Latest: 'I said a prayer for Charles Manson's soul' - Sharon Tate's sister reacts to his death
The sister of Charles Manson's victim Sharon Tate said a prayer for his "soul" after she was told of the notorious cult leader's death at the age of 83 yesterday.
Debra Tate, whose pregnant sister was among those killed by the Manson Family cult, told US broadcaster CBS that she was called shortly after his death by the prison where he had been incarcerated.
She said she was still processing the news, but added she had "said a prayer for Manson's soul and has forgiven the family but refuses to forget what they did".
Newspapers restarted the presses to update their front pages, with The New York Post's reading: "Evil dead: Make room, Satan, Charles Manson is finally going to hell."
"Burn in hell," splashed the New York Daily News on the death of the "bloodthirsty cult leader".
Anthony DiMaria, the nephew of Manson victim Jay Sebring, said his death brought "no joy or comfort".
He told US magazine People: "For years our family's involvement in the parole hearings has had nothing to do with anger or hatred towards the inmates. We go out of love to speak for those who can't speak for themselves. For justice.
"So today we derive no joy or comfort from the passing of Mr Manson. Nor is there closure because nothing will bring back Jay, or any of the victims sent to their graves 48 years ago. For us, our hearts and thoughts are with them."
Michele Hanisee, president of Los Angeles' Association of Deputy District Attorneys, said: "Today, Manson's victims are the ones who should be remembered and mourned on the occasion of his death."
But she also highlighted the words of the late Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted Manson and described him as "an evil, sophisticated con man with twisted and warped moral values".
Cult leader Charles Manson, whose followers killed actress Sharon Tate and six others in 1969, has died. He was 83.
A spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections said Manson died of natural causes on Sunday night.
The gory slayings horrified the world and revealed a violent underbelly of a counterculture that preached peace and love.
The killings occurred on successive August nights and terrorised the city of Los Angeles.
Tate, who was nearly nine months pregnant, was found stabbed repeatedly in her Hollywood mansion, along with several of her friends. Other victims included coffee heiress Abigail Folger and celebrity hair stylist Jay Sebring.
The next night a wealthy couple was killed in a similar fashion.
Investigators learned Manson sent a group of disaffected young followers to commit murder as part of a twisted, quasi-religious belief that it would launch a race war.
AP
