Havard University graduate Abigail Folger was among the unfortunate victims of the August 1969 Tate Murders by members of the Manson Family, a notorious cult. Full of life and making the best out of her existence, Folger watched as life was forcefully snatched away from her at the residence of actress Sharon Tate by the notorious Manson murderers on August 9, 1969.
The killings made the news for the rest of that year with Tate headlining almost every media platform as one of the victims. This was of course as a result of her fame as an actress. Although Folger was not an actress, she also had a peculiar designation attached to her name. Find out more about Abigail Folger and the dreadful Tate Murders as you scroll through.
Abigail Folger Biography (Age)
She was born on August 11, 1943, in San Francisco, California. Growing up, she was highly drawn to art and poetry and was very good at them. Her love for arts pushed her to mold her career path in line with it. Abigail Folger attended Santa Catalina School in California. After graduating in 1961, she proceeded to Radcliffe College in Massachusetts. While at the school, Folger participated a lot in theatrical productions.
She was known for several theatrical productions and was popular for her works. She did not stop there; Abigail’s love for arts pushed her to study art history at Harvard University after graduating from Radcliffe. She graduated from Havard in 1967. Afterward, she got a job at the University of California Arts Museum where she handled publicity. Folger also worked for a magazine outlet after she moved from California to New York.
In New York, Abigail Folger met screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski through Jerzy Kosinski, a Polish author whom she made contact with shortly after her arrival in the city. Abigail Folger and Wojciech became really close friends and even took their friendship to another level. From friends to lovers, the two started dating and soon began living together in Abigail’s apartment. Wojciech was an up-and-coming screenwriter at the time hoping to make it big in New York. Abigail was quite supportive of him during this time by providing his basic needs.
The couple later moved to Los Angeles in 1968, it was a bid to secure better opportunities for Wojciech. At LA, they came in contact with some notable personalities in the industry, including film director Roman Polanski and his wife, Sharon Tate, a popular actress. Also in LA, Abigail Folger did a lot of charity by engaging in social works and civil rights activism.
Her Family
Abigail came from an affluent Catholic family. She was born to Inez Mejia (mother) and Peter Folger (father) who was the chairman of the popular Folger Coffee Company established by JA Folger, her great grandfather. Abigail Folger was to take after her father and was the heiress to the fortune.
Despite her wealthy background, she was raised uprightly as her parents inculcated in her a sense of responsibility. However, in 1952, her parents got divorced. Her father got married again in 1960 to another woman whose name is not known.
Abigail Folger’s Assassination and Death
Before the day of the gruesome murders, Abigail and her boyfriend Wojciech had gone for dinner at the house of Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. Their relationship at the time was faced with a lot of challenges as it was reported that Frykowski started to steal from Folger who was supporting him financially. Nonetheless, she still went with him to the residence of the Polanski’s at 10050 Cielo Drive.
Sharon Tate was eight months pregnant at the time. Her husband was away working on a film project in Europe. After midnight, Abigail had put on her nightgown and was in one of the guest rooms while Wojciech had fallen asleep on the couch. Around that time, they were invaded by four members of the Manson Family; Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel.
One by one, they killed all five people they found in the house; Sharon Tate, her friend Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Steven Parent. It was in the morning when Polanski’s housekeeper, Winifred Chapman got to the house that the killings were discovered. She raised an alarm and the police came calling thereafter.
Abigail’s blood-soaked body was found outside on the lawn; she was attempting to escape but was captured and stabbed 28 times. Frykowski’s body was also found on the lawn with multiple knife and gunshot wounds. The bodies of Sharon and Sebring were found inside all covered with multiple knife wounds. Steven Parent who was 18 at the time was shot four times and was dumped over the front seat of his car at the entrance. The parent was only visiting William Garretson, the property caretaker when he met his unfortunate demise.
