New Charles Manson revelations challenge Helter Skelter and explain possible motive for Sharon Tate murder

Newly released recordings of Charles Manson are challenging one of the most famous explanations for the 1969 murders of Sharon Tate and six other people .

Director Joe Berlinger , whose Netflix docuseries Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes uses previously unreleased prison audio, argues that the killings weren't primarily an attempt to trigger the apocalyptic race war prosecutors called "Helter Skelter."

"This whole idea of starting a race war was a false idea," Berlinger said. "He certainly believed a race war was coming, or at least that's what he told his followers to control them."

Instead, Berlinger believes the killings developed from a desperate effort to protect Manson and free associate Bobby Beausoleil following the murder of Gary Hinman .

A different motive for the Sharon Tate murders

Beausoleil had been arrested for Hinman's murder after what Berlinger describes as a failed drug deal.

"But the murders, in particular the Tate and LaBianca murders, were an attempt to get associate Bobby Beausoleil out of prison," Berlinger said. "He told his followers, 'He's my friend. You guys owe me a favor. Let's get him out of prison.'"

According to this theory, Manson's followers attempted to make later killings resemble the Hinman murder and create the impression that Black militants were responsible.

Berlinger argues the Tate murders didn't produce the intended reaction in the press, leading to another killing the following night.

"This was a drug deal gone bad, trying to cover up Gary Hinman's killing by doing another murder the next day to make it look like a copycat murder, which were the Tate murders," he said.

Helter Skelter theory challenged

Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi famously argued that Manson believed Beatles songs contained messages predicting a race war and that the murders were intended to accelerate it.

Berlinger doesn't dispute that Manson discussed such ideas with followers. His argument is that they weren't the actual reason the murders happened.

"He wasn't killing or ordering people to kill to get some kind of satisfaction," Berlinger said. "He was covering up a series of blunders and just getting deeper and deeper into a hole."

That distinction makes the new tapes significant.

Rather than conclusively disproving every element of the Helter Skelter narrative, the documentary presents a competing explanation for why Tate and the other victims were killed.

"The best way to honor the victims is to be truthful about what happened," Berlinger said.