Nearly 50 years since Charles Manson formed the Manson Family cult, fascination continues about their murderous crime spree and the evil behind it. The historical case is detailed in the book 鈥淗elter Skelter鈥� by Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi and inspired USF assistant criminology professor Bryanna Fox, PhD, to pursue her career.
鈥淩eading about the case, it was hard to comprehend the heinous nature of the Manson family鈥檚 actions, and what led the followers to kill just because Charlie told them to do so,鈥� said Fox. 鈥淭his motivated me to try to understand why people would engage in such extreme and violent behavior, and use that knowledge to help prevent these crimes from happening in the future.鈥�
Fox was featured in the documentary 鈥淚nside the Mansion Cult: The Lost Tapes,鈥� which aired on the FOX cable network. She was selected based upon her research at USF, and for her experience working for the FBI, most recently as a FBI Special Agent and researcher in the Behavioral Science Unit where she studied serial killers and the psychology behind their heinous crimes.
鈥淲hen Charlie was released from prison, he had spent over half his life in jail. So he had no family,鈥� Fox stated in the documentary. 鈥淔or him, recruiting followers was creating the family he never had.鈥�
In 1969, Manson directed his followers to commit nine murders in California, including the stabbing death of actress Sharon Tate. He often referenced the term 鈥渉elter skelter鈥� the title of a Beatles song, in describing how racial tensions are leading to an apocalyptic war. This inspired the title of what鈥檚 now the best-selling true crime book of all time.
鈥淒espite the violence and brutality of these murders, people that had committed them that was following were very proud of what they鈥檝e done. For them, it was their way of saying look at what I did, this is how loyal I am for Charlie.鈥�
Fox鈥檚 expertise in profiling criminals is utilized across the country. She鈥檚 now training police agencies how to narrow down their list of . She鈥檚 also served as a consultant on other current serial killer cases.
鈥淚t can be a scary thing to get inside the mind of these offenders, but doing that allows us to better understand why they commit these horrific crimes, and ultimately, to learn new ways for police to catch them or prevent the crimes from ever happening.鈥�
Charles Manson died in prison in November 2017 at the age of 83.