Steven Earl Parent

Murder Victim. He was a murder victim of the Manson Family. He was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, where his father, Wilfred Elmer Parent, was a construction superintendent, and his mother, Juanita, a homemaker, took care of him, his younger sister and two younger brothers. He attended Arroyo High School in El Monte, graduating in June 1969, and his main interest was in electronics. He planned to attend Citrus Junior College in September, and was working two jobs to save money for college: as a delivery boy for Valley City Plumbing Company during the day, and as a part-time salesman in the evenings for the Jonas Miller Stereo Shop. In late July 1969, he gave a ride to 19-year-old William Garretson, who was hitchhiking in Beverly Hills, returning him to the Polanski estate where Garretson served as the estate caretaker and lived in the back guesthouse. The two became acquaintances, and on the night of August 9, 1969, Steven drove his father's white 1965 AMC Ambassador out to the Polanski estate with the hopes of selling Garretson a radio. Garretson decided not to buy the radio, and Steven left just after midnight to return home. As police later reconstructed the Manson Family attack, he drove up to the electronic gate to exit the estate, just as the Manson Family arrived at the gate entrance. He was met by Manson Family member Charles "Tex" Watson, who held a gun in one hand and a buck knife in the other. Watson slashed him with the knife, then shot him four times in rapid succession, killing him instantly. Steven Parent was the first to die in the attack, and police found him still seated in the driver's position of his father's car, where the Family had left him. He had been shot in the face, left arm and chest. He was 18 years old. In 1971, Charles Watson was tried and sentenced to death for his role in the murders, but the next year, the California Supreme Court abolished the death penalty, and his sentence was commuted to life in prison. Watson is currently serving his sentence in Mule Creek State Prison, California. Since his imprisonment, Watson has converted to Christianity, become a minister, written several books, married and fathered four children.