Sharon Tate’s murder at the hands of Charles Manson’s followers is one of the few American tragedies that come back as vivid as ever when recalled. The gruesome murder of Tate and her friends by the Manson family has often found its way back into the cultural zeitgeist, though some might argue that it never left.
Despite the gruesome nature of the murder that took place, claiming the lives of no less than 5 people, the night could have been more tragic than it was, had another Playmate been at the house as she was expected to be.
Angela Dorian called in sick on the night of the murder
Angela Dorian, also known by her legal name Victoria Vetri, met Sharon Tate, and the duo hit it off pretty well. The fast friends bonded over their time as Playboy Playmates, culminating in the faithful night, when an eight and a half months pregnant Sharon Tate found herself brutally executed by members of the Manson Family, on the orders of the despotic megalomaniac Charles Manson, along with four other friends of the family.
Vetri was supposed to be there at the gathering on August 9, 1969, but had to call in sick as she was feeling a little under the weather. The actress was haunted by the incident for years later, even after she married her husband. Director Roman Polanski, who was Sharon Tate’s husband, even gave her a gun to protect herself from the demented Manson crowd.
However, Vetri would see herself serve some prison time for the use of the gun, as it was discharged not at the Manson Family, but at her husband, Burce Rathgeb, by her own hands, haunted by the ghost of the man who killed her friends.
Victoria Vetri almost killed her husband Bruce Rathgeb
Bruce Rathbreg and Victoria Vetri were married in 1986, 19 years after the horrifying night. While it was smooth sailing till 2000, substance abuse issues caused their marriage to enter an especially rocky time. Having no money, and still dealing with a lot of mental trauma, Vetri and Rathbreg finally saw separation post 2010.
Following Rathberg’s return, Vetri produced the gun that director Polanski gave her and aimed it at her partner, who had allegedly torn up her Playboy magazine. After the bullet failed to kill her partner, there were a series of accusations levelled by Vetri at numerous potential shooters, but all of them were found to be false.
The former Playmate ended up serving eight years in prison. Vetri was initially charged with attempted murder, an accusations that the courts would not reduce despite repeated please from her attorney. The bail posted for the former Playmate was a whopping $1.53 million, something that was also refused by the sitting judge, Micahel D. Abzug. The sentencing that followed would see the the accusation reduced to voluntary manslaughter, which she did not contest to. She was sentenced to be in prison for 9 years.
After her release on parole in 2019, she hunted down her pink car, which she had received when she was announced Playmate of the Year, and bought it back.
