Altamont 1969: When a Free Concert Became a Murder Scene

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,520
In 1969, the Rolling Stones set out to throw the West Coast's answer to Woodstock.

2
00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:12,080
A massive free concert meant to be all about peace, love, and good vibes.

3
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:19,360
And naturally, to keep things in order, they hired the Hells Angels, paid entirely in beer.

4
00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:27,560
Because when you think of professional security, obviously you think about a motorcycle gang known for breaking faces, not stopping fights.

5
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:35,160
What followed was a masterclass in how quickly things can go from music festival to actual crime scene.

6
00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:39,800
One young concert goer, Meredith Hunter, Murdoch, to his friends,

7
00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:44,040
walked into that chaos wearing his signature lime green suit.

8
00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:45,520
He never walked out.

9
00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:52,840
Drugs, violence, a revenge plot against Mick Jagger, and one of the most infamous moments in rock history.

10
00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:58,360
This is the story of how Alta Mont became the music festival nobody brags about attending.

11
00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:03,960
But before we dive in, if you like your true crime brief and bingeable, you're in the right place.

12
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,720
Hit follow now for at least two new episodes every week.

13
00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,720
This is 10 Minute Murder.

14
00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:10,680
Let's get into it.

15
00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:37,400
[Music]

16
00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:44,200
The 1960s came with a promise.

17
00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,480
Or at least, that's what the idealists believed.

18
00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:52,360
Across America, young people draped themselves in the language of love and peace.

19
00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:58,760
Convents that a little flower power and a lot of questionable decision-making could fix the world.

20
00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,200
But the thing about peace and love, not everyone got the memo.

21
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:09,560
18-year-old Meredith Hunter, better known as Murdoch, wasn't just another face in the tie-died crowd.

22
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:10,920
He had style.

23
00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:16,360
While others stuck to fringe vests and bell bottoms, Murdoch went for bold.

24
00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:23,560
His signature look, a lime green suit, a dark shirt, and shoes sharp enough to cut glass.

25
00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:29,720
And if the occasion called for it may be a wide brimmed hat, something big enough to sit on his head

26
00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,760
without crushing his perfectly shaped afro.

27
00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,480
By December of 1969, Murdoch was ready to step out and enjoy himself.

28
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,640
He wasn't going alone, though.

29
00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:45,160
His girlfriend, Patty Breedhoff, and his friend Ronnie Browne and Ronnie's girlfriend, Judy,

30
00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:46,840
were all tagging along.

31
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,240
Their destination, the Altamont, free concert in Berkeley.

32
00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:57,240
What was supposed to be a night of music and freedom would instead become a moment in history.

33
00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,120
Just not the kind anyone would want to remember.

34
00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,880
The hippie movement loved to talk about peace and tolerance.

35
00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:08,360
But America in 1969 wasn't exactly a utopia.

36
00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,480
For every group singing about love, there was another clinging to old prejudices.

37
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:20,440
The idealism of the era didn't erase the very real dangers that came along with being a young black man

38
00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:22,360
in predominantly white spaces.

39
00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:30,680
Especially at a chaotic, drug-fueled concert, where self-proclaimed peacemakers weren't always practicing what they preached.

40
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,600
Murdoch's sister, Dixie, knew this all too well.

41
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:40,440
She warned him that heading into a massive, unpredictable crowd might not be the best idea.

42
00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,080
But Murdoch wasn't the kind to back down.

43
00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:49,240
Just in case things got ugly, he tucked a gun under his lime green suit and set off for Altamont.

44
00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:55,000
The Altamont Free Concert wasn't just any festival, it was a logistical mess.

45
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,360
Think fire-fest if it happened in the 60s.

46
00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:04,520
Instead of a proper stage with barriers and security, the event took place on a natural slope,

47
00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,560
with the bands playing on a low stage at the bottom of the hill.

48
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,520
It was an invitation for disaster.

49
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:15,000
If the crowd got too rowdy, there was nothing stopping them from spilling onto the stage.

50
00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:22,120
To handle security, the event organizers made a decision that would go down as one of the worst made in rock history.

51
00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,440
They hired the hell's angels.

52
00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:25,080
Their payment?

53
00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,640
$500 worth of beer.

54
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,520
About $4,000 in today's money.

55
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:36,840
A group known for violent turf wars and outlaw justice was now in charge of keeping the peace,

56
00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:42,200
armed with pool cues, chains, and an ever dwindling supply of alcohol.

57
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,440
What could possibly go wrong?

58
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,600
As the crowd flooded into Altamont, the hell's angels settled into their version of security work,

59
00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,920
parking their bikes in front of the stage and cracking open their payment.

60
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,400
The beer flowed and with it any last shred of restraint.

61
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,160
It didn't take a detective to figure out what would happen next.

62
00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:09,960
A low stage, a massive, restless crowd, and a group of bikers steadily getting drunker by the minute.

63
00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:11,560
It was a recipe for violence.

64
00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:18,360
The audience packed shoulder to shoulder pushed toward the stage, trying to get closer to the music.

65
00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,760
The hell's angels responded the only way they knew how, with brute force.

66
00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,800
Full cans of beer became projectiles.

67
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,120
Motorcycle chains and lead weighted pool cues turned into weapons.

68
00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:38,040
People were beaten down for getting too close, for moving too fast, for existing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

69
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,000
Keith Richards would later summon up bluntly.

70
00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,600
The violence just in front of the stage was incredible.

71
00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,600
Looking back, I don't think it was a good idea to have the hell's angels there.

72
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,040
But we had them at the suggestion of the grateful dead.

73
00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,480
The trouble is, it's a problem for us either way.

74
00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,720
If you don't have them to work with US stewards, they come anyway and cause trouble.

75
00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,520
The vast majority did what they were supposed to do.

76
00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,440
But there were about 10 to 20 who were completely out of their minds.

77
00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,760
And when Keith Richards is the voice of reason at that time, you know you're in trouble.

78
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:18,040
By the time the Rolling Stones finally made it on stage, Mick Jagger had already been punched in the face by someone in the crowd.

79
00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,760
And it wasn't just the performers taking hits.

80
00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:26,760
A local musician, six months pregnant, was struck in the head with a beer bottle, fracturing her skull.

81
00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,800
She had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

82
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:36,040
Jagger rattled, but still determined to keep the show going, pleaded with the audience to settle down.

83
00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:41,960
It didn't work. Minutes into their very first song, a fight broke out, front and center.

84
00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,320
The band stopped playing, waiting for things to calm.

85
00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:50,200
Eventually they managed to get through a few songs, but the night was unraveling fast.

86
00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,280
The piece in Love Crout was running headfirst into something much darker.

87
00:06:54,280 --> 00:07:00,280
It didn't take long for Murdoch and his signature lime green suit to attract unwanted attention.

88
00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:05,240
Seeking a better view of the chaos, he climbed up on top of one of the speakers.

89
00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:12,760
His reward? A rough yank from one of the Hells Angels who yanked him back down and punched him in the face for his troubles.

90
00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:14,760
But that was just the beginning.

91
00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:21,000
As Murdoch stumbled back into the crowd, trying to regain his footing, something inside him snapped.

92
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,400
He wasn't going to back down, not when it felt like the entire gang was out to get him.

93
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:33,080
For more members of the Hells Angels joined in, stalking Murdoch through the crowd, intent on punishing him further.

94
00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:40,760
Terrified, high on drugs, and not thinking clearly, Murdoch reached for his gun, pulling it from under his jacket.

95
00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,400
He pointed it up in the air as a warning.

96
00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:48,840
The camera's filming the scene intended to capture the concert for a documentary, called The Moment.

97
00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:54,360
In the grainy footage, you can see Murdoch's arm stretch upward and a burst of orange light.

98
00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,280
Some witnesses later claimed that Murdoch fired a warning shot,

99
00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,800
but with the crowd pushing the music blaring and the chaos of the night,

100
00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:03,400
it's impossible to say for sure.

101
00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,040
The footage, too, is unclear.

102
00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:12,600
Was it a reflection, a film defect, or a gunshot? Either way, it didn't matter to the Hells Angels

103
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:18,200
chasing him down. Then, from the side, a biker named Alan Pissaro attacked.

104
00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:25,080
He swatted the gun from Murdoch's hand with one swift motion, then plunged a knife into his side.

105
00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:31,320
Murdoch wasn't trying to fight back. By the time Alan struck, Murdoch had already turned,

106
00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:36,600
attempting to flee. Alan followed him, stabbing Murdoch in the back five times.

107
00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:43,800
Murdoch never stood a chance. As he collapsed, the Hells Angels descended on him like a pack of wolves.

108
00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:48,440
They kicked him, stomped him, and made sure he wasn't ever going to get back up.

109
00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:55,480
Alan Pissaro, not satisfied with just one stab wound, drove his knife into Murdoch's back five more times.

110
00:08:55,480 --> 00:09:00,280
By the time that attack was over, Murdoch was obviously dead.

111
00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:05,400
His gun was handed over to the police, but no discharged bullet casings were ever found.

112
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:12,040
Whatever he had or hadn't done, it didn't change the outcome. Alan Pissaro was arrested and

113
00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:17,160
charged with Murdoch's murder. But when the jury saw the footage of Murdoch holding his gun,

114
00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,080
they decided it was self-defense. Pissaro walked free.

115
00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,720
Murdoch, meanwhile, was buried in an unmarked grave in Vallejo,

116
00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:31,880
forgotten by history until a 2006 documentary by Sam Green shed new light on his story.

117
00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:38,520
Donations poured in, and finally, decades after his death, Murdoch got a proper headstone.

118
00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:44,600
The Rolling Stones made one thing clear after the concert. They were done with the Hells Angels.

119
00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:49,320
When asked about Murdoch's death, Mick Jagger didn't dance around it. His response was simple.

120
00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:56,840
"Awful. I mean just awful. You feel a responsibility." The Hells Angels, however, weren't exactly

121
00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:03,000
known for handling rejection well. Cutting them out was seen as an insult, one they intended to fix

122
00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,240
in the most dramatic way possible. They decided to kill him. BBC Radio presenter Tom Mangold

123
00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:15,080
later revealed. A group of them took a boat, all tulled up, and planned to attack him from the sea,

124
00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,840
so that they could enter his property from the garden and avoid security at the front.

125
00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,080
It would have been the most rock-and-roll assassination attempt in history.

126
00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:28,040
If it hadn't, failed spectacularly. The boat ran into a storm, and every single one of the

127
00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:33,400
would-be assassins was thrown overboard. They survived, but their revenge plot sank to the bottom

128
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:39,080
of the ocean. Alan Pissaro may have walked free after Murdoch's killing, but his story didn't

129
00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:44,440
in there. Twenty years later, his body was found floating in a lake. Officially, his death was

130
00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:51,320
ruled suspicious. Unofficially, no one ever confirmed whether he had been murdered himself. Justice,

131
00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:57,800
if it came, wasn't through the courts. Thanks for listening to this episode of 10 Minute Murder.

132
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:03,880
I'm Joe, I'm the host, and if you're a brand new listener, make sure you hit subscribe and follow

133
00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:09,560
10 Minute Murder on social media. You have any questions about the podcast, go to 10minutemerder.com,

134
00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:16,040
and before you get a chance to go to 10minutemerder.com and fire off an email telling me that I'm wrong

135
00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,320
about this story because why am I talking about this guy that brought a gun to a concert? He was high

136
00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:27,880
on drugs and that self-defense. I get it. There's a very good argument for self-defense in this case

137
00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:36,280
to a certain degree. There came a point when disarming him turned into murdering him. The initial stab

138
00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:42,920
was probably warranted, but then the five more stabs in the back and then beating him mercilessly,

139
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,680
that's not warranted. If your argument is for self-defense, I think you're partially right.

140
00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:53,880
If he hadn't been knocked off of those speakers, where he probably shouldn't have been to begin with

141
00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:59,320
and punched in the face and then chased down, I don't think he ever pulls that gun out, but if he

142
00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,880
doesn't pull that gun out, he's probably not going to get stabbed. But all of that did happen,

143
00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:09,400
and then he got stabbed five more times in the back and then beaten. So it's at that point, I think,

144
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:15,800
that it becomes a homicide. And that is why I covered this story on the podcast. And hey, like I said,

145
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:21,720
subscribe to the podcast, follow on social media and you can go to 10minutemerder.com, click on

146
00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:26,840
the murder blog and you'll see all the photos from this story if you go there. Thanks again for

147
00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,560
listening to 10 Minute Murder and I'll see you on the next one.