Funeral plans have yet to be announced for Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted Charles Manson and members of his murderous “family” for the Tate-LaBianca killings and later wrote about the case in the best- selling “Helter Skelter,” which he co-authored.
The 80-year-old Bugliosi died Saturday in a Los Angeles hospital from cancer, according to his son, Vincent Jr., and his wife of 59 years, Gail.
Bugliosi won convictions of Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten in 1971. All four were sentenced to death, but their sentences were reduced to life when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972. The reduced sentences stuck even after California reinstated capital punishment.
Bugliosi argued at the Manson Family trial that the motive for the murders was a plan by Manson to trigger a race war. Manson, said Bugliosi, believed that blacks would win the war but would eventually hand over power to Manson and his all-white followers, who planned to survive the carnage by hiding out in Death Valley.
Bugliosi’s account of the trial, “Helter Skelter,” published in 1974, became a best-seller. His other books included “Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder,” “Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy,” and “The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder,” an indictment of the Iraq War.
Bugliosi was born in Hibbing, Minnesota. His family later moved to Los Angeles and he graduated from Hollywood High School. He attended the University of Miami on a tennis scholarship and received his law degree from UCLA. He joined the District Attorney’s Office in 1964.
Bugliosi ran unsuccessfully for district attorney in 1972 and 1976 and state attorney general in 1974.
The cancer that he overcame three years ago recently returned and metastasized, his wife said in comments reported by the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to his wife and son, Bugliosi is also survived by a daughter, Wendy.
