Paul Crockett and Laurence Merrick Information

Laurence Merrick ran an Academy of Dramatic Arts. Sharon Tate, murdered by the Manson Family, had been a student at his school. Merrick had produced a film on the Manson Family in 1972. In the following article note the Zodiac-like description of the assailant who shot Merrick.

Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard, 01/27/77

Paul Crockett was a prospector in Death Valley, California and was a witness in the Charles Manson trial. He is the one who got Paul Watkins (one of the successors to Manson) and Brooks Poston out of the Manson Family. Watkins writes favorably about Crockett in his book My Life With Charles Manson. Crockett had gone up against Manson in debates several times and Manson had tried to have Crockett killed.

Crockett was opposed to Manson. He was considered "intelligent" and "always carefully weighed his remarks when making statements or asking questions." He was in a unique position to know certain facts about Manson's group. It seems that he learned Zodiac was a Family member.

The Zodiac was also of great interest to Merrick. Even after his movie was completed he continued to do interviews. It might have been that Merrick's inquiries about Zodiac and other Family related things, not to mention the movie itself, is what got him killed.

In Hollywood, California in 1971, while Merrick was gathering information for his then up-coming movie, he interviewed Paul Crockett. This is what was recorded:

Merrick:

Crockett:

Was Laurence Merrick getting too close?

Thanks go to Mark Turner, Webmaster at CharlieManson.com, for finding this information

and providing the source for the above recorded interview. This interview is documented at

http://www.exclusivefilms.com/KentState.htm

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