In this file photo, Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case, 1969, Los Angeles. (AP Photo)
Weddings are usually stressful. Marriage, too.
Especially if your special day will begin in a prison. And if you are going to marry the mastermind of a mass murder, who seems kinda iffy about the whole thing. Plus he's been married twice already.
We're talking about one of our generation's creepiest and most diabolical criminal minds Charles Manson, who is in the news again since the Associated Press reported on Monday that the 80-year-old bushy eyebrow-ed killer and his far younger bride-to-be, 26-year-old Afton Elaine Burton, a.k.a Star, applied for a marriage license on Nov. 7.
Although a wedding date hasn't been set, Star said she and Manson will be married next month in Corcoran State Prison, a male-only facility. There's a lake nearby, that could have made for a nice setting. But it's bone-dry because of the California heat.
Afton Elaine Burton, the 26-year-old fiancee of Charles Manson who goes by the name "Star," claims Manson did not commit the mass murders he is imprisoned for. (AP)
The two will likely be wed in the cozy prison visiting room. No more than 10 guests will be permitted from the outside. An employee of the prison is their wedding planner, i.e. "a marriage coordinator," who processes paperwork for an inmate's request to be wed.
Manson was denied parole for the 12th time in 2012 for masterminding the grisly 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant at the time, along with six others.
Manson will be 92 if he lives to see his next scheduled parole hearing. But crime experts say he will never be released.
But Star doesn't think that's true. She's spent the past nine years trying to help exonerate him.
"I do think this kind of relationship is way more common, but most inmates aren't infamous," said Janine Vaccarello, chief operating officer at the Crime Museum in downtown Washington. "I don't know what the attraction is. If it's individual people really believing they are innocent or being obsessed with the story. Sometimes we are not dealing with a full deck of cards."
Burton wasn't even born when Manson committed his crimes. And Tate's sister, Debra, has already told the AP that the impending marriage is "ludicrous."
"What would any young woman in her right mind want with an 80-year-old man," she told the news agency.
"Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims," Vaccarello said. "I'm sure they feel this is an undeserved privilege."
Meanwhile we researched five pieces of advice for the somewhat preposterous long-distance couple, and here are the time-tested, pearls of wisdom we found:
1. Make the most of your time together.
The prison's visiting-room rules allow a kiss at the beginning and end of each visit. Enjoy.
2. Don't depend on the other person for your own happiness. Live your own life, too.
This may be hard since, "Manson's soon to be wife claims she wants to marry him so she can have access to info that can help exonerate him," Vaccarello said. Star also runs his Facebook page. And Rolling Stone says she visits him for up to five hours a day on Saturday and Sundays, "assuming he's not in solitary or otherwise being hassled by the Man," the article says.
3. Every couple is different.
Sure, John Wayne Gacy, also known as the killer clown and Ted Bundy, American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophile, were both in committed relationships and the Night Stalker - Richard Ramirez was married just before being put to death. (By a woman who wrote him over 75 love letters.)But the woman Manson calls, "a star in the Milky Way!" will have to have know that their relationship is their own.
4. Only you know what you have.
So what if psychologists accuse you of having hybristophilia, or a "Bonnie and Clyde syndrome," which means you dig the rush of criminal acts and those who do them.
Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University and director of the school's masters of arts in criminal justice program, says she found out a few things by speaking with prison groupies, and researching them. She found that generally they fall in love with an idea.
"But this kind of love is never tested – she never has to do Manson's laundry or pick up after him – so they can maintain that romantic glow," she said. Or sometimes they gravitate to them,"because they were abused and that feels familiar," or they want to be close to fame or "they see the little boy that the killer once was and seek to nurture him."
The upsides: "She knows where he is at all times and he is not likely to cheat. And he's not spending her money," she said. "Who doesn't want that?"
5. Agree to disagree
Enough said.
Emily Wax-Thibodeaux is a National staff writer who covers veterans, veterans' affairs and the culture of government. She's an award-winning former foreign correspondent who covered Africa and India for nearly a decade. She also covered immigration, crime and education for the Metro staff.
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