Susan Atkins First Husband: Who Was Donald Lee Laisure?

Donald Lee Laisure was Susan Atkins’ first husband. They were married on September 2, 1981, in Chowchilla, California. Laisure was a self-described millionaire who claimed to have made his fortune in the oil business. However, it was later revealed that Laisure was a con artist who had been married 35 times before.

Atkins’ marriage to Laisure was short-lived. They divorced in 1982 after Laisure sought to marry yet again. Atkins later said that she had married Laisure because she was lonely and desperate for love.

Laisure died in 2007. He was 74 years old. His ex, Susan Denise Atkins was an American convicted murderer who was a member of Charles Manson’s “Family”. She was known within the Manson family as Sadie Mae Glutz or Sexy Sadie.

Atkins was convicted for her participation in eight of these killings, including the most notorious, the Tate murders in 1969. She was sentenced to death, which was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment when the California Supreme Court invalidated all death sentences issued prior to 1972.

Atkins was born in San Gabriel, California, in 1948. She had a troubled childhood, and was sexually abused by her stepfather. She dropped out of high school and became a prostitute. In 1967, she met Charles Manson and joined his “Family”.

In August 1969, Atkins and other members of the Family murdered five people at the home of Sharon Tate, the wife of film director Roman Polanski. Atkins wrote “Pig” in blood on the front door of the house. The next day, Atkins and other members of the Family murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

Atkins was arrested in November 1969, and she confessed to her involvement in the murders. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.