When police officers entered the home on Dec. 7, 1971, they heard organ music on an intercom system and found the bodies of Mr. List's wife, Helen, 46; his daughter, Patricia, 16; his sons. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. All five victims had been shot. 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. 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. He earned a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in accounting. [11], Breeze Knoll remained empty until it was destroyed by fire in August 1972, nine months after the murders. However, the marriage was not very good. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. Then, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed. Helen List apparently was infected with the disease by her first husband, a soldier who was killed in Korea. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. He was portrayed in the 1993 film Judgment Day: The John List Story by actor Robert Blake, who, ironically, was later convicted of killing his own wife. John confessed to committing the murders in February 1990. His middle son, John Jr. who was also his favorite suffered the most brutal death. List methodically murdered his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their three childrenPatricia, 16; Frederick, 13; and John Jr., 15. 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. She was born 25th October 1916. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved (About Us). She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. His play times were replaced with gatherings around . Joe Sharkey's DEATH SENTENCE is an account of the life of John Emil List who, in a case that was well known in the 70s, killed his mother, his wife, and their 3 children. The devout Lutherans attended church every Sunday, and List taught Sunday school. 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. Attempts to reach List's former wife, Delores, whom he married in Denver while a fugitive and later moved with to Richmond, Va., where he was apprehended, have been unsuccessful. 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. With his first wife, John Frederick had had a son, William George, who happened to be the same . "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling. 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. 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. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. 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. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. List caught the tail end of the show with his wife, who did not know his past. They attended church every Sunday as devout Lutherans and List taught Sunday school. Liss summarized Helen List's medical reports for the jury. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. ', 'List was being bombarded by stresses,' the doctor added. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. Robbins is one of Pitt-Bradford's . Episodes, photos and other information are also available at fatherwantsusdead.com. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. John Sr. drove to the field and watched him play, then gave him a ride home. "[36] The judge was unpersuaded: "John Emil List is without remorse and without honor," he said. List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. 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. The memory of the murders still haunts Westfield residents. New Jersey prosecutors had come up with a plan. [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. "There has been no communication from any family member of John List. 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. 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. His sixteen years old daughter and 13 years old son returned from the school at noon. The couple had three children together, while Helens daughter Brenda left home in 1960 after her marriage. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. photos, 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. Specifically: I am a member of St Lorenz Lutheran Church with access to burial records. He lined up the four bodies in the ballroom (he said his mother's body was too heavy to move), put music on the internal intercom, and cleaned up meticulously. List (born 1968), American economist. Following the gruesome death of his family. Police investigated hundreds of leads without success. 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 Clark said that she was making her statement reluctantly and that she would have no further comment. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his three children. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "I remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. Madeleine Talmage Astor ( ne Force; later Dick and Fiermonte; June 19, 1893 - March 27, 1940) was an American socialite and a survivor of the RMS Titanic. [35], List filed an appeal of his convictions on grounds that his judgment had been impaired by post-traumatic stress disorder due to his military service. 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? List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. [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. 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. Psychologists theorized that List would wear the same spectacles he wore as a younger man to remind him of more successful days. But then his life began to crumble. He was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. 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. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. 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. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. He began living with a new identity in Virginia, where he was spotted by a local and got arrested. [16], List died of complications from pneumonia aged 82 on March 21, 2008, while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. John had first moved to Michigan, and then to Colorado, where he took an accounting job in Denver. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. [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. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. Bender gave him a hawk nose, grizzled eyebrows, and horn-rimmed glasses. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. But, during a four-hour interview, he sought to explain how worries that financial hardship would split his family and turn them away from their faith forced him to make a tough decision. The first seven episodes of Father Wants Us Dead are available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can subscribe on those platforms to be alerted when new episodes drop every Tuesday through June 21. The day after the killings, List scoured the house for family photographs, tearing his image out of them so police would have nothing to use in Wanted posters. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He watched John Jr. play soccer at school, then drove him home and killed him, too. Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. Because this is one of the most. John was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and five terms of life imprisonment. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. 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. A neurologist, Dr. Henry Liss, testified earlier Friday that Helen List, 45, had tertiary syphilis and had hidden her disease for years from her doctors and her family. List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. [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. . Several films and documentaries have been made to cover the details of the List murders. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. [14] All reliable photographs of List had been destroyed. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. 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 "I knew it was wrong. 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. "I wish I had never done what I did," he told Connie Chung in 2002. Now, in his first-ever public comments about the 1971 crime, the 76-year-old former Sunday school teacher says he is waiting to be reunited with them in the hereafter. He couldnt bear to tell his family about the loss of income. Want more true crime? He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. At one religious gathering, he met an Army PX clerk named Delores Miller and married her in 1985. John List was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. However, he was not ready to disclose his incompetency to his family yet and hence, he left the house every morning, sat on the railway station and read books and newspapers all day. He then called his childrens school to grant them leave to visit their grandmother in South Carolina. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. Helen's mother was in fact ill, and had canceled a visit to Westfield because of it; had she made the trip, List later said, she would have been his sixth victim. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. Edward Saresky told the jury Thursday that he heard Helen List taunting her husband by telling him that if he was 'half the man her first husband was the family wouldn't have the troubles they were having. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. Pending. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . 'To find his wife having a veneral disease was morally, ethically and religiously a very hard thing for him to accept,' the psychiatrist said. He died on March 21, 2008 in Trenton, New Jersey, USA. 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. 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 is a quiet yet friendly man who loves his work and the people he works with.. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. On November 9, 1971, John List put his plan into action. A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. John seemingly grew up without incident, reporting a normal childhood with the exception of his stringently religious upbringing, with which he identified wholeheartedly. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. He later moved to California, and then Detroit, where he worked as an accountant in a local firm. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. In 1965, they moved again to Breeze Knoll, a 19-room mansion in Westfield. 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. Associated With. If things had gone on who knows if that would be the case," he wrote. The List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. In addition to the financial distress, his eldest daughter wanted to become an actress, which was not acceptable by John owing to his Conservative upbringing. In 1965, when List and his family moved to affluent Westfield, N.J., he seemed to be a model of suburban success and propriety. Then, read the chilling story of John Wayne Gacy, the original killer clown. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. 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. One night after dinner, he even asked his family what should be done with their bodies after they died. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. He joined a local Lutheran church and, in 1985, married a widow named Delores Clark, with whom he moved to Richmond, Va. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. John fled the house after putting all the bodies on sleeping bags, turning the house lights on and putting on some classical music. 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. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic. 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). But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. After gruesomely murdering his entire family, John List had begun living a normal life again. "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. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. John List died in prison in 2008 at age 82. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Simring said List showed "no evidence of anything that approached genuine remorse," adding, "He's a cold, cold man.". Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. At a border crossing to Mexico in March 1944, she said she. A new house was built on the site in 1974. In February 1988, the couple moved to a house in the Brandermill neighborhood of Midlothian, Virginia, where List, still using the name Bob Clark, resumed work as an accountant at a small accounting firm, Maddrea, Joyner, Kirkham & Woody. The third wife was Pilar Pallette, with whom he had three more children. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. The FBI found his car parked at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, but they never found him. This is not the man I know. "[37] When asked why he had not taken his own life, he said he believed that suicide would have prevented him from going to heaven, where he hoped to be reunited with his family. 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. Alongside his close friend and colleague Steven Levitt, List has committed to studying the way people behave in the real world, instead of understanding economics as a theory-based field. Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. He killed them to save their souls so they would go to heaven. He is from American. Judge William L'E. . John List passed away on March 21, 2008, after suffering from pneumonia. 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 family were devout Lutherans. He simply exploded.'. 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. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. 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. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. [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. His zodiac sign is Virgo. Discover The 33 Scariest Animals In The World, From The Deep Sea To The Tropical Skies, The Story Of Caril Ann Fugate And Charles Starkweather's Natural Born Killing Spree, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. 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 then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. [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. . . John Emil List was born in Michigan, in 1925, the only child of John and Alma List. 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. First Patty, 16. The morning of November 7, 1971 began in a usual fashion. Salary in 2021. John enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and was a laboratory technician during World War II. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. 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. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. Born In: Bay City, Michigan, United States. 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. $1 Million - $5 Million. 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. 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. 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. The New Jersey mansion he inhabited with his mother, wife, and three children had 19 rooms, including a ballroom, marble fireplaces, and a Tiffany skylight. [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. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. Then he went downstairs, dragged his wife's body into the ballroom and began scrubbing up the blood so the children would not realize what was going on when they got back from school. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. Oct 9, 2018. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? HOW HE MET HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE John Schneider and his wife, Alicia Allain, began their journey after his divorce from his first wife of twenty-one years. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. John List with his wife and three children. A manhunt for John was declared, but it was not until 18 years that he was arrested. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He later pursued a masters degree in accounting from the same university and as the Korean War had escalated in 1950, he was recalled by the Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, stationed at Fort Eustis in Virginia, where he met his wife Helen. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. At sixty-four, John's father was twenty-six years older than Alma, whom he had married one year earlier, after his first wife died of cancer. 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. He was born John Emil List on 15 September 1925 to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. After finding an old 9 mm pistol he had bought as a souvenir of World War II, and a .22-caliber target pistol, he purchased new ammunition and went to a shooting range for target practice. [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. 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. "So eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill them. lists She met Steinbeck in late 1938 or early 1939, when she was just 22. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. 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. 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).
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