Squeaky Fromme

Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme (/ˈfroʊmiː/ FROH-mee; born October 22, 1948) is an American former member of the Manson Family, a cult led by Charles Manson. Though not involved in the Tate–LaBianca murders for which the Manson family is best known, she attempted to assassinate US President Gerald Ford in 1975. For that crime, she was sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled from prison on August 14, 2009, after serving approximately 34 years. She published a book about her life in 2018.

Fromme was born on October 22, 1948, in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Helen (née Benzinger) and William Millar Fromme, an aeronautical engineer. As a child, Fromme performed with a popular dance group called the Westchester Lariats, which began touring the United States and Europe in the late 1950s. She and the Lariats made an appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show and at the White House.

She attended Orville Wright Junior High School from 1960 to 1963, before the family moved to Redondo Beach. Here, Fromme began using alcohol and drugs. Her grades dropped at Redondo Union High School, but she graduated in 1966. She moved out of her parents' house for a few months before her father convinced her to enroll at El Camino College. She returned home for two months before her father kicked her out following an argument, rendering her homeless.^{[page needed]}

By 1967, at the age of 19, Fromme had dropped out of college. She went to Venice Beach after her parents threw her out of her family's house. Suffering from depression,^{[page needed]} she sat on a curb and watched a bus arrive, and Charles Manson exited. Manson stopped and looked at her and said, "Your parents threw you out, didn't they?" Fromme immediately decided Manson was a psychic. Manson walked away as Fromme picked up her belongings and followed him. Manson had recently been released from the federal prison at Terminal Island, and Fromme became the second member of what would become the Manson Family.

Fromme found Manson's philosophies and attitudes appealing, and the two became friends and traveled together with other young people, including Mary Brunner and Susan Atkins. She lived with the Manson Family at Spahn Ranch where they worked for their keep, and at the Barker Ranch in Death Valley, which was owned by the grandmother of one of the Family members.^{[page needed]} According to Manson Family member Paul Watkins, ranch owner George Spahn gave her the nickname "Squeaky" because of the sound that she made when Spahn ran his hand up her thigh.

Manson and some of his followers were arrested for the Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca murders in 1969, and during the murder trial, Fromme and the remaining members of the Manson Family camped outside the courthouse. Manson and his fellow defendants Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten carved Xs into their foreheads, and so did Fromme and her compatriots. They proclaimed Manson's innocence and they also preached his apocalyptic philosophy to the news media and anyone else who was willing to listen to them. Fromme was not charged with involvement in the murders but she was convicted of attempting to prevent Manson's imprisoned followers from testifying, and she was also convicted of contempt of court when she refused to testify. She was sentenced to serve short jail terms for both offenses.^{[page needed]}

Fromme and Sandra Good moved into an older attic apartment in downtown Sacramento, because they wanted to be near Manson after he was moved to Folsom Prison. She and Good lived in the third-floor apartment at 1725 P Street in Sacramento (38°34′16″N 121°29′09″W / 38.571136°N 121.485786°W / 38.571136; -121.485786).

Around 1973, Fromme started to write an extensive 600-page book about the Manson Family. It included intricate drawings and photos; other family members had also contributed to it. Fromme sent it to publishers, but she dropped her plan to get it published after she discussed it with Clem Grogan, deciding that the project was too incriminating. The book, titled Reflexion, was eventually published in 2018 by the Peasenhall Press.