Bruce Davis, a former high-ranking member of the Charles Manson "Family" cult, has died aged 83 in a California prison hospital after having his parole denied eight times. He was serving a life sentence for his role in the 1969 murders of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea, killings carried out on Manson's orders. His death closes another chapter in the long-running saga of one of America's most notorious crime sprees, which continues to draw public fascination more than five decades on.

Davis was confirmed dead by staff at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville on Friday night. Despite earning a doctorate in philosophy while incarcerated and citing a religious awakening, and even being recommended for release by the parole board in 2021, successive governors including Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger repeatedly blocked his release, with Newsom saying Davis had minimised his crimes and shown little remorse. He held Hinman at gunpoint while Manson slashed him, and was separately convicted of knifing Shea to death; Manson himself died in prison in 2017, also aged 83.