Charles Manson, Notorious Serial Killer, Dead at 83

Charles Manson, one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history, died late Sunday at the age of 83, after four and a half decades in prison.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Manson died of natural causes at a hospital in Kern County.

Manson and six of his associates were jailed in 1971 for a series of seven grisly murders in the Los Angeles area over two nights in 1969. Three other of his followers were later jailed for crimes linked to Manson.

Manson was born to an unwed mother in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1934. He spent his entire life in and out of detention for various crimes. He started in his teenage years with sentences for burglary and armed robbery. As an adult, the diminutive Manson was believed to be illiterate, but the chronically unemployed, self-styled songwriter won followers with good looks and charisma. In the...