Youngest Manson Family Member Shares Cautionary Tale
Before Manson coerced his cult members into murder, he was a musician who seduced and preyed on young women. Dianne Lake, whose new memoir recounts her years with him, was one of his victims.
Dianne Lake met Charles Manson in 1967, when she was just 14. She didn't participate in the horrific murders carried out by Manson and his followers in August 1969, but she was the youngest member of the Manson Family. And at 17, she was a key witness at the trial that resulted in his conviction, a death sentence that was commuted to life in prison, where he remains.
is Lake’s new memoir about that time. In a phone conversation with , she explained Manson’s appeal. “Charlie had this ability to make sense out of nonsense,” she said. “I have this memory of being on acid and standing in front of a mirror with him. He was showing me
