In July 1969, Atkins, Mary Brunner, and Beausoleil, allegedly accompanied by Manson, went to Hinman's home. Explaining their plight with the bikers, Hinman refused to refund the cash, claiming the LSD he had sold them was potent. Manson then allegedly sliced off Hinman's ear with a sword before exiting the house. The remaining crew then reportedly held Hinman hostage for three days. Hinman refused to come up with the cash, and on the third day, either Atkins or Beausoleil stabbed him. In turn, he was suffocated by all three of his captors. Atkins provided a theatrical flourish before taking her leave, writing "Political Piggy" in Hinman's blood on the wall. That three people would hold one man hostage at gun-point for three days over $1,000 that he claims he did not have before murdering him could be a true story. Another story recounted at the time of the Manson-Atkins trial was that the Hinman killing had been the result of a busted drug deal. Allegedly, Manson had given Tex Watson -- who was a flake, rather than being the "right-hand" man of the Manson Family that Bugliosi claimed -- $2,000 to buy some drugs from Bernard Crowe, an African American dealer tagged "Lotsa Poppa," so called because he was very big and fat. Watson had allegedly dealt with Lotsa Poppa before, so there was little suspicion when he went into the bathroom with the drugs and the cash, supposedly to relieve himself. What Tex actually did was defenestrate Lotsa Poppa's place with the drugs and Manson's cash, and then failed to inform Charlie of his peccadillo. Lotsa Poppa put the word out on the street that he was going to have both Watson and Manson killed, as he believed Manson was behind the rip-off. When Manson heard the news, as the alternative story goes, he panicked. What Manson didn't know was that Lotsa Poppa was just a low-level functionary and a blowhard, and was just sounding off, having never resorted to violence before. Drugs fuel paranoia, and Manson believed Lotsa Poppa was connected with the Black Panthers, who allegedly controlled a good deal of the L. A. drug trade, and that his life was in jeopardy. What Charlie wanted to do was flee the Spahn Ranch and the Los Angeles area for Death Valley, but he needed cash. Manson attempted a sit down to smooth things out with Lotsa Poppa in Hollywood, at an apartment one of Tex Watson's doxies lived in across from the Magic Castle. Apparently, Lotsa Poppa's bluff blew Charie's mind right out of the box and he drew a. 22 caliber Buntline Special single-action revolver and shot the fat man in the chest, then took off. Manson believed he had killed Lotsa Poppa, whose lotsa fat and the small caliber of the bullet saved his life. Drug dealers are not ones to go to the police, and Lotsa Poppa really was't connected, so he just let things chill as he recovered. (Bugliosi used the incident during the trial to show that Charlie was capable of murder. )Manson did not know this. He did know he needed to get out of the Spahn Ranch, where he was known, and fast. The clan had been supplementing their income stealing cars and stealing, and their position was increasingly precarious. Drugs were being dealt at the Spahn Ranch, outlaw bikers were around, and it seemed to Manson that he would soon be slammed back in stir. He needed money, and as the story goes, believed that Gary Hinman, the drug manufacturer cum music teacher, had upwards of $20,000 in cash lying around his house. Manson needed some fast money to finance the move to Death Valley, and Hinman was the likely candidate to become his banker. In this story, Hinman was held for three days and mercilessly beaten -- even had his ear sliced off by Manson -- to get information on where he had hidden his stash of cash, which they all -- including his ex-roommate, who knew him well -- assumed was a great deal of money, not just the grand from the disgruntled bikers. (In the mythology that was Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter," perhaps one should note that the other outlaw bike gang that were rivals to Marlon Brando's gang in "The Wild One" were named "The Beetles" and likely were an inspiration for the Liverpool band's name; Brando as "The Wild One" appears in biker drag on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band," the cultural equivalent of Eiot's "The Waste Land" to the Baby Boom generation. ) Hinman threatened to go to the police after his ordeal, and Beausoleil called Manson and was told, in cryptic terms, to kill Hinman. (Thus, Charlie was guilty of murder. )Whether it was the result of a broken drug deal or the bikers' demand for a refund, the fact was that Gary Hinman was murdered. Beausoleil, the former roommate of the slain Hinman, would naturally have been a prime suspect in his slaying, He eventually was arrested in northern California driving Hinman's car and using his credit cards, both of which Bobby claimed that Hinman had freely given him. It seemed like an open and shut case, but for the revelation of who had been in on it with Beausoleil. With his confederate arrested for the murder, it might have seemed to Manson that his time as a free man would be up shortly unless something could be done.