Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Manson Family Murderer Mailed Hand-Written Edits for His Wikipedia Page From Prison

Ashley Feinberg


Everyone hates being burned online, even convicted murderers. So when someone who appears to be former Manson Family member Tex Watson decided that his Wikipedia page wasn’t giving him a fair shake, he did what any currently incarcerated felon would do: Print out the page, physically mark every point of contention, and mail it in to Wikipedia.

Discovered by The Wikipedian, a new section was added to the article’s discussion page this past Thursday under the heading “Edit requests.” In the addition, a member of Wikipedia’s Volunteer Response Team, tasked with answering the sites’s emails, explains, “The requested changes were presented as a printout of the 16 February 2016 version of this Wikipedia article, annotated with handwritten notes by the subject of the article. A copyright release was sent with the notes. The scan of the notes is uploaded to Commons.” According to Wikipedia’s editors, the scan was from none other than the former Manson devotee himself.

For a man who helped brutally murder at least seven people, including then-pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Watson’s purported edit requests are surprisingly banal. Some of his suggestions are syntactical, while others point out basic errors of fact—like this one noting that he actually attended Cal State, not the University of California:


The editor also attempts to clear Watson of at least some degree of culpability in the Manson Family murders. Here, for instance, Watson seems to assert that he merely assisted co-Manson Family member Patricia Krenwinkel in killing Folger.


Apparently, Tex was much happier with the previous version of the post, which not only included the murderer’s real first name (Charles) but also plugged his autobiography.


As William Beutler of The Wikipedian points out, “It does seem that Watson has done at least a bit of research into how Wikipedia works: he understands there should be citations, and knows he can lobby for the removal of uncited material—although it seems more likely someone will just find a news story about the signature drive than remove this detail.”

At the time of publication, Watson’s alleged edits have yet to be made. Wikipedia’s editors are, however, still in the process of discussing the submission, so that might very well change. Of course, there’s no way to be certain from scans alone that Tex is who he says he is. The ticket for the request was made private by Wikipedia, and without the envelope allegedly sent from prison, it’s hard to verify without speaking directly to Watson. We’ve reached out to Wikipedia for comment and will update if and when we hear back.

You can read the scanned edits in full below.



Original Gawker Article






37 comments:

Robert Hendrickson said...

"MAD" ... Charles Watson the Wickipeda page stars out - and Folger had $70 stolen from HER purse. Kind'a sound like the TATE house was a "robbery" / Home invasion to me.

AT least the good folks at Wikipeeonya got the LaBianca house Beatles "inspired" HELTER SKELER "WAR" back on track.

Can't wait for Jesus and Allah to write in and clear-up ALL the stories written about THEM.

Suze said...

Wikipeeonya! Hysterical.

orwhut said...

Does Tex spell his first name Stabby or Stabbie?

MHN said...

So that makes a total of eight lives he's chosen to 'edit'.

Robert Hendrickson said...

Well, it looks like this WATSON subject is kind'a burnt-out,
BUT this very "editing subject," infecting the entire internet, is just beginning to reach the "NO Limits" status.

IF you type in Manson 1973 into the MSN "Bing" search engine, up comes my film and even the IMDB info on the right, so you can't be mistaken, BUT just above the IMDB intro is the trailer for MANSON - except it really isn't the 1973 Manson trailer. Instead it is a trailer for a movie called "House of Manson AKA Manson."

Understandably, the distributor of the this "House of Manson" movie is intentionally paying to have its movie promoted in this deceptive manner and Billy Gates sure doesn't give a damn IF folks are sold shit for shineola.

Of course, the actual promotion aspect sends a message of "It's ONLY about the money."

Which is exactly what a "Capitalist" society is all about. BUT it also lifts the toilet seat cover to expose the TRUTH - like: Is was actually Hillary who ignited the WACO massacre of American women and children, while Billy Butt Clinton was shoving it down Monica's throat.

WOW, this next year is going to be one Hell of a ride and TRUMP should probably get NOW, before it gets really nasty.

Anonymous said...


It looks like Tex has been doing this for at least 5 years now.

On January, 21st, 2011, his Wikipedia page was "Updated for accuracy at the request of the subject". Since the subject is Tex Watson, doesn't that mean that Tex requested these changes?

Revision as of 18:02, 21 January 2011 (Changes are highlighted in blue on the "Tex Watson: Difference between revisions" page).

Among the highlights :

Complete removal of section on "Shorty Shea"

Changed "Watson was found guilty of the murders of eight people." to "Watson was found guilty of the murders of seven people."

In the LaBianca murders section, changing "Manson entered the house with Watson and handed him the ropes around his neck" to "Manson entered the house with Watson and handed him leather ties for tying up Leno's hands", and adding that "They (Krenwinkel and Van Houten) told Watson that Manson said to kill them (The LaBiancas)." after Manson left.

Added "drank alcohol and dated" to his college years.

Changed "he also became more involved with drugs as a user and dealer." to "he also became involved in marijuana as a user and dealer."

Added "He feared failure in college, so he felt he could move to California to escape his fears."

Added "His parents were hard working, desiring a better life for their children, since they lived through the depression"

Added "Kristin and Charles remain friends as parents of their children."

Added "He graduated from California Coast University in 2009, with a B.S. in Business Management."

DebS said...

Considering that the article says there was no envelope with the proposed changes and that it is trying to verify whether or not Tex really did ask for the changes this might be a hoax. It's my understanding that prisoners are not allowed internet access so I am unclear how Tex would have been able to read the Wiki page. It is possible that one of Tex's visitors printed out the pages of the Wiki article and showed them to Tex, who made the corrections and then asked that person to send it on to Wiki or just make the changes on the Wiki page themselves.

I looked at some sites that had Tex's handwritten letters up for sale and the handwriting is certainly similar, if not the same. Some of the changes seem so insignificant that I have to wonder why he has chosen to bring attention to himself like this. Maybe he's getting tired of Charlie getting all the "glory".

Matt said...

Deb, I'm not certain that internet access is completely off-limits. I have an acquaintance that is in federal prison. He sends emails regularly to his wife and friends. Bobby Beausoleil obviously sends out emails, too - we've seen some. I'm sure it is different from prison system to prison system, and from state to state.

Some prisoners get limited access depending on good behavior and of course their crimes. Watson has been in there for 47 years. That's plenty of time to accrue privs. Child molesters would likely never be afforded the privilege.


DebS said...

I believe in the case of Bobby the emails are sent to his website and whoever is admin'g his site reads the emails to Bobby over the phone and Bobby responds. The admin then replies to the email for Bobby. At least that was the way he did it while in Oregon when his wife was still living. But, yeah, Tex could have limited internet access I suppose.

Matt said...

See this post (an email from BB).

The device I bought in Oregon that lets me do emails has also been adopted by Calif. Corrections, so regular communications will continue to happen in that way.

Robert Hendrickson said...

Very good MICHAEL: You've downgraded "collateral damage" even further to simple "editing of lives."

My new film: "Manson EDITS again." OR Uncle Sam needs YOU - to do some "editing."

IF we could only get back to the "good old days" when "editing" was still a time honored profession. Personally, I can't wait until Bernie Sanders starts hiring "editors" to put the Bankers and Wall Street parasites on the "cutting" room floor.

grimtraveller said...

DebS said...

Some of the changes seem so insignificant that I have to wonder why he has chosen to bring attention to himself like this

The changes probably seem insignificant to us but even substituting "marijuana" for "drugs", especially with it's new found status in a number of states, tells you something about Watson's state of mind. One word in a sentence can make a huge difference, I guess.
There's no accounting for what a person may be annoyed by. Maybe Texas Charlie was trying to play the respectability card. Or maybe he just wants what he sees as accuracy. I have a bit of that, to be honest. I get really irritable about incorrect info, especially if it's about me.

MHN said...

And there, Robert, you bring us to the beautiful nuance. Sanders would indeed edit those people, whereas Hillary seeks merely to edit her close connections to them out of the public perception.

If we kill them all will The Donald pay our legal bills?

As Mencken wrote, "Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."

Across the rail tracks from the hotel room where Joel Pugh edited his body with a razor, there is a hairdressing salon, 'The Cutting Room, For Men.' How deep can we pile the bodies...

Fiddy 8 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fiddy 8 said...

I was amazed how easy it was to modify a Wikipedia page. I had never been particularly motivated to do such a thing, until a couple of years ago I noticed a modification to a page about a National Park that has a current day political issue (not Death Valley). It really annoyed me that there was a a new modification exhibiting a clear political spin, so I changed it.

I was careful, even including a reference footnote number and the source material link, and careful to have text with a neutral political spin. It is still there.

DebS said...

I did not know that about the emails, Matt. Trolling the internet is another thing entirely though. We've heard from people who could not read our blog because they were trying to access it from a computer at a public library. Many libraries have the filters locked down tight so that websites with certain key words can't be seen. Words like Charles Manson, murder, killing and crimes and criminals in general trigger the censorship. It would make sense that if there was some internet censorship going on that a prisoner's access would be that of a public library at the least. But, who knows, maybe that is too logical for the powers that be.

Matt said...

Fiddy, the only time I remember editing a Wikipedia page was about 15 years ago. It was the New York Yankees page. They had a short list of their nicknames: Highlanders, Bronx Bombers, etc. I added "Satan's Minions". It stood for about a week until they locked it.

Deb, from many public computers you can't even access Super Bowl XXX because of the XXX, so I'm not surprised.


Anonymous said...


"A copyright release was sent with the notes."

The copyright release was probably for his book, which, as you can see on page 4 of the notes, he wants them to use as the 1st reference (don't ask me why he thinks being 1st as a reference matters). He also wants them to delete another reference, and has a "3" next to "Helter Skelter" with an arrow pointing to it and a note saying something like "see my enclosed references....." followed by a few words that I can't make out.

He's doing this by proxy - could be a friend, family member, groupie, lawyer, etc. How long he's been doing this for is anyones guess, but the scan of page 4 with his Wikipedia page from 2013, and the note "use (sic) to be like this", indicates that he's been keeping track of his Wiki, and the changes to it, for at least a few years.

I don't know if he has access to the internet, but if he does he probably Googles his name more often than I search for porn.


CieloDrive.com said...

Any trolling of the New York Yankees has my full support.

Robert Hendrickson said...

It's actually understandable that TEX would want to "edit" his own life.

He seeks to gain, at least, some CONTROL over the chaos infecting IT.

BUT with ALL the "Shit" (drugs) taking over America and other countries. you would think HE might, at least, try and serve a positive purpose - like write a book that warns people about taking that "shit' into their bodies.

I mean, here is a guy that should really understand how eating "shit" eventually produces just another piece of "shit."

I guess you could also say: Putting a piece of "shit" in a prison FULL of "shit" merely adds to the pile of "shit."


Penny lane said...

Stabby / Stabbie can edit his wanki page all he wants..but it changes nothing. He brutally killed a shitload of people for nothing...I wonder if he ever had or has nightmares ...

orwhut said...

He could have nightmares about Stabby stabbing Stabbie.

Penny lane said...

Snort laugh!...i want to edit his wiki page to change his name to Stabby aka Stabbie...

orwhut said...

I think Liz was the one who first called him Stabby Tex. She should probably get a credit.

grimtraveller said...

Robert Hendrickson said...

It's actually understandable that TEX would want to "edit" his own life

Very much so. And people that have made changes in their lives that they've seen as significant and more may well want to "edit" their lives because the edits provide context to where they currently are.

He seeks to gain, at least, some CONTROL over the chaos infecting IT

Which everyone should have the right to do. Can you imagine being in the position where the only information written about you in the entire world doesn't contain any input from you ? Where all people will ever read are the kind of comments like penny lane's ? Whether anyone likes it or not, every person sees their life from their own viewpoint and to leave out that viewpoint when commenting upon or assessing that life is, as we sometimes say, 7 sandwiches short of a picnic.

BUT with ALL the "Shit" (drugs) taking over America and other countries. you would think HE might, at least, try and serve a positive purpose - like write a book that warns people about taking that "shit' into their bodies

He has. His first book does that by association and his second one "Right hand man speaks out" devotes an entire chapter to the question of drugs and drug abuse. Some of it is actually pretty deep.

Robert Hendrickson said...

GRIMM: Actually many folks understood that the BLACK "revolution" began in the mid 1960's with the LA Watts riots. BUT most ALL Americans had been taught that BLACK people had NO reason to revolt and thus the Watts riots were propagandized as "They just want MORE handouts."

Of course, the unemployment rate in BLACK communities could NOT be denied, so LBJ being the GREAT "progressive" thinker of HIS time, created the Vietnam WAR so ALL poor and otherwise disadvantaged
young men would, at least, have "equal" employment opportunities in the rice paddies of Vietnam.

The primary reason the "revolution" is still on-going, there has been NO winner or any intelligent conclusion with closure to such a tragic situation.

DID one Charles Manson try to ignite an actual WAR that would, once and for all, END the BLACK mans's crucifixion by WHITES ? Quite Possibly, BUT that would make HIM the Devil incarnate.

Cause Christian Anglo-Saxon WHITE Americans can do NO wrong. So it really began with the powerful warrior Vikings as THEY converted from Pagans to Christians.

Robert Hendrickson said...

Hey all, I just thought: Why were NO Beach boys called to testify at the Manson trial?

Seems the Beach Boy connection was much deeper than the Melcher one and surely Dennis could have validated Manson's obsession with the Beatles music.

BTW: Does anyone have any specific's at to WHY Mike Love is so disliked.

It's my understanding that HE has to continue working because HE has NO copyrights to fall back on.

Shorty's pistols said...

Mike Love had to sue to get his various copyrights back. This was awarded to him and he also got 13 million from that settlement. His net worth is $50 million. He doesn't have to tour, but...

He did sue to tour using the Beach Boy name. He continues to tour, but has to pay Brother Records Inc 20% off the top. That means he pays a net 15% because he owns a 20% chunk of BRI. He doesn't HAVE to tour, but there is still great money out there if the "Boys" perform as a touring band. (Isn't it time they call themselves the Beach Men?)

Mike is into Transcendental Meditation and makes some serious charitable contribution, way over what most artist make for just good PR. He is and can be a jerk, This leapt out when the BB's were inducted into the R&R HOF. Love gave a rambling speech slagging both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles in a pretty snotty manner in his induction speech. A Rolling Stone writer called Love "The Biggest Asshole in Rock and Roll" for that one. At the close of the show, Elton John commented "Christ, I'm glad he didn't say anything about me!"

Mike is a contentious, snotty guy with a real edge to him.

On top of this, He's been married 5 times, some cite a murkey 6th marriage that may have been annulled or somethin. He has 8 official children with one "illegitimate child named Shawn. She married Mike's cousin (&Manson connection) Divin' Dennis Wilson.

Some like him, but I've seen him be a total prick, fer instance, The boys put on a concert after a Reds-Dodgers game in the late 70's. The show was after the ball game can be a little dicey for the performing act. Love wore a bright blue LA Dodgers hat and pointed toward the LA logo many times while making gestures in Riverfront Stadiuma and snotty comments towards the Reds. It was freakin juvenile, just like Mikey. The next day's papers were totally negative regarding Love.

The guy can be a prick, can sing very and write tunes and is a mixed bag, at best, for any concert-goer.

Robert Hendrickson said...

S. Pistols and Orwhut: Thanks for input. Being a senior citizen myself, I'm trying to understand what drives other folks in the entertainment field to work-on, if they don't have to.

I thought Brian Wilson wrote the songs and after the Beach Boy's father sold their music catalogue, there seems to be a real grey area as to who owns what NOW.

I do know that to maintain the lifestyle they are used to they MUST continue working. AND that desire to "perform" must also keep them going. Wouldn't you just love to get into the head of M. Love, T. Bennett and their are many other senior performers making a comeback, but why. AND then there is Frankie Valli and the Jersey Boys, who have made a comeback like none other in history.

I would sure like to know how Charles Manson FEELS about HIS music NOW.

orwhut said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
orwhut said...

My favorite song in the Beach Boys style isn't by the Beach Boys. It's by Terry Melcher and the Rip Chords.

orwhut said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
orwhut said...

After that last comment I looked up The Rip Chords. Thanks to Fiddy 8's telling us how easy it is to change a Wikipedia entry, I changed one of their songs from "She Still Thinks I Care" to the way it ought to have been. Thanks also to George Jones.

Jenn said...

Robert wrote:

"I thought Brian Wilson wrote the songs and after the Beach Boy's father sold their music catalogue, there seems to be a real grey area as to who owns what NOW."

Most of the songs are owned by Irving Music, which is or was the publishing arm of A&M Records (Herb Albert and Jerry Moss).

Robert Hendrickson said...

This is partly something that has played on my mind forever.

With ALL the political promises to help the underprivileged flying threw the air like pigeon shit, the "word" government seems to go splat right upon my face.

As far back as 2000 years ago when a rather simple man and his very pregnant wife were forced to make an exhausting donkey-ride journey just to deliver to some "government" official THEIR "taxes."

Of course, nothing has really changed in that 2000 years. WE must always bless our KING / President with a substantial percentage of our hard earned $$$$$.

BUT I have always wondered WHY that specific chapter would be included in an otherwise rebellious story.

NOW I know that that story actually serves as a public service announcement. The message being that no matter what the hardship, WE must all sacrifice and give praise / $$$ to our "Ruler / God."

grimtraveller said...

Robert Hendrickson said...

BUT I have always wondered WHY that specific chapter would be included in an otherwise rebellious story

Fulfillment of a prophecy. The Messiah was supposed to come out of a lowly shithole called Bethlehem. The way God wangled it {God uses the full range of human activity to assist his ends, be they cool, nefarious or neutral}, each person had to go to his hometown to register for the population census that had been called and that's how Jesus came to be born there, because that's where Daddy Joe was from.
It seems that women didn't count in the census as we have no idea where Mary/Miriam was from.

Hey all, I just thought: Why were NO Beach boys called to testify at the Manson trial?


Dennis Wilson refused. He had received death threats, some anonymous, others not.

Of course, the unemployment rate in BLACK communities could NOT be denied, so LBJ being the GREAT "progressive" thinker of HIS time, created the Vietnam WAR so ALL poor and otherwise disadvantaged
young men would, at least, have "equal" employment opportunities in the rice paddies of Vietnam


You've implied and stated a few times that LBJ {and before him, JFK} pushed through civil rights so that he could have Black men fighting in Vietnam "as equals" but what about world war 2 ? Lots of Black men fought in that and civil rights weren't on the table.

Seems the Beach Boy connection was much deeper than the Melcher one and surely Dennis could have validated Manson's obsession with the Beatles music

Gregg Jakobson to some extent did that although I think obsession is the wrong word. Lots of Americans of a wide variety of ages dug and were influenced by the Beatles. Some took it to eyebrow raising lengths and one eventually killed a Beatle. That was obsession. To suppose that they were speaking through their songs was not necessarily obsessive, particularly when they themselves have said that they were.

DID one Charles Manson try to ignite an actual WAR that would, once and for all, END the BLACK man's crucifixion by WHITES ?

So many fixate on the race war part but few on the endgame. The endgame in effect had Black people where they had been before official "emancipation." So yeah, I do come over as highly resistant to the idea that Charlie had the benefit of the Black person in mind at any given point. His views as expounded in George's book are clearer than anything I ever read or heard him saying back in the 70s. You wouldn't want some of them said about you.....

orwhut said...

My favorite song in the Beach Boys

I still love some of the Beach Boys songs.

TomG said...

Seems amazing to me that most people don't think that 40 years in state prison isn't sufficient punishment. Let's punish the poor girl some more.

Even though she is a product of your own aggressive, violent culture. You don't object to murder or killing, until it is one of your own, in your neighborhood.

And victim culture. People coming forth decades later, still suffering,( which none of the rest of us have ever had to do).

But I guess at 65, Leslie Lu Lu might go back up to Los Feliz and cut another one.