An FBI criminal profiler sheds light on the enigmatic motive behind Charles Manson’s infamous cult killings, attributing it to a convergence of various factors that created a “perfect storm” for the murders.

Over the years, numerous speculations have emerged regarding how Manson was able to manipulate a group of young individuals into committing heinous acts on his behalf. However, filmmaker Errol Morris presents a fresh perspective on the psyche of this notorious cult figure in his Netflix production titled “CHAOS: The Manson Murders.”

Borrowing from the insights revealed in the 2019 publication “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties” penned by Tom O’Neill and Dan Piepenbring, the documentary delves into the notion that Manson might have been under the influence of an external entity while exerting control over his followers.

“I’ve found myself trapped in a number of different true-crime stories, and the Manson murders are peculiar,” Morris told Netflix’s Tudum. “You could encapsulate the mystery in just one question: How is it that Manson managed to convince the people around him that killing was OK?”  

Netflix and Morris did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Morris explores the widely circulated theory suggesting Manson may have been operating under the influence of the CIA’s controversial MK-ULTRA program, leaning into the cultural interest surrounding mind control, a widespread fascination throughout the 1950s and 1960s. 

However, experts have expressed skepticism about the idea that Manson was acting under government control. 

“[Manson] was influenced by what he wanted to do,” former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole told Fox News Digital. “He was influenced by the fact that he wanted to become a very well-known musician at the time, which is why he made friends with the influential people that he did. But was there this outside force that compelled him to do that? I don’t believe that there was. There was still his personality that was distinct to him [and] was not created by an outside force.”

The CIA has also discredited the theory, first explored by O’Neill, in recent years. 

“The author cannot definitively tie Manson to MK-ULTRA or CHAOS; he can only imply it on circumstantial evidence,” the CIA said in a review of O’Neill’s book. 

O’Neill did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

In 1969, the Manson family carried out the brutal murders of seven people under his watchful eye. Pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steven Parent, Abigail Folger and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were massacred by the family in a string of killings. 

The group carried out five of its murders inside Tate’s home Aug. 9, 1969. One day later, the final victims of the Manson family, the LaBiancas, were fatally stabbed inside their home. 

“[Manson] met up with a lot of his later-to-be followers in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, which, at that time in the ’60s, was known for being a gathering place for people in very formative years,” O’Toole told Fox News Digital. 

“There was the use of drugs and alcohol, and people came together without a lot of external oversight by a parent or a caregiver, so they were very vulnerable at that point. [Then], here comes Charlie Manson, with his personality and his ability to get people — especially young people — to follow him, and that’s what I’m talking about in regard to the perfect storm.”

After the killings, Manson and his “family” moved to Spahn Ranch, located approximately 30 miles north of Los Angeles, where he subjected his followers to outlandish lectures while providing them with drugs and overseeing orgies. 

Authorities arrested Manson three months later as details of the killings rattled Los Angeles and investigators delved into theories about the murders. 

During the trial, prosecutors argued Manson was using his status with his all-white followers in an attempt to ignite a race war, citing his supposed misinterpretation of the Beatles’ 1968 song, “Helter Skelter.” Manson never actually carried out the murders himself, relying entirely on his followers to kill for him. 

“[Manson] really was someone that knew right from wrong,” O’Toole said. “He knew the repercussions and the end results of his actions. He took no responsibility for his actions or the actions of his group, and he was very deliberate in his thinking.” 

In 1971, Manson and three followers — Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel — were convicted for their roles in the murders and subsequently sentenced to death. A fourth “family” member, Charles “Tex” Watson, was convicted several months later. 

The four defendants were resentenced to life in prison after a 1972 ruling from the California Supreme Court abolishing the state’s death penalty. 

Manson was 83 years old when he died of natural causes Nov. 19, 2017. 

In 2023, Van Houten walked free after serving more than 50 years in a California prison for the killings of the LaBiancas, making her the only member of the Manson family to be released from prison. 

While Manson never actually carried out the murders he was imprisoned for, Peacock’s 2024 “Making Manson” documentary revealed he may have committed more killings himself. 

In a teaser clip, Manson can be heard confessing to additional crimes while on a jailhouse phone call. 

“There’s a whole part of my life that nobody knows about,” Manson can be heard saying. “I lived in Mexico for a while. I went to Acapulco, stole some cars.” 

Manson goes on to reveal more details about the supposed murders. 

“I just got involved in some stuff over my head, man,” he added. “Got involved in a couple of killings. I left my .357 Magnum in Mexico City, and I left some dead people on the beach.”

“I would never draw the line and say Charlie Manson could manipulate people to do his bidding, but he himself would never do it,” O’Toole said. “I would never draw that line. You can’t simply say that because Charlie hurting other people was part of his repertoire. So, whether he had somebody else do it or he did it himself is certainly something that has to be explored.”