nature of his death was ruled as 'Undetermined'. Hughes' funeral was held on April 7, 1971 in West Los Angeles. He was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Aftermath In his book Helter Skelter, Vincent Bugliosi wrote that Sandra Good, an associate of Manson and a close friend of devoted Manson family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, claimed that Manson family members had killed "35 to 40 people" and that, "Hughes was the first of the retaliation murders." In the afterword to the 25th anniversary edition of the book, Bugliosi also said that he received a call in 1976 from a former member of the Manson family, "understandably wanting to remain anonymous," who also claimed that Hughes had been murdered by the family. Attorney Stephen Kay, who helped Bugliosi prosecute members of the family, stated that while he is "on the fence" about the family's involvement in Hughes' death, Manson had open contempt for Hughes during the trial. Kay added, "The last thing Manson said to him [Hughes] was, 'I don't want to see you in the courtroom again,' and he was never seen again alive." Retired Ventura County sheriff Charlie Rudd, who was assigned to investigate Hughes' disappearance, stated that he felt Hughes' death was accidental because there were no signs of foul play. Rudd believes that Hughes was stranded by the rainstorm which caused the creek to swell. He believes that Hughes drowned or was knocked unconscious and killed by rocks and debris as he was swept away by the water. Musician and author Ed Sanders, who was a friend of Hughes, wrote about his death in his 1971 book The Family. He stated therein that his death was due to accidental drowning. In 1976, Van Houten was granted a new trial on the grounds that she was denied proper legal representation after Hughes disappeared before the closing arguments. Her retrial in 1977 ended in a hung jury. She was released from jail after posting $200,000 bond and retried in 1978. In her third trial, Van Houten was convicted of the first-degree murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and conspiracy in connection with the Tate murders. She was sentenced to seven years to life in prison. See also List of solved missing person cases List of unsolved murders Footnotes Sources Bugliosi, Vincent; Gentry, Curt (1974, 1994). Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders.