Who is Dianne Lake and what did she do?
DIANNE Lake is a former cult member of Charles Mason’s ‘family’.
From her life in the late 1960s to her life now – here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Dianne Lake?
Dianne Lake was born on February 28, 1953, in Hennepin, Minnesota, USA.
She is a retired special education teacher.
Growing up with her biological family, Dianne was the oldest of three children.
Her upbringing was relatively normal until she turned 13 – when her parents decided to ‘drop out’ of society and join the Hog Farm commune.
It was then Dianne soon discovered a wild life of LSD drug binges, smoking marijuana and no-strings-attached sex.
When she was just 14, Dianne’s dad Clarence and mum wrote her a note informing the youngster that she was free to live independently as an adult.
It was also at the age of 14 that Dianne became the youngest member of Charles Manson‘s cult known as the Family.
Discussing that time in her life, Dianne said: “Most 14-year-olds think of themselves as no longer needing their parents, and I was no exception.
“Since I was the oldest, and had already been capable and independent, I asked my parents to emancipate me from their parental control.
“The leaders of the commune weren’t comfortable with me being there, because I was sexually active and I was at that age they considered me ‘jail bait’.
“I didn’t feel welcome and I ended up living with another couple, Richard and Allegra, who introduced me to Charlie and the girls at a party. My mum thought he and the girls were great.”
What did Dianne Lake do?
At just 14-years-old, Dianne Lake first met Charles Manson in 1967 and became a member of his cult known as the Family.
Dianne, who had recently become emancipated from her parents, met Manson and “his girls” at a Los Angeles party.
After seducing Dianne on their first night together, Manson then invited her to join his family.
“He seduced me but in a very loving and in a very different way than I had ever been loved before,” she recalls.
“He took time to do this hand motion, and it was just very sweet, very gentle, and very loving, very patient.
“He made me feel very much like a woman, and not just a young girl who didn’t know anything.”
Although in the beginning Manson appeared kind and patient, it wasn’t long before he began beating and manipulating Dianne.
Those in the Family were subjected to horrific ordeals, such as being forced to hold their hands over candle flames and even being refused food.
As one of Manson’s inner circle, Dianne quickly struck up friendships with the likes of Susan Atkins, Patty Krenwinkler and Leslie Van Houten, who would later kill unquestioningly for their beloved leader.
But while becoming heavily involved with Manson, the young woman was not involved in the killing spree that he orchestrated in the late 1960s.
In the summer of 1969, he directed his mostly young, female followers to murder seven people in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war.
Manson reportedly intended to frame the murders on the Black Panthers.
On August 8, 1969, the feared cult leader ordered Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel and Charles “Tex” Watson – to the Beverly Hills address of movie actress Sharon Tate with the instruction to kill everyone in the house.
As well as Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski and eight months pregnant, Manson’s followers murdered four other people at the property.
Less than 24 hours later, the deadly gang – plus Leslie Van Houten and Steve “Clem” Grogan – savagely tortured, murdered and mutilated wealthy LA couple Rosemary and Leno LaBianca.
Although not involved in the murders, they had a harrowing impact on Dianne.
“Patti, Sadie [Susan Atkins] and Leslie started telling me about their experience with killing these people,” Dianne recalls.
“It was just horrendous. The tone they used. These girls were almost gleeful.”
It wasn’t until the Manson family were arrested two months later that Dianne was finally able to flee and later testify against Charles Manson at a trial in 1970.
Manson and his accomplices were all sent down for the murders, apart from Kasabian who testified against them and played no direct part in the killings.
The feared cult leader was originally sentenced to death but he was spared execution and his sentence was converted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in that state.
He died behind bars in 2017, at the age of 83.
Where is Dianne Lake now?
Dianne has since married and raised three children.
For most of her life since, only Dianne’s husband and her pastor were aware of her involvement in the Manson family.
But in 2017, she finally broke her silence and wrote a book about her life with Manson called Member Of The Family.
“The book made me realise I was the victim. And I feel like a whole person now. I don’t have this hidden skeleton in the closet,” she said.