Bruce Davis

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Bruce McGregor Davis (born October 5, 1942 in Monroe , Louisiana ) is a former member of the Manson Family and was involved in two murders of the group.

Early life

Bruce Davis was born in 1942, the younger of two children. He and his sister grew up in Mobile , Alabama . The relationship with his father, an alcoholic , was marked by verbal attacks and violent attacks. After school he took a degree in political science in Tennessee , but dropped out. He then moved to California and joined the hippie movement . In 1967 he met Charles Manson and other members of the family . Since Davis was a staunch supporter of the Scientology sect, he went to London in November 1968 to work at the headquarters there. He was released in April 1969 because of his drug use . He returned to the United States and joined the Manson Family at Spahn Ranch .

Manson Family and involvement in crime

Bruce Davis' role in the family and his involvement in their actions are not without controversy. He often put it into perspective, although it was said that he was a close confidante of Manson and that, among other things, he took care of organizational and financial matters. What is certain is that on July 25, 1969 , he drove Bobby Beausoleil , Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner to Gary Hinman's house so that they could collect money from this. When Hinman could not or would not pay, he was handcuffed and tortured for three days. In the meantime, Manson appeared, accompanied by Davis, to take part and, among other things, cut off a piece of Hinman's ear with a sword. Davis is said to have threatened Hinman with a gun, which he denied for a long time and only admitted much later. Manson and Davis then left the scene, so they were absent when Hinman was finally stabbed to death by Beausoleil on July 27 on Manson's orders.

Davis was not actively involved in the murder of Sharon Tate and four other people on the night of August 8-9, 1969, and the killing of the couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the following night. At the end of August 1969 he belonged to Manson, Charles Watson and Steve Dennis Grogan, however, in the group that killed the stuntman and Spahn Ranch employee Donald Shea . Although Manson is said to have urged him to do so, Davis claims that he did not commit any killing and did not participate in the removal of the body. Grogan led investigators to Shea's remains in 1977.

Arrest and conviction

Bruce Davis was first arrested on October 12, 1969, along with Manson and other family members at the Barker Ranch, but released soon after due to lack of evidence. It was not until April 1970 that Mary Brunner indicated his involvement in the Hinman murder when she was interrogated. Davis then fled and went into hiding. On December 2, 1970, he finally surrendered on orders from Manson. He was charged and one of the last people involved was sentenced to life imprisonment on April 17, 1972 for the murders of Hinman and Shea and for dating to murder . Over the same period had Supreme Court of California, the death penalty for unconstitutional explains why all already spoken death sentences against the Manson Family in life sentences were converted. Davis is serving his sentence in San Luis Obispo Prison .

Prison and probation hearings

Some time after serving his sentence, Bruce Davis broke away from the Manson Family and joined the Christian revival movement . In 1984 he met his future wife in prison, whom he married the following year and with whom he has had a daughter since 1994. Davis has had 26 parole hearings over the years . Although he has been considered a model prisoner since the early 1980s, all such requests have been rejected. Decisive for this were his unclear and sometimes contradicting statements about the course of the crime.

After he first clearly admitted his co-responsibility in the murders, Davis received a discharge recommendation from the parole board in 2010 at the age of 67. These rejected Arnold Schwarzenegger , the former governor of California , but from. The successor Governor Jerry Brown rejected four further dismissal recommendations . The sixth and so far last failed in 2019 due to the veto of the current governor Gavin Newsom . The next hearing is scheduled for November 2020.

Suspect in the Zodiac case

Bruce Davis was briefly considered a possible Zodiac killer after his arrest . However, the suspicion proved to be unfounded, also because his handwriting samples did not match the handwriting of the serial killer in his letters.

Web links and sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charles Manson follower Bruce Davis is once again recommended for parole in: The Guardian , August 28, 2015, accessed August 28, 2015
  2. ↑ Bruce Davis, former Manson Family member on path to parole . thetribunenews.com , January 29, 2010, archived from the original on August 24, 2011 ; accessed on April 23, 2012 (English).
  3. ↑ Parole recommended for Manson family killer after he admits 'I was responsible' for the first time in 40 years . dailymail.co.uk , January 29, 2010, accessed April 23, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Bruce Davis Parole Denied: Schwarzenegger Rejects Parole For Manson Follower . huffingtonpost.com , June 28, 2010, accessed April 23, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Bruce Davis Charles Manson Family Parole on nytimes.com (English)
  6. ↑ Charles Manson follower, 77, who carried out sickening double murder for the 'family' 50 years ago has parole blocked for the sixth time on dailymail.co.uk
  7. ^ Zodiac Suspect Bruce Davis . zodiackiller.com , accessed April 23, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Davis, Bruce
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Davis, Bruce McGregor (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American member of the Manson Family
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Monroe , Louisiana , United States