Infamous cult leader Charles Manson, whose followers carried out a series of gruesome murders in 1969, is being treated at a California hospital for an undisclosed medical issue, according to reports.
The 82-year-old mass murderer was taken from Corcoran State Prison, where he is serving a life sentence, to a hospital emergency room in Bakersfield for stomach trouble, TMZ first reported Tuesday afternoon.
The Los Angeles Times later reported that Manson was “seriously ill,” quoting an unnamed source.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told the Daily News that privacy laws prohibit them from commenting on inmates’ health.
“It does happen that sometimes inmates are treated at local hospitals,” Krissi Khokhobashvili, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections, said Tuesday when asked about Manson’s status.
Manson is suffering from gastrointestinal issues, according to TMZ.
“I can’t comment on that,” Khokhobashvili said. “Federal and state privacy laws preclude us from commenting. If an inmate dies, we can confirm that once the next of kin is notified.”
Manson is serving a total of nine life sentences for orchestrating the 1969 Tate-LaBianca killings.
Over the course of two August nights, Manson’s followers murdered seven people, including 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate, who was nearly nine months pregnant at the time.
Tate and four others were stabbed and shot to death at the Los Angeles home she shared with her husband, director Roman Polanski.
Polanski was out of town. Coffee heiress Abigail Folger, writer Wojeciech Frykowski, Steve Parent and stylist Jay Sebring were killed at the home.
Supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary were brutally murdered by the band the next night in their Los Feliz home.
Phrases such as “Death to Pigs: and “Helter Skelter” were scrawled in blood at the crime scenes.