Ruth Ann Moorehouse


Moorehouse's 1969 mugshot

Born: January 6, 1953 (age 72); Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Known for: Former member of the Manson Family, attempted murder of Barbara Hoyt

Ruth Ann Moorehouse (born January 6, 1953) is an American woman who is a former member of the Manson Family, led by Charles Manson. In December 1970, she, alongside Catherine Share, Lynette Fromme, Dennis Rice, and Steve Grogan were charged with attempted murder after they plotted to murder former fellow Manson Family member Barbara Hoyt to prevent her from testifying for the prosecution against Manson, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkel during the Tate–LaBianca murder trial. The charge was later reduced to conspiracy to dissuade a witness from testifying. While her accomplices served a 90-day sentence at the Los Angeles County Jail, Moorehouse never served her sentence, as she failed to appear at the sentencing hearing. In October 1975, she was arrested on the 4-year-old warrant for attempting to murder Hoyt. However, the following month the county judge ruled that she would not receive a prison sentence as he was satisfied that she had disassociated herself from the Manson Family.

{snip}

Involvement with the Manson Family

Meeting Charles Manson
In 1967, Ruth's father Dean Moorehouse befriended Charles Manson after he had picked him up as a hitchhiker. Moorehouse invited Manson to dinner at his San Jose home, which resulted in Manson spending the night. The two discussed the Bible, sang religious songs, and Manson was fond of the piano that the Moorehouse family owned, which Dean Moorehouse allowed Manson to take for himself. Dean Moorehouse told Manson that he was always welcome in his home, and Manson became a frequent visitor. He soon took interest in Ruth Ann, who was 14 years old at the time, and took Ruth Ann on a trip up the coast in his recently acquired Volkswagen Microbus, which he had acquired from a neighbor of the Moorehouse's in exchange for their piano.

This resulted in Dean and Audrey reporting Ruth Ann as a runaway, and the pair were apprehended by Sheriff's deputies on July 28, 1967. Ruth Ann was returned home and Manson was arrested for trying to interfere with the police. On May 20, 1968, Ruth Ann Moorehouse married 23-year-old bus driver Edward Lewis Heuvelhorst in Santa Cruz in an effort to become emancipated from her father, which Manson had advised her to do. According to Moorehouse, the marriage only lasted one day, and she moved to the Los Angeles area where Manson and his followers had relocated months earlier.

Dennis Wilson and Terry Melcher
Dean Moorehouse learned of this, which resulted in him meeting Manson at Dennis Wilson's house, where Manson kneeled down and kissed Moorehouse’s toes, welcoming him to the party and introducing him to LSD. Dean spent the rest of the summer at Wilson's house living in the guesthouse in exchange for taking care of the landscaping. He became a devout follower of Manson, and spent a brief amount of time with the Manson Family at Spahn Ranch after they began living there in the summer of 1968. A different account says Manson, Lynnette Fromme, and Mary Brunner visited the Moorehouse home, where Dean Moorehouse chased Manson outside, threatening him for having sex with Ruth Ann. He cornered Manson with a shotgun, to which Manson responded by putting his hand on Moorehouse's shoulder and saying, "love is so much better than anger, and what a relief it was when you gave up your individuality and became part of a real family."

Record producer Terry Melcher, who Manson had befriended, took a liking to Ruth Ann and began an affair with her. He attempted to employ her as a housekeeper at his 10050 Cielo Drive home, which Candice Bergen, his girlfriend, disapproved of.

{snip}

Manson Family

{snip}

Crimes

{snip}

Possible murder motives

{snip}

Terry Melcher
In 1968, musician Dennis Wilson introduced record producer Terry Melcher to Manson. For a time, Melcher was interested in recording Manson's music, as well as making a film about the family and their hippie commune existence. Manson met Melcher at 10050 Cielo Drive, a house that Melcher shared with his girlfriend, actress Candice Bergen, and musician Mark Lindsay.

Manson eventually auditioned for Melcher, but Melcher declined to sign him. There was still talk of a documentary being made about Manson's music, but Melcher abandoned the project after witnessing Manson fighting with a drunken stuntman at Spahn Ranch. Wilson and Melcher severed their ties with Manson, a move that angered Manson. Soon after, Melcher and Bergen moved out of the Cielo Drive home. The house's owner, Rudi Altobelli, then leased it to film director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate. Manson was reported to have visited the house on more than one occasion asking for Melcher, but was told that Melcher had moved.

Some authors and law enforcement personnel have theorized that the Cielo Drive house was targeted by Manson as revenge for Melcher's rejection and that Manson was unaware that he and Bergen had moved out. However, family member Charles "Tex" Watson stated that Manson and company did, in fact, know that Melcher was no longer living there, and Melcher's former roommate Mark Lindsay stated, "Terry and I talked about it later and Terry said Manson knew (Melcher had moved) because Manson or someone from his organization left a note on Terry's porch in Malibu."

The Manson murders reportedly prompted Melcher to go into seclusion. When Manson was arrested, it was widely reported that he had sent his followers to the house to kill Melcher and Bergen. Manson family member Susan Atkins, who admitted her part in the murders, stated to police and before a grand jury that the house was chosen as the scene for the murders "to instill fear into Terry Melcher because Terry had given us his word on a few things and never came through with them". Melcher took to employing a bodyguard and told Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi that his fear was so great he had been undergoing psychiatric treatment. Melcher was described as the most frightened of the witnesses at the trial, even though Bugliosi assured him that "Manson knew you were no longer living [on Cielo Drive]".

In his 2019 book CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, Tom O'Neil reexamined the Manson case and found evidence Melcher may have been more closely involved with the Manson family than he admitted at trial. In reviewing police files and other data, O'Neill found evidence Melcher was associating with Manson in the four month period after the Tate-Labianca murders but before Manson's arrest. These documents, seemingly hidden by Bugliosi, undermined claims the Tate murders were intended to frighten Melcher in revenge for his refusal to record Manson's music. O'Neill also found documents indicating Melcher was having sex with 15-year-old Manson family member Ruth Ann Moorehouse. Dean Moorehouse, Ruth Ann's father and a Manson Family member, also had resided at 10050 Cielo Drive with Melcher. Tex Watson would also frequently visit the residence.

{snip}