Vincent Bugliosi, famed attorney and bestselling author of the seminal true crime masterpiece Helter Skelter, has passed away at the age of 80.
During his time with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, Bugliosi successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, but there’s one case in particular with which he’ll always be associated.
In 1970, Bugliosi helped to convict Charles Manson and several other defendants accused of taking part in the grisly Tate-LaBianca murders.
Bugliosi’s book on the subject (named for the Beatles song in which Manson claimed to find hidden messages) became an instant bestseller and remains one of the most popular and widely-mimicked true crime works of all time.
Shortly after the success of Helter Skelter, Bugliosi quit his job at the DA’s office to focus on writing full-time.
A three-time winner of the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award, Bugilosi published books on topics as varied as the JFK assassination and the murder trial of OJ Simpson.
Much of Bugliosi’s work reflected his left-leaning political beliefs and one of his final books – an incendiary criticism of the Iraq War entitled The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder – became a surprise sensation and made Bugliosi a controversial figure once more, at the age of 75.
Bugliosi is survived by his wife, Gail, and his two children, Wendy and Vincent, Jr.
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