Getty Charles Manson pictured in 2009.
The remains of Charles Manson, on ice in a Kern County, California morgue since the opprobrious mastermind of a the Manson Family cult of murderers died of natural causes – colon cancer, heart and respiratory failure – at 83 in a prison hospital last November, will be handed over to his grandson Jason Freeman Manson. Freeman Manson fought and won a court case in Bakersfield, California Monday as the rightful heir to the infamous convicted killer’s remains. Yes, Freeman Manson had to fight for his grandfather’s body as two other’s believed they had the right to Manson’s corpse.
Jason Freeman Mason’s father was Charles Manson Jr., who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on a roadway in Colorado in 1993. Charles Manson Jr. was the son of Rosalie Willis and Charles Manson. The couple divorced in 1958.
A bizarre case, only not for Freeman Manson who said he just wanted his grandfather’s remains for a proper burial but given that Manson’s biological kin had to fight a man who purported to have been fathered by Manson and another claimant, a fan with a capital F who owns a large collection of Manson memorabilia and who became a Manson pen-pal. Freeman Manson argued his grandfather’s remains should be with him. The judge agreed.
Here’s what you need to know about Jason Freeman Manson and his notorious grandfather, Charles Manson.
1. Jason Freeman Manson Said, ‘It Was An Honor To Know My Grandfather,’ the ‘Monster We’ve All Read About For Years’
JFM WordPressJason Freeman Manson holding his grandfather Charles Manson’s death certificate in January of 2018. Manson died in prison at age 83 in November of 2017.
In a blog called ‘Jason Fighting Freeman,’ the younger Manson wrote shorty after his grandfather’s death about the conflict and the love in his heart.
“Most of my life I made to make a choice, that choice came from the Elders in my family when I was young, for my protection, mentally and maybe even physical…My grandmother Rosie had all the reason to keep society distant from her grandchildren. I can only imagine the footsteps her and my father had to withstand through out my fathers early years of life as a child. Society Pulled the little boy out of my Father. He never had that childhood that I work hard to give me children. My father could not be the child he should of been in life… God has so much for all of us, if we tap into what his grace has to offer… I only wish I could of shared life with My father… but that’s gone and has been gone.My relationship with my grandfather will always be on my mind and Heart. It is my honor to take my hat off to my Mother for choosing to keep the distance also. Charles Jr could not let go of the past, his father Charles Manson, The moving from city to city just to hide from the name society helped Paint as the Monster we all have read about for years.”
2. Freeman Manson is a MMA Fighter & a Devout Christian
Freeman Manson records and posts Biblical scripture readings on YouTube.
He wrote, “It’s hard to explain the pain in ones mind that has weathered a storm way longer than I have in my life. My storms have been Loud and Long…so have others around me. A storm that society has always looked at as Death and Evil. I’m in the eye of the biggest storm recorded in America. The eye is calm, but so much noise. The destruction all around and the families that are going through a Historical moment.”
But Freeman Manson also shared ‘Charles Manson Legacy – Innocent Eternal.’
The 15-minute documentary that explores the theory of his grandfather’s alleged innocence.
If it seems incongruous to be both a devout Christian and also promote Manson was unfairly judged, it appears that way to him too based on his blog posts. “…for a while now I have felt led to share my story with others. My hopes are that maybe something I have been through and overcame will reach out to someone who might find themselves traveling down the same wrong road that I once went down. My story is a little different you see.”https://twitter.com/FreebirdSon/status/872893278668169216″I come from a fairly notorious bloodline. My Grandfather is Charles Manson. My father was his son…. Charles Manson Jr. I struggled for many years with unanswered questions. I felt like I was constantly running from the “Manson Curse” that seemed to plague my bloodline…”“I will share with you my weaknesses, strengths, times of failure and times of triumph …I will share with you the events that led me to make a decision to get to know my grandfather as a person and how and where he fits into my life. Most importantly I will share the truth. I want to spread hope and inspiration and give back to a world that gave back to me – something I vow never to take for granted again: a second chance.”Freeman Manson is an MMA pro, boxer, husband and father who lives in the Florida southwest coastal city of Bradenton, just south of Tampa Bay.
3. As a Child, Charles Manson Lived a Tumultuous Life of Neglect Which Helped Cement the Foundation for a Life of Violent Crime
https://twitter.com/FreebirdSon/status/833629421588328451Born to an alcoholic, unwed 16-year-old mother, Manson spent his childhood in the streets, in juvenile detention and jail, foster homes, family members houses and even a school for male juvenile delinquents run by priests. At 13, he was sent to a reform school and even a Boys Town in Indiana and a host of other reform schools, detention facilitates and hospitals. He was described as being criminally anti-social. He started out as a petty thief but soon escalated to violent crime. A chilling read on Manson came in 1970 in Rolling Stone that captures the cruelty of his fate that led him to be called the most dangerous man alive. The story is at once sickening and eye-opening; a window into the mind of a madman.
And while doctors said he was likely a paranoid schizophrenic, Manson would never permit that defense much less admit it. Only a madman, but a sane enough to be executed madman could do what Manson did: lead a cult of murderers.
“A circle of love and truth can’t be broken.” – Charles Manson
4. The Manson Family Rampage Left Seven Brutally Murdered
American actress Sharon Tate (1943 – 1969) was murdered by followers of Charles Manson the notorious serial killer.
In 1971, two years after the Bianca-Tate murders, Manson was sentenced to death seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of Abigail Ann Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent, Sharon Tate Polanski, Jay Sebring and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
In 1972, the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 1972 so he got life with the possibility of parole. A get-out-of-jail card he was never dealt. Manson was also convicted in 1971 of two counts of first-degree murder for the 1969 killings of musician Gary Hinman and a man named Donald Jerome “Shorty” Shea.
5. Charles Manson Died After Serving 46 Years in Corcoran Prison In Bakersfield, California
January 25th 1971 2018 t.co/nkDHsg4fTt
Jason Freeman Manson’s relationship with his grandfather was likely a complicated one, but based on posts he has shared, and blogs he has written, Freeman Manson has empathy, understanding for his grandfather and likely forgiveness as a Christian.
Charles Manson died at Corcoran prison hospital in 2017. A few years before he passed away, Manson gave a number of interviews and one in particular for a documentary on the convicted killer where in he is quoted as saying , “I’m the most famous human being not only that is alive but the most famous human being that has ever lived. And I’m not even dead yet…What do you think is gonna happen when I die?” Until the end, a chilling but convoluted testimony; Manson denied being responsible for the Manson Family murders arguing people could have left at any time.
Charles Manson, 74, poses for a photo on March 18, 2009 at Corcoran State Prison.
So Jason Freeman Manson will be taking his grandfather home to Florida, ironically, a state that wanted to charge Manson for driving a stolen car over state lines in 1955.