An American woman named Lynette Alice “Squeaky” Fromme made an attempt to kill Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, in 1975. She was notable for being a member of the notorious Manson Family. She was a member of the Westchester Lariats, a local dance crew when she was younger. She and her family relocated to California in 1963, where she started abusing alcohol and drugs. Four years later, she met Charles Manson, and they quickly grew close. She inked an X on her forehead in solidarity with the mysterious killer when Manson was apprehended in 1969 for the Tate/La Bianca killings. She would then make contact with the Aryan Brotherhood to carry out a pact Manson had already made, and she would subsequently be linked to murders carried out by the Brotherhood’s members. In the end, Fromme was freed since there wasn’t enough evidence to hold her. She made the decision to relocate to Sacramento, California, where she confronted Ford with a revolver in September 1975. She was swiftly disarmed by Secret Service agents, and she was then taken into custody. Fromme was charged with a felony and found guilty; she received a life sentence. She spent 34 years in various prisons until being released on parole in 2009.
Early Childhood & Life
Helen (née Benzinger), a stay-at-home mother, and William Millar Fromme, an aeronautical engineer and alumnus of the New York University, welcomed Lynnette Fromme into the world on October 22, 1948, in Santa Monica, California.
She was a cherished dancer in her community as a child, a member of the Westchester Lariats. In the late 1950s, they went on tour in the US and Europe. They even appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show, where they met President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
When she and her family moved to Redondo Beach, California, in 1963, Fromme quickly developed a drug and alcohol addiction. She attended Redondo Union High School and received her diploma in 1966.
Her father had encouraged her to go to college. She initially enrolled in El Camino Junior College in Torrance, California, but left after a short while. She then got into a fight with her father, which made him kick her out of the house.
Having ties to the Manson Family
Lynette Fromme struggled with severe spells of depression in 1967 after being made homeless. During this time, she first encountered Manson, whose philosophical outlook she found fascinating.
She joined Manson’s inner group, the infamous Manson Family while traveling with him. Bruce Davis, Nancy Pitman, Catherine “Gypsy” Share, Sandra Good, Susan Atkins, Mary Brunner, and Paul Watkins were among the other youthful members addition to her.
They settled into a house at Spahn Ranch in Southern California. George Spahn, its owner, started nicknaming her “Squeaky” because of the noise she made whenever he stroked her.
Fromme and the rest of the family members started to campaign outside of the courtroom during Manson’s 1969 trial for the murders of Tate and LaBianca. She and the others etched Xs on their foreheads, imitating the behavior of Manson and other alleged members. Although she was never charged with murder in connection with this specific series of killings, she was given a brief prison term for her efforts to prevent witnesses from testifying against Manson and for contempt of court because she refused to testify herself.
Fromme started working on a comprehensive book about the Manson Family after relocating to Sacramento, California, with Sandra Good so they could be close to Manson, who was being held at Folsom Prison at the time. She soon abandoned the notion though after realizing how damning that may be.
Manson struck an agreement with the Aryan Brotherhood while in prison. The remaining women of the Manson Family would keep in touch with them frequently in exchange for their protection of him when he was incarcerated. According to reports, Manson told the ladies to give the brotherhood inmates nude photos of themselves.
Fromme, Pitman, and Priscilla Cooper moved in with Michael Monfort and James Craig, two freshly exonerated Brotherhood members, in Stockton, California. James and Lauren Willett were encountered by the party at a cabin close to the town. Before executing James, the ex-convicts made him dig his own grave. James’ body was discovered, and Fromme, the ex-convicts, and other people were taken into custody. The body of Lauren was also found after a search of the property. Also found was a little girl who may be Willetts’ daughter.
Investigators discovered that Lauren had died unintentionally. James’ murder was the alleged crime against Craig and Monfort. Despite spending two and a half months in police custody, Fromme was never charged. She said that she had been traveling all across California to meet up with Brotherhood members and remain close to Manson during a news appearance from San Joaquin County jail. Following her release, Sandra Wood, a relative, helped her relocate back to Sacramento.
She contacted Led Zeppelin’s vice president of recording, Danny Goldberg, in March 1975, during their North American tour, asking him to alert guitarist Jimmy Page about “bad energy.” She added that she had come to warn Page because she had spotted the impending risk to his life. Finally, Goldberg instructed her to draft a letter that he would give to Page. Later accounts claim that the memo was incinerated.
Attempt on President Gerald Ford’s life
The 49th annual Sacramento “Host Breakfast,” an annual gathering of rich California business executives, was scheduled to take place at the Sacramento Convention Center on September 5, 1975, with US President Gerald Ford scheduled to deliver the keynote address.
During this time, Fromme had started to worry about California’s massive coastal redwoods, which she thought were in grave danger because of smog from cars. She made the decision to assassinate the president in order to draw the government’s attention to the issue.
She donned a red dress on the morning of September 5, arming herself with a Colt M1911.45 semi-automatic pistol, and made her way to the grounds of the California state house. Fromme took a seat in the front row of the spectators’ group. Fromme took the revolver out of the leg holster and pointed it at Ford as he came over to shake their hands.
Agent Larry Buendorf of the Secret Service promptly disarmed her and took her into custody. She had four rounds of ammunition in the gun, but there were none in the chamber, it was discovered. Later, she admitted that she had earlier purposefully emptied the chamber.
She was given instructions by her defense attorneys despite being accused of trying to kill the president of the United States. She was found guilty in 1975 and given a life sentence.
Later Life and Prison Release
One of the very few members of the Manson Family who has never renounced Manson is Lynette Fromme. In 1979, following an assault on another prisoner, she was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin in Dublin, California.
On December 23, 1987, she was able to escape the Federal Prison Camp Alderson in Alderson, West Virginia, to visit Manson after finding out that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Two days later, she was apprehended again and taken to Fort Worth, Texas’s Federal Medical Center, Carswell.
She had been parole-eligible since 1987, but she repeatedly declined her right to a hearing. She was eventually granted parole in July 2008, but not before spending additional time in prison as a result of her aborted effort to flee. The parole for Fromme expired on August 14, 2009. She is presently a Marcy, New York, resident.
Estimated net worth
The estimated net worth of Lynette Fromme is about $1 million.
Trivia
Laraine Newman, an actress, and comedian, played Fromme in an episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in the 1970s.