chase the light

El Coyote Cafe on Beverly Boulevard has been serving Mexican food since 1931. On August 8, 1969, Jay Sebring made an 8 o’clock dinner reservation for Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Sharon Tate, and himself. After waiting 15 minutes in the bar, the four were seated and unknowingly ate their last meals, leaving at around 9:45pm, heading back to Cielo Drive. The four returned back to the Roman Polanski estate, Wojciech fell asleep on the living room couch, Abigail retired to her bedroom to read a book, while Jay sat and talked with Sharon in her bedroom.

Shortly after midnight, Susan Atkins passed by Abigail’s bedroom, Abigail smiled and waved thinking Atkins was someone’s friend. A few minutes later Susan came into the room showing her buck knife and instructed Abigail to go into the living room. Wojciech was awoken by the voice of Charles “Tex” Watson. Frykowski, barely awake, asked him what time it was and Watson replied by kicking him in the head. Even more confused, Wojciech inquired, “Who are you?” Watson answered, “I’m the devil and I’m here to do the devil’s business.”

Susan Atkins entered Sharon Tate’s bedroom with a buck knife in hand, she instructed Sharon and Jay to come into the living room. There, Charles “Tex” Watson tied a rope around Jay’s neck, looped it over the ceiling beam, and then tied it around Sharon’s neck. Sebring argued with Watson over Sharon having to be in such an uncomfortable position considering she was 8 ?Ǭ? months pregnant. Watson immediately shot Sebring, kicking him several times while he lay bleeding to death on the floor. Chaos ensued and Wojciech freed himself while Patricia Krenwinkel and Abigail began wrestling. After being stabbed multiple times Abigail broke free and ran down the hallway in an effort to escape. Krenwinkel followed with an upraised knife, finally tackling her on the lawn just outside Sharon Tate’s bedroom. Krenwinkel continued to stab her until Tex Watson came over to help. According to her killers, Abigail lifelessly pled for them to stop stabbing saying, “I give up, you’ve got me”, and “I’m already dead”.

Still tied up, Sharon sobbed and pled with the killers to let her have her baby. After all the others were killed, Watson and Atkins stabbed Sharon to death, as she cried out for her mother.

Yuck.

At the beginning of the year I was reading the above timeline of the events of the Manson murders. I’d come across it on the web. There was that part about El Coyote restaurant. I never knew my neighborhood restaurant had such a notorious connection. I told neighbor Rachel this and we had the grand plan to visit the old El Coyote Cafe for some Margarita’s and food on August 8th. Ya know just to see if any “shady characters” would show up. I can now report that it was just a normal Sunday evening and we were the only shady characters there. The Margarita’s are still very good. When asked for a name by the host at the door I looked over at Rachel and almost blurted out “Sharon”. I would have bet money that there would have been a party of 4, for the El Coyote Cafe, 8:45 under the name Sharon. Anybody in for next year??