First appearance on Fox: Bruce Davis, a member of Charles Manson’s murder cult ‘Family’ who committed serial murders in California in 1969, had his latest parole hearing postponed after appearing on a true crime podcast.
“He enlisted my help and the help of my followers to help him remember the stories in the book,” said Keith Robia, a former prison chaplain and host of “The Lighter Side of Serial Killers.” “I wanted them to ask me questions about my past.”
Lovere I interviewed Davis In February 2023 and April 2023, he spoke about his Christian faith in prison and the book he was writing while in prison.
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Bruce Davis, known as Manson Family’s “X” with a tattoo on his forehead, walks with his lawyer Day Singh outside the courtroom after surrendering to authorities. Davis was charged and later convicted of the 1969 murder of Gary Hinman. (Bettman/Getty Images)
They discussed Davis and Manson’s first meeting, life at the cult’s Los Angeles ranch, and anecdotes about other members and people in Manson’s orbit, including the Beach Boys.
Davis described Manson as a “small, undersized guy” who had great influence over his followers.
“I know from the dark side,” Davis told Rovere by phone from inside San Quentin State Prison.
Robia told Fox News Digital that the topic of Davis’ crimes did not come up. But Davis talked about how Manson gathered his followers and how members of the cult were often high on drugs.
Former Manson Family member Bruce Davis (right) meets with attorney Michael Beckman just before the start of his parole hearing at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, California, on October 4, 2012. do. (Joe Johnston/Tribune/ZUMAPRESS.com)
“I know I don’t know everything,” Davis said. “And there will be some provocative questions that remind me of something that is part of the story that I ignored.”
Davis, 81, has been jailed dozens of times since he was jailed in 1972 for his role in the murders of several Manson Family friends and musicians Gary Hinman, 34, and Donald Shorty Shea, 35. He has been denied parole. -A year old Hollywood stuntman.
Bruce Davis sent a Christmas card to podcaster Keith Robia, who hosted two interviews with former members of the Manson family, before corrections officials decided to postpone a Jan. 18 parole board hearing. He wrote that he was “looking forward to” the Parole Board hearing in January. (Keith Lovea)
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He did not kill either of the victims himself, and has not been charged with any involvement in the home invasion that killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others.
Steve Grogan, another Manson family member convicted of Shea’s murder, was paroled in 1985 after leading investigators to the victim’s body.
Steve Grogan (left) and Bruce Davis (right), defendants in the murder of movie stuntman Donald (Shorty) Shea, are brought into court. (Bettman/Getty Images)
California prison records show a board granted Davis parole in 2021, but Gov. Gavin Newsom overturned the board’s decision.
Most recently, the board denied him parole in July 2022. He was not supposed to be eligible for parole again until 2025, but his application was approved by an administrative review the following year.
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A cameraman films Charles Manson being taken to Los Angeles City Jail on suspicion of masterminding the Tate-LaBianca murders in August 1969. Manson died in 2017 while serving a life sentence. (Getty Images)
On Jan. 18, parole officials postponed his suitability hearing, according to California Department of Corrections records. Davis received a new hearing date on Aug. 8, records show.
Rovere said the postponement was a direct response to what the commissioners learned about the podcast interview. A prison spokesperson could not immediately confirm specific details about the hearing.
“Who knows what he’d think if the parole board felt unsafe just because he was doing a podcast?” said Rovere, who regularly hosts a podcast about some of the country’s most notorious murderers. “Happy Face Killer” Keith Jesperson.
This March 12, 2014 file photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Bruce Davis. (Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, via AP)
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Lovere believes in positive interactions with the worst of the worst inmates.
“Most of the people I talk to are not believers, they’re not religious. I don’t impose it on them, but that’s my personal foundation,” he said. “It’s mainly about making positive changes in their lives because no one else is doing it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
