Chief Tells How Murder Case Was Unraveled
Tenacious Probe
December 2, 1969
Los Angeles Times
By Dial Torgerson
Times Staff Writer
Police chief Edward M. Davis ended the Tate mystery at 2:00 PM Monday.
Under bright, hot lights, behind 15 microphones, the chief announced an
official end to 8,750 hours of police work-the "tenacious investigation by
detectives" which, he said, solved Hollywood's most savage murder case.
"I am Edward Davis, chief of police of this that he of Los Angeles," the
chief told a crowded news conference. The big room grew silent as he continued:
"Today's warrants have been issued for the arrest of three individuals in
connection with the murders of Sharon Tate Polanski, Abigail Anne Folger,
Voyteck Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent and Thomas John Sebring."
Linked To Other Deaths
These same people, he explained, also were involved in the murders of Leno
and Rosemary LaBianca. The Chiefs statements solved two mysteries with a total
of seven victims.
Many of the more than a score of detectives who had worked on the two murders
sat behind newsmen in the big auditorium as Davis described the cases. Men from
the district attorney's office and the sheriff's office who had heard about the
2:00 PM press conference, sat down to listen.
"The development of information from the two separate investigations, the
Tate and LaBianca cases, led detectives to the conclusion that the crimes in
both cases were committed by the same group of people," Chief Davis said.
At one time two lieutenants and 17 men were working on only the Tate case.
The Tate investigators interviewed 625 people, some of them four or five times
each.
Despite similarities-hooded victims, repeated stabbings, bloody writing by
the murders-detectives investigating the two as separate cases, believing the
LaBianca killings were a copy of the highly publicized Tate slayings.
Then, two weeks ago, a break in the case began to develop. Police suspected
that the same murderous nomads had slain all seven victims.
Sometime after detectives from the Tate team had gone to Inyo County to
return arrested members of a car theft ring as murder suspects, reporters began
to probe possible links between the car ring and the Benedict Canyon murders.
A Topanga Canyon murder case involved at least one of the same names of those
arrested in Inyo County. An informant in the Topanga Canyon case, it was
learned, had also given the authorities information on the Tate murder.
Police and district attorney's aides at first asked news media
representatives including the Times, which learned of the break in the case
almost immediately, not to print what they knew. The media agreed, but police
were besieged with inquiries as hints spread the solution was near.
With the arrest of one suspect and the impending arrest of two others, Davis
called his press conference.
Privately, some members of the district attorneys staff objected to the
disclosures made by Davis, since the investigation is still continuing. Davis
declined to answer many questions asked by newsmen for this reason-and because
of the pending prosecution.
The chief answered his last question when Mayor Sam Yorty walked onto the
auditorium stage.
"Sorry, I got here so late," said the Mayor, advancing on the podium.
"There were serious reservations as to what I could say, because of the
district attorney's office," the chief said.
"I just want to say a few words," the Mayor said.
He told newsmen:
"The city government and the police department are very grateful to the news
media for the cooperation we have had. Many people could have damaged our case
if they hadn't been so cooperative."
He said he had no doubt, since the day of the murders, that the Los Angeles
Police Department would solve the crime.
