Charles Manson’s Youngest Cult Member Speaks Out

For the first time in 47 years, Dianne Lake, a former member of Charles Manson‘s cult, is speaking out.

“It’s an interesting story, but it’s also a cautionary tale,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I hope that my story sheds a little light onto this very dark time.”

In an interview with the publication, Lake reveals she was only 14 years old when her parents gave her a note that gave her permission to live on her own. Her life quickly consisted of drifting in and out of different communities, wandering with no real purpose.

Hers is the same story of many of Manson’s cult members, and it’s a story she believes made her so easily susceptible to Manson.

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“I needed love and affection, and I needed a family. I needed to feel like I belonged somewhere,” Lake continued, stating that Charles Manson was able to detect her needs from the get-go and was able to fill them.

It was his perceptiveness that convinced Lake to follow him after meeting him in Topanga, California in 1967, and while she became a loyal follower, she didn’t participate in the 1969 murders that rattled the nation and took seven lives.

Among those killed were Abigail Folger, the daughter of Folger Coffee Company chairman, actress and model Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, Wojciech Frykowski, and Steven Parent.

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“He just looked crazy, but I was able to look at him,” Lake stated, recalling testifying against Manson, who would ultimately be convicted of first-degree murder.

Her book, Member of the Family, set to be releasing Oct. 24, goes into further detail of life under Manson’s rule and how she managed to escape him. It took more than 47 years for her to speak out, but now Lake is happily married with three children and has a master’s degree in education.