39. His mother once traded the infant Manson for a pitcher of beer
If you want to turn your kid into a monster, here’s how to do it. Although she married Eugene William Manson (whose surname Charles took), Kathleen turned to prostitution to make ends meet, and what little she made was spent almost entirely on alcohol. Her invidious situation as a runaway teen mother makes us sympathetic, but there is no excusing what follows. Kathleen’s desperation for a drink saw her (temporarily, it seems) give her infant son to a broody barmaid for a pitcher of beer. Her alcoholism was out of control for years to come, ruining the baby’s life.