Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-201) and index.

"At the age of twenty-one, Leslie Van Houten was sentenced to death, along with Charles Manson and several of his other disciples, for the infamous murder rampage spanning two nights in August 1969. Leslie, who was present at the Rosemary and Leno LaBianca murders, cheerfully accepted her sentence, wishing only that she had better served Manson in carrying out his apocalyptic vision of "Helter Skelter." When the United States temporarily suspended its death penalty, her sentence for murder conspiracy was converted to life in prison. Today, at the age of fifty-one, after three trials and with no parole in sight, Leslie has become a remarkable survivor of a living nightmare." "This work presents the first in-depth look at how this "girl-next-door" became one of Manson's "girls." Karlene Faith draws on her thirty-year friendship with Leslie, whom she met while teaching in prison. To everyone who encountered Leslie - including prison staff and television journalists - she was not the demon typically portrayed by the media, but rather a gentle, generous spirit who mourned her victims. But why didn't this intelligent young woman see the evil in the "messiah" who had sexually exploited her, preached a racist ideology, and ordered her to murder?" "Faith pieces together the puzzle, starting with Leslie's spiritual quest within the sixties' counterculture and her immediate attraction to Manson. We see how he created a cult of true believers, brainwashing his followers into obeying his every command."--Jacket.

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