Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders (13 page)

“So I met her a couple of more times. I knew she was with Jay. Then [Ransohoff] wanted me to use her in the film. And I made tests with her.

“Once before I wanted to take her out, and she was being difficult, wanting to go out, not wanting to go out, so I said, ‘Fuck you,’ and I hung up. Probably that was the beginning of everything, you know.”

Q.
“You sweet-talked her.”

 

A.
“Right. She got intrigued by me. And I really played it cool, and it took me long dating before—And then I started seeing that she liked me.
“I remember I spent a night—I lost a key—and I spent a night in her house in the same bed, you know. And I knew there was no question of making love with her. That’s the type of girl she was.
“I mean, that rarely happens to me!
“And then we went on location—it was about two or three months later. When we were on location shooting the film, I asked her, ‘Would you like to make love with me?’ and she said, very sweetly, ‘Yes.’ And then for the first time I was somewhat touched by her, you know. And we started sleeping regularly together. And she was so sweet and so lovely that I didn’t believe it, you know. I’d had bad experiences and I didn’t believe that people like that existed, and I was waiting a long time for her to show the color, right?
“But she was
beautiful
, without this phoniness. She was fantastic. She loved me. I was living in a different house. I didn’t want her to come to my house. And she would say, ‘I don’t want to smother you. I only want to be with you,’ etc. And I said, ‘You know how I am; I screw around.’ And she said, ‘I don’t want to change you.’ She was ready to do everything, just to be with me.
She was a
fucking angel
. She was a unique character, who I’ll never meet again in my life.”

 

Deemer asked about his first meeting with Sebring. It had occurred in a London restaurant, Polanski said, describing how nervous he had been, and how Jay had broken the ice by saying, “I dig you, man. I dig you.” More important, “he seemed happy to see Sharon happy.” Roman had remained slightly uncomfortable through their next several meetings. “But when I came to Los Angeles, started living here, he came to our parties, etc. And I started liking Jay very very much. He was a very sweet person. Oh, I know of his hangups. He liked to whip-tie girls. Sharon told me about it. He tied her once to the bed. And she told me about it. And was making fun of him…To her it was funny, but sad…

“And he was more and more often a guest of ours. He would just hang around, hang around, and sometimes Sharon would resent his staying too long, because he was always the last to leave, you know.

“I’m sure in the beginning of our relationship there was still his love for Sharon, but I think that largely it disappeared. I’m quite sure.”

Q.
“So there was no indication that Sharon went back to Sebring at any time?”

 

A.
“
Not a chance!
I’m the bad one. I always screw around. That was
Sharon’s big hangup, you know. But Sharon was absolutely not interested in Jay.”

 

Q.
“Was she interested in any other men?”

 

A.
“No! There was not a chance of any other man getting close to
Sharon.”

 

Q.
“O.K., I know you have to get on your way. We might as well start.

 

I’ll tell you how this works, Roman.” Deemer explained the mechanics of the polygraph, adding, “It’s important for you to remain quiet.

I know you talk a lot with your hands. You’re emotional. You’re an actor type person, so it’s going to be a little difficult for you…But when the pressure is on, I want you to remain quiet. When it’s off, you can talk and even wave your arms. Within reason.”

After instructing Polanski to confine his answers to “yes” and “no” and to save any explanations for later, Deemer began the interrogation.

Q.
“Do you have a valid California driver’s license?”

 

A.
“Yes.”

 

Q.
“Have you eaten lunch today?”

 

A.
“No.”

 

Q.
“Do you know who took the life of Voytek and the others?”

 

A.
“No.”

 

Q.
“Do you smoke cigarettes?”

 

A.
“Yes.” There was a long pause, then Polanski began laughing.

 

Q.
“You know what you are going to do, with that screwing around?

 

I’m going to have to start over again!”

A.
“Sorry.”

 

Q.
“Look at the increase in your blood pressure when you start to lie about your cigarettes. Boom, boom, boom, just like a staircase. O.K., let’s start over again…
“Are you now in Los Angeles?”

 

A.
“Yes.”

 

Q.
“Did you have anything to do with taking the life of Voytek and the others?”

 

A.
“No.”

 

Q.
“Have you eaten lunch today?”

 

A.
“No.”

 

Q.
“Do you feel any responsibility for the death of Voytek and the others?”

 

A.
“Yes. I feel responsible that I wasn’t there, that is all.”

 

Q.
“From running this thing through your mind, repeatedly, as I know you must have, who have you come up with as the target? I don’t think it ever crossed your mind that Sharon might be the target, that anyone had that kind of mad on for her. Is there anyone else who was up there that you can think of who would be a target for this type of activity?”

 

A.
“I’ve thought everything. I thought the target could be myself.”

 

Q.
“Why?”

 

A.
“I mean, it could be some kind of jealousy or plot or something. It couldn’t be Sharon directly. If Sharon were the target, it would mean that I was the target. It could be Jay was the target. It could be Voytek. It could also be sheer folly, someone just decided to commit a crime.”

 

Q.
“What would Sebring be doing, for instance, that would make him a target?”

 

A.
“Some money thing, maybe. I’ve also heard a lot about this drug thing, drug deliveries. It’s difficult for me to believe…” Polanski had always believed Sebring to be “a rather prosperous man,” yet he’d recently heard he had large debts. “The indication to me is that he must have been in serious financial trouble, despite the appearances he gave.”

 

Q.
“That’s a hell of a way to collect debts. It’s no ordinary bill collector that goes up there and kills five people.”

 

A.
“No, no. What I’m talking about is for this reason he might have got into some dangerous areas to make money, you understand? In desperation, he may have got mixed up with illegal people, you know?”

 

Q.
“Eliminating Sharon and the kid, of the three remaining you think that Sebring would be the logical target, huh?”

 

A.
“The whole crime seems so illogical.

 

“If I’m looking for a motive, I’d look for something which doesn’t fit your habitual standard, with which you use to work as police—something much more far out…”

Deemer asked Polanski if he had received any hate mail after
Rosemary’s Baby
. He admitted he had, surmising, “It could be some type of witchcraft, you know. A maniac or something. This execution, this tragedy, indicates to me it must be some kind of nut, you know.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if I were the target. In spite of all this drug thing, the narcotics. I think the police like to jump too hastily on this type of lead, you know. Because it is their usual kind of lead. The only connection I know of Voytek with any kind of narcotic was he smoked pot. So did Jay. Plus cocaine. I knew he was sniffing. In the beginning I thought it was just an occasional kick. When I discussed it with Sharon, she said, ‘Are you kidding? He’s been doing it for two years, regularly.’”

Q.
“Did Sharon mess with narcotics to any extent, other than pot?”

 

A.
“No. She did take LSD before we met. Many times. And when we met we discussed it…I took it three times. When it was legal,” he added, laughing. Then, serious again, Polanski recalled the only time they had taken it together. It was toward the end of 1965. It was his third trip, and Sharon’s fifteenth or sixteenth. It had begun pleasantly enough, with them talking all night. But then “in the morning she started flipping out and screaming and I was scared to death. And after that she said, ‘I told you I couldn’t take it and this is the end.’ And it was the end, for me and for her.
“But I can tell you this, without question. She took no drugs at all, except for pot, and not too much. And during her pregnancy there was no question, she was so in love with her pregnancy she would do nothing. I’d pour a glass of wine and she wouldn’t touch it.”

 

Once more Deemer took him through the questioning, then ended the examination, satisfied that Roman Polanski had no involvement in, or any hidden knowledge of, the murder of his wife and the others.

Before leaving, Roman told him, “I’m devoted now to this thing.” He intended to question even his friends. “But I’m going to do it slowly, so they don’t get suspicious. No one knows I’m here. I don’t want them to know that I’m trying in any way to help the police, you know? I’m hoping in this way they’ll have more sincerity.”

Q.
“You have to go on living.”

 

Polanski thanked him, lighted a cigarette, and left.

Q.
“Hey, I thought you didn’t smoke cigarettes!”

 

But Polanski had already gone.

O
n August 20, three days after Peter Hurkos accompanied Roman Polanski to the Cielo residence, a picture of Hurkos appeared in the
Citizen News
. It was captioned:

“
FAMED PSYCHIC
—Peter Hurkos, famed for his consultation in murder cases (including the current Sharon Tate massacre), opens Friday night at the Huntington Hartford, appearing through Aug. 30.”

M
adigan and Jones had been eliminated as suspects. Wilson and Pickett remained.