Bruce Davis, a former senior member of the Manson Family who was convicted of two murders, has died aged 83 while in prison in California.
Davis died at 11.03pm on 11 September at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, according to the Solano County Coroner’s Office and sources. No cause of death was given.
He was convicted over the 1969 murders of Manson Family associate Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea. Davis told police he had cut Shea with a knife and was carrying a gun while Charles Manson attacked Hinman with a sword.
Davis was not present at the murders of seven people at the Tate-LaBianca crime scenes, including the killing of Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of film director Roman Polanski. Those attacks were carried out by other members of the group, led by Charles “Tex” Watson.
Messages including “Helter Skelter” and “Political Piggy” were written in the victims’ blood on the walls during the two nights of killings.
Manson and his followers were convicted over the Tate-LaBianca murders and initially sentenced to death. Their sentences were later changed to life imprisonment after California abolished the death penalty.
Davis was repeatedly refused parole. After a further denial in 2022, his lawyer Michael Beckman said a parole commissioner had told him he “lacks empathy”.
His parole hearing was postponed in January 2024, months after he appeared on the podcast The Lighter Side of Serial Killers. In a 2023 Christmas card to its host, Keith Rovere, Davis wrote that he was “looking forward” to the hearing, which was later moved to August 2024 before parole was denied.
Debra Tate, Sharon Tate’s sister, said she prayed when members of the Manson Family died in prison.
“Basically it says may they finally have clarity on the actions that they caused during their life, and may Lord have mercy on their souls,” she said.
