Donald Shea

Donald Jerome Shea, also known as "Shorty" (September 18, 1933 – August 26, 1969), was a Hollywood stuntman, actor and murder victim.

Donald Shea was born in Massachusetts on September 18, 1933.

According to Shea's autopsy report, he served in the United States Air Force (s/n AF 11 270 704) from December 1954 until June 1956.

He was almost 6 ft tall.

Shea moved to California to pursue a career in acting, mostly finding work as a stuntman.

Later, he worked as a bouncer and as a ranch hand at Spahn Ranch, an old Hollywood movie set that had become a horse-riding stable.

His autopsy report identifies him as "foreman" of the ranch.

Shea reportedly got along with the other ranch employees.

When the Manson family moved to Spahn Ranch, Shea initially co-existed with them peacefully.

In time, however, Charles Manson began to look down on Shea because he had married a black woman by the name of Magdalene.

Manson hated and mistrusted black people, and had been disgusted when Magdalene’s friends showed up at the ranch.

Magdalene stayed at the ranch for only a few weeks before leaving Shea and returning to Las Vegas.

According to Shea's autopsy report, Magdalene eventually settled in Lexington, Kentucky.

Eventually, Shea planned to help George Spahn remove the Family from the Spahn Ranch when the Family's brushes with the law grew out of control.

Manson decided to have Shea killed because he believed Shea had reported the Family and their crimes to the police, resulting in a raid on the ranch on August 16 where the family were taken into custody on suspicion of car theft.

Family member Bruce Davis claimed that the decision to kill Shea came from Manson because he considered him to be a "snitch".

Another motive for the murder could have stemmed from a fight between Charles Manson and Shea at the Gresham Street home in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, that Manson shared with Bill Vance and several Manson Family Members.

Windy Bucklee, the wife of Spahn Ranch ranch hand Randy Starr, was beaten by Charles Manson for her refusal to loan her truck to Manson and Vance for robberies.

In the days prior, law enforcement questioned Bucklee for a string of robberies in which her truck had been identified.

She realized that Manson and Vance had been borrowing her truck to commit these robberies and decided to quit loaning it to them.

When Shea found out about Manson assaulting Bucklee, he went to the Gresham Street home and assaulted both Manson and Vance with threats to stay away from Spahn Ranch.

After Manson moved into Spahn Ranch, Larry Bailey, one of the newer members of the Manson Family, was spying on Shea for Manson and was quickly caught.

As a result, Shea, Bucklee, and others stripped Bailey naked and tied him to a tree facing the main road to send a message to the others.

Shea was murdered on August 26, 1969, more than two weeks after the Tate–LaBianca murders.

Susan Atkins of the Family lured Shea to a remote spot on the ranch; there he was ambushed and killed by Bruce M. Davis and Steve "Clem" Grogan.

Manson told Davis, Tex Watson, and Steve Grogan to ask for a ride to a nearby car parts yard on the ranch.

According to Davis, he sat in the back seat with Grogan, who then hit Shea with a pipe wrench and Watson stabbed him.

They brought Shea down a hill behind the ranch and stabbed and brutally tortured him to death.

Bruce Davis recalled at his parole hearings:

I was in the car when Steve Grogan hit Shorty with the pipe wrench.

Charles Watson stabbed him.

I was in the backseat with... with Grogan.

They took Shorty out.

They had to go down the hill to a place.

I stayed in the car for quite a while but what... then I went down the hill later on and that's when I cut Shorty on the shoulder with the knife, after he was... well, I don't know... I... I don't know if he was dead or not.

He didn't bleed when I cut him on the shoulder.

When I showed up, you know, he was... he was incapacitated.

The location of his body was discovered in 1977, eight years after his death.

Manson Family leader Charles Manson and members "Clem" Grogan and Bruce M. Davis were eventually convicted of murdering Shea.

Tex Watson was a possible participant in the murder, but was never charged.