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July 31, 1969, fifty years ago yesterday: Gary Allen Hinman is found murdered in Topanga Canyon
Last edited Mon Aug 9, 2021, 11:32 AM - Edit history (1)
Mary Brunner
Mary Brunner
Mary Brunner in a 1968 mugshot
Born: Mary Theresa Brunner, December 17, 1943 (age 75); Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Criminal status: Paroled in 1977
Children: Valentine Michael Manson (son with Charles Manson)
Parent(s): George and Elsie Brunner
Criminal charge: Armed Robbery, Credit Card Theft, Indecent Exposure
Penalty: Incarcerated at the California Institution for Women
Mary Theresa Brunner (born December 17, 1943) is an American woman who was a former member of the "Manson Family" who was present during the 1969 murder of Gary Allen Hinman, a California musician and UCLA Ph.D. candidate in sociology. Brunner was subsequently arrested for numerous offenses, including credit card theft and armed robbery, and served a prison sentence at the California Institution for Women.
Born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to George and Elsie Brunner, she moved to California upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965 and took up a job as library assistant at UC Berkeley. She met 33-year-old career criminal Charles Manson who had been released from Terminal Island prison several weeks earlier. She let Manson stay at her apartment and, after a period of weeks, the two became lovers. Brunner was thus the first person Manson recruited into his "Family". She quit her job and the two began to drift around California in a van meeting other young women.
{snip}
The Hinman murder
On July 25, 1969, 21-year-old Family member, musician and aspiring actor Bobby Beausoleil left Spahn Ranch, accompanied by Brunner and group member Susan Atkins to pay a visit to an associate named Gary Allen Hinman at his home in Topanga Canyon, directly north of Malibu. Hinman had been friendly with the Family and had often allowed members to stay at his home. Both Beausoleil and Brunner had previously lived with Hinman for short periods of time and, according to a 1981 interview with Beausoleil, Brunner was close friends with Hinman. Beausoleil was in possession of a knife and a 9 mm Radom pistol that he had borrowed from Family member Bruce Davis.
On July 31, 1969, Hinman was found murdered in his home. His face had been deeply slashed on the left side and he had two stab wounds to the chest. Hinman's house had been ransacked and the words "Political Piggy" written and a paw print (intended to be symbolic of the Black Panther Party) drawn on the wall in his blood. Both of Hinman's vehicles were missing: a Volkswagen van and a Fiat station wagon. On August 5, 1969, Beausoleil was found by the California Highway Patrol asleep in the back of Hinman's Fiat near San Luis Obispo, California. Beausoleil had a sheath knife attached to his belt. Robert Kenneth "Bobby" Beausoleil was arrested and charged with the murder of Gary Allen Hinman.
{snip}
Mary Brunner
Mary Brunner in a 1968 mugshot
Born: Mary Theresa Brunner, December 17, 1943 (age 75); Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Criminal status: Paroled in 1977
Children: Valentine Michael Manson (son with Charles Manson)
Parent(s): George and Elsie Brunner
Criminal charge: Armed Robbery, Credit Card Theft, Indecent Exposure
Penalty: Incarcerated at the California Institution for Women
Mary Theresa Brunner (born December 17, 1943) is an American woman who was a former member of the "Manson Family" who was present during the 1969 murder of Gary Allen Hinman, a California musician and UCLA Ph.D. candidate in sociology. Brunner was subsequently arrested for numerous offenses, including credit card theft and armed robbery, and served a prison sentence at the California Institution for Women.
Born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to George and Elsie Brunner, she moved to California upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965 and took up a job as library assistant at UC Berkeley. She met 33-year-old career criminal Charles Manson who had been released from Terminal Island prison several weeks earlier. She let Manson stay at her apartment and, after a period of weeks, the two became lovers. Brunner was thus the first person Manson recruited into his "Family". She quit her job and the two began to drift around California in a van meeting other young women.
{snip}
The Hinman murder
On July 25, 1969, 21-year-old Family member, musician and aspiring actor Bobby Beausoleil left Spahn Ranch, accompanied by Brunner and group member Susan Atkins to pay a visit to an associate named Gary Allen Hinman at his home in Topanga Canyon, directly north of Malibu. Hinman had been friendly with the Family and had often allowed members to stay at his home. Both Beausoleil and Brunner had previously lived with Hinman for short periods of time and, according to a 1981 interview with Beausoleil, Brunner was close friends with Hinman. Beausoleil was in possession of a knife and a 9 mm Radom pistol that he had borrowed from Family member Bruce Davis.
On July 31, 1969, Hinman was found murdered in his home. His face had been deeply slashed on the left side and he had two stab wounds to the chest. Hinman's house had been ransacked and the words "Political Piggy" written and a paw print (intended to be symbolic of the Black Panther Party) drawn on the wall in his blood. Both of Hinman's vehicles were missing: a Volkswagen van and a Fiat station wagon. On August 5, 1969, Beausoleil was found by the California Highway Patrol asleep in the back of Hinman's Fiat near San Luis Obispo, California. Beausoleil had a sheath knife attached to his belt. Robert Kenneth "Bobby" Beausoleil was arrested and charged with the murder of Gary Allen Hinman.
{snip}
