Notorious US murderer and cult leader Charles Manson dies aged 83 of natural causes, one week after being rushed to hospital (8 Pics)

Charles Manson, the notorious leader of the Manson Family cult that murdered actress Sharon Tate and six others in 1969, has died aged 83.

Serial killer Manson was rushed from Corcoran State Prison in central California to a hospital 100 miles away in Bakersfield with an undisclosed complaint last week.

Officials confirmed he passed away on Sunday, according to CBS LA.

The California Department of Corrections released a statement which read: "Inmate Charles Manson, 83, died of natural causes at 8.13pm on Sunday, November 19, 2017, at a Kern County hospital."

It gave no further details of the circumstances surrounding his death.

Manson had serious health issues back in January, when he was hospitalised for severe intestinal bleeding and needed surgery.

He was serving nine life sentences for the 1969 Manson Family murders.

He became notorious as the leader of a "family" of young killers that terrified Los Angeles.

Manson was convicted of killing seven people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski.

He is not eligible to apply for parole until 2027, the year he would turn 93.

Manson was supreme manipulator who following the 1968 release of the Beatles White Album believed their song "Helter Skelter" predicted an upcoming race war.

He told the Manson Family that battles would rage between whites and blacks and that they would be saved by going underground, literally, by travelling to a city of gold located in Death Valley.

However, when the Armageddon failed to occur, he said he and his followers must show people how to kill and for the next two years, he brainwashed followers Patricia Krenwinkel, Lynette Fromme and Mary Brunner into adopting his sadistic beliefs.

The three women became an integral part of the Family held captive under the spell of their deranged leader and prepared to carry out his every wish including mass murder.

On August 9, 1969, he ordered his followers along with other cult members to the Hollywood home of Tate and Polanski.

After fellow Family member Charles "Tex" Watson shot and killed teenager Steven Parent in his car in the estates' driveway, Krenwinkel broke into the house with Susan Atkins.

Ambushing those inside Krenwinkel dragged coffee heiress Abigail Folger from her bedroom to the living room, fought with her, and stabbed her.

When she tried to escape following the first round of stabbings, Krenwinkel was said to have chased her as she ran outside screaming.

She pinned her to the ground and further stabbed her as her victim pleaded with her to stop by saying, "Stop, I'm already dead”.

When police later discovered her body they thought the white nightgown was actually bought red as the stab wounds were so great.

Elsewhere in the house, other Manson members slaughtered Tate, the actress wife of Polanski, who was eight and a half months pregnant, and three of her friends who were at her home above Beverly Hills.

The following night the group then butchered small business owners Leno and Rosemary La Bianca, in their home in Los Angeles.

Manson and his followers were all convicted of murder charges in 1971 and sentenced to death.

But they were commuted to life sentences when capital punishment was abolished by a California Supreme Court ruling in 1972.

Leslie Van Houten, now aged 68, also participated in the murders and was granted parole this year.

Earlier this year, never-before-seen footage of Manson talking about growing up behind bars from a 1993 jailhouse interview was released.

In the footage, Manson talks about the difference between people behind bars and on the "outside".

He said: "I never realised that people outside are much different to people inside.

"People inside, if you lie, you get punched."

He also said: "I haven't told anybody to do anything other than what they wanted to do."

In the two-hour ABC News “20/20” special, Manson looks into a mirror, saying they don't have mirrors "where I'm at" and commenting that his beard is getting long.

He said he went to "juvenile hall in 1944" and "didn't get out till 54" and that he "turned 21 in jail".

Manson added: "I've been in jail all my life."

The infamous jailhouse interview with Manson originally aired on ABC News in March 1994.

He had cut an “X” into his forehead above the bridge of his nose, then had turned this into a swastika by the time of the interview.