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LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Sophia Maddox, co-director of the Hulu documentary “My Grandfather Charles Manson,” spoke about her deeply personal journey after finding out through a DNA test that her biological grandfather was one of American history’s most infamous criminals.
She says everything began about four years ago, when she received a phone call from her father, who told her that a DNA test identified the grandfather she had never known — Charles Manson.
“I need to understand what happened, no matter where it takes me,” Maddox says in the trailer for the documentary, which tells the emotional tale that shattered her world, as she learns about her family history and their connection to Manson, the cult leader who orchestrated the murder of actress Sharon Tate and six others across Los Angeles in 1969.
“The whole point of this documentary was, yeah, I’m going to face it,” Maddox said, during an interview with Inside Edition. “I’m going to tell the story before anyone else tells my story.”
Maddox says that she was initially in shock at the revelation, terrified that evil was in her family’s blood. The magnitude of the information, paired with a lifelong warning from her father, Daniel, was overwhelming.
“My dad always told me we were cursed growing up,” she said. “Part of the curse was the lies we were being told and not knowing who we came from.”
While speaking with CBS LA, she said that her father kept them from watching “dark,” or violent shows and movies. When she first guessed who her grandfather was, Maddox says she thought it may have been Ted Bundy.
“He said, ‘Bigger,'” Maddox recalled. “I just thought of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,'” and I was like, ‘What’s that guy’s name?’ and I Googled the name, cause I didn’t know what he looked like and I kinda saw a resemblance within my dad there.”
During the filmmaking process, Maddox says that her relationship with her father became strained. It still hasn’t healed.
“I regret calling you my daughter,” Maddox’s father can be heard saying at one point in the film. “I don’t ever want to talk to you again.”
She says that her investigation into who Manson was drove the two apart, but she’s still hopeful they can reconcile.
“He completely blocked me from his life. I have him unblocked; he can come to me anytime he wants. But, you know, I’ve got no hard feelings or animosity,” Maddox said.
Ultimately, she looks at the project as a means of moving on and setting herself free from her family’s darkest secret so she can take her life into her own hands.
“You don’t have to be related to the most infamous criminal to relate to needing to break generational cycles and traumas and do the work and go to therapy,” Maddox said. “So, I hope people can relate in some capacity.”
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