A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. 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]. 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. We have estimated John A. List's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. A new house was built on the site in 1974. The 14th and final defense witness was the defendant's brother John . Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. He said they were going to North Carolina to visit an ailing relative. 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. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. If you take gaming seriously, you shouldn't accept anything less than the greatest. His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. Spouse/Ex-: Delores Miller Clark (m. 19851989), Helen List (m. 19511971), children: Frederick List, John, Jr. John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. John List may refer to: John A. [16], List died of complications from pneumonia aged 82 on March 21, 2008, while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. "At least I'm certain that all have gone to heaven now. Oct 9, 2018. "I've regretted my action and prayed for forgiveness ever since. [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. All rights reserved (About Us). photos, Although it is a work of fiction, much of the character John Graff was borrowed from the story of the John List murders. 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. Their faces were covered. A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. The trail went cold. [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. 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. Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. During his years on the run, List went by the name Robert Clark. Login At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. His father died in 1944. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. Helen List lied to her doctors during several hospitalizations, Liss said. 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. 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 was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. 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.. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. Hence, his severe lack of social skills cost him jobs after jobs. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.". This article is about the murderer. 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. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. The inconspicuous accountant was arrested without incident Thursday at work. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. While his name is still occasionally mentioned in Cooper articles and documentaries, no direct evidence implicates him, and the FBI no longer considers him a suspect. Delores Clark said that she was making her statement reluctantly and that she would have no further comment. 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. His lawyer, Elijah Miller Jr., argues that knowing his wife suffered from syphilis helped drive the deeply religious man over the edge. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. They got married in December 1951. 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. John Emil List was born in Michigan, in 1925, the only child of John and Alma List. This is either the most unbelievable mix-up or . 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 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. A federal appeals court rejected both arguments. [46] Played by Joe Mantello, much of John Graff's story was identical such as his being an accountant, attending a Lutheran church, and murdering his family members and live-in mother, along with leaving music playing in the house and planning an alibi that would cause the bodies to remain undiscovered for several weeks. Realizing he was overhearing an important conversation between List and his second wife, the young officer took notes and later related what he heard to investigators from New . List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. 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. He says today he felt he was letting the family down. [10] 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. 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. 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. If you want to get the most Any streaming system that wants to deliver live audio must have microphones. Police investigated hundreds of leads without success. Several films and documentaries have been made to cover the details of the List murders. John List (murderer) (1925-2008), American mass murderer. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. The family were devout Lutherans. YouTubeAn aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. 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. 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. He watched John Jr. play soccer at school, then drove him home and killed him, too. 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. 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. Upstairs, the body of List's 84-year-old mother Alma was found. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. 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. That left his oldest son. List had a masters degree in accounting, but lacked social skills and had a history of losing jobs. 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. Unlike the others, John didn't go quietly, his body jerking as List emptied both the 9 millimeter and the .22 into his son. A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. . Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. Under Review. One tip came from a woman in Richmond, Virginia, who thought her next-door neighbor, Robert Clark, bore a striking resemblance to the bust. The alias worked, and he kept it when he moved to Richmond. Salary in 2021. Helen and her three children were buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. Salary in 2022. 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. They attended church each week with List's mother, a strict Lutheran who lived with them. He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . Delores Clark, right, tells reporters at a press conference on June 8, 1989 that she did not believe her husband was John List. 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. [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. 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. . He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. Attorney David Baugh, who represented List in Virginia, offers support.AP Photo/Steve Helber. I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. 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. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. He was sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms. 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. The third wife was Pilar Pallette, with whom he had three more children. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. 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. 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. He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. [11], Breeze Knoll remained empty until it was destroyed by fire in August 1972, nine months after the murders. John was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. "I remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. He then called his childrens school to grant them leave to visit their grandmother in South Carolina. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. Then he drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where he left his car as a false lead and took a bus into the city. Because this is one of the most. He killed them to save their souls so they would go to heaven. Soon after his high school graduation, he joined the United States Army during the Second World War, where he worked as a laboratory technician. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. Officers entered through an unlocked window leading to the basement and discovered the family's bodies. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. They were shot methodically one by one. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. When the police entered the house, on December 7th, the bodies had begun to decompose. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. List's home, a. Helen List apparently was infected with the disease by her first husband, a soldier who was killed in Korea. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. Like his father, List was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. [12] Alma's body was flown to Frankenmuth, Michigan, and interred at the Saint Lorenz Lutheran Cemetery. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. On November 9, 1971, after the children left for school, List shot his wife Helen in the back of the head as she was drinking her coffee. Then he sat down and wrote a confession letter to his pastor explaining his financial problems. "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. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. 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. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. After making himself lunch, List drove to his bank to close both his and his mother's bank accounts, and then to Westfield High School to watch his elder son John Frederick, 15, play in a soccer game. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. 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. List left the bodies of his wife, his mother, Alma, 84, and his children, Patricia, 16, John, 15, and Frederick, 13, and several confessions and apologies in his Westfield home in November 1971 and disappeared for 17 years. 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. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. They attended church every Sunday as devout Lutherans and List taught Sunday school. 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. [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. He also claimed to be suffering from PTSD. The mass murderer was an active member of his local Lutheran church and married his second wife Delores in 1985. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. John was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and five terms of life imprisonment. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. Helen had turned into an alcoholic, which caused them to engage in a lot of fights. 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]. [43], The movie A Killer Next Door, based on the events that led to the capture of John List, was released In July 2020. When his daughter and youngest son came home, he shot them in the back of the head. He grew up as an only child with strict German parents, he had an overly protective and domineering mother (sort of like Norman Bates). Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. 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. 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. 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. He took a break and made himself lunch. Additionally, the financial burden on the family was increasing, causing him severe psychological distress. 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. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program "America's Most Wanted" May 21. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. Jurors deliberated for about . Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. Simring said List showed "no evidence of anything that approached genuine remorse," adding, "He's a cold, cold man.". 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. List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. The bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. To avoid sharing this humiliating development with his family, List engaged in the same routine and dress as when employed, leaving home each morning on schedule and spending the day at job interviews or at the Westfield train station, reading newspapers until it was time to come home. John List was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. During that time, he was associated romantically with a number of celebrities, including a nine-year affair with actress Merle Oberon. The neighbours called the police when Johns daughter Patricias dancing teacher came home to see why Patricia was not coming to the classes. "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.". Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. WhenAmericas Most Wantedaired the story of the John List murders on May 21, 1989, an audience of 22 million saw Frank Benders sculpture. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Helen was first. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. 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. Born in an extremely strict Lutheran family, John was raised as a single child. The neighbors tipped the police after a month of not seeing anyone entering or leaving the house. The Rev. Just as the kids entered from the main door, he shot both of them in the heads as well. $1 Million - $5 Million. He joined a local Lutheran church and, in 1985, married a widow named Delores Clark, with whom he moved to Richmond, Va. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. [15][16], In 1971, as the FBI later discovered, List had traveled by train from New Jersey to Michigan and then to Colorado. John had first moved to Michigan, and then to Colorado, where he took an accounting job in Denver. It was a masterful depiction of John List. It took 18 years for John List to be arrested. He was not, however, willing to suffer the earthly consequences of his actions. John Sr. drove over to his school and watched him playing in a soccer game. [17] From 1979 to 1986, he was the comptroller at a paper box manufacturer outside Denver. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. He earned a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in accounting. 'To find his wife having a veneral disease was morally, ethically and religiously a very hard thing for him to accept,' the psychiatrist said. "[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. The family later moved to Rochester, New York, to work with Xerox. The List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. List, 64, faces multiple life sentences if he is convicted. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond, Virginia in 1989 before transporting him to New Jersey to stand trial.Steve Helber/AP. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. A former Denver neighbor alerted the police, who made the arrest later. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. John List laid the bodies of his family members on top of sleeping bags in the ballroom, then composed a note to his pastor, who he felt would understand. 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 became increasingly depressed. Fast forward 18 years to 1989. John Sr. shot him nine more times before dragging him into the ballroom with the rest of his family. When they entered the house, music was still playing on the intercom, but List was long gone. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. List (born 1968), American economist. In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. The Army, realizing List's accounting skills, reassigned him to the Finance Corps. It was the biggest story he could remember, and the local fervor for information was immediate.
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