Afton Elaine Burton was just 16 when she first learned about Charles Manson, the mass murderer who led a “family” of followers on a killing spree in California in the 1960s.
Now 26, Burton and the 80-year-old serial killer are set to get married. Manson filed paperwork for a marriage license.
Burton said she fell in love with Manson not for his notorious exploits but instead for his gentle philosophy toward the earth. Manson is a proponent of ATWA, an environmental viewpoint that stands for air, trees, water, animals.
“It’s the life on the planet, you know,” said Burton, who now goes by Star, in an August interview with CNN . “The Earth is a rock and everything else on it is ATWA.”
Elaine Burton said she started corresponding with Charles Manson when she was still a teen and when she was 19, she moved to Corcoran, the small California city that houses the Corcoran State Prison where Manson has lived for the past 25 years. Eventually, the two fell in love and Burton revealed that Charles Manson was very insistent that they get married.
“He did… he asked me about 10 times, and I kept saying ‘yes.’”
Burton added that she knows there will be critics of the marriage but that she doesn’t care much when they have to say.
“No. I don’t get into other people’s business. I don’t judge people. I don’t mess with people. I don’t lie to people. And Charlie’s the same way. You know, he just wants to be left alone, that’s all.”
Charles Manson and Afton Elaine “Star” Burton have not announced an exact date for their jailhouse wedding but it must be completed within 90 days or else a new license must be sought. Because Manson is serving a life sentence, the couple will not be allowed to have conjugal visits, even after they are married.
[Image via CNN]