The first to die in the horrific Manson Family murder spree that terrorized Los Angeles during the summer of 1969, and the first body discovered after the bloodbath, is often the last to be remembered.
Young Steven Parent, 18-years-old and a recent high school graduate, was neither famous nor wealthy like his fellow victims. He was by all accounts simply a good kid who happened to be in the wrong place at the very wrong time that fateful night of Aug. 9, 1969.
Like most other Los Angeles area grave hunters, I've been to Steven's most famous fellow Tate/LaBianca Murders victim Sharon Tate's grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, which also holds the remains of her unborn son, Paul, and her mother and sister. It is always well kept and often has flowers and other tokens of affection left behind by those who remember her to this day.
By comparison, this is how I found Steven's grave a few weeks ago at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, in Rowland Heights, Calif.
Among my friends there was Scott Michaels who recently released The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter, a new, intriguing documentary on DVD which chronicles over 40 key locations associated with the murders. So it was only natural that we'd take a few moments to stop by Steven's grave.
With minimal cleaning tools on hand, Scott and CC did their best to shine up the modest headstone and show Steven the respect his grave deserves. Because that's what grave hunters do.
Here are the results of their efforts. Thanks, you two!
