Charles Milles Manson (born November 12, 1934) is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction. He was convicted of the murders through the joint-responsibility rule, which makes each member of a conspiracy guilty of crimes his fellow conspirators commit in furtherance of the conspiracy's objective.

Manson believed in what he called "Helter Skelter," a term he took from the song of the same name by The Beatles. Manson believed Helter Skelter to be an impending apocalyptic race war, which he described in his own version of the lyrics to the Beatles' song. He believed his murders would help precipitate that war. From the beginning of his notoriety, a pop culture arose around him in which he ultimately became an emblem of insanity, violence and the macabre. The term was later used by Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi as the title of a book he wrote about the Manson murders.

Susan Denise Atkins (May 7, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was a convicted American serial killer who was a member of the "Manson family", led by Charles Manson. Manson and his 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 Mae Glutz, Atkins was convicted for her participation in eight of these killings, including the most notorious, the "Tate/LaBianca" murders. She was sentenced to death, which was subsequently commuted to life in prison. Incarcerated from October 1, 1969 until her death, Atkins was the longest-incarcerated female inmate in the California penal system, having been denied parole 18 times.

Born in San Gabriel, California, the second of three children, Atkins grew up in Northern California. Both her parents, Edward John and Jeanette, were, according to her, alcoholics. Her mother died of cancer in 1963. Over the next three years, Atkins' life was disrupted by the gradual breakup of her family, frequent moves, and her leaving home to live independently. Atkins and her family lived in a middle-class home in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose, California, until she was 13. She was described by those who knew her as a quiet, self-conscious girl who belonged to her school's glee club and the local church choir. Two weeks before her mother was hospitalized for the final time, Atkins arranged for members of the church choir to sing Christmas carols under her bedroom window. After Jeanette Atkins' death, relatives were asked to help look after Atkins and her two brothers.

Sharon Marie Tate (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Valley of the Dolls (1967). She also appeared regularly in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl.

Married to film director Roman Polanski in 1968, Tate was eight and a half months pregnant when she was murdered in her home, along with four others, by followers of Charles Manson.

A decade after the murders, Tate's mother, Doris, in response to the growing cult status of the killers and the possibility that any of them might be granted parole, organized a public campaign against what she considered shortcomings in the state's corrections system. It resulted in amendments to the California criminal law in 1982, which allowed crime victims and their families to make victim impact statements during sentencing and at parole hearings.

Pasqualino Antonio "Leno" LaBianca (August 6, 1925 – August 10, 1969) and his wife Rosemary LaBianca (December 15, 1930 – August 10, 1969) were victims of the Manson Family murders.

Rosemary LaBianca was born in Arizona to parents who divorced. Her birth name was Ruth Katherine Elliott. Her mother took her and her brother, William, to live with her, and her father took her two older sisters.

However, her mother was not able to support her two children and placed them in an adoption home. Ruth and her brother were separated at the adoption home when Ruth, age 8, was adopted by the Harmons, a California couple in Fullerton, who had lost their own daughter to disease. The Harmons renamed her, after their deceased daughter, and thus Ruth became Rosemary.

Rosemary eventually met a man named Frank Struthers and the couple married in 1953, a union that produced two children, Suzan and Frank Jr. Rosemary and Frank divorced in 1956.

Rosemary met Leno LaBianca in 1959 while working at the Los Feliz Inn.

David Styles (born November 28, 1974) better known by his stage name, Styles P, is an American rapper, author, and entrepreneur. He is prominently known as a member of Hip Hop group The LOX and is also a part of the Ruff Ryders hip-hop group, and in addition has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo MC.

Styles P, a member of The LOX and the larger D-Block Hip-Hop collective, grew up in Yonkers, New York rapping alongside Jadakiss (Jason Phillips) and Sheek Louch (Shawn Jacobs). In their late teens the trio met Mary J. Blige who was so impressed with their tough street east coast lyrics, she gave them a big break by putting their demo in the hands of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Diddy immediately hired the trio to write for Bad Boy Records. With the label, The LOX quickly started collaborating on hits with Diddy, the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Mariah Carey which gave them instant notoriety and status within the hip-hop and mainstream charts.