Notorious cult leader Charles Manson dead at 83

Charles Manson, the fiery-eyed 1960s cult leader whose followers committed heinous murders that terrorised Los Angeles and shocked the US, has died at 83. He had been behind bars for 48 years.

He died of natural causes at 8.13 p.m. on Sunday at a hospital in Kern County, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.

The news of his death was confirmed by Debra Tate, the sister of his most famous victim, actress Sharon Tate, who was heavily pregnant with film director Roman Polanski's baby when she was stabbed to death by his followers.

"This could be the end of an era or just the beginning," she declared, adding: "I said a prayer for his soul."

Prison officials said it's "undetermined" what will happen to Manson's corpse as he has no next of kin, the US media reported.

The diminutive and charismatic Manson orchestrated a wave of violence in August 1969 that took the lives of seven people, spawned headlines worldwide and landed him and his "Manson Family" of followers in prison for most of the remainder of their lives.
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