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. The department will use any money remaining in List's account at the prison to pay for all or part of the cremation and burial, according to state regulations. [28][29], At trial, List testified that his financial difficulties reached crisis level in 1971 when he was laid off with the closure of the Jersey City bank. [12] Alma's body was flown to Frankenmuth, Michigan, and interred at the Saint Lorenz Lutheran Cemetery. John confessed to committing the murders in February 1990. [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 bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. 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 died in the prison hospital at the age of 82, in 2008. Based on information gleaned from dozens of interviews and hundreds of pages of police and FBI documents, Father Wants Us Dead is an in-depth and chilling narrative from two reporters with more than 25 years of combined experience. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. Delores and John divorced in 1989, probably following his arrest on 1 June. While his children were at school, he shot his wife Helen, 47, in the back of the head, and then his mother Alma, 84, above the left eye. Net Worth in 2021. John List with his wife and three children. In an effort to baffle the police, he cleaned the crime scenes and used scissors to remove his image from every photo in the mansion. John Emil List was born in Michigan, in 1925, the only child of John and Alma List. Serial killer who murdered entire family hid in plain sight for years Expert psychologists believed rather that List was going through a mid-life crisis and as the prosecution pointed out, that was no excuse for killing five innocent people. 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. He took a break and made himself lunch. John List The Boogeyman of Westfield | by A.W. Naves | Medium Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. Dr. Sheldon Miller, who examined List after his arrest last year, described him Friday as a man who had already been hit by the loss of his job and then learned that his wife had deceived him for years about her medical condition. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. He earned a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in accounting. 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. [31] Though her health progressively deteriorated, she said nothing to List or her physicians until 1969, when a thorough workup revealed the condition. Authorities said that he had been living a quiet life--active in his church, puttering in his yard on weekends--and that he had no problems with the law while a fugitive. He then cleaned the various crime scenes, removed his own picture from all family photographs in the house, tuned a radio to a religious station, and departed. Joseph Vought, Ludwig "Lou" Silbermann, Jerome Kendall, George Corbett,. List, who says he remains deeply religious today, acknowledges that his crimes violated one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill.". . A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. Alex Murdaugh murder trial: The jury finds him guilty on all counts : NPR All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. 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. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. 2023. Because this is one of the most. 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. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. All five victims had been shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_2xrMKO8g. List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Delores Clark said that she was making her statement reluctantly and that she would have no further comment. The army discharged him in 1946, after which he joined the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. Returning home, he made several calls to explain that the family had gone to North Carolina to visit his wife's ailing mother, and that he was planning to follow by car. The Star-Ledger reporter, who loved to chat about the infamous murderer with the locals on his Union County beat, was grabbing a sandwich for lunch when he got a tip of his own. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. 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. Overdue book returned to Massachusetts library after 56 years. he is the biggest con man who ever walked the Earth, another unidentified friend told the paper. 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. 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. With his first wife, John Frederick had had a son, William George, who happened to be the same . YouTubeThe note John List wrote excusing his children from school. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. John packed off his children to school and loaded both of his handguns. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. 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? He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. Financial troubles combined with his discontentment with his family over many issues caused severe depression to John, who then decided to take a drastic step to end everything once and for all. Delores Clark, right, tells reporters at a press conference on June 8, 1989 that she did not believe her husband was John List. Police investigated hundreds of leads without success. After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. In 1971, John List lost his job at the bank at age 46. He refused to go on welfare, as it would entail excruciating embarrassment in the community and violate the principles of self-sufficiency that he learned at his fathers knee. This is not the man I know. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. The List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. Extras - Father Wants Us Dead: A True Crime Podcast From NJ.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Reporters Rebecca Everett and Jessica Remo explore the impact of the capture, meeting people in Virginia who saw List unmasked and tracking down Lists second wife one side of the infamous story thats never been told. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? John List is a revolutionary experimenter whose unique methods and ideas have changed how the field of economics functions. 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. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. John List may refer to: John A. In an interview in 2008, parents told a reporter in New Jersey that children will not walk past that property, nor do they even want to live on the same street. Then, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed. New Jersey prosecutors had come up with a plan. 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. Born In: Bay City, Michigan, United States. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. . 'He faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. The John List Murders - Historic Newspapers In the afternoon, he killed his children as they came home first his daughter Patty, a budding actress at 16; then his youngest, 13-year-old Frederic; and finally 15-year-old John, his namesake and his favorite. John List was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. He was finally apprehended in Virginia on June 1, 1989, after the story of his murders was broadcast on the television program America's Most Wanted. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. He is from American. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. 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. John List Sr., husband, father, son, accountant, devout Lutheran, had announced that they were going on a family trip, had stopped the paper and milk deliveries and then killed his family. Alex Murdaugh trial updates: John Marvin faults SLED, doesn't believe List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. Upstairs, the body of List's 84-year-old mother Alma was found. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. 'List believed doing what he did do to his family was allowed because he was sending them to join God and saving them from the embarrassment of having to be on the public dole.'. [12] Neighbors noticed that all of the mansion's rooms were illuminated day and night, with no apparent activity within the house. John Sr. shot him nine more times before dragging him into the ballroom with the rest of his family. The Stepfather is Based on the True Story of John List - Wicked Horror He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. "There has been no communication from any family member of John List. His mother, Alma was overprotective and dominating that would forbid him to go outside and play with the other children because he might get sick. 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. The neighbours called the police when Johns daughter Patricias dancing teacher came home to see why Patricia was not coming to the classes. "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. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. He became increasingly depressed. Hence, his severe lack of social skills cost him jobs after jobs. Jury in List family-killing trial told of wife's syphilis - UPI When they entered the house, music was still playing on the intercom, but List was long gone. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. First Patty, 16. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. Body of killer John List remains unclaimed - nj.com "I grew up with the idea that you should provide for your family and to do that you had to be a success in the job that you had or you're a failure, and that was not a good thing to be," he said. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. ELIZABETH, N.J. -- Accused family-killer John Emil List, who had always looked to his religious faith for answers, was so overwrought over the discovery that his wife had advanced syphilis. Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders 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. [13] List also stopped milk, mail, and newspaper deliveries. 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. Helen List lied to her doctors during several hospitalizations, Liss said. 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. 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. Early life [ edit] Katherine (left) and Madeleine Force. 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. John List - Wikipedia National Park Service: 'Never push a slower friend down' in a bear encounter, March 2 (UPI) -- The National Park Service offered some sage advice for park visitors who encounter bears: "Never push a slower friend down. It was a masterful depiction of John List. He simply exploded.'. A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. He is a quiet yet friendly man who loves his work and the people he works with.. Delores Miller (wife) and John List are divorced. 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. 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. 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. Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. But then his life began to crumble. John List - Biography - IMDb They also found the five-page note from John List explaining that the bloodied bodies on the ballroom floor were his family members, killed out of mercy. John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. Additionally, the financial burden on the family was increasing, causing him severe psychological distress. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. A new house was built on the site in 1974. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. He slept in the mansion where his family lay dead, then walked out the door the next morning and wasnt seen again for 18 years. 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood, To cut costs, Amazon delays completion of second headquarters, closes retail stores, Migrant woman dies after U.S. Coast Guard stops vessel carrying 54. List methodically murdered his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their three childrenPatricia, 16; Frederick, 13; and John Jr., 15. List assumed a new identity, remarried, and eluded justice for nearly 18 years. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. On Nov. 9, 1971, after sending his children off to school, List took his two handguns out to the car to load them, then walked into the kitchen and shot his wife from behind as she was drinking coffee. This is either the most unbelievable mix-up or . At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. If you want to get the most Any streaming system that wants to deliver live audio must have microphones. Contents 1 Background 2 Familicide, Capture, and Incarceration 3 Modus Operandi 4 Known Victims 5 Notes 6 On Criminal Minds 7 On Suspect Behavior 8 Sources He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. "I was hungry," he told Downtown, adding with a chuckle, "that's just the way it was.". After gruesomely murdering his entire family, John List had begun living a normal life again. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. 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. ", Woman wins $100,000 lottery prize 11 hours after $11,000 casino jackpot. Although it is a work of fiction, much of the character John Graff was borrowed from the story of the John List murders. John Sr. drove over to his school and watched him playing in a soccer game. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) His father died in 1944. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. [32][34] Welfare was an unacceptable option, he reasoned, because it would expose him and his family to ridicule and violate his authoritarian father's teachings regarding the care and protection of family members. Liss summarized Helen List's medical reports for the jury. But what led Delores husband to commit such a chilling crime? His lawyer, Elijah Miller Jr., argues that knowing his wife suffered from syphilis helped drive the deeply religious man over the edge. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. His zodiac sign is Virgo. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. Elijah Miller has presented testimony from witnesses, including a Lutheran pastor who knew the Lists in the early 1960s in Rochester, N.Y., to describe the troubled family. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. 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. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Delores Miller Clark: Learn More about John List's Ex-Wife In a five-page letter to his pastor, found on the desk in his study, List claimed that he saw too much evil in the world, and he had killed his family to save their souls. She was born 25th October 1916. Ten days after a creepy, glass-eyed bust of John List was shown on Americas Most Wanted, Westfield residents had not heard of a single promising lead. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. "After 18 years, five months and 22 days, it is now time for the voices of Helen, Alma, Patricia, Frederick and John F. List to rise from the grave." The memory of the murders still haunts Westfield residents. They attended church each week with List's mother, a strict Lutheran who lived with them. Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See Westfield police did not discover the bodies until nearly a month later. His lawyer hopes to convince the jury that List should not be held legally responsible for the deaths because he thought he was saving his family's souls by killing them. American Criminal John List was born John Emil List on 17th September, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA and passed away on 21st Mar 2008 Trenton, New Jersey, USA aged 82. Where Is John List Now? 'The Watcher' John Graff True Story, Real Associated With. His sixteen years old daughter and 13 years old son returned from the school at noon. [1] She was the second wife and widow of businessman John Jacob Astor IV . YouTubeThe bust created of John List, right, next to the real John List, left. He feared his family, confronted with a world full of evil and poverty, would turn from God; this was the only way to ensure their safe arrival in heaven. news, But after doctors at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York concluded that her symptoms might be caused by syphilis, she admitted that she had suffered from the disease since the 1940s and had been treated for it at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. videos, One tip came from a woman in Richmond, Virginia, who thought her next-door neighbor, Robert Clark, bore a striking resemblance to the bust. John List: He Committed the (Almost) Perfect Murder During that time, he was associated romantically with a number of celebrities, including a nine-year affair with actress Merle Oberon. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. It turned out that List had changed his identity and moved to Colorado under the assumed name Robert Clark. March 3 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man who stopped to buy some breakfast said he lost his appetite when he won $50,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket. He. [33], A court-appointed psychiatrist testified that List suffered from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and that he saw only two solutions to his situation: accept welfare, or kill his family and send their souls to heaven. Net Worth in 2022. 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. "I remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. The Twisted Mind of Family Annihilator John List - America's Most Haunted [30] As the year progressed, the family's financial problems became more strained; List encouraged his children to seek part-time work, ostensibly to teach them maturity and responsibility, but in actuality to help keep the family financially solvent. They'll either have forgiven me or won't realize, you know, what happened," List told Downtown's Connie Chung in an interview at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, where he is serving five life sentences. The Rev. By then, progression of the disease combined with her excessive alcohol consumption had, according to testimony, "transformed her from an attractive young woman to an unkempt and paranoid recluse"[30][32] who frequently and often publicly humiliated List, comparing his sexual prowess unfavorably with that of her first husband. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. He then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. All rights reserved (About Us). A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. From New York, he had traveled overland to Denver, where he began a new life under the name Robert P. Clark, working first as a hotel fry cook and later as an accountant for H&R Block. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. After List's discharge in 1946, List enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in accounting, and was commissioned a second lieutenant through ROTC. "I'm sure that if we recognize each other that we'll like each other's company just as we did here, when times were better.". 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.
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