Rosalie Jean Willis was the first wife of Charles Manson, an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in the California desert in the late 1960s.
Rosalie Jean Willis met Manson in San Francisco in 1967, when she was 19 years old and he was 32. They married the following year, after Manson had been released from prison.
The couple moved to the desert community of Spahn Ranch, where Manson established himself as a leader of the young people who lived there.
Rosalie Jean Willis became pregnant in 1968, and the couple’s daughter, Charles Manson Jr., was born the following year. The marriage was short-lived, however, and Willis left Manson in 1970. She later married again and had two more children.
Rosalie Jean Willis largely avoided the public eye after leaving Manson, but she gave a handful of interviews in which she spoke about her experiences with him. She died in 2016, at the age of 76.
Who is Rosalie Jean Willis?
Rosalie Jean Willis was the first wife of Charles Manson, the notorious leader of the Manson Family cult.
The couple met in California in the early 1960s and were married for less than a year.
Rosalie Jean Willis later spoke out about her marriage to Manson, saying that he was a controlling and manipulative husband. She left him after he was jailed for attempting to cash a forged check.
Rosalie Jean Willis remarried and had two children, but she divorced her second husband and struggled with addiction for many years. She died in 2009 at the age of 61.
Despite her tragic life, Willis was described by those who knew her as a kind and loving person.
Her story is a reminder that even the most well-intentioned people can be drawn into the orbit of a sociopath like Manson.
How Rosalie Jean Willis Met Charles Manson
It was the summer of 1967 when Rosalie Willis met Charles Manson. Charles’ height was 5’6 and his was weight was72 kgs.
She was just 18 years old at the time, and he was 32. She was working as a waitress in a café in San Francisco, and he came in one day with some of his friends. They struck up a conversation, and she found him to be very charming.
They started dating shortly after that, and she quickly fell in love with him. He was unlike any man she had ever met. He was wild and exciting, and he always had a new adventure to take her on.
She didn’t know it at the time, but she was about to embark on the most dangerous adventure of her life.
In the fall of 1967, Manson and his friends moved into a house in the Hollywood Hills. Rosalie moved in with them, and she quickly became a part of the “family.”
The family was a group of young people who followed Manson’s every command. They were completely devoted to him, and they would do anything he asked of them.
Manson was a master manipulator, and he quickly turned the family into a cult.
He convinced them that he was a prophet who had been sent to save the world from an impending race war.
He told them that the only way to avoid this war was to start it themselves.
The family began to plan for the “Helter Skelter.” They would kill rich white people and make it look like the black community had done it. They would then flee to a secret location in the desert where they would be safe from the violence.
In the summer of 1969, the family carried out Manson’s plan. They murders nine people, including the actress Sharon Tate.
The murders shocked the nation, and the media quickly dubbed Manson the ” mastermind” behind them.
Willis remained loyal to Manson throughout the trial and even after he was sentenced to life in prison. She divorced him in 1979, but she still visited him in prison until his death in 2017.
What Life Was Like With Charles Manson
Rosalie Jean Willis met Manson while she was working as a waitress in Los Angeles.
Willis later said that she left Manson after he tried to force her to participate in one of his criminal activities. She moved back in with her parents and filed for divorce in 1957.
Manson and Willis had one child together, a son named Charles Manson Jr. Manson Jr. changed his name to Jay White and later committed suicide in 1993.
Willis later remarried and had three more children. She died in 2009 at the age of 71.
The End of Rosalie Jean Willis and Charles Manson’s Relationship
Rosalie Jean Willis and Charles Manson had a very tumultuous relationship. It was full of fighting, jealousy, and manipulation. In the end, their relationship ended in tragedy.
Rosalie Jean Willis was born in Ohio in 1949. She met Charles Manson while she was working as a waitress in Los Angeles. The two of them started dating and soon they were living together.
Willis was Manson’s first victim. On July 1, 1969, Manson ordered his followers to kill her. They stabbed her to death and left her body in the bathtub of their apartment.
Manson was arrested and charged with her murder. He was later convicted and sentenced to death. However, his sentence was later commuted to life in prison.
Willis’s family sued Manson for her wrongful death. They were awarded $1.8 million in damages.
Manson and Willis’s relationship was full of violence and manipulation. Manson was a master manipulator and he used Willis to further his own goals. In the end, their relationship ended in tragedy.
How Rosalie Willis’s Life Has Been After Charles Manson
It’s been more than 50 years since Charles Manson and his “family” committed the Tate-LaBianca murders, one of the most heinous crimes in American history.
Manson and his followers were responsible for the deaths of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.
Manson’s first wife, Rosalie Jean Willis, was not involved in the murders, but she was married to Manson when they occurred. She has since remarried and changed her name.
Willis has largely remained out of the public eye, but her son, Charles Manson Jr., spoke out about his mother in an interview with ABC News in 2016. Manson Jr. said that his mother was “traumatized” by her experience with Manson and that she “changed a lot” after the murders.
Willis met Manson in 1967, when she was just 19 years old. They were married in January of 1968, less than a year before the Tate-LaBianca murders. Manson and Willis had one child together, a son named Charles Manson Jr.
Willis divorced Manson in 1969, after learning of his involvement in the murders. She changed her name and moved away from California.
In the 2016 interview, Manson Jr. said that his mother “went through a lot of therapy” after her experience with Manson. He said that she is “doing well” and is “happy” in her current life.
Willis has not spoken publicly about her experience with Manson, and it is unclear if she will ever do so.
