Ronald Hughes was a 35-year-old lawyer who had been hired as part of Manson’s defense team, specifically to defend Leslie Van Houten, one of the Family members involved in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Although at one point during the trial Hughes was jailed for contempt of court (which also happened to two other Manson lawyers as well), he advocated firmly for Van Houten, to the extent that it seemed like he was throwing Manson under the bus. Obviously this angered Manson, whose final words to Hughes were, “I don’t want to see you in this courtroom again,” according to prosecutor Stephen Kay. And, perhaps surprising no one at this point, no one ever did. Ronald Hughes disappeared in November 1970, toward the end of the trial.
Hughes had gone camping at Sespe Hot Springs (pictured) during a break in the proceedings, but he didn’t return to court when the trial resumed on November 30. His body was found in a creek in Ventura County in March 1971. The Ventura County sheriff believed Hughes’ death had nothing to do with Manson, as there were no signs of foul play, saying it was likely the result of a weather-related accident. Vincent Bugliosi says in “Helter Skelter,” however, that he believes Manson ordered Hughes’ death. In support of this claim, Family member Sandra Good told documentarian Laurence Merrick that Hughes was “the first of the retaliation murders.”
[Featured image by Chris M. Morris via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]
