Charles Milles Manson (born November 12, 1934) is a criminal who led the "Manson Family," a commune or cult that began to form around him in the U.S. city of San Francisco in 1967. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit the Tate-LaBianca murders, which members of the group carried out at his instruction; through the joint-responsibility rule of conspiracy, he was found guilty of the murders themselves.