Sharon Tate's 'Engagement Ring' Up for Auction

An engagement ring that an auction house says was worn by Sharon Tate the night she was murdered by Charles Manson's crazed followers is up for sale next week, reports the New York Daily News. Director Roman Polanski gave the Valley of the Dolls star the 4-karat opal stone in 1967, a year before they wed, and two years before members of the Manson Family cult stabbed her to death when she was eight months pregnant with Polanski's child.

Tate's sister, however, says the star wasn't wearing any rings the night she was murdered, and the ring up for auction is one that she had given to a friend long before her death. "The ring was not Sharon’s style and she never wore it,” she tells TMZ. “Because Sharon was pregnant, she couldn’t fit any rings on her finger." Tex Watson, who killed Tate, was recently denied parole after seeking it for a 14th time. (More Sharon Tate stories.)