Getty Manson in 2009
Charles Manson had three sons: Charles Manson Jr., Charles Luther Manson, and Valentine “Michael Brunner” Manson. Charles Jr. committed suicide in the early 1990s and Charles Luther Manson has pretty much disappeared from the spotlight. But Michael Brunner was very open about who he was, even giving several interviews in the 1990s. Here’s what you need to know about Michael Brunner.
1. Valentine Manson Was Born to Charles Manson and Mary Brunner
então charles decidiu fazer parte do movimento, e lá ele “recrutou” o primeiro membro da familia manson, seu nome era mary brunner
Valentine is the son of Charles Manson and Mary Brunner, a devoted Manson follower. Nicknamed “Pooh Bear,” he was born in 1968 outside of a hospital, in a condemned house in Topanga Canyon. Many of the children in Manson’s crime family were born outside of traditional hospitals. Mary Brunner let Manson stay at her apartment shortly after she met him. When they began a romantic relationship, she quit her job and began traveling California with him. Eventually they rented a house in San Francisco, where more and more people came to live with them. She and others were arrested in 1968 and her baby was put in the care of the local hospital. Ultimately, Brunner was convicted and received a sentence of 20 years to life. She was paroled in 1977 and disappeared from the public eye.
2. Valentine “Michael Brunner” Manson Was Raised by His Grandparents
Valentine Manson goes by Michael Brunner, his mother’s name. He was raised by his grandparents (on his mother’s side) after they got guardianship of him in 1970. His current location isn’t known, although he briefly appeared in the public eye in the early 1990s. He gave an interview with KCBS in 1993 and said he felt no connection to his biological father and didn’t believe he should be treated any differently because of his dad. You can watch the interview above. He said he considered his maternal grandparents to be his real parents, and felt like his mom was more like a sibling than a parent. “People who don’t know me have a tendency to not try to get to know me,” he said about people who realized who his dad was.
“I was given a second chance,” he said about his grandparents who raised him. “My parents gave me a second chance…and I love them a lot for it. I really do.”
3. Michael Brunner Said He Felt No Connection to His Biological Father
About his biological father, Brunner said in the 1993 interview: “He’s somebody far far away, and he doesn’t come up.” He didn’t find out about who his dad was until he was in the third grade. “I know he had a real bad upbringing, while I had one of the best. I was raised by the greatest people on the face of the Earth, he was raised by not the greatest — we’ll just leave it at that.”
4. Brunner Has At Least One Child of His Own
San Quentin PrisonA 1971 mugshot of Manson.
In the 1993 interview, Brunner talked about his own child, who was two at the time of the interview. He was working as a parking valet at the time and wanted to start he own business. He said the birth of his son brought him and his mother closer, but he wasn’t going to tell his son about his grandfather until it was completely necessary.
He said Charles Manson tried to re-establish connections with him and he didn’t want anything to do with him. A friend said that he tore up the letters. He had no interest in opening that door.
5. He’s Stayed Out of the Public Eye Since the Interview
Since giving the interview in 1993, Brunner has stayed out of the public eye. At the time, when asked if he was at all worried that genetics might have played a role in Manson’s actions, he firmly said no. He believed he was very lucky to be raised like he was — by his grandparents — and would always be grateful to them. During his interviews, he couldn’t say enough about how grateful he was for them. A former teach of Brunner’s said his grandmother was a hero.
