Charles Mansons cult killings fueled by perfect storm as theories get fresh look

The mystery of Charles Manson’s motive in notorious cult killings is getting a fresh look as an FBI criminal profiler reveals a “perfect storm” of factors came together for the infamous murders. Countless theories about how Manson managed to convince a group of young adults to kill for him have been dissected, but director Errol Morris is offering a new perspective into the mind of the notorious cult leader in his Netflix documentary “CHAOS: The Manson Murders.”Based on the 2019 book “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties,” authored by Tom O’Neill and Dan Piepenbring, the documentary delves into the theory Manson may have been influenced by an external force when directing his followers. “I’ve found myself trapped in a number of different true-crime stories, and the Manson murders are peculiar,” Morris told Netflix’s Tudum. “You could encapsulate the mystery in just one question: How is it that Manson managed to convince the people around him that killing was OK?”  Netflix and Morris did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Morris explores the widely circulated theory suggesting Manson may have been operating under the influence of the CIA’s controversial MK-ULTRA program, leaning into the cultural interest surrounding mind control, a widespread fascination throughout the 1950s and 1960s. However, experts have expressed skepticism about the idea that Manson was acting under government control. “[Manson] was influenced by what he wanted to do,” former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole told Fox News Digital.“He was influenced by the fact that he wanted to become a very well-known musician at the time, which is why he made friends with the influential people that he did.

But was there this outside force that compelled him to do that? I don’t believe that there was.There was still his personality that was distinct to him [and] was not created by an outsi...