You might never have heard of Lynette Fromme, but you have certainly heard of two men with whom she will be forever linked. More of them later.

Lynette had a difficult childhood in southern California, and descended into alcohol and drug abuse as a teenager. When eventually thrown out of the family home after she dropped out of college, the depression really kicked in. One day she took herself down to Venice Beach, Los Angeles, and sat crying on a bench. And it was thus that the course of her life changed. A gentleman befriended the weeping Fromme, and as they talked her outlook was transformed. She was excited by his attitude and ideas, and soon they were travelling together. Other idealistic young people joined, and they became like one big family.

Somehow trouble was never far away. The man from Venice Beach was imprisoned. And she herself endured short periods in jail. There were deaths of close associates, and the finger of suspicion even fell on her for a time.

Eventually this troubled young lady took a gun, loaded with four rounds, and attempted the ultimate crime of murder. The attempt failed only because there was no bullet in the firing chamber, and the gun was wrestled off her before she could kill her intended victim - US President Gerald Ford. She is now serving a life term for that crime, and although she is eligible for parole she has refused a hearing. She remains devoted to the kindly man who took pity on her that day on the bench at Venice Beach - one Charles Milles Manson.