Murderous cult figurehead Charles Manson, now 80 and in prison for life, received a marriage license back in November so that he could tie the knot with Afton "Star" Elaine Burton, 26, who comes off in interviews like another crazed admirer. She might be more than that, though: their license has lapsed without a wedding, and one journalist claims it's because Manson got wise to Star's alleged plan to acquire his corpse and put it on public display for money. Holy shit, really? Here's what we know.
Daniel Simone, who's working on a book about Manson, told Page Six that Star Burton and her associate, Craig "Gray Wolf" Hammond, have been scheming for two years to open a Lenin's Tomb-style attraction in California, with the madman's body on view in a glass case.
When the two asked Manson to sign his body over to them, Simone says, he wouldn't give a definitive answer. He just led them on so they'd keep bringing him "toiletries and other items" in prison. The marriage plot was the next step, according to Simone, an attempt to ensure Star would get Manson's remains after his death.
"There's certain things next of kin can do," she told the AP last November, saying she wanted to work on Manson's case and the marriage would give her access to confidential information. She didn't mention the body.
And now Manson has let their 90-day marriage certificate lapse.
"He's finally realized that he's been played for a fool," Simone claims, adding that Manson thinks Burton's plan for his body is stupid because "he feels he will never die." Now Manson allegedly doesn't want to get married at all.
That's not what Burton and Hammond's website claims, though: They say Manson plans to renew the license, and the wedding was only postponed "due to an unexpected interruption in logistics."
But who's playing whom, here? Back in 2013, when Burton first announced her engagement to Manson in Rolling Stone, Manson dismissed her:
He snorts. "Oh, that," he says. "That's a bunch of garbage. You know that, man. That's trash. We're just playing that for public consumption."
Manson also called "Star" his "baby on the floor," implying that he was manipulating her like he did the other women in his murderous Family. Like them, she shaved her head and carved an x into her forehead at his request.
"We started all over with this one. The other ones know it all now. I don't need to say anything."
He doesn't come off like the one being "played for a fool" in that scenario. And Burton's claim that Manson thinks he can never die doesn't square with what Manson himself told Rolling Stone contributor Eric Hedegaard back in 2013: "What do you think? Do you think this story will help me get out of here, only for a little while, before I go?"
Burton wouldn't necessarily need Manson's corpse to make money, either: His son said last year that Manson's made a six-figure fortune selling art and memorabilia, which Star would stand to inherit. He also claimed she and Grey Wolf planned to sell the wedding photos for as much as $150,000.
So, is the "glass case" story bullshit? Hard to say, because it's not supported by direct quotes from Burton, who wouldn't comment to Page Six, or Manson, who lost his phone privileges years ago, and whose current whereabouts and medical condition the prison system won't reveal.
And even if they were talking, one is an unreliable, allegedly manipulative crazy person, and the other is Charles Manson.
[Photo: KTLA]
