WARNING: This article contains references to murder and graphic violence.
Netflix’s crime documentary, Chaos: The Manson Murders, offers new insight into the actions of one of the most infamous murder cults in history and the horrific events that took place at 10050 Cielo Drive in the late 1960s. Adapted from the 2019 book, CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill, the documentary explores how Charles Manson was able to manipulate a group of young people into committing murder across Los Angeles, leaving seven people ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. The Netflix crime documentary explores the Manson Family’s most notorious crimes, which took place at the house.
The house at 10050 Cielo Drive was the residence of controversial movie director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate, during the 1960s. On August 9, 1969, four members of the Manson Family broke into the house and savagely murdered Tate, who was eight months pregnant, with her first child, and four of her friends, including hair stylist, Jay Sebring. Throughout interviews with federal agents and scientists, the events of the Tate murders at the infamous house and the tactics Charles Manson used to brainwash young people to commit murder are examined in one of Netflix’s most frightening true-crime documentaries,
Rudolph Altobelli Moved Back Into 10050 Cielo Drive After The Manson Family Murders
Altobelli Live At 10050 Cielo Drive Unitl 1988
Originally built in 1942, the house at 10050 Cielo Drive was bought by Hollywood talent manager, Rudolph Altobelli, for $86,000 – equivalent to $904,000 in 2024 – in the early 1960s. Altobelli often rented out the property to celebrities, including Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski (via The Hollywood Reporter). During Manson’s murder trial, Altobelli testified that Manson had visited the house in early 1969, searching for the singer, Terry Melcher, only to be informed that Melcher had moved out (via Cielo Drive). Altobelli was not at the house on the night of the murders, having traveled to Europe for a business trip.
Just three weeks after the Manson Family Murders, Rudolph Altobelli moved back to 10050 Cielo Drive. He later sued Roman Polanski for allowing LIFE Magazine to publish pH๏τographs of the crime scene, which he claimed would hurt the property value of the house (via People). Despite the dark events that took place, Altobelli expressed his happiness at living in the house, stating “I felt safe, secure, loved and beauty” (via Curbed). Altobelli resided at 10050 Cielo Drive until 1988, when he sold the property to real estate investor, John Prell, for $1.6 million, equivalent to $4 million in 2024 (via Los Angeles Times).
Trent Reznor Lived In The Manson Family Murder House For A Year In The Early ’90s
Nine Inch Nails Recorded Their 1994 Album The Downward Spiral At The House
In 1992, musician Trent Reznor moved to 10050 Cielo Drive, renting out the property from Prell; Reznor was the last resident who lived at the house when it was in its original design. During his time at the house, Reznor operated a recording studio, where his band, Nine Inch Nails, recorded the majority of their second studio album, The Downward Spiral, released in 1994 (via Select Magazine). Nine Inch Nails also recorded the music video for their single “Gave Up” with Marilyn Manson at the property. Marilyn Manson also recorded his debut album, Portrait of an American Family, in Reznor’s studio (via Billboard).
Trent Reznor’s recording studio at 10050 Cielo Drive was given the nickname “Le Pig,” a reference to the word “Pig,” that was written on the front door of the house by Susan Atkins in Sharon Tate’s blood on the night of the Manson Family Murders.
Reznor lived at 10050 Cielo Drive until December 1993, later admitting that a chance encounter with Tate’s sister influenced his decision to leave. Reznor stated that from the meeting, he understood that Tate was murdered in “a senseless, ignorant situation that [he didn’t] want to support” and that he didn’t want to be seen as “a guy who supports serial-killers” (via Rolling Stone). Upon moving out, Reznor took the front door of the house and installed it at Nothing Studios in New Orleans; after the studio closed, the door was sold at an auction for $127,000 in 2023 (via Independent).
The Original House At 10050 Cielo Drive Was Demolished In 1994 And Rebuilt With A New Address
The New House At 10066 Cielo Drive Is On The Market For Nearly $50 Million
In 1992, John Prell sold the house to real estate investor, Alvin Weintraub; after Reznor moved out of the property, Weintraub had the house where the Manson Family Murders took place demolished in 1994. In 1996, a new house was established on the property, which Weintraub named Villa Bella. Weintraub explained in an interview that work was done to remove every trace of the original house, stating “there is no house, no dirt, no blade of grᴀss remotely connected to Sharon Tate” (via Los Angeles Magazine). The Villa Bella house was also given the new address of 10066 Cielo Drive in 1998.
The house at 10066 Cielo Drive is now currently owned by television show creator, Jeff Franklin, best known as the creator of Full House (via Robb Report). Franklin moved into the house in 2007, upon buying it for $6 million, and lived there until 2021, when he moved to Miami (via House Beautiful). The house has been on the market since 2019 and, as of January 2025, has an estimated value of just over $17 million (via Zillow).
Despite the demolition and the new address given to the property, as depicted in Chaos: The Manson Murders, the events that took place at 10050 Cielo Drive in August 1969, will always be remembered as one of the most horrifying murders in American history.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Cielo Drive, People, Curbed, Los Angeles Times, Select Magazine, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Independent, Los Angeles Magazine, Robb Report, House Beautiful, Zillow
