CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — Mass murderer Charles Manson plans to marry a 26-year-old woman who
left her Midwestern home and spent the past nine years trying to help exonerate him.
Afton Elaine Burton, the raven-haired bride-to-be, said she loves the man convicted in the
notorious murders of seven people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate.
No date has been set but a wedding coordinator has been assigned by the prison to handle the
nuptials, and the couple has until early February to get married before they would have to
reapply.
The prospective bride and groom have near-matching carvings on their foreheads. Hers is an
"X'' and his is an "X'' that was turned into a swastika after he carved it during his trial
to show he was "X'ed out of society."
The Kings County marriage license, viewed Monday by The Associated Press, was issued Nov. 7
for the 80-year-old Manson and Burton, who lives in Corcoran — the site of the prison —
and maintains several websites advocating his innocence.
Burton, who goes by the name "Star," told the AP that she and Manson will be married next
month.
"Y'all can know that it's true," she said. "It's going to happen."
View gallery44th anniversary of Charles Manson Family murders
In this 1986 file photo, Convicted killer Charles Manson is seen during a parole hearing in
Californ …
"I love him," she added. "I'm with him. There's all kinds of things."
However, as a life prisoner with no parole date, Manson is not entitled to family visits, a
euphemism for conjugal visits.
So why would Burton marry him under those conditions?
She said she is interested in working on his case, and marrying him would allow her to get
information not available to non-relatives.
"There's certain things next of kin can do," she said without elaborating.
Burton gave an interview a year ago to Rolling Stone magazine in which she said she and
Manson planned to marry. But Manson, who became notorious in 1969 as the leader of a roving
"family" of young killers, was less certain about tying the knot.
View galleryIn this March 11, 1970 file photo, cult leader Charles …
In this March 11, 1970 file photo, cult leader Charles Manson, charged with murder and
conspiracy in …
"That's a bunch of garbage," Manson said in the December 2013 interview. "That's trash.
We're playing that for public consumption."
Asked Monday about those comments, Burton said, "None of that's true," adding that they're
waiting for the prison to complete their paperwork.
California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton confirmed to the AP that the
license had been transmitted to the prison.
Thornton said each California prison designates an employee to be a marriage coordinator who
processes paperwork for an inmate's request to be wed. In most cases, she said, the
department of corrections approves of such weddings as "a tool of family reunification and
social development." But Manson is a unique case.
Burton said the wedding might have happened earlier if Manson did not have "some situations"
at the prison.
Thornton explained that in February, Manson had three violations for possession of a weapon,
threatening staff and refusal to provide a urine sample. Further details on the violations
were not immediately available.
Burton said the prison holds marriages on the first Saturday of each month and she expects
to be married in an inmate visiting room at the prison.
Thornton confirmed that Manson can have a wedding at the prison and invite an officiate from
outside the prison to perform the ceremony.
Manson and his prospective spouse also would be allowed to invite 10 guests who are not
inmates.
He and two women followers, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, remain imprisoned.
Another follower, Susan Atkins, died of cancer behind bars. Other members of the Manson
"family" still behind bars are Charles "Tex" Watson, Bruce Davis and Robert Beausoleil.
Manson, Watson and the women were convicted in the gruesome killings of Tate, the wife of
director Roman Polanski, and four others at her estate on Aug. 9, 1969, and grocers Leno and
Rosemary LaBianca who were killed the following night.
Manson is not be eligible for parole until 2027. He has been a habitual criminal and spent
most of his life in prison.