Polanski had been informed of the murders and returned to Los Angeles where police, unable to determine a motive, questioned him about his wife and friends. The funerals for the five victims were held on Wednesday, August 13. Sharon Tate was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, with her son, Paul Richard Polanski (named posthumously for Polanski's and Tate's fathers), in her arms. The funerals of Tate and Sebring were separated by several hours to allow mourners to attend both.

Life magazine devoted a lengthy article to the murders and featured photographs of the crime scenes. Polanski was interviewed for the article and allowed himself to be photographed in the living room where Tate and Sebring had died, Tate's dried blood clearly visible on the floor in front of him. Widely criticized for his actions, he argued that he wanted to know who was responsible and was willing to shock the magazine's readers in the hope that someone would come forward with information.[5]

Curiosity about the victims led to the re-release of Tate's films, achieving greater popularity than they had in their initial runs. Some newspapers began to speculate on the motives for the murders. Some of the published photographs of Tate were allegedly taken at a Satanic ritual, but were later proven to have been production photographs from Eye of the Devil. Friends spoke out against the portrayal of Tate by some elements of the media. Mia Farrow said she was as "sweet and pure a human being as I have ever known", while Patty Duke remembered her as "a gentle, gentle creature. I was crazy about her, and I don't know anyone who wasn't". Polanski berated a crowd of journalists at a press conference, saying that many times they had written that Tate "was beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful woman in the world. But did you ever write how good she was?".[1] Peter Evans later quoted the actor Laurence Harvey, who commented on Polanski immediately after the murders, "This could destroy Roman. Marriage vows mean nothing to him but few men have adored a woman as much as he adored Sharon."[11]

Polanski later admitted that in the months following the murders he suspected various friends and associates, and his paranoia subsided only when the killers were arrested. Newspapers claimed that many Hollywood stars were moving out of the city, while others were reported to have installed security systems in their homes. Writer Dominick Dunne later recalled the tension:

“ The shock waves that went through the town were beyond anything I had ever seen before. People were convinced that the rich and famous of the community were in peril. Children were sent out of town. Guards were hired. Steve McQueen packed a gun when he went to Jay Sebring's funeral.

Srđan Pavlović: Kakvo uopste misljenje ovde treba da postoji? Kada se zna kakav je zakon. Moze biti bog-otac, ako zakon nije isti za sve, onda dzaba zakon.

Lesli Eldridz: Ne ide to bas tako u anglosaksonskom pravu kao u kontinentalnom, nego sve zavisi od slucaja do slucaja. Sto je dobro, treba takvo pravo i ovde da se uvede. A ne da u Nemackoj nemaju na osnovu cega da sude onome sto je pojeo (deo) nekoga kad je ovaj izrazio zelju da pojeden posle samoubistva, tako nesto bese.

Lesli Eldridz: Ne ide to bas tako u anglosaksonskom pravu kao u kontinentalnom, nego sve zavisi od slucaja do slucaja. Sto je dobro, treba takvo pravo i ovde da se uvede. A ne da u Nemackoj nemaju na osnovu cega da sude onome sto je pojeo (deo) nekoga kad je ovaj izrazio zelju da pojeden posle samoubistva, tako nesto bese.

Lesli Eldridz: Ne ide to bas tako u anglosaksonskom pravu kao u kontinentalnom, nego sve zavisi od slucaja do slucaja. Sto je dobro, treba takvo pravo i ovde da se uvede. A ne da u Nemackoj nemaju na osnovu cega da sude onome sto je pojeo (deo) nekoga kad je ovaj izrazio zelju da pojeden posle samoubistva, tako nesto bese.

luaay: ali ako moze bombardovanje iz milosrdja zasto ne bi moglo ubistvo iz milosrdja?

ultraKeen: Po meni je stvar jednostavna i jasna: ako ostecena strana ne podnese tuzbu znaci ... da joj i nije bilo tako lose ;)

...a koliko vidim, ovde je bas takav slucaj

Stranger2: Zasto bezi ako nije kriv?

Stranger2: Za krsenja kaznenih zakona tuzbe pokrece javni tuzilac. Ako ima dokaza za tuzbu on je duzan ih pokrenuti. Nema veze da li se osteceni zali ili ne zali.

A za imovinske, duznicko poverilacke i obligaciona (u vezi ugovora)... zakone parnice se pokrecu privatnim tuzbama ostecenih.

Silovanje ili sex sa maloljetnikom je kazneno delo navedeno u kaznenom zakonu. Dakle sta nije jasno?

Naravno postoji mogucnost da Polanski nije kriv ili da primerena kazna ne treba biti velika. Ali neka ode na sud pa neka se brani. Zasto bezi ako nije kriv? Njegovi postupci bas upucuju na to da je kriv. Ako je dao neki novac "ostecenoj" time je priznao da ju je ostetio. Ako bezi od sudjenja iz drzave u kojoj je svako nevin dok se ne dokaze da je kriv, onda opet on sam potvrdjuje da veruje da ce biti dokazano da je kriv.

bttp: Znaš kako kažu kod nas, da je jedini način da Cigančica ostane nevina do punoletstva, da bude jača od oca i brža od brata.

jablan: Ti to iz iskustva govoriš ili napamet?

pricas jer ne znas slucaj.on je vec bio na sudjenju i ne znas sta je sudija napravio i kakav je bulac ispao