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On this day, July 31, 1969, Gary Allen Hinman was found murdered in Topanga Canyon, California.
Mary Brunner
Mary Brunner in a 1968 mugshot
Born: Mary Theresa Brunner, December 17, 1943 (age 79); Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Criminal status: Paroled in 1977
Children: Valentine Michael Manson (son with Charles Manson)
Parent(s): George and Elsie Brunner
Criminal charge: Armed Robbery, Credit Card Theft, Indecent Exposure
Penalty: Incarcerated at the California Institution for Women
Mary Theresa Brunner (born December 17, 1943) is a former member of the "Manson Family" who was present during the 1969 murder of Gary Hinman, a California musician and Ph.D. candidate. She was arrested for numerous offenses, including credit card theft and armed robbery, and she served a prison sentence at the California Institution for Women.
Meeting Charles Manson
Brunner was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to George and Elsie Brunner. She moved to California upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965 and took a job as library assistant at University of California, Berkeley. She met 33-year-old career criminal Charles Manson who had been released from Terminal Island prison several weeks earlier. She let him stay at her apartment and the two became lovers after several weeks. She was thus the first person whom Manson recruited into his "Family". She quit her job and the two began to drift around California in a van meeting other young women.
Brunner became pregnant by Manson during the summer of 1967 and she gave birth to a son on April 15, 1968, whom she named Valentine Michael, nicknamed "Pooh Bear". They were living in a condemned house in Topanga Canyon, and she was assisted during the birth by several of the young women from the Family. She acquired a number of aliases and nicknames, including "Marioche", "Och", "Mother Mary", "Mary Manson", "Linda Dee Manson", and "Christine Marie Euchts".
Brunner and Manson met 18-year-old Lynette Fromme in Venice, California, and the three began living together in a rented house at 636 Cole Street in San Francisco. Over the course of the following two years, the Family enlarged to include between 20 and 30 individuals living communally; some became ardent followers of Manson, such as Brunner and Fromme, while other young people drifted in and out of the group.
The Manson group traveled along the California coast and made excursions to Washington state, Oregon, and Nevada. The ever-growing number of young women and men eventually settled down at the Spahn Ranch, an occasional film set and location operated by George Spahn near the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth.
Manson ostensibly based his commune on principles of freedom and love, but he exerted dictatorial control, ordering the women to have sex with Spahn and others. Manson sent his female followers to the city on criminal activities, such as theft and fraud. He also had illegal firearms and played host to a motorcycle gang.
{snip}
The Hinman murder
Bobby Beausoleil left Spahn Ranch on July 25, 1969, accompanied by Brunner and Susan Atkins to visit Gary Allen Hinman in Topanga Canyon. Hinman had been friendly with the Family and had often allowed members to stay at his home. Both Beausoleil and Brunner had previously lived with him for short periods of time and Brunner was close friends with him. Beausoleil had a knife and a 9 mm Radom pistol that he had borrowed from Family member Bruce Davis.
After two friends of Hinman contacted the police, Hinman was found by Malibu deputy Paul Piet murdered in his home on July 31, 1969. His face had been deeply slashed on the left side and he had two stab wounds in his chest. His house had been ransacked, and "Political Piggy" and a paw print (intended to be symbolic of the Black Panther Party) were drawn on the wall in his blood. His Volkswagen van and Fiat station wagon were missing. The California Highway Patrol found Beausoleil asleep in the back of Hinman's Fiat on August 5 near San Luis Obispo, California. He had a sheath knife attached to his belt. Beausoleil was arrested and charged with the murder of Gary Allen Hinman.
Brunner and Family member Sandra Good were arrested in San Fernando, California on August 8 at a Sears store for purchasing items with a stolen credit card. Brunner had signed for her purchases with the alias "Mary Vitasek" and the two women fled the store when a cashier became suspicious. The store manager followed them, and the police found them in possession of numerous stolen credit cards and fake identification cards. They were charged with violating Section 459 (burglary) and 484e (grand theft by fraudulent use of credit card) of the California Penal Code and booked into the Sybil Brand Institute Reception Center later that evening.
On the night of August 9, Family members Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel went to 10050 Cielo Drive and murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate and her guests Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger, as well as 18-year-old Steven Parent who was visiting William Garretson, who was house-sitting in the guesthouse normally occupied by Tate's landlord.
{snip}
Hawthorne shootout
Brunner drove a white van to a Hawthorne, California Western Surplus Store on August 21, 1971, accompanied by Family members Catherine "Gypsy" Share, Dennis Rice, Charles Lovett, Larry Bailey, and Kenneth Como. The group brandished guns and ordered patrons and clerks to lie on the ground. They then took 143 rifles, loading them into their van, while a store clerk tripped the silent alarm. According to police officers, the group then debated whether to kill all of those in the store.
Police alleged that the group's plan was to hijack a Boeing 747 and threaten to kill one passenger every hour until Manson and fellow Family members were released from prison. A police squad car arrived, and Share opened fire on the vehicle, shattering the windshield. As more squad cars arrived, they blocked the van from fleeing, hitting it with more than 50 bullets; the Family members fired nearly 20 rounds at the officers. Police gained control and apprehended the group; Brunner, Share, and Bailey were injured.
Brunner received a sentence of 20 years to life. She was sent to the California Institution for Women where Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel were serving their sentences for their participation in the Tate-LaBianca murders. Brunner disappeared from the public eye after being paroled in 1977.
{snip}
Mary Brunner in a 1968 mugshot
Born: Mary Theresa Brunner, December 17, 1943 (age 79); Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Criminal status: Paroled in 1977
Children: Valentine Michael Manson (son with Charles Manson)
Parent(s): George and Elsie Brunner
Criminal charge: Armed Robbery, Credit Card Theft, Indecent Exposure
Penalty: Incarcerated at the California Institution for Women
Mary Theresa Brunner (born December 17, 1943) is a former member of the "Manson Family" who was present during the 1969 murder of Gary Hinman, a California musician and Ph.D. candidate. She was arrested for numerous offenses, including credit card theft and armed robbery, and she served a prison sentence at the California Institution for Women.
Meeting Charles Manson
Brunner was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to George and Elsie Brunner. She moved to California upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965 and took a job as library assistant at University of California, Berkeley. She met 33-year-old career criminal Charles Manson who had been released from Terminal Island prison several weeks earlier. She let him stay at her apartment and the two became lovers after several weeks. She was thus the first person whom Manson recruited into his "Family". She quit her job and the two began to drift around California in a van meeting other young women.
Brunner became pregnant by Manson during the summer of 1967 and she gave birth to a son on April 15, 1968, whom she named Valentine Michael, nicknamed "Pooh Bear". They were living in a condemned house in Topanga Canyon, and she was assisted during the birth by several of the young women from the Family. She acquired a number of aliases and nicknames, including "Marioche", "Och", "Mother Mary", "Mary Manson", "Linda Dee Manson", and "Christine Marie Euchts".
Brunner and Manson met 18-year-old Lynette Fromme in Venice, California, and the three began living together in a rented house at 636 Cole Street in San Francisco. Over the course of the following two years, the Family enlarged to include between 20 and 30 individuals living communally; some became ardent followers of Manson, such as Brunner and Fromme, while other young people drifted in and out of the group.
The Manson group traveled along the California coast and made excursions to Washington state, Oregon, and Nevada. The ever-growing number of young women and men eventually settled down at the Spahn Ranch, an occasional film set and location operated by George Spahn near the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth.
Manson ostensibly based his commune on principles of freedom and love, but he exerted dictatorial control, ordering the women to have sex with Spahn and others. Manson sent his female followers to the city on criminal activities, such as theft and fraud. He also had illegal firearms and played host to a motorcycle gang.
{snip}
The Hinman murder
Bobby Beausoleil left Spahn Ranch on July 25, 1969, accompanied by Brunner and Susan Atkins to visit Gary Allen Hinman in Topanga Canyon. Hinman had been friendly with the Family and had often allowed members to stay at his home. Both Beausoleil and Brunner had previously lived with him for short periods of time and Brunner was close friends with him. Beausoleil had a knife and a 9 mm Radom pistol that he had borrowed from Family member Bruce Davis.
After two friends of Hinman contacted the police, Hinman was found by Malibu deputy Paul Piet murdered in his home on July 31, 1969. His face had been deeply slashed on the left side and he had two stab wounds in his chest. His house had been ransacked, and "Political Piggy" and a paw print (intended to be symbolic of the Black Panther Party) were drawn on the wall in his blood. His Volkswagen van and Fiat station wagon were missing. The California Highway Patrol found Beausoleil asleep in the back of Hinman's Fiat on August 5 near San Luis Obispo, California. He had a sheath knife attached to his belt. Beausoleil was arrested and charged with the murder of Gary Allen Hinman.
Brunner and Family member Sandra Good were arrested in San Fernando, California on August 8 at a Sears store for purchasing items with a stolen credit card. Brunner had signed for her purchases with the alias "Mary Vitasek" and the two women fled the store when a cashier became suspicious. The store manager followed them, and the police found them in possession of numerous stolen credit cards and fake identification cards. They were charged with violating Section 459 (burglary) and 484e (grand theft by fraudulent use of credit card) of the California Penal Code and booked into the Sybil Brand Institute Reception Center later that evening.
On the night of August 9, Family members Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel went to 10050 Cielo Drive and murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate and her guests Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger, as well as 18-year-old Steven Parent who was visiting William Garretson, who was house-sitting in the guesthouse normally occupied by Tate's landlord.
{snip}
Hawthorne shootout
Brunner drove a white van to a Hawthorne, California Western Surplus Store on August 21, 1971, accompanied by Family members Catherine "Gypsy" Share, Dennis Rice, Charles Lovett, Larry Bailey, and Kenneth Como. The group brandished guns and ordered patrons and clerks to lie on the ground. They then took 143 rifles, loading them into their van, while a store clerk tripped the silent alarm. According to police officers, the group then debated whether to kill all of those in the store.
Police alleged that the group's plan was to hijack a Boeing 747 and threaten to kill one passenger every hour until Manson and fellow Family members were released from prison. A police squad car arrived, and Share opened fire on the vehicle, shattering the windshield. As more squad cars arrived, they blocked the van from fleeing, hitting it with more than 50 bullets; the Family members fired nearly 20 rounds at the officers. Police gained control and apprehended the group; Brunner, Share, and Bailey were injured.
Brunner received a sentence of 20 years to life. She was sent to the California Institution for Women where Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel were serving their sentences for their participation in the Tate-LaBianca murders. Brunner disappeared from the public eye after being paroled in 1977.
{snip}
Tue Aug 1, 2023: On July 31, 1969, Gary Allen Hinman was found murdered in Topanga Canyon, California.
Thu Aug 1, 2019: July 31, 1969, fifty years ago yesterday: Gary Allen Hinman is found murdered in Topanga Canyon
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