Brooks Poston met Charles Milles Manson at Dennis Wilson's house and joined the Manson Family in June 1968. He and Juanita Wildebush were, likely, the first Family members to live at Barker Ranch. He worked for Paul Crockett (a miner in the Barker Ranch area). Crockett is credited with de-programming Poston, Paul Watkins and Juan Flynn. Poston and Crockett were questioned at Barker Ranch on September 29, 1969 by Powell and Pursell. Poston and Crockett left Barker Ranch during the night and walked twenty miles to Warmsprings and caught a ride to Independence. Both were re-interviewed on October 3, 1969 in Independence by Deputy Sheriff Don Ward. They were interviewed again in late December in Shoshone but detectives thought it was a waste of time since the duo knew nothing of the Tate-LaBianca murders. This may have been the interview (along with Watkins) on December 19 by Highway Patrol Officer Dave Steuber, who was investigating a stolen auto report. This was recorded and lasted nine hours. LAPD received the tapes on December 29 but lost them. Vincent Bugliosi didn't find out about the interview for nine months.
During police interviews, the pair told of the Family's drug usage and sex orgies. He said Manson implied that he was Jesus Christ but never stated so. Poston also believed Manson was Jesus. Claimed that Manson said the Family members were the reincarnated original Christians. Poston said the source of Manson's philosophy was Scientology, the Bible and the Beatles. He also stated that Manson said "Hitler was a tuned-in guy who had leveled the karma of the Jews."
Poston said that Manson once suggested he should take a knife to Shoshone and kill the sheriff but Poston refused. When Manson testified in November 1970, he said
"I don't know the sheriff of Shoshone. I am not saying that I didn't say it, but if I said it, at the time I may have thought it was a good idea."
Poston and Watkins testified about the Helter Skelter theory. Among Poston's testimony was "No, I don't think that Charlie had a hypnotic spell." and "I felt he was Jesus Christ. That is power enough for me." and "I learned a lot from Charlie, but it doesn't seem that he was making all those people free."
Poston also testified that in February 1969 Manson told him and other Family members (including Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel): "He said a group of real blacks would come out of the ghettos and do an atrocious crime in the richer sections of Los Angeles and other cities. They would do an atrocious murder with stabbing, killing, cutting bodies to pieces, smearing blood on the walls, writing 'pigs' on the walls."
After the trials, Poston and Watkins formed a music group and played at clubs in the Inyo County area under the name "Desert Sun." Their songs were used as background music in Robert Hendrickson's film "Manson". Recordings have circulated of him performing with Jane Boltinghouse. Vincent Bugliosi wrote that Poston is rumored to be part of a cult in New Orleans. Possibly, Poston lives a simple life (nowhere near Louisiana) and plays music.
