Making Up Lies for Attention

A Letter From Barbara Hoyt
copyright 2000 by
Barbara Hoyt

Dear Board of Prison Terms:

My name is Barbara Hoyt. I was a prosecution witness in the many Manson trials, including the Shorty Shea murder trials. I testified against Bruce Davis, Steve Grogan, and Charles Manson.

I have now 30 years later watched the parole hearings for Bruce Davis and read the transcripts for Steve Grogan, provided to me by Bill Nelson. Both of them have grossly misrepresented the facts to you. About a week or two after the Aug. 16, 69 sheriff’s raid at Sphan's ranch, in the afternoon, I was sitting on a rock in the parking area in front of the boardwalk. Near me were Brenda, Gypsy, and Squeeky. One of them said, as Shorty walked towards George Sphan's house, "there goes Shorty snooping around again" and another one answered her " yea well, he'll be taken care of."

One night not long after, I went to go to sleep in one of the trailers at the back of the ranch overlooking the creek bed below. At about 10 o’clock at night, just as I laid my head on the pillow, I heard a long, loud, blood curdling scream, which came from about 50-75 feet away from me from up stream. Then it was quiet for a minute or so, and then the screams came again, and again, again, again,....They seemed to go on forever.

I recognized the screams of Shorty's voice. I can still hear those screams today, exactly as I heard them that night. I have absolutely no doubt that Shorty was being murdered at that time.

Early the next morning, I asked Gypsy, who was in the Rock City Cafe at the ranch house end of the board walk if she had heard Shorty screaming last night, and she told me very sternly that Shorty had gone to San Francisco. Later that morning Charlie was bragging to Danny DeCarlo about how "Shorty committing suicide with a little help from us." Charlie went on to say " I stabbed him and Shorty asked, "Why Charlie? Why?" and I told him this is why! And I stabbed him again, that he was real hard to kill when we brought him to NOW. That we all kept stabbing him until Clem cut his head off!. And we cut him up into 9 pieces and buried him around the ranch."

He asked Danny "if lye or lime would get rid of the body." I was only a couple of feet away from Danny at the time and Charlie knew that I was there.

I didn't see the murder even thought I did try to look out that window and obviously I don't know exactly how they killed Shorty but his death must have been very painful to make him scream as he did. But I do know that Shorty was killed at about 10 o’clock at night, under a full moon, and not in the afternoon as the killers are telling you. I also know that the murder occurred about 50+ feet up stream from the ranch and not the mile or so down Santa Susanna Pass road again as the killers are telling you.

Bruce has told you that he was afraid of the family, and that he was afraid of Tex. This is a blatant lie, because Bruce was older and vying for a leadership role in the family, or at least a second in command to Charlie.

He was the only other male to have worn Charlie’s embroidered vest. He lectured like Charlie when Charlie was not there. Other members in the family killed more people for Charlie but knowing that the family was committing murders, Bruce wanted to lead them.

I am well aware that the body of Shorty Shea was recovered intact and was not dismembered as Charlie had claimed. And that his body was located about where they claimed to have killed him. They may have buried him there but it is not where he was killed.

I am against Bruce Davis getting a parole date for 3 reasons:

1. Because he wanted to be a family leader even though he knew the family was committing murder {i.e. Gary Hinman} and not just to follow Charlie.
2. He is lying even to this day about the time and place of the murder.
3. I believe he is lying about fearing Tex, people in the family were more afraid of Bruce than Tex.

I find it curious that even as he professes to be a Christian today that he is still lying to you.

Thank you for considering my letter and I request my address not be revealed to the inmate or to his attorney (who would give him that information) Bruce M. Davis parole Hearing 2-2-2000 at CMC.

Respectfully yours,

Barbara Hoyt