As Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten carried out their grisly mission, Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Steve "Clem" Grogan left the scene. According to Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter, Manson gave Kasabian Rosemary LaBianca's wallet and instructed her to wipe off any incriminating fingerprints and remove the change. LaBianca's drivers license and, most importantly, her credit cards were to remain untouched.
Manson, again taking the wheel of the '59 Ford Galaxie, explained that he was going to drive to a predominantly Black neighborhood, where Kasabian was to toss the wallet on the sidewalk. Explaining that a person of color would find the wallet and use the credit cards, Manson hoped that the press and the authorities would blame the murders on the Black Panthers. With the blame deflected from the Family and placed on the Black political organization, Manson believed that the country would edge nearer to "Helter Skelter," an apocalyptic race war from which Manson and his followers would emerge as victors.
Inexplicably, Manson changed his mind at the last minute and instead drove to a nearby gas station, where he instructed Kasabian to leave the wallet in the women's restroom. Kasabian, now fearful after two nights of murder, instead hid LaBianca's wallet inside a toilet tank rather than leaving it where it could be easily found. A key piece of evidence, the wallet was finally discovered four months after the August 10 killings.
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