| Steve Dennis Grogan | |
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Mug shot taken in 1969 |
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| Born | May 24, 1952 |
| Alias(es) | Clem Tufts, Scramblehead |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Penalty | Death, overturned to life imprisonment by Judge James Kolts |
| Status | Paroled in 1985 |
| Occupation | Musician, Artist |
Steve Dennis "Clem" Grogan (born May 24, 1952), is an American murderer, former member of The Manson Family.
Grogan, a musician, dropped out of high school and was involved in minor crimes before joining the Manson family at the Spahn Ranch. Like Charles Manson, he was friends with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. He was often considered dumb, or even 'retarded', by other Family members, earning him the nickname 'Scramblehead', but some felt he was only "playing dumb". Allegedly, it was Grogan who wrecked Wilson's uninsured Ferrari.[1]
In 1969 he was sentenced to 90 days observation at Camarillo State Mental Hospital for exposing his penis to a group of school children, but he returned to the ranch after two days.[1]
The night of August 10, 1969 he rode with members of the Manson family. Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were dropped off at the house of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, but Grogan, Manson, Susan Atkins and Linda Kasabian continued to Venice Beach where Manson sent Grogan, Atkins and Kasabian to kill actor Saladin Nader, but Kasabian led them to the wrong apartment and the plan was aborted.
Grogan later helped Manson, Watson and Bruce Davis to kill Spahn ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea. The jury returned verdicts of life imprisonment for Manson and Davis, but death for Grogan. However, on December 23, 1971, Judge James Kolts stated that "Grogan was too stupid and too hopped on drugs to decide anything on his own" and that it was really Manson "who decided who lived or died" and reduced Grogan's sentence to life imprisonment.[2] Grogan later assisted the authorities and drew a map to where Shea's body was buried. In prison he was head of the prison's program to deter juveniles from a life of crime and kept away from fellow inmate Manson.[3] He was released from prison in 1985 and remains the only Manson family member who has been convicted of murder and released from prison.
Grogan was one of the people featured in the Oscar-nominated 1973 documentary film Manson.
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