Spahn Ranch ranch hand Shorty Shea was born in Massachusetts on September 18, 1933, and eventually migrated to California. He found employment as an occasional actor and stuntman in addition to working for George Spahn at his ranch near Chatsworth.
When the Manson Family moved into Spahn Ranch, tensions arose primarily between Shorty and Charles Manson. Manson accused Shea of being a "snitch," and Manson believed that Shea instigated the law enforcement raid on Spahn Ranch, which took place on August 16th, shortly after the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Charles Manson and other men murdered Shorty Shea on August 26, 1969. Please click on the video below to remember Shorty, who would have turned 90 this year.
Music by": Harry Nilsson, "Everybody's Talkin'". RCA Victor, 1968.
12 comments:
Not trying to be argumentative or "nit-picky", but do we know for an absolute fact that Shea was murdered on precisely the 26th of August?
SixtiesRockRules! said:
“but do we know for an absolute fact that Shea was murdered on precisely the 26th of August?”
While theoretically possible, the probability is extremely low if Manson is said to be present.
Manson was released from jail at 11:42 PM on August 26 for the August 24 arrest with Schram.
@TabOrFresca, thank you very much for (at least, seeming to) back up my statement. To clarify, I am NOT implying either that members of Manson's group didn't conspire to murder Shea or that the killing didn't occur sometime in late August. I am only trying to caution people against stating definitive dates for events that we really can't, absolutely, say happened on a certain date. For these events, it's much more preferable, IMO, to use the term "on or about" or "approximately".
Sixties, yes, agreed. My inclusion of the August 26th date here is because it has been basically commonly accepted in print. However, ultimate corroboration is needed from additional sources to be sure.
Perhaps the most lonely of the deaths, I always think. He didn't appear to have much of a network beyond the ranch and his body remained unclaimed once recovered.
Milly James, yes. I have also read that Ruby even went down to LA County jail to confront Manson about Shorty. She point blank asked him what he did with Shorty and where he presently was. Charlie's answer: the Panthers got him.
TabOrFresca typed:
While theoretically possible, the probability is extremely low if Manson is said to be present.
Manson was released from jail at 11:42 PM on August 26 for the August 24 arrest with Schram.
I'd never realized that Manson was let out late at night on the 26th. While I'd always believed that was the date Shorty was murdered, it appears that was not the case. I'm going to guess it was the morning of the 27th, and I'll throw out some conjecture here. Ruby Pearl had testified about talking to Shorty late at night in late August on a heavily moonlit night. The August 1969 full moon phase was on the 26th-28th. Pearl described Shorty being unusually scared and asking for a place to stay. To her later regret, she turned him down, and pulled out of Spahn shortly after. She then saw a car pull in, and after it stopped, Manson, Watson, Grogan, and Davis all got out and started walking toward Shorty. Pearl then headed down the pass to her home in the San Fernando Valley. My guess is that the time of this was around 12:30. Watson (freshly returned from the desert on one of his self-described "confused series of supply trips between Spahn and the desert") and the other two probably drove to Malibu to pick Manson up from jail. At that time of night back then it would probably be about 30-35 minutes to get from Malibu to Spahn, using Topanga Canyon Blvd. the whole way. Pearl most likely saw them as they were returning to Spahn, hence the 12:30AM time frame. Shorty was probably creeped out because he knew they had left to get Manson from jail. From what I've read, Manson's back ranch arrest, engineered by Frank Retz, was the breaking point of Manson's vitriol against Retz and Shorty. He was probably going to have Shorty killed that night, but seeing Ruby Pearl that late may have given him pause, and he may have thought she may have been lurking nearby; and he postponed the killing till later that morning. That would put the murder date on August 27th. I've always thought that Tex, who was a proven walking slaughterhouse, was summoned back from the desert for this purpose.
TorF, solid reasoning here. Thanks for the comment.
Gorodish, thanks for breaking down this timeline as well. We should also remember the testimony of Barbara Hoyt, who claims she was certain she heard Shorty screaming off in the distance.
I agree that the morning of the 27th is probably more likely the date Shorty was killed, regardless of when Hoyt claims she heard the screams. Supposedly the excuse that was used to get Shorty to take Tex, Bruce Davis and Steve Grogan in his car was that they needed to go to an auto parts store to get a part necessary for fixing one of the vehicles. Once that vehicle was ready, they were going to leave Spahn Ranch for the desert. I don't know of any auto parts stores that would have been open late at night in Chatsworth. It makes more sense that the guys asked Shorty for a ride in the morning.
My writing partner, Ed Colin, visited Bruce at San Quentin and asked Bruce about when Shorty was killed. Bruce wasn't sure of the exact date but he did say it was early in the morning. I don't see any reason why Bruce would lie about the time of day that Shorty was killed after all this time.
Thanks Deb, I did not know that Ed visited Bruce. The date makes more sense now, and is likely the reason Shorty got in that car.
I wonder if the screams Hoyt heard could have been from someone else. I mean, we've all pondered about the possibility of bodies around Barker but could there have been more bodies in the Spahn area? Has anyone ever put cadaver dogs to work there?
Post a Comment