She Gave Birth to Charles Manson

The story of Manson’s mother Kathleen

They say that Jack the Ripper, the infamous serial killer of unfortunate prostitutes in London’s White Chapel district ‘gave birth to the 20th century’. His crime spree spanned 1888–1891 and has never been solved.

But what if you gave birth to the 20th century’s most notorious man? What if you were the mother of Charles Manson?

Charles Milles Manson was born November 12, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio to a 15-year old redheaded runaway named Kathleen Maddox. His father was Colonel Scott — a laborer, married to another woman. Shortly after delivering young Charles, Kathleen married a man named Manson, giving her son a legitimate name (his birth certificate simply read ‘No Name Maddox’).

Kathleen was from Ashland, Kentucky, the youngest born to a devoutly religious couple. Impulsive and rebellious, she’d run off to the big city not long before getting pregnant. Kathleen Maddox was at best, a juvenile delinquent and at worst, an alcoholic prostitute. She was also a neglectful mother. Once, she gave little Charlie to a friendly cocktail waitress in exchange for a beer. She left the boy with the woman for several days.

The marriage to the senior Manson did not last. Kathleen continued to party and to run afoul of the law. She was arrested in 1939 for armed robbery — a crime she committed with her brother Luther. She was sentenced to five years in prison and her son was remanded to Kathleen’s sister’s care.