Charles Manson spent time in two Virginia reformatories

Charles MansonPhoto byIMDb screenshot

Charles Manson's early life was traumatic

On Sunday night, Dateline aired the 2017 episode The Summer of Manson. Lester Holt mentioned that Charles Manson said he had a troubled childhood. According to Wikipedia, the Helter Skelter killer spent part of his young adult years in Virginia.

Manson set his school on fire at the age of nine, which began a life of crime. As a teen, he was sent to the Indiana Boys School where a staff member allegedly encouraged other boys to assault and abuse him in annapropriate ways.

Charles Manson spent time in Virginia reformatoriesPhoto byWikipedia

Mason is sent to Virginia

In October 1951, on the recommendation of a psychiatrist, seventeen-year-old Manson was sent to Natural Bridge Honor Camp, a minimum security facility. In January 1952, he was caught forcing himself on a boy at knifepoint and transferred to the Federal Reformatory in Petersburg.

While there, he committed "eight serious disciplinary offenses," including three involving the same acts that had been performed on him earlier. At this point, he was transferred to a maximum-security reformatory in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Charles Manson was supposed to remain in the reformatory until his 21st birthday on November 12, 1955. He was released 18 months earlier, in May 1954, for good behavior and moved in with his aunt in West Virginia.