Charles "Tex" Watson

Charles Denton "Tex" Watson is an American convicted mass murderer and former central member of the "Manson Family" led by Charles Manson. Watson is frequently identified as the tactical ringleader of the Tate–LaBianca murders, carried out on August 9–10, 1969. On the first night, he, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins murdered Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant, along with Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steven Parent at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles. The following night, Watson traveled to Los Feliz and participated in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. He was convicted of murder in 1971 and sentenced to death. After the California Supreme Court invalidated the state's death penalty in 1972, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Watson became eligible for parole in 1976 and has been denied parole 18 times.