It turned out that List had changed his identity and moved to Colorado under the assumed name Robert Clark. Johnny Cash Fathered 5 Children with 2 Wives Meet All His Kids If no one claims List's body, Fedekenheuer said, "we call the local funeral director, and that person will have the body cremated. He was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Authorities later revealed that John kept lying to his family about his jobs. A manhunt for John was declared, but it was not until 18 years that he was arrested. He was 82. If things had gone on who knows if that would be the case," he wrote. 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. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. 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. Authorities never found the cause of the fire, and a new house was built on the property years later. '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.'. . More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. 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. Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. His play times were replaced with gatherings around . Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. 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 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. "The Boogeyman of Westfield", was an American family annihilator and mass murderer who killed five members of his family on November 9, 1971, in Westfield, New Jersey. Because this is one of the most. A new house was built on the site in 1974. John died aged 82 in March 2008 of complications from pneumonia while still imprisoned. A nationwide manhunt was launched. 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. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. But he fled to Colorado, assumed a new name and remarried, managing to elude a nationwide manhunt for 18 years. 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. The couple had three children together, while Helens daughter Brenda left home in 1960 after her marriage. 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. 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. His zodiac sign is Virgo. 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. 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. Net Worth in 2022. The family later moved to Rochester, New York, to work with Xerox. 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 Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling. Bender gave him a hawk nose, grizzled eyebrows, and horn-rimmed glasses. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. John Sr. drove over to his school and watched him playing in a soccer game. He also argued that the letter he left behind at the crime scene, essentially his confession, was a confidential communication to his pastor and therefore inadmissible as evidence. 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. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. But then his life began to crumble. The inconspicuous accountant was arrested without incident Thursday at work. John List - Wikipedia He was arrested in 1989 after a former neighbor recognized him from a profile on the syndicated TV show America's Most Wanted. 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. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. [14] All reliable photographs of List had been destroyed. On April 12, 1990 he was found guilty on five . Born in 1925 in a conservative Lutheran family, single child John List was a fairly shy, odd and obsessed with military books child from Michigan. This article is about the murderer. There, he eventually became director of accounting services. Helen List lied to her doctors during several hospitalizations, Liss said. 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. [16], List died of complications from pneumonia aged 82 on March 21, 2008, while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. 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. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. The episode, "Murder House", premiered on November 18, 2015. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. 7-year-old baseball umpire seeks Guinness World Record. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. John List Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements Pending. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond, Virginia in 1989 before transporting him to New Jersey to stand trial.Steve Helber/AP. "At least I'm certain that all have gone to heaven now. He was vice president and comptroller of a nearby bank, and his family lived in an 18-room mansion with marble fireplaces and an elegant ballroom. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program Americas Most Wanted May 21. [11], Westfield, where few violent crimes had been recorded since 1963, received national attention as the site of one of the most notorious felonies in New Jersey since the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. However, the marriage was not very good. Alex Murdaugh's defense rests after 14 witnesses over two weeks in They were shot methodically one by one. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. [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. 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. Spouse/Ex-: Delores Miller Clark (m. 19851989), Helen List (m. 19511971), children: Frederick List, John, Jr. [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. John Sr. shot him nine more times before dragging him into the ballroom with the rest of his family. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. Liss summarized Helen List's medical reports for the jury. In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. 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. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. He told her she went through a slow, agonizing death, the friend said. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. 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. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. They got married in December 1951. Born in an extremely strict Lutheran family, John was raised as a single child. List (born 1968), American economist. 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. 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. He then cleaned the crime scenes, removed his pictures from all family photographs, turned the lights and the radio on, and departed. He is a quiet yet friendly man who loves his work and the people he works with.. Then, read the chilling story of John Wayne Gacy, the original killer clown. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. Under Review. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. After extradition to New Jersey, he was convicted on five counts of first degree murder and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment, making him ineligible for parole for nearly 75 years.[2]. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. 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. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. 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. 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. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. John Sr. drove to the field and watched him play, then gave him a ride home. I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. The two met at a Christian religious gathering. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. 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 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. Minnesota officer removes jar from raccoon's head. Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling List lived at a Midlothian address under the name Robert Clark, FBI Agent Tom ODonnell said. First Patty, 16. She was born 25th October 1916. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Helen was first. A federal appeals court rejected both arguments. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. The Army, realizing List's accounting skills, reassigned him to the Finance Corps. 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. [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. Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders 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. He is from American. 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). The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. The tipster said her neighbor was also an accountant and attended church. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. Liss testified after a judgeruled that information on Helen List's medical condition could be given to the jury that must decide whether List is guilty of murder. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. [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. 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. John was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. Examples include "Savior," the season 6, episode 16 of the television series Law & Order; the 1987 film The Stepfather and its 2009 remake; the 1993 film Judgment Day: The John List Story, in which List was portrayed by Robert Blake;[39] and the character Keyser Sze in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.[40]. 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. As his daughter Patricia, 16, and younger son Frederick, 13, arrived home from school, List shot each of them in the back of the head. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. And it came from a family member of all people. Rebecca Everett may be reached at [email protected]. John List Killed His Family In Cold Blood, Then Disappeared For 18 Years On November 9, 1971, John List put his plan into action. "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. The FBI found his car parked at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, but they never found him. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. 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. When they entered the house, music was still playing on the intercom, but List was long gone. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. A former Denver neighbor alerted the police, who made the arrest later. John List, The Mass Murderer Who Killed His Family So Hed See Them In Heaven. [4], After completion of his second tour in 1952, List worked for an accounting firm in Detroit, and then as an audit supervisor at a paper company in Kalamazoo, where his three children were born. Their faces were covered. Psychologists theorized that List would wear the same spectacles he wore as a younger man to remind him of more successful days. videos, America's Most Wanted: The Disturbing Case of John List He was previously married to Delores Miller and Helen List. [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. Serial killer who murdered entire family hid in plain sight for years List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. Unlike the others, John didn't go quietly, his body jerking as List emptied both the 9 millimeter and the .22 into his son. . Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "[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. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. Gallery - Father Wants Us Dead: A True Crime Podcast From NJ Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders 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. 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 was a devoutly religious man, and provided for his family in the town of Westfield, New Jerseywhere they lived in a 19-room mansion called Breeze Knoll. Specifically: I am a member of St Lorenz Lutheran Church with access to burial records. 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List, who grew up in a strict Lutheran community in Bay City, Mich., was 'immersed in his religion,' he said. In a second attempt at love, he was lucky enough to find a business and life partner in Allain, a producer and hairstylist. Officers entered through an unlocked window leading to the basement and discovered the family's bodies. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. 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. Everything looked great on the surface. John List: He Committed the (Almost) Perfect Murder lists Judge William L'E. Robbins is one of Pitt-Bradford's . Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. On November 9, 1971, John Emil List murdered his mother, his wife, and their three children at their Westfield, New Jersey home using his 9mm Steyr 1912 semi-automatic handgun and his. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. 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