood. Edited by Chelsea Wood. Researched by Mickey Taylor. Fact-checked by Cheyenne Lopez and Lori Siegel. And video editing and sound design by Spencer Howard. I'm your host, Carter Roy.