These photos show the truly whacked-out devotion the Manson Family had for their leader

During Charles Manson’s trial, his die-hard followers kept vigil outside the courthouse

Four members of the Charles Manson “family” (L-R Cathy Gillies, Kitty Lutesinger, Sandy Good, and Brenda McCann) kneel on the sidewalk outside the Los Angeles at Hall of Justice, March 29, 1971 with their heads shaved. They’ve kept a vigil at the building throughout the long trial in which Manson and three other women were convicted of slaying actress Sharon Tate and six others. (AP/Wally Fong)

In the winter of 1970, four women are squatting on the sidewalk outside the Los Angeles Hall of Justice. Hands resting on their knees, palms up, they strike a calm, upbeat presence as they field questions from a grey-haired network reporter in khakis and a bad blazer. One of them, Sandra Good, explains as her friends nod and hum in agreement, “We’ll be here until he’s out, and he is coming out.” Breaking into song, they harmonize the lyrics of a tune they would have known well. Look At Your Love, a Manson-penned sing-along, is apropos for the circumstances:

The court of all behind my words

The truth in words you’ve never heard

What do they fear and see in me

Inside themselves, I know you see

Manson Family members in the courtroom, 1970. (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angles Public Library)

The Manson trial was a rowdy affair on all sides. (At one point Charlie bum-rushed Judge Charles Older in the middle of the courtroom). The proceedings were regularly interrupted by Manson “family” members hanging around the hallways and entrances to the courtroom or, when they were subpoenaed and forced to vacate during testimony, holding vigil for their leader’s release outside the building. Many of the cultists even carved an “X” into their foreheads after the first day of testimony when Manson arrived in court sporting the same. Later, when a guilty verdict was decided and the trial went to penalty phase, Manson shaved his head, proclaiming, “I am the Devil, and the Devil always has a bald head.” Some of his devotees followed suit and could be seen crouched outside in bald-headed solidarity on the days leading up to his April 19, 1971 death sentencing. A core group of them, dubbed “the girls on the corner,” were the most public symbol of Manson’s control over women, and a reminder that his ideology lived on even after he was convicted along with co-defendants Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and Leslie Van Houten.

Manson Family members outside a courtroom during the Tate-LaBianca murder trial, 1970. (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angles Public Library)

Cult leader Charles Manson looks back and smiles after being charged with eight murders on December 4, 1969. (AP)

(left) Charles Manson “Family” members, Kathryn “Kitty” Lutesinger, left, and Nancy Pitman (a.k.a Brenda McCann), on Temple Street during Manson’s trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders, 1970. (Sue Terry/Los Angeles Public Library) | (right) Manson family members seen outside of Grand Jury Room 548, 1971. (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library)

Members of Charles Manson’s “family” (L-R Sandra Good, Nancy “Brenda McCann” Pitman, and Kitty Lutesinger) hold vigil outside the Los Angeles Hall of Justice, embroidering a vest for the leader who is on trial for murder on January 24, 1971. (AP/David F. Smith)

Manson follower Sandra Good, 1970. (Sue Terry/Los Angeles Public Library)

Catherine Gillies with “X” carved into her forehead. (Sue Terry/LA Public Library)

Manson cult members receive the news that Charles Manson and his three female co-defendants had been found guilty of murder, January 26, 1971. (AP/George Brich)

Kathryn “Kitty” Lutesinger, a Charles Manson “Family” member, on Temple Street during Manson’s trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders. (Sue Terry/LA Public Library)

Nancy Pitman (a.k.a Brenda McCann), Sandra Good, Catherine Gillies, and Mary (Mary Theresa Brunner) dubbed “the girls on the corner.” They shaved their heads along with Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten following the guilty verdicts, telling reporters, “You’d better watch your children because Judgment Day is coming!” (Herald-Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library)