>> the last ten years, the homicide rate has increased by leaps and bounds. >> my god, somebody fired a shot! >> these tragedies keep getting closer and closer to home. i'm afraid to let my kids walk out the door. >> the interurban crime wave has touched off a new round of gun buying. >> step out, mr. bundy. >> i'll plead not guilty right now. >> there has been a disturbing growth in cult phenomenon in this country. >> i shall be god. and beside me there shall be no other. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> all the elements are present for one of the most sensational murder trials in american history. seven people brutally murdered in the glare of hollywood publicity. young girls supposedly under the spell of a bearded svengali, who allegedly masterminded the seven murders. >> the '70s is a decade of just brutal violence on every front and anywhere that you look in america. >> at the time of a mass murder, there's a lot of media coverage. but usually after a brief period of time, the identity of the perpetrator tends to fade from the public's consciousness. but not so with the manson case. it was the biggest publicity case the d.a.'s office had ever had. >> the manson trial begins the 1970s on such an evil, sadistic note. seven innocent people died. steve parent, a teenager. abigail folger, folger coffee. jay sebring. wojchiech frykowski. the labiancas. and sharon tate. >> all of you know how beautiful she was. but only a few of you know how good she was. >> and you had charles manson himself. the charismatic leader of the family who didn't show any remorse or any respect for the system. >> are you all happy with your courts? >> yes. >> good. >> are you happy? >> in i happy? it's your court. i wouldn't accept it. >> the problem was that he did not physically participate in these murders. but only manson had a motive to commit these murders. and that motive was helter skelter. >> manson envisioned that white people would turn against the black man if they thought the black man had committed these seven murders and ultimately there would be a civil war between blacks and whites. manson foresaw the black man would win this war. but later on he said the black man, because of inexperience, would simply not be able to handle the reins of power, so you'd have to look around at those white people who had survived, who had escaped from helter skelter. in other words, turn over the reins of power to charles manson and his family. >> when the words "helter-skelter" were found printed in blood, i argued to the jury this was tantamount to manson's finger prints being found at the murder scene. >> manson sat through this saying nothing, but today had an "x" scratched in his forehead. it is his way of saying he has x'd himself out of society. ♪ >> susan atkins, patricia krenwinkel and leslie van houten sang as they went to and from court today as if to show they were with manson and he is with them. >> the three women were coached by charlie every morning. here's things i want you to do. so they would do everything from sing mocking songs to the judge, to when charlie is making one of his impassioned speeches, mouthing the words along with him. >> i don't have any guilt. i know what i've done and no man can judge me. i judge me. >> are you bitter? >> bitter, no. no. >> you've paid some price so far. >> price? you have eyes? open them. >> charlie manson is a great presenter, but vincent bugliosi was better. and when you put these two antagonists into a courtroom america thought this is entertainment. >> people who are curious about the tate murders go to the los angeles hall of justice where they wait in long lines. some people are so interested that they get to the courthouse at 4:00 a.m. something else this trial has done is gathered together again those members of manson's family who are not in jail. >> the world is getting crazy. >> one read part of a letter that manson wrote the district attorney. >> i am writing to you because i don't think i'm getting a fair trial. i'm an individual, one man standing alone defending myself. contrast this with the facilities you have available to you. >> i noted, for example, the coverage of the charles manson case. here is a man who was guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders without reason. here is a man yet, who as far as the coverage is concerned, appeared to be rather a glamorous figure. >> "l.a. times" next morning, "manson guilty, nixon declares." manson got ahold of the paper. stands up in front of the jury with a silly little smile on his face, and he shows the jury the headline. >> a tight ring of security surrounds the hall of justice today as the manson jury deliberates. meanwhile, members of the manson clan continue their vigil outside the hall of justice. they've been there since the start of the trial. >> if charlie were convicted of these charges, what happens to the rest of the members of the family? >> there's no if. charlie will get out. all the people in jail will get out, and we'll all go to the desert together. >> the jury hearing the charges against charles manson and three girl members of his so-called family brought in its verdict this afternoon. and outside the court, manson's girl followers got the news by radio. >> they have convicted these people, and you are next. all of you. there's a revolution coming very soon. >> today the judge formally passed sentence on charles manson and his girls. the death penalty he said for seven senseless murders. he said not only was the sentence appropriate but almost compelled in this case. so death in the gas chamber, he said. >> the very name manson has become a metaphor for evil, catapulting him to almost mythological proportions. and there's a side to human nature, for whatever reason, that is fascinated by pure, unalloyed evil. >> if the death penalty is to mean anything in the state of california other than two empty words, this unquestionably was the proper case for the imposition of the death penalty. >> the california supreme court ruled today that the death penalty is unconstitutional. that will save five women and 102 men including charles manson from the gas chamber. >> should there be a supreme penalty for committing a crime? >> what do you think? >> i'm the one who's asking you. >> yeah, but if i don't give you the answer that you want -- >> doesn't matter to me. >> doesn't matter -- >> it's your opinion. >> well, i don't have the authority to say anything like that. >> you have the authority to believe. >> i believe what i'm told to believe. don't you? we have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire she is fearless heart's on the line depend silhouette keeping leaks off her mind. comfortable in shapeware fabric she moves with ease. confident on nights like these. depend silhouette. the only thing stronger than us, is you. ♪ three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. hitting the road, not all 5g networks are created equal. t-mobile covers more highway miles with 5g than verizon. t-mobile has more 5g bars in more places than anyone. another reason t-mobile is the leader in 5g. my name is ami and i bought and financed my car through carvana. everything was all good but then things hit a slight snag. ok so they were trying to verify my employment status while i was at work, in a giant hole, in a mine. but then something amazing happened. hello? carvana worked with my shift manager and got everything sorted out so i didn't miss out on the car. super helpful. i was over the moon, even though i was underground. we'll drive you happy at carvana. (burke) a new car loses about ten percent of its value the minute you drive off the lot. or more. that's why farmers new car replacement pays to replace it with a new one of the same make and model. get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ a boy was shot right at the side of the car, and the girl apparently tried to run. she was shot and found 28 feet further on. >> do you have any idea what the possible motive might be for this killing? >> we have no motive at this time. >> the zodiac killer, this unknown person, committed dozens of murders in the 1960s, the 1970s. we really don't know the full dimensions of the case, but we know he's the zodiac because he started writing to the police claiming credit in great detail. articulating and explaining what he did to these victims. >> "the chronicle" received two letters. they notified us immediately. the criminologist was sent over to the newspaper as were inspectors. and the two letters were examined and opened. >> the zodiac's reaching out to the police repeatedly and in great length was something new. >> the psychotic killer has already murdered five. one at a lover's lane near a lake just north of san francisco. three others in nearby vallejo. the latest, a taxi driver in san francisco. the zodiac killer seems to crave publicity. he sent letters and cryptograms to newspapers and the police recounting his crimes, threatening more murders and making bay area residents very edgy. >> in the '70s there was a certain kind of killer who had the skill to get away with murder long enough to assemble a body count where they would be classified as a serial killer. >> in los angeles, a killer the police are calling the hillside strangler, has murdered ten young women and left their bodies on the hillsides along the highways. today the police found another, number 11 they think. >> two young paper boys discovered what appears to be the latest victim. the body had been dumped 15 feet down an embankment in a residential neighborhood. the victim was a woman, about 20 years old, and the body was nude. >> the series of murders has had a chilling effect upon the people of the city. >> in los angeles, more women than ever before are learning how to defend themselves. susan ball skipped night school for a week. she says she can't sleep because of the murders. >> i guess i just want to learn how to maybe gave myself a few seconds so i can live. >> there have been enough bodies found over a wide enough area to strongly suggest more than one killer. but police say they really don't know. >> today the los angeles police say they have a suspect. a man in jail in another state. >> los angeles police say they have enough evidence to charge 27-year-old kenneth bianchi with ten of the hillside stranglings. police focused on bianchi only after he was arrested last january for the murder of two college students in washington state. >> what the police did not know was that there was not one strangler but two. >> today in a bellingham, washington, courtroom, kenneth bianchi, in the hope of avoiding a death sentence, confessed to participation in the los angeles hillside stranglings and went on to accuse his cousin, angelo buono, of being his accomplice. >> kenneth beankhy, to a great extent he was motivated because he was trying to show his older cousin, who he revered, that he was tough. for angelo buono, he enjoyed the fact that he had his younger cousin listening to him. saw him as a mentee. we saw this time and time again. pairs of killers who urge each other on, and together they are extremely vicious and violent. >> is there any doubt this is a body? >> no doubt. >> there's the skull and the jaw bone and everything. >> when did you first get word there might be some bodies buried here? >> this morning. >> had you had any indication before? >> the man behind the killings was dean corll, 33 years old. or was. he was shot and killed wednesday evening by wayne henley, 17 years old. henley was one of two teenagers who lured young boys to corll's home. >> dean corll would pick up kids, and once he had them in his house, he would incapacitate them and put them on what he called his death board and rape and kill them. >> the texas sex and torture killings now have become the worst mass murders in american history. four more bodies of young boys were dug up today and that brings to 27 the number of bodies discovered so far. >> some people trying to make it appear that the police department has not done all that it could or should have done in these cases. the police department feels that these parents are not exactly discharging their own responsibilities so far as raising and disciplining their children. >> these shocking murders finally focus national attention on a major problem, that of runaway children and what can happen to them. >> the children that run away from home today are not the children that we had running away in the '60s. in the '60s we had what we called then flower children, and they ran away basically for socio political reasons. today children are running from a situation rather than to a situation. >> kids are disappearing, and the police would say, well, they probably ran away. it was to the demise of many who in fact were picked up by sexual sadists like john wayne gacy. >> in des plaines, illinois, near chicago, a man who served time in prison for sex crimes was let out. today they found the bodies of at least three young boys buried under his house. >> police today found six more bodies under the john gacy house. >> illinois authorities today made their first positive identification of the 28 bodies unearthed so far. >> this grisly search ended tonight and will be resumed after christmas. >> prior to his arrest, gacy was well known in the community. he frequently dressed in a clown outfit for the benefit of youngsters. he was generally seen as a man young people liked. >> the coroner of this county has seen nothing like it. >> it's frightening. that's the only word i can use, frightening. frightening. ♪ ♪ excuse me! enjoy the minions menu at ihop. for a limited time kids eat free! and catch minions: the rise of gru. it's started. somewhere between a cuddle and a struggle, it's...the side hug. tween milestones like this may start at age 9. hpv vaccination - a type of cancer prevention against certain hpv-related cancers, can start then too. for most, hpv clears on its own. but for others, it can cause certain cancers later in life. you're welcome! now, as the "dad cab", it's my cue to help protect them. embrace this phase. help protect them in the next. ask their doctor about hpv vaccination today. ugh-stipated... feeling weighed down by a backedup gut" miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. lemons. lemons, lemons, lemons. look how nice they are. the moment you become an expedia member, you can instantly start saving on your travels. so you can go and see all those, lovely, lemony, lemons. ♪ and never wonder if you got a good deal. because you did. ♪ okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ there's a reason comcast business powers more businesses than any other provider. actually, there's a few... comcast business offers the fastest, reliable network... the protection of securityedge™ and the most reliable 5g network. want me to keep going? i can... whether your small business is starting or growing, you need comcast business. technology solutions that put you ahead. get a great offer on internet and security, now with more speed and more bandwidth. plus find out how to get up to a $650 prepaid card with a qualifying bundle. from new york, this is abc news. >> good evening. the supreme court ruled today that there is nothing unconstitutional in the death penalty. >> the court says the death penalty is an expression of society's moral outrage at particular crimes. >> in the 1970s, we had a four-year moratorium on the death penalty. the u.s. supreme court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. eventually, 1976, with new statutes, the u.s. supreme court said it's constitutional. and then we started seeing the death penalty back in place. death rows repopulated with new criminals like gary gilmore. >> it seems that the people of utah, they want the death penalty but they don't want executions. i took them literal and serious when they sentenced me to death. >> his crimes were not especially extreme. it was two robbery/murders. but when he was convicted, he wanted to die. he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. so two years later he was put to death by firing squad and became the very first person in america in this new era to be executed. and his words were "let's do it." >> the order of the fourth judicial district court of the state of utah has been carried out. gary mark gilmore is dead. ♪ >> tonight, our topic will be murder as a growth industry. these are the national homicide figures. for the past ten years, every year has set a new high for murder in america. >> the statistics were stupendous. violent crime of all kinds were soaring. the spectacles that people were seeing on their tv screen were unlike anything they'd had to absorb before. >> a small grocery store has been robbed. the owner of the grocery store, nathan hurt, has been shot and killed. >> what happened? >> as i understand, a man came into the store, and he had a gun and asked for money. and my grandfather reached for a gun he had and grabbed at the man's gun, and it went off, or he shot it twice, and my grandfather fell to the floor. >> why did he feel he had to have a gun? >> because there are so many robberies in this area, and he just thought he needed it for protection. >> today ordinary citizens who would not otherwise dream of having a gun are buying one because they are scared out of their wits. >> william rubiak is a ukrainian immigrant who owns a store outside washington, d.c. he's been robbed at gunpoint four times in the past two years. now william rubiak has bought a gun, and he says next time he will use it. >> i will shoot, and i will shoot to kill. >> fear is the biggest seller of guns. studies have shown each urban crime wave has touched off a new round of gun buying. >> we have german lugars, derringers, small revolvers, magnums. some of these saturday night specials are small. they can be palmed in your hand. >> it was shortly after 10:00 california time when the president left his hotel. not seen by the following cameras but spotted by secret service agent larry buendorf was a hand with a gun in it coming through the crowd. the commotion erupted. secret service agents forced the assailant to the ground and then handcuffed her. she was identified as 27-year-old lynnette alice fromme, one of the earliest followers of charles manson, who was involved in the tate, labianca murders of 1969. >> about the same time gerald ford becomes president, charlie in prison writes to squeaky he's got new rules. they want to do one big thing that's going to get the nation's attention back on charlie. so squeaky, wearing a red robe, comes up to the president of the united states with a big gun, points the gun in his face. the secret servicemen wrestle her to the ground and squeaky's first words were, can you believe the gun didn't go off? >> following your own close brush with death in sacramento a couple of weeks ago, i wonder if this has convinced you at all that we need tough gun control legislation in this country? >> i prefer to go after the person who uses the gun for an illegal or criminal purpose. that to me is a far better approach than the one whe