American murderer who was a central member of the “Manson family” led by Charles Manson. On 9 August 1969, while under the orders of Manson, he stabbed eight-month pregnant Sharon Tate to death as Susan Atkins held her, and he killed four other people that night. The next night, Watson participated in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, as part of Manson’s “Helter Skelter” vision. After his trial, Watson was sentenced to life in prison.
Watson became a born-again Christian in 1975 and through non-incarcerated friends operates aboundinglove.org. He has written about his role in the murders, stating that he believes that God has forgiven him. Will You Die For Me?, Watson’s autobiography, as told to “Chaplain Ray” (Ray Hoekstra), was published in 1978. In 1979, he married Kristin Joan Svege. Through conjugal visits they were able to have four children (three boys, one girl), but those visits for life prisoners were banned in October 1996. After 24 years of marriage, Svege divorced Watson after meeting another man in 2003.
In 2012, Watson disputed a request to release recordings of conversations between himself and his attorney. The recordings became part of a bankruptcy proceeding involving the deceased attorney’s law firm. Members of the Los Angeles Police Department believed the recordings might contain clues about unsolved murder cases involving the Manson family. Watson asked the presiding judge to allow police to listen to the tapes but not take possession of them.
Watson’s minimum eligible parole date was 26 November 1976; he has been denied parole 17 times since then, including two stipulations.
Link to Wikipedia biography