16-04-2019, 01:16 AM
David Andrews Wrote:[quote=William Weston][quote=David Andrews]
Do you recall if it was determined whether the rail fence section that was knocked down (by a vehicle?) was damaged on the night of the crime? If I read about this over the years, I've forgotten. I've forgotten where the break was located, also.
Your question touches on a point that is rarely mentioned in the Manson books or the Manson/Tate-LaBianca discussion forums. As far as I know, no one has come up with a satisfactory explanation. Here I propose a theory that I believe will answer your question.
The split-rail fence served as a barrier along one side of the parking area of the Tate house. In front of the fence is a concrete curb. Beyond the barrier is a steep slope.
The picture below shows the parking area of the Tate house. The broken fence is in the background.
http://cielodrive.com/photo-archive/1005...way-03.php
Below is a picture showing damage to the fence.
http://cielodrive.com/photo-archive/1005...-fence.php
Officers noted scrape marks on the concrete curb. Corresponding scrape marks appeared on the undercarriage of Steve Parent's car. The rear bumper had white paint marks that came from the fence.
Steve's body was in the car. The car was found near the gate. Below is a picture of the car in front of the garage and next to cut telephone lines.
http://cielodrive.com/photo-archive/1005...way-02.php
Steve Parent was a visiting a friend, William Garretson, who was employed as a caretaker and lived in the guest house in the back of the property. About fifteen minutes after midnight, Parent departed to go to another friend's house. He got into his car and drove toward the electrically controlled gate, where he would have had to push a button to open it. It was here that he was surprised by Tex, Linda, Susan, and Patricia and murdered. Tex then pushed the car a short distance from the gate.
Coming back to the broken fence, when did that occur? There are two theories that are commonly mentioned.
The first is that Parent, an eighteen-year-old, was an inexperienced driver. As he prepared to leave, he put the gear shift into reverse instead of drive and stepped on the gas. The car jumped the curb and banged into the fence.
Considering the amount of damage done to the fence, the impact must have been loud. This would have alerted the four people in the house. Yet apparently no one in the house was aware of what happened. Sharon Tate continued undisturbed to converse with Jay Sebring in one room, and Abigail Folger continued reading her book in the bedroom. (Frykowski was asleep.) The lack of response of those inside the house presents a great difficulty to the first theory.
The second theory is that Parent saw or heard something that frightened him a killer team already on the rampage. Jumpy and nervous, hoping to get away quickly, he accidentally put the gear shift into reverse.
The problem with the second theory is that it goes against the combined accounts of Susan Atkins and Linda Kasabian who said that Parent was surprised in his car and that he was the first to die.
An alternative theory comes from a suggestion made by Ed Sanders in his book "The Family." He believed that the various loose ends in the case can be resolved by assuming a second entry into the house after Tex, Linda, Susan, and Patricia had left. Manson himself confirmed Sander's idea in a book called "Manson in His Own Words." He is quoted as saying that he entered the house that same night with a partner, whom he did not name. They viewed the carnage and left before dawn.
Let us assume that despite the deadly assault, Parent managed to survive. Tex and the girls thought they had killed him, but his wounds either put him into temporary unconsciousness or he feigned death. Because of the severity of his wounds, he was unable to do anything more than to sit in his car and perhaps call out for help. When Manson and his partner approached the car to check the status of the person inside, Parent aroused himself and tried to escape. He put the car into reverse to get away from the two killers and recklessly drove backwards until he hit the fence and stopped there. Someone firing a pistol delivered the coup de grace. (Officer Bullington at a nearby location heard three shots at 4:10 am.)
Manson and his partner then moved the car back to the place where Tex left it in an attempt to cover up their role in the killing of Parent.