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Quick Facts
- NAME: Mary Brunner
- OCCUPATION: Criminal
- BIRTH DATE: December 17, 1943 (Age: 69)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Full Name: Mary Theresa Brunner
- AKA: Mary Brunner
- ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius
Best Known For
Mary Brunner, a member of Charles Manson's "Family," was in jail at the time of the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders, thereby precluding her participation.
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Play NowMary Brunner. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:49, May 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761.
Mary Brunner. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761 [Accessed 20 May 2013].
"Mary Brunner." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 20 2013, 08:49 http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761.
"Mary Brunner," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761 [accessed May 20, 2013].
"Mary Brunner," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761 (accessed May 20, 2013).
Mary Brunner [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761.
Mary Brunner, http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761 (last visited May 20, 2013).
Mary Brunner. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/mary-brunner-20902761. Accessed May 20, 2013.
Synopsis
Mary Brunner met Charles Manson shortly after moving to California, at age 21. The pair drifted and lived together, and in April 1968, Brunner gave birth to Manson's son. Manson had been gathering followers meanwhile, and on August 8, 1969, Manson sent some of them into Hollywood to commit murder. Brunner, however, was unable to join them, having been arrested and jailed for credit card fraud earlier that day. After the Manson "Family" went to prison in 1971,
Contents
Brunner and others hatched a bizarre hijacking plan to force Manson's release, but they were all arrested and jailed, Brunner until 1977.
The Manson 'Family'
At age 21, Mary Brunner moved to Los Angeles to take a job in the library at the University of California, Berkeley. While walking her dog one day, she met Charles Manson and the two became good friends and, eventually, lovers. Manson moved into Brunner's apartment for a while, but they soon took to the road in Manson's Volkswagen van, traveling around California while Manson gathered followers.
In April 1968, Brunner gave birth to Manson's son, Valentine Michael, who received the nickname "Pooh Bear." Allegedly, Manson and some women from his burgeoning "Family" delivered the baby, and Manson cut the umbilical cord with his teeth. After stints in Venice and San Francisco (where they lived with Squeaky Fromme), Manson, Brunner, Poor Bear and the rest of the family moved to the secluded Spahn Ranch.
Life of Crime
In July 1969, Manson follower Bobby Beausoleil left Spahn Ranch with Brunner and Susan Atkins to visit Gary Allen Hinman, a friend of various family members over the years. A few days later, Hinman was found murdered in his home, and a few days after that, Beausoleil was found with Hinman's car and arrested for his murder. According to one version of events, Manson sent the trio to Hinman's house to take money from him, and Manson showed up at one point and cut Hinman's face with a knife or sword. According to another, Manson had nothing to do with any of it. For Mary Brunner's part, she was never convicted of any crime related to Hinman's death, and was given full immunity for her testimony.
A little more than a week after Hinman was found dead, on August 8, 1969, Brunner and another Manson family member were arrested while using stolen credit cards in a department store. That night and the next, while Brunner was in police custody, Charles Watson (also known as "Tex") and other Manson followers committed the Tate/LaBianca murders.
In August 1971, Brunner and several other Manson followers held up a "surplus store" and stole a large cache of weapons. They intended to hijack a commercial jet and hold the passengers hostage, killing one every hour until Manson and others were released from prison. The police arrived at the store, however, and following a shootout, Brunner and each of her accomplices were arrested. She was released from prison in 1977.
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Manson Family
View groupCharles Manson's eerie ability to control his "family" of young hippies in California remains as mysterious and intriguing today as it did in 1969, when Manson orchestrated the infamous murders of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Many Manson Family members were sentenced to life in prison for participating in those murders, including Squeaky Fromme, Susan Watkins and Patricia Krenwinkel. Members Bobby Beausoleil and Steve Grogan, under Manson's bizarre influence, committed other murders. Examine our list of Manson Family members and find out about life on the Spahn Movie Ranch, Charles Manson's uncanny hold over his followers, and the random and brutal crimes that ensued.
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Famous People Named Mary
View groupTake a look at famous people named Mary, such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Mary Mahoney, and Mary Seacole.
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