The video above will play a live video stream of the Monday, Feb. 27 proceedings in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial or a replay upon completion. When his daughter and youngest son came home, he shot them in the back of the head. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. Everything looked great on the surface. Her story put an end to the 18-year-long mystery. They were shot methodically one by one. He was not, however, willing to suffer the earthly consequences of his actions. According to trial testimony, Helen had pressured List into marriage by falsely claiming that she was pregnant, then insisted that they marry in Maryland, which did not require the premarital syphilis test mandated in most other states at the time. YouTubeForensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, 17 things to do in Santa Cruz, the old-school beach town that makes for a charming getaway, Best coffee city in the world? Like her sister, Rosanne Cindy inherited her father's musical talent, and by the time she was 16 she was already performing on stage with Johnny and his second wife June Carter. BAY CITY, MI Before killing his mother, wife, and three teenage children in his 19-room New Jersey mansion, John E. List began life in Bay City. He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.". The 14th and final defense witness was the defendant's brother John . But the jury has also seen evidence that List planned both the killings and his escape so carefully that he had been gone for a month before the crime was discovered. [12], The murders were not discovered until December 7, nearly a month later, due in part to the family's reclusive tendencies, and in part to notes sent by List to the children's schools and part-time jobs claiming that the children would be visiting their ailing maternal grandmother in North Carolina for a few weeks. The devout Lutherans attended church every Sunday, and List taught Sunday school. The neighbors tipped the police after a month of not seeing anyone entering or leaving the house. In a second attempt at love, he was lucky enough to find a business and life partner in Allain, a producer and hairstylist. List, 64, faces multiple life sentences if he is convicted. [11], Breeze Knoll remained empty until it was destroyed by fire in August 1972, nine months after the murders. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. All rights reserved (About Us). The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. The family car was found parked at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, but police found no evidence that List had boarded a flight. John List, The Mass Murderer Who Killed His Family So Hed See Them In Heaven. This is not the man I know. Austin Goodrich, an ABCNEWS consultant who is writing a book with John List, contributed material for this report. [26][27] List continued to stand by his alias for several months, even after his 1989 extradition to Union County, New Jersey; finally, faced with irrefutable evidence including a fingerprint match with List's military records, as well as evidence found at the crime scene he confessed his true identity on February 16, 1990. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his three children. Delores Clark, asking reporters to respect my right to my personal privacy during this very dramatic and uncertain time, issued a statement that was copyrighted Friday by the Richmond News Leader. She met Steinbeck in late 1938 or early 1939, when she was just 22. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. YouTubeAn aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. Minnesota officer removes jar from raccoon's head. He began living with a new identity in Virginia, where he was spotted by a local and got arrested. He was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. Dr. Steven Simring, a psychiatrist who examined List after his arrest years later, told Downtown his "sense of neatness" was the result of a compulsive personality. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. 2023. Bradford Patricia Colosimo (23 years), director of arts programming Jon Draeger (35 years), associate professor of chemistry Andrea Robbins (40+ years), instructor of chemistry and algebra, Division of Physical and Computational Sciences. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Following the end of the war, he resumed his studies and enrolled into the University of Michigan, from where he completed his bachelors degree in business administration. He had drained his and his mothers bank accounts and fled, changing his identity. List gave critical financial problems, as well as his perception that his family members were straying from their religious faith, as his motivations for the murders. He was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. . . [8], On November 9, 1971, List murdered his entire immediate family, using his own 9mm Steyr 1912 semi-automatic handgun[9] and his father's Colt .22 caliber revolver. On April 12, 1990 he was found guilty on five . He also claimed to be suffering from PTSD. He killed them to save their souls so they would go to heaven. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? One day in late 1971, John List shot and killed his wife,Helen; his 16-year-old daughter, Patricia; his 15-year-old son, John; his 13-year-old son, Frederick; and his mother, Alma, aged 85. [12], He was also dealing with his wife's alcoholism and her untreated tertiary syphilis, contracted from her first husband and concealed for 18 years. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. A new house was built on the site in 1974. He killed his immediate family since he could not pay the mansions mortgage after losing his job and did not want them to face ridicule. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). New revelations in the episode include what List said through tears to his shocked and heartsick second wife, who hoped it was all some mistake and her husband was really the man she thought she had married Robert Clark when she visited him in jail. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. He told her she went through a slow, agonizing death, the friend said. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. Wertheimer allowed the jury to hear testimony about Helen List's syphilis after Miller told him, in a brief hearing, that List knew what his wife suffered from before he killed her. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. He described a woman whose brain was deteriorating and who was going blind, who was addicted to tranquilizers and drank four or five glasses of Scotch a day, who remained in bed because she was afraid of falls but who retained enough social skill to act normally in casual relationships. Authorities later revealed that John kept lying to his family about his jobs. One night after dinner, he even asked his family what should be done with their bodies after they died. Fast forward 18 years to 1989. He murdered his mother, wife and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey on November 9, 1971. Psychologists theorized that List would wear the same spectacles he wore as a younger man to remind him of more successful days. They did not have any children together. He went to the post office to stop the family's mail, then to the bank, where he cashed his mother's savings bonds, checking that he got the correct interest to the penny. List laid the bodies of his wife and three children on sleeping bags according to size in the home's ballroom, went to sleep after dinner, and fled the next day. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. No one has stepped forward to claim the body of mass murderer John List, who died while serving a life sentence for killing his Westfield family in 1971, authorities said today. lists More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. He then shot his wife in the back of the head as she enjoyed her final sips, careful to ensure that her last moments were free of suspicion. In an interview with Connie Chung in 2002, List said he didnt kill himself after killing his own family because he felt that would prevent him from getting to heaven. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. March 2 (UPI) -- A Minnesota police officer came to the rescue of a raccoon he spotted running around with a jar stuck over its head. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. He worked as an accountant, bringing a stable income back to his Victorian mansion; home to himself, his wife, three children and his mother. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. Pending. Its hard to believe the solution he arrived at would have been more acceptable to his father, but John List would later say it seemed to him the only option: the murder of his mother, wife, and children. videos, John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. With his first wife, John Frederick had had a son, William George, who happened to be the same . He is from American. Forensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. Helen was first. [15][16], In 1971, as the FBI later discovered, List had traveled by train from New Jersey to Michigan and then to Colorado. YouTubeThe bust created of John List, right, next to the real John List, left. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. The Rev. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). I thought I was being real clever," he said. "At least I'm certain that all have gone to heaven now. Then, read the chilling story of John Wayne Gacy, the original killer clown. The judge finally overruled her but continued to bar testimony that List's daughter, Patricia, 16, was a practicing witch. John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. [7] In 1965, List accepted a position as vice president and comptroller at a bank in Jersey City, New Jersey, and moved with his wife, children, and mother into Breeze Knoll, a 19-room Victorian mansion at 431 Hillside Avenue in Westfield. "List, an unemployed accountant and devout Lutheran who shot his wife, mother and three children and disappeared for 18 years before being captured following a tip, died on Friday from massive blood clots in both lungs, authorities said. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. A nationwide manhunt was launched. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. A former Denver neighbor alerted the police, who made the arrest later. John List died in prison in 2008 at age 82. This article is about the murderer. Next he went upstairs, to where his 84-year-old mother was having breakfast, kissed her ("like Judas," he told Downtown), and shot her in the head. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. Read on to discover more details. ', Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. Delores Miller Clark lived a simple life in Denver before she met and married John List, who then went by the name Robert Peter Bob Clark. [13] List also stopped milk, mail, and newspaper deliveries. March 3 (UPI) -- A sheep spotted wandering loose on a British highway was given a lift back to its owner by a concerned bus driver on her first day on the job. March 3 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Britain responded to a home to rescue a horse that had fallen into its owner's swimming pool and was unable to get itself out. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. The wife of Robert P. Clark--whom the FBI says is really John List, a man who killed his family in 1971--says his arrest is unbelievable and that the alleged killer is not the man I know.. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. His father was a devout Lutheran who also taught at a local Sunday School in Bay City. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. He lived at 431 Hillside Avenue with his wife, Helen Morris Taylor; mother, Alma Barbara Florence List; and two children: daughter Patricia, and sons Frederick and John. Officers entered through an unlocked window leading to the basement and discovered the family's bodies. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. Because syphilis is not infectious in its later phases, she did not pass it on to John List or her children, although she suffered several miscarriages during her first marriage. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. He was 82. Soon after his high school graduation, he joined the United States Army during the Second World War, where he worked as a laboratory technician. John and Helen had three daughters when he worked as an audit supervisor at a paper company in Kalamazoo. Help keep John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) profile up to date. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey, and then disappeared; he had planned the murders so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone suspected that anything was amiss. In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. One friend, unidentified by the newspaper, said that List had told Delores Clark he had been married before to an alcoholic who died of cancer. John List, going by the name Robert Clark, rented a room in this house in Richmond, Virginia from S. Wallace Parsons, until he and Delores Clark moved into their new home. The unlikely story of his capture, the tip that led to it and the wild coincidences Gluck encountered as he followed the story are told in the latest episode of Father Wants Us Dead, an investigative true crime podcast about the List killings from NJ Advance Media. In 2008, John Walsh, the host of America's Most Wanted, donated the age-progressed bust by Frank Bender that played a pivotal role in List's apprehension to a forensic science exhibit at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, D.C., whose collection was later moved to Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Flanery lived next door to John List, who was going by Robert Clark, and his second wife, Delores Clark, in Aurora, Colorado from 1985 to 1988. First Patty, 16. Early life [ edit] Katherine (left) and Madeleine Force. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. The man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. And it came from a family member of all people. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. John fled the house after putting all the bodies on sleeping bags, turning the house lights on and putting on some classical music. The family were devout Lutherans. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. John was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and five terms of life imprisonment. John List was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. List had a masters degree in accounting, but lacked social skills and had a history of losing jobs. Salary in 2022. "I don't know whether it was only because he was still jerking that I wanted to make sure that he didn't suffer, or that it was sort of a way of relieving tension, after having completed what I felt was my assignment for the day," List said. After seeing his daughter and two sons off to school, List walked into the kitchen of his 19-room HIllside Avenue mansion on Nov. 9, 1971, and shot his wife, Helen, as she sipped her morning coffee. Currently, the morgue is storing the body of "Thrill Killer" Richard Biegenwald, who died March 10 while serving a murder conviction for killing five victims - two teenage girls, two young women and one man - in Monmouth County from Oct. 31, 1981, to Nov. 20, 1982. Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said the social services unit at New Jersey State Prison, where List was an inmate, will attempt to find the nearest relative to see if that person would claim the body. He simply exploded.'. If no one claims List's body, Fedekenheuer said, "we call the local funeral director, and that person will have the body cremated. [42] In 2015, the story was covered in the season 2, episode 2 of the Investigation Discovery TV series Your Worst Nightmare. Their faces were covered. Cindy wrote a book about her family, "The Cash Family Scrapbook." Cindy married three times, and shares a daughter, Jessica, with her first husband, Cris Brock. List graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1943. He then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. "I approached all of them from behind so they wouldn't realize till the last minute what I was going to do to them," he said. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. Helen had turned into an alcoholic, which caused them to engage in a lot of fights. Daly said that if no one comes forward, the remains would eventually be returned to the state Department of Corrections, which has had custody of List since his conviction in 1990. For the economist, see, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, Dupont de Ligonns murders and disappearance, "Wanted: A Killer Disappears Into Another Life", "John List, famous murderer The Crime Library", "Breeze Knoll: The John List Murder House", "John E. List, 82, Killer of 5 Family Members, Dies", "In Hiding for 18 Years, a Wanted Man Is Caught by the FBI and a TV Posse", "Prosaic Life of Suspect in '71 New Jersey Murders", "Real Estate Assessment Data for 13919 Sagewood Trace", "Notorious AMW Fugitive John List Dead at 82", "Frank Bender, 'Recomposer' of Faces of the Dead, Dies at 70", "John List Bust Remembered as Sculptor Faces Death", "The List Murders Stun Westfield In 1971", "Slaying Suspect Saw 2 Choices, Doctor Testifies", "I Know That What Has Been Done Is Wrong", "Killer of Family Gets 5 Life Terms: Court: Judge sentences accountant who murdered his mother, wife and children 18 years ago to the maximum sentence", "Judge Sentences Family Killer to Life in Prison", "The boogeyman of Westfield, a ghost story that won't end", "How Profitable Sequels Succeed: They Just Bring 'em Back Alive", "The Watcher's Grisly John Graff Murder Sequence Is Based on True Story of a Family Massacre. March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. At Fort Eustis in Virginia, he met Helen Morris Taylor, the widow of an infantry officer killed in action in Korea, who lived nearby with her daughter, Brenda. He was the only child born to German-Americans John Frederick List and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List. Overdue book returned to Massachusetts library after 56 years. But then his life began to crumble. [6] In 1960, his stepdaughter Brenda married and left the household, and List moved with the remainder of his family to Rochester, New York, to take a job with Xerox. While there is no set timetable on when that might happen, Daly said the remains of other prison inmates have been stored for up to roughly three months by the medical examiner's office. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . In 1965, they moved again to Breeze Knoll, a 19-room mansion in Westfield. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. Additionally, the financial burden on the family was increasing, causing him severe psychological distress. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. John Emil List Birth 17 Sep 1925 Bay City, Bay County, Michigan, USA Death 21 Mar 2008 (aged 82) Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA Burial Burial Details Unknown. John packed off his children to school and loaded both of his handguns. FBI agents visited his unsuspecting second wife in Virginia and handcuffed the killer, who was going by the name Robert P. Clark, at his accounting office. The army discharged him in 1946, after which he joined the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. Miller said List had learned before the killings that syphilis was the cause of his wife's worsening medical and psychological problems and that knowing she had a sexually transmitted disease would have a 'tremendous impact' on someone of his background. [12], In May 1989, the 18-year-old crime was recounted on the Fox television program America's Most Wanted during its first year on the air.