Manson Family was rumored, although never proven, that Hughes was murdered by the Family, possibly because he had stood up to Manson and refused to allow Van Houten to take the stand and absolve Manson of the crimes. Though he might have perished in flooding, Family member Sandra Good stated that Hughes was "the first of the retaliation murders". Watson returned to McKinney, Texas after the Tate–LaBianca murders. He was arrested in Texas on November 30, 1969, after local police were notified by California investigators that his fingerprints were found to match a print found on the front door of the Tate
Charles Manson "Man of the Year". In June 1970, he was the subject of a "Rolling Stone" cover story, "Charles Manson: The Incredible Story of the Most Dangerous Man Alive". When a "Rolling Stone" writer visited the Los Angeles District Attorney's office in preparing that story, he was shocked by a photograph of the bloody "Healter Skelter" that would bind Manson to popular culture. Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi pointed out the dispute in the underground press over whether Manson was "Christ returned" or "a sick symbol of our times" to his "Helter Skelter" co-author, Curt Gentry. Bernardine Dohrn, a leader of the Weather