Susan Denise Atkins (May 7, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was an American convicted murderer who was a member of Charles Manson's "Family". Manson's followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969. Known within the Manson family as Sadie, Sadie Glutz, Sadie Mae Glutz or Sexy Sadie, Atkins was convicted for her participation in eight of these killings, including the most notorious, the Tate murders in 1969. She was sentenced to death, which was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment when the California Supreme Court invalidated all death sentences issued prior to 1972. Atkins was incarcerated until her death in 2009. At the time of her death, she was California's longest-serving female inmate, since surpassed by fellow Manson family members Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel.
During the summer of 1969, Manson and his commune at Spahn's Ranch were attracting the attention of the police, who suspected them of auto thefts and were suspicious of the high number of underage runaways. In an attempt to raise money to move away to the desert, Manson encouraged drug dealing. Purportedly, a botched drug scam by Family member Charles "Tex" Watson led Manson to confront and shoot a man named Bernard "Lotsapoppa" Crowe.
Manson sent Atkins, Bobby Beausoleil, and Mary Brunner to Hinman's home on July 25, 1969.Manson showed up in person and swung at his head with a sword, slicing his face and severely cutting his ear.[16] Manson directed Atkins and Brunner to stay behind and tend to Hinman's wounds. Two days later, and after a phone call from Manson, Beausoleil had Hinman sign over the registrations to his cars and then fatally stabbed him twice
After the Tate/LaBianca trial, Atkins was convicted for the Hinman murder. She pleaded guilty to the charges against her. She testified she had not known Hinman was to be robbed or killed, although Atkins subsequently contradicted herself on this point in her 1977 autobiography
On the evening of August 8, 1969, Manson gathered Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel in front of Spahn's Ranch and told them to go with Charles "Tex" Watson and do as they were told. In Atkins's grand jury testimony, she stated that while in the car, Watson told the group they were going to a home to get money from the people who lived there and to kill them.
On the night of August 10, 1969, Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Watson, Linda Kasabian, Leslie Van Houten, and Steve "Clem" Grogan, went to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Manson and Watson entered the home and tied the couple up. He then went back to the car and sent Krenwinkel and Van Houten inside to do as Watson said.
Atkins wrote "PIG" on the front door in Sharon Tate's blood.
another member of the group implicated Atkins in the Hinman murder and she was charged with that crime.
While in jail, Atkins befriended two middle-aged career criminals, Virginia Graham and Veronica "Ronnie" Howard, to whom she confessed her participation in the Tate/LaBianca murders (for example, telling the women that she had stabbed Tate and tasted Tate's blood). They subsequently reported her statements to the authorities. This, combined with information from other sources, led to the arrests of Atkins and others involved in the Tate/LaBianca murders (Van Houten, Krenwinkel, Kasabian, and Watson).
Virginia Graham and Ronnie Howard later received the bulk of the $25,000 reward offered by Roman Polanski for solving the murder case.Their testimony was corroborated by extensive forensic evidence, the testimony of Linda Kasabian, and the grand jury testimony of Atkins herself.
Atkins agreed to testify for the prosecution, in exchange for the State of California not seeking the death penalty against her. Atkins appeared before a grand jury, and provided extensive testimony concerning the events on the nights of August 8 and 9, 1969.
When asked if she were willing to testify, knowing that she was not being given immunity, and might incriminate herself in her trial testimony, she responded, "I understand this, and my life doesn't mean that much to me. I just want to see what is taken care of."[
Atkins's grand jury testimony was extremely lurid, and provides remarkable details concerning the Tate murders. Atkins told the grand jury that she stabbed Frykowski in the legs and held Tate down while Watson stabbed her. She also testified that Tate had pleaded for her life and that of her unborn child. In response, Atkins replied, "Woman, I have no mercy for you." She told the grand jury that her words were intended to reassure herself, and not addressed to Tate. Atkins also denied her earlier statement to Howard and Graham that she had tasted Tate's blood.
For the final time, Atkins was denied parole on September 2, 2009.
Atkins died of brain cancer on September 24, 2009, at the Central California Women's Facility] A prison spokesperson announced to reporters that her cause of death was listed as "natural causes". Her husband, James Whitehouse, subsequently released a statement saying that "Her last whispered word was 'Amen'.