His mother eventually got out of prison and reclaimed her son for another nine years of abuse and negligence (Crime Library, 2004). When Charles was 14, he finally got sick of his mothers negligence and moved out of her shanty and into a one room apartment and paid the rent with odd jobs and petty theft. His mom eventually found her son and turned Charles in to the juvenile authorities, who in turn put him in a "Boy's Town- in Omaha, Nebraska. After only three days in the Boys Town, he escaped and went on a fun little spree across the Midwest, robbing grocery and convenience stores along the way. He was finally caught in Peoria, Illinois, while attempting to rob yet another grocery store while armed. After this little escapade, Manson was sent to the Indiana School for Boys in Plainfield, Indiana, where he treated everyone with nothing but distrust and he tried to escape. (bdrum.com, 2004).
After eighteen attempts at escaping from the school in a three year period and an incident just days before a parole hearing where Manson held a razor to a boys throat while he fondled the boy, Manson was finally sent to the National Training School for Boys in Washington D.C. (www.law.umkc.edu, 2004). The adjustment was a lot like a move from a State prison to a Federal Prison because there was a lot more structure and control in the National Boys School. Manson seemed to like the elevation in structure and control as he became much more cooperative and even learned to read. While at the school, Manson was tested extensively on everything from Music to I.Q. His tests were all average, with his I.Q. at 109, with the exception of his music test. Manson had an unusual ability with music. Dr. Block, who did the test, concluded that Manson had been shown very little compassion as a child and now he was showing it. Manson was also very small for his age. The combination of these two factors led Manson on a constant quest for domination over everyone and everything in his life.
