Vincent T. Bugliosi, Jr. (August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American attorney and New York Times bestselling author. During his eight years in the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, he successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, which included 21 murder convictions without a single loss. He was best known for prosecuting Charles Manson and other defendants accused of the seven Tate–LaBianca murders of August 9–10, 1969. Although Manson did not physically participate in the murders at Sharon Tate's home, Bugliosi used circumstantial evidence to show that he had orchestrated the killings.
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Vincent Bugliosi biography
Bugliosi was born on August 18, 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota. Bugliosi graduated from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, which he attended on a tennis scholarship. In 1964, he received his law degree from UCLA, where he was president of his graduating class.
He had two children: Wendy and Vince Jr. He often referred to his wife, Gail, in his books, referencing her understanding and patience with him. He also stated that he was an agnostic, although open to the ideas of deism.
After leaving the LA district attorney's office in 1972, Bugliosi turned to private practice and represented three criminal defendants, achieving successful acquittals on behalf of all three and the most famous of which was Stephanie Stearns (referred to as "Jennifer Jenkins" in his book), whom he defended for the murder of Eleanor "Muff" Graham which occurred on the South Pacific island of Palmyra Atoll. The case was the subject of his 1991 #1 New York Times bestselling book And the Sea Will Tell. He turned down opportunities to represent famous defendants Jeffrey MacDonald and Dan White because he did not represent anyone whom he believed to be guilty of murder.
Bugliosi, along with Curt Gentry, authored the book Helter Skelter in 1974, which presented the account of the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of Charles Manson and the Manson family. He later wrote Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.
Manson prosecution
As a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, he successfully prosecuted Charles Manson and several other members of his "family" for the 1969 murders of Sharon Tate and six others. He later wrote, jointly with Curt Gentry, Helter Skelter, a book about the Manson trial. The book won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the best true crime book of the year, spawned two television movies (in 1976 and 2004), and is the best-selling true crime book in publishing history with over 7 million copies sold.
Bugliosi subsequently became an outspoken critic of the media, lawyers, and judges in major trials.
Political candidate
In 1972, Bugliosi ran as a Democrat for Los Angeles County District Attorney against longtime incumbent Joseph Busch. Joseph Gellman was his legal counsel for this campaign. Bugliosi narrowly lost the campaign. Bugliosi ran again in 1976, after Busch died of a heart attack in 1975, but lost to interim District Attorney John Van de Kamp.
Death
Bugliosi died of cancer at age 80, at a Los Angeles hospital on June 6, 2015.
Source and additional information: Vincent Bugliosi