CNN
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Charles Manson hinted that he was a killer long before he became the infamous cult leader who instructed his followers to commit a series of heinous crimes known as The Manson Crimesthat terrorized 1960s Los Angeles and shocked the nation.

“See, there’s a whole part of my life that nobody knows about,” Manson said in a taped conversation featured in a new docuseries premiering on Peacock on November 19, which examines the convicted felon’s childhood, criminal youth and time in prison.

Twenty years of prison footage is highlighted in the three-part series “Making Manson,” directed by Billie Mintz. One teaser clip for the series, Manson admits to involvement in “a couple” of murders while living in Mexico.

“I went to Acapulco, stole some cars. I just got in over my head, man. I’ve been involved in a few murders. I left my .357 Magnum in Mexico City and left some people dead on the beach,” Manson said.

“I’d kill everybody I could,” Manson said during a previously unheard recording. “I would kill you all if I had the chance.”

The charismatic Manson orchestrated a wave of violence in August 1969 that claimed the lives of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate, generated headlines around the world and landed him and the “Manson Family” of followers in prison for the most part of the rest of their lives.

Although Manson ordered the killing, he did not participate.

“I never said I was innocent,” Manson said in a recording featured in the docuseries. “I said I didn’t break the law.”

Former ‘family’ member Dianne Lake speaks on the show about Manson’s life of crime before the murders, saying: ‘I knew he was in prison for taking a girl across the state line. It seemed minimal at the time.”

Manson died in prison of natural causes in 2017, aged 83, while serving nine life sentences. He was denied parole 12 times. His notoriety, enhanced by popular books and films, has made him a cult figure for those fascinated by his dark apocalyptic visions.

The brutal murders began on August 9, 1969, in the home of actress Sharon Tate and her husband, famous film director Roman Polanski, who was out of the country at the time. The first victims were Tate, who was eight months pregnant; a celebrity stylist named Jay Sebring; coffee fortune heiress Abigail Folger; writer Wojciech Frykowski; and Steven Parent, a friend of the family caregiver.

The following evening, another set of murders took place. Supermarket manager Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, were murdered in their home.

Over the course of two nights, the killers inflicted 169 stab wounds and seven .22 gunshot wounds. Both crime scenes revealed gruesome images. And a few details linked the two.

The word “pig” was written in the blood of the victims on the walls of one house and on the front door of another. There was another phrase apparently scrawled in blood: Helter Skelter (misspelled Healter). The reason for the disturbing writings, a prosecutor claimed, was because Manson wanted to start a race war and had hoped the Black Panthers would be blamed for the murders.

Manson was born Charles Maddox in Cincinnati to a 16-year-old unmarried mother in 1934. He would later take the last name of his then-stepfather, William Manson.

At the age of 12, Charles Manson was sent to the Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, Indiana, for theft. Over the next 20 years, he was in and out of reform schools and prison for various crimes.

In a 1987 interview with CNN, he said, “I spent the better part of my life in all-boys schools, prisons and reform schools because I had nobody.”

After marrying twice and spending half his life in prison, the 32-year-old Manson left for Berkeley, California, via San Francisco in 1967. He established himself as a guru in the summer of love and, in soon, he shared a house. with 18 women.

By 1968, race riots, the Black Panther movement, and violence against the world convinced Manson Armageddon was coming. He named it Helter Skelter after the famous Beatles song.

While a young man in prison, Manson listened to the radio. Inspired by the Beatles, he began writing songs and performing in prison shows.

Manson believed the Beatles were speaking through the lyrics of their White Album, which was released in late 1968. The apocalyptic message, as interpreted by Manson: Black people will “rise up” and overthrow the white establishment in a race war. Manson and his family would be spared by hiding in a “bottomless pit” near Death Valley until he could emerge to take over the leadership of the post-revolutionary order.

After moving to California, Manson met Gary Hinman, a music teacher who introduced him to Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Wilson took one of Manson’s songs, “Cease to Exist,” and turned it into the Beach Boys’ “Never Learn Not to Love.” Manson was furious when he didn’t get a songwriting credit.

Wilson introduced Manson to record producer Terry Melcher, son of actress Doris Day. After initially showing interest in Manson’s music, Melcher refused to work with him again.

Melcher later moved out of his home, which was then rented out to Polanski and Tate.

CNN’s Steve Almasy and Brandon Griggs contributed to this report.