In the photo above, psychic Peter Hurkos is seen kneeling next to Sharon’s dried blood. In the background is his wife, Stephany. Photo taken on August 17, 1969.
Dutch clairvoyant Peter Hurkos (born Pieter van der Hurk) was a house painter until an accident in the 1940s changed his life forever. After falling from a ladder and suffering serious brain damage, Hurkos was in a coma for three days. When he awoke, he reported having developed supernatural powers, including the ability to see into the future and events in the past. With his newfound gifts, Hurkos became a celebrated figure.
Hurkos made headlines for his involvement in the infamous Tate murders, as Roman Polanski had asked for his help in identifying the perpetrators. Famed photographer Julian Wasser accompanied Polanski to the Tate residence and took several photos of Polanski and the crime scene for a story in Life magazine.
Polanski gave several photos to Hurkos, hoping he could help find the killers. A week before the Life article ran, the photos appeared on the front page of the Hollywood Citizen News. It later emerged that Hurkos had sold the photos to the press—“vibrations and all,” as Tom O’Neill wrote in his book Chaos.
Hurkos made several predictions about the Tate murders. According to him, the murders were the result of a bizarre game that Tate and her companions had been playing. Hurkos claimed the game involved contestants being asked when they last had sexual relations, with the person admitting the longest lapse being hung from an overhead beam and beaten.
He further alleged that during this game, one of Tate’s companions experienced a bad trip and saw “a vision of the devil,” prompting them to go berserk and fatally attack Tate and the others. Hurkos claimed the victims were in a drugged stupor and could not resist.