Though it seems clear that Manson wasn't involved with the Process, it was Manson who, ironically, gave the church the sort of longevity in the public imagination that it may not have ever achieved on its own.
Bugliosi writes that Manson spoke about the Process when he was first arrested for his murders, but that Process members visited him and he shut up about the Process quickly thereafter.
He also writes that Manson was asked if he knew Robert DeGrimston, and replied that he did not. When asked if he knew Robert Moor, he said, "You're looking at him. He and I are one in the same."
Insofar as the first claim by Bugliosi goes, it proves little beyond Bugliosi's own subjective estimation of Manson's discussion of the subject, while the second claim seems very Manson-esque in his "I am he and you are he and you are me and we are all together" philosophy. It doesn't prove anything.
It also seems unlikely that Manson, a homeless drifter and pimp, was aware of DeGrimston's real name. Bugliosi shrugs it off, writing that he assumed it merely meant that Manson felt that he and Moor shared similar worldviews, though he (Bugliosi) was visited by the very members ("Father John" and "Brother Matthew") of the Process that later visited Manson and purportedly made him silent on the subject of the Process.
These members came from Cambridge, Massachusetts, incidentally. I really should get up there some time...
In the end, the only definitive link between Manson and the Process is the fact that Manson did semi-write an article on death in the "Death" issue of the Process magazine. This was before he was convicted, and all it really illustrates is that he was a hot topic at the time and that his name meant that more people would read the magazine.
Manson wrote half of the article, and his views were contrasted with Malcolm Muggeridge's views. That is all. Tacky? In poor taste? Perhaps, but this was before Manson had been convicted and I imagine a number of counterculture people, in the early days, thought that it was likely that Manson was a scapegoat because he was "weird."
And the "straight" world has mass murderers write books routinely, and they sell - if you disbelieve me, look for books by Henry Kissinger or Oliver North at your local book store, or check for those books written by President Obama.
It's hardly a novel statement, but some murderers are held in the highest regard, while others are condemned.
More interesting, however, are claims of Process-related crimes that do not originate from the group itself, but from splinter groups. One such crime involves a two men picked up on July 13th, 1970, by the CHP - Stanley Dean Baker and his friend Harry A. Stroup.
Baker
Stroup
Both men hailed from Wyoming, and had been hitch-hiking together, but decided to split up in order to get a ride. Baker got a ride with a man named James Schlosser, and had camped in Yellowstone National Park with Schlosser.
During the night, Baker murdered Schlosser by first shooting him in the head twice, then stabbing him over twenty times, then, cut off his fingers, and cut out his heart, which Baker then proceeded to eat. Baker then beheaded Schlosser's corpse, and cut the legs off below the knees, then dumped the headless torso, the severed head and limbs, and the gun, into the Yellowstone river.
Baker then took the fingers for something to munch on and stole Schlosser's Opel Kadett car. After picking up Stroup, the two men went to California, whereupon the Opel Kadett was involved in a minor hit-and-run 30 miles from Big Sur. CHPs were alerted, since the corpse of Schlosser had since been found and his vehicle had been stolen.
Randy Newton, a CHP officer, caught up with the two men. Oddly, Baker was happy to talk, emphasising that Stroup was not involved in the murder, then offering this classic line: "I have a problem. I'm a cannibal."
Both Baker and Stroup still had some of the 'finger foods' on them, and Baker showed them to the cop, noting, "these aren't chicken bones." Reportedly, in addition to the fingers, Baker had a copy of LaVey's Satanic Bible on him, and a handwritten recipe for LSD.
Baker talked about a "blood drinking cult" that he belonged to in Wyoming called the "Four P Movement" (or Pi), which was headquartered in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and led by a man designated the "Grand Chingon."
Curiously, Manson was called "Grand Chingon" by some of his own followers in the presence of Ed Sanders. This term is considered synonymous with a term of 'Head Devil,' even though in Spanish, a Chingon simply means someone who is "good, great, bad-ass," etc. To be a "Grand Chingon" would therefore be the Grand Bad-ass. Hardly diabolic, unless you consider being skilled or being 'awesome' or whatever to be Satanic.
The 'Grand Chingon' of the Santa Cruz cult was said to be a wealthy LA businessman, and Sanders also records talk of this cult. Cops at the time do, apparently, report finding the skinned, bloodless corpses of dogs, specifically Dobermans and German Shepherds. Reportedly, eating the heart of the sacrificed animals was part of the ritual.
How is the Four P movement tied to the Process? Predominately in the fact that the Process logo looks like Four Ps - and also resembles a swastika. According to Sanders, the Four P people were also very racist and admired Hitler - much like Manson and like Mary Ann MacLean.
However, the murder of dogs seems completely unlike anything Mary Ann would promote. While her love of Hitler hindered her love for her fellow man, it enhanced her love for animals.
If the Four P Movement (it is, as I said, sometimes called the "Four Pi Movement," but I cannot imagine what in the world the mathematical concept of Pi has to do with devil-worship or religion in general, so I tend to assume that it is merely a typo) is not merely a spectre - if it was a real group - then it seems likely that it was a branch of renegade Processeans who were striking back against Mary Ann by slaughtering animals that she adored.
Whatever it was, the Four P movement was, depending on how you look at it, either a minor blip of weirdos who were guilty of animal and human murder or the origins of a world-wide Satanic group that resulted in, among other things, the Son of Sam. I may write about these groups at a later date, as the topic is rather interesting in its own right, but not here. Suffice to say that it appears such a group did exist, and may have been involved, at least peripherally, with unsolved crimes, but very little concrete can be said on the subject since there have been no convictions.
As for Baker, he also confessed to the murder of a 40 year old lighting designer named Robert Salem, who was stabbed 27 times and again nearly decapitated. His left ear was cut off, presumably for later munching.
Baker and Stroup were extradited to Montana for the murder of Schlosser (Montana was Schlosser's home state) and were both convicted, Stroup of manslaughter and Baker of murder.
Attempts were made to extradite Baker to California for the murder of Salem (apparently Baker's fingerprints, in blood, were found at the scene, proving that his confession had some weight to it) but for some reason, he was never extradited. From what I've read, the judge in California selected refused to hear the case. It seems that the state of Montana did not want to extradite Baker until after Stroup's trial had finished. The judge declared that this would violate Baker's right to a speedy trial.
I don't understand it either.
Salem's murder is still officially unsolved.
Before the conviction, a blog comment shows the sort of man that Baker was at the time:
My brother worked in the Montana state mental institution in Warm Springs in 1970. What a summer job! He was there when they brought in Stanley Baker. Prior to his arrival, some of the moreignorant orderlies had riled the most paranoid of the residents, telling them if they didn't behave that Stanley the Cannibal would be there soon and they would arrange to have him be their room mate.
Stanley did indeed arrive, hip and wrists with drag chains on his annkles accompanied by several Hiway Patrol cars, local and county police. My brother said there were at leas half a dozen vehicles. Stanley had to be evaluated before trial.
Amazingly enough, kind of like in the Movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest when Jack Nicholson as RP McMurphy gives out a hoot when he first walks in...so too did Stanley, only he broke free long enough to scream "I'm goin to eat you all!"
The whole place erupted in a panic. My brother was scared to death himself after that.
After conviction, Baker recruited for his Satanic cult while in prison, had home-made weapons confiscated from him several times and howled at the moon on full moons. Incredibly, Baker was paroled in 1986, and was allowed to change his name. He has apparently since died.
Stroup was allowed out in 1979, but kept his name, and according to a document I found dating from August 31, 2012, was denied an appeal over his prosecution on federal drug charges.
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