PICTURE OF NOTORIOUS KILLER CHARLES MANSON AT 77

CHARLES MANSON 2012                                CHARLES MANSON 1978

California prison officials have released a photo of mass murderer Charles Manson, showing him at 77 as a greying, bearded, shaggy-haired old man with a sad expression.

The photo (above left) was released in advance of Manson’s parole hearing next Wednesday – 11th April 2012.

Manson has told authorities he does not plan to attend the hearing, but they say he could change his mind at the last minute.

He has not appeared at a parole hearing since 1997.

The photo shows Manson with a craggy face and, on his forehead, the swastika he carved there during his 1970 trial.

It is a stark change from a previous photo showing him with a shaved head.

Manson has not been a model prisoner, having been found with smuggled mobile phones and a handmade weapon in his cell.