--- description: Afton Elaine Burton has been communicating with the convicted killer since she was a teenager title: 5 Things to Know About the Woman Charles Manson Might Marry image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26491a0ee7620020/698769383c16390989450045/charles-manson-star-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 5 Things to Know About the 26-Year-Old Woman Charles Manson Might Marry  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 18, 2014 12:20 AM CUT  From Left: Afton Elaine Burton and Charles Manson, imprisoned for life for association with a series of murders in the 1960s in Corcoran, Calif. on Aug. 14, 2011. From Left: Afton Elaine Burton and Charles Manson, imprisoned for life for association with a series of murders in the 1960s in Corcoran, Calif. on Aug. 14, 2011.Manson Direct/Polaris  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 18, 2014 12:20 AM CUT [Charles Manson](http://time.com/3591949/charles-manson-history/ "undefined"), the 80-year-old mastermind behind one of the most notorious murder sprees of the 20th century, [might be getting hitched](http://time.com/3590534/charles-manson-marriage/ "undefined"). Manson, who was convicted of the brutal slayings of actress Sharon Tate and several others in 1969, and 26-year-old Afton Elaine Burton, who goes by the name Star, were issued a marriage license on Nov. 7, the Associated Press reports. They must marry within 90 days for it to be official. Because he is serving a life sentence in prison, Manson isn’t allowed conjugal visits, but the two are allowed to invite someone to officiate the ceremony and [up to 10 outside guests](http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-charles-manson-gets-marriage-license-215524033.html "undefined") may attend. Here are five things to know about the woman he might marry: **They got in touch when she was 17 years old.** Burton began corresponding with Manson after a friend showed her some of his environmental writings, [_Rolling Stone_ reported in 2013](http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/is-charles-manson-getting-married-20131120 "undefined"). She used the $2,000 that she saved from working in a retirement home kitchen to move from her home in Illinois to Corcoran, Calif., where she has been visiting Manson in jail since 2007\. She would visit him on Saturdays and Sundays for hours at a time. **She believes Manson is innocent.** Burton, who runs a few pro-Manson websites, said she would like to work on his case and that marrying him would allow her access to information and documents restricted to family. “There’s certain things next of kin can do,” [she told the AP](http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-charles-manson-gets-marriage-license-215524033.html "undefined"). **Her relationship with her parents is fairly positive.** Burton told British newspaper the [_Daily Mail_ in an email](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2688005/EXCLUSIVE-Daddy-Im-getting-married-Charlie-Charlie-Manson-Father-relives-moment-daughter-revealed-intended-marry-infamous-killer-incredibly-come-accept-it.html "undefined"), “I was forcefully excommunicated from my friends for a long period of time in my teen years. I couldn’t have any contact at all with any of them. It had a big effect on my life.” (Her father, Phil, said she was never forced to spend time in her room.) Now, she says she has a “positive relationship” with her devout Baptist family and is regularly in touch with them. Though her father says Manson is not welcome in their home and that he “won’t be hopping on a plane” to attend a wedding ceremony, he says, “We have not, we are not going to and we never will, no matter what she does in her life, disown our daughter. I love my kids more than life itself.” ### The Face of a Killer: See Charles Manson's Twisted Evolution  Charles Manson at age 13, three days before he ran away from Boy's Town in Omaha in 1947. Bettmann/Corbis  Charles Manson, accused of seven killings including that of actress Sharon Tate, leaves a Los Angeles courtroom, on Feb. 16, 1970 where he was denied a change of venue. The court ruled he can receive a fair trial in Los Angeles despite massive pretrial publicity. Wally Fong—AP  Manson sticks his tongue out at photographers as he appears in a Santa Monica, Calif., courtroom on June 25, 1970. AP  Charles Manson appears during his trial with an 'X' carved into his forehead, in 1970. AP  Convicted murderer Manson appears with a swastika carved into his forehead as he is led back to the courtroom to hear the penalty he and this three female followers must pay for the Tate-LaBianca murders, on March 29, 1971. Bettmann/Corbis  Manson appears at his parole hearing at San Quentin, Calif., in 1985. Eric Risberg—AP  Manson mugs for the camera during a rare interview with reporter Geraldo Rivera at San Quentin Prison in California on March 17, 1988. AP  Manson, age 74, at Corcoran State Prison in California on March 18, 2009\. The picture was taken as a regular update of the prison's files. Getty Images **Burton and Manson haven’t always agreed on marriage.** She told _Rolling Stone_ that the two of them would definitely marry. Manson, however, said at the time that those plans were “a bunch of garbage.” “That’s trash,” he said. “We’re just playing that for public consumption.” **Many people have pointed out her resemblance to Susan Atkins.** Known as “Sexy Sadie,” Susan Atkins was a convicted murder member of the Manson family who was incarcerated for nearly 40 years until her death in 2009\. Burton, however, was not a fan: “That bitch was f-cking crazy,” she told _Rolling Stone_. “She was a crazy f-cking whore. ‘Oh Charlie, I did this for you.’ She didn’t know what she was doing.” Still, in one photo Burton appears to have carved an “x” into her forehead, something female Manson family members did during his trial in the 1970s. _Read next:_ * [_Who is Charles Manson?_](http://time.com/3591949/charles-manson-history/ "undefined") * [_The Manson Family on Trial: Madness Visible_](http://life.time.com/history/charles-manson-photos-of-the-cult-leader-and-his-followers/#1?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") * [_The Manson Family’s California Hovels: Scenes From the Bottomless Pit_](http://life.time.com/history/charles-manson-family-scenes-from-their-desert-hovels/#1?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3590836/charles-manson-marriage-afton-elaine-burton-star/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3590836/charles-manson-marriage-afton-elaine-burton-star/"},"headline":"5 Things to Know About the 26-Year-Old Woman Charles Manson Might Marry","datePublished":"2014-11-18T00:20:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:02.241Z","description":"Afton Elaine Burton has been communicating with the convicted killer since she was a teenager","url":"https://time.com/3590836/charles-manson-marriage-afton-elaine-burton-star/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26491a0ee7620020/698769383c16390989450045/charles-manson-star-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26491a0ee7620020/698769383c16390989450045/charles-manson-star-marriage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Charles Manson and friends","caption":"Charles Manson and friends","creditText":"Manson Direct/Polaris","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3590836/charles-manson-marriage-afton-elaine-burton-star/","name":"5 Things to Know About the 26-Year-Old Woman Charles Manson Might Marry"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Charles Manson, the Notorious Cult Leader and Mastermind Behind Several Murders, Has Died","description":"Charles Manson, a cult leader whose crimes loom large in the American psyche, died in the early hours of Monday, the Associated Press confirmed. 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