[24][25] On June 1, less than two weeks after the broadcast, List was arrested at a Richmond accounting firm after a Denver neighbor recognized the description and alerted authorities. [12] Neighbors noticed that all of the mansion's rooms were illuminated day and night, with no apparent activity within the house. Helen was first. 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. YouTubeThe note John List wrote excusing his children from school. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. He then cleaned the crime scenes, removed his pictures from all family photographs, turned the lights and the radio on, and departed. Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling. List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. He later took a job as the vice president at a bank in New Jersey, where the family finally got settled. Once inside the kitchen, John Sr. shot him in the back of the head. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. Want more true crime? A manhunt for John was declared, but it was not until 18 years that he was arrested. 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. Minnesota officer removes jar from raccoon's head. It was the biggest story he could remember, and the local fervor for information was immediate. March 3 (UPI) -- A New Brunswick couple who initially thought a burglar had broken into their home discovered the invader was actually a panicked deer. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond, Virginia in 1989 before transporting him to New Jersey to stand trial.Steve Helber/AP. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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]. "[38], Over the years, List and his crimes have furnished inspiration for documentaries, television dramas and feature films. A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. 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. John List may refer to: John A. All rights reserved (About Us). 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. 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. 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. It turned out that List had changed his identity and moved to Colorado under the assumed name Robert Clark. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. 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. 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. 'He faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. This is not the man I know. Associated With. If you take gaming seriously, you shouldn't accept anything less than the greatest. 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. Though we'd like to say that Wayne and Pilar lived happily ever after, apparently that's not the case. [11], Breeze Knoll remained empty until it was destroyed by fire in August 1972, nine months after the murders. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. 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. Los Angeles, 12 reasons why Sycamore Avenue is L.A.s coolest new hangout, Fox News finally reveals its kryptonite: the bottom line, The Week in Photos: California exits pandemic emergency amid a winter landscape, Snowboarder dies at South Lake Tahoe resort, California to alter COVID rules in healthcare settings: Masks and vaccinations not required, Welcome to the world, baby Winter, born amid a snowstorm in Lake Arrowhead, Gripped by grace: Thousands gather for Bishop OConnells funeral Mass. During his years on the run, List went by the name Robert Clark. List graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1943. 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. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! 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. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. [1] She was the second wife and widow of businessman John Jacob Astor IV . [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. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. He murdered his mother, wife and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey on November 9, 1971. John List passed away on March 21, 2008, after suffering from pneumonia. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. John List - History, Crime. Authorities went to Clarks home and spoke to his wife, whom he met at a church social gathering. The family later moved to Rochester, New York, to work with Xerox. The neighbours called the police when Johns daughter Patricias dancing teacher came home to see why Patricia was not coming to the classes. He turned on the lights and the radio, leaving religious hymns playing in the houses empty rooms. Wertheimer allowed the jury to hear testimony about Helen List's syphilis after Miller told him, in a brief hearing, that List knew what his wife suffered from before he killed her. List and his family were the embodiment of the American dream in 1965. 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. John Emil List was born in Michigan, in 1925, the only child of John and Alma List. Helen and her three children were buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. However, the marriage was not very good. On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his three children. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. Judge William L'E. The family did not have a lot of visitors and it took the neighbours 29 days to notice that something was off in the house. John enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and was a laboratory technician during World War II. 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 was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. Because syphilis is not infectious in its later phases, she did not pass it on to John List or her children, although she suffered several miscarriages during her first marriage. The inconspicuous accountant was arrested without incident Thursday at work. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. He then called his childrens school to grant them leave to visit their grandmother in South Carolina. "So eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill 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. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. 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. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. 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. [23][16] The segment featured an age-progressed clay bust, sculpted by forensic artist Frank Bender, which turned out to bear a close resemblance to List's actual appearance. 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. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. [6] In 1960, his stepdaughter Brenda married and left the household, and List moved with the remainder of his family to Rochester, New York, to take a job with Xerox. Everything looked great on the surface. John List with his wife and three children. He had saved the souls of the people he loved. He simply exploded.'. Attorney David Baugh, who represented List in Virginia, offers support.AP Photo/Steve Helber. The two met at a Christian religious gathering. 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.. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. The army discharged him in 1946, after which he joined the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Just as the kids entered from the main door, he shot both of them in the heads as well. Following the gruesome death of his family. . He earned a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in accounting. 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 was the only child born to German-Americans John Frederick List and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List. List, who says he remains deeply religious today, acknowledges that his crimes violated one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill.". Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. He placed the bodies of his wife and . I thought I was being real clever," he said. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. During that time, he was associated romantically with a number of celebrities, including a nine-year affair with actress Merle Oberon. Then he sat down and ate lunch at the same table where he had shot his wife hours before. Like his father, List was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. John confessed to committing the murders in February 1990. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. 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. List's home, a. A nationwide manhunt was launched. 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. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. But then his life began to crumble. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. John seemingly grew up without incident, reporting a normal childhood with the exception of his stringently religious upbringing, with which he identified wholeheartedly. The trail went cold. lists When the children left for school, he shot his wife and his mother to death. Delores Miller (wife) and John List are divorced. He later moved to California, and then Detroit, where he worked as an accountant in a local firm. In 1965, they moved again to Breeze Knoll, a 19-room mansion in Westfield. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. The couple had three children together, while Helens daughter Brenda left home in 1960 after her marriage. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. This article is about the murderer. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German-American parents John Frederick List (18591944) and Alma Barbara Florence List (18871971). $1 Million - $5 Million. The undertaker keeps the remains for a year and if nobody comes to claim them, they are put in a concrete vault and buried in a grave (at the state cemetery) on Cedar Lane in Trenton.". John was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. List diverted money from his mother's bank accounts to avoid default on his mortgage. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. 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. In 1965, when List and his family moved to affluent Westfield, N.J., he seemed to be a model of suburban success and propriety. He is a quiet yet friendly man who loves his work and the people he works with.. John List was a devout Lutheran who lived with his wife, mother and three children. 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. 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. 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. [44], In 2022, NJ Advance Media released "Father Wants Us Dead," a podcast serial on the events.[45]. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. John and Helen had three daughters when he worked as an audit supervisor at a paper company in Kalamazoo. This is either the most unbelievable mix-up or . He lived at 431 Hillside Avenue with his wife, Helen Morris Taylor; mother, Alma Barbara Florence List; and two children: daughter Patricia, and sons Frederick and John. He said they were going to North Carolina to visit an ailing relative. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. ", John List, famous murder The Crime Library, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_List_(murderer)&oldid=1139169038, American people who died in prison custody, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, People extradited within the United States, People with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New Jersey, Prisoners who died in New Jersey detention, United States Army personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 19:09. He began living with a new identity in Virginia, where he was spotted by a local and got arrested. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. 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 kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. 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. 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. 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 fled the house after putting all the bodies on sleeping bags, turning the house lights on and putting on some classical music. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. It was a masterful depiction of John List. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. Pending. Delores and John divorced in 1989, probably following his arrest on 1 June. 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. "I wish I had never done what I did," he told Connie Chung in 2002. Upstairs, the body of List's 84-year-old mother Alma was found. His play times were replaced with gatherings around . Net Worth in 2022. He was arrested in 1989 after a former neighbor recognized him from a profile on the syndicated TV show America's Most Wanted. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. 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 that 'like a small rubber band, he snapped,' a psychiatrist said. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. 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. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Delores Clark said that she was making her statement reluctantly and that she would have no further comment. 'His wife's behavior, coupled with the loss of his job -- he was threatened with the inability to support his family as he had been trained to do from childhood. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. 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. 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. A deputy sheriff at the Henrico County Jail was tasked with watching John List after his arrest in 1989. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. The memory of the murders still haunts Westfield residents. "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. [18][19][20], In 1972, List was proposed as a suspect in the D. B. Cooper air piracy case because of the timing of his disappearance (two weeks prior to the airline hijacking), multiple matches to the hijacker's description, and the reasoning that "a fugitive accused of mass murder has nothing to lose. By the late 1950s, the family was in a good financial situation as John had been promoted to the position of a general supervisor in the company. 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. Salary in 2021. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. "I feel when we get to heaven we won't worry about these earthly things. 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). List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. 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. "I remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. At a border crossing to Mexico in March 1944, she said she. John Emil List, a.k.a. But unlike the other members of the List family who dropped instantly, John Jr. struggled. 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. He had drained his and his mothers bank accounts and fled, changing his identity. 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. His zodiac sign is Virgo. [17] From 1979 to 1986, he was the comptroller at a paper box manufacturer outside Denver. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. [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. If you want to get the most Any streaming system that wants to deliver live audio must have microphones. Currently, the morgue is storing the body of "Thrill Killer" Richard Biegenwald, who died March 10 while serving a murder conviction for killing five victims - two teenage girls, two young women and one man - in Monmouth County from Oct. 31, 1981, to Nov. 20, 1982. Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said the social services unit at New Jersey State Prison, where List was an inmate, will attempt to find the nearest relative to see if that person would claim the body. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. After seeing all his children off to school, John List set his plan in motion. The family were devout Lutherans. Ideal YouTube Profile Picture: Size, Dimensions, Tricks, and More, Reasons To Invest In A Good Gaming Laptop, Microphone Sound Recording for Live Streaming, Delores Miller Clark: Learn More about John Lists Ex-Wife, Johanna Thiebaud- All about Shania Twains Stepdaughter, What You May Not Know About Gweneth Gonzales Thomas, Richard Thomas Daughter, Linnell S. Nobori: All there is to Know about Ted Bessells Wife, Online Pharmacies Make it Easy to Compare Medicines Prices, Katya Ariel Tylo Personal Life, Net Worth, & More, Isis Rae Boykin, Personal Life and Net Worth, Finn William Leeves Coben Lifestyle and Personal Life. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. 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 was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. "[36] The judge was unpersuaded: "John Emil List is without remorse and without honor," he said. 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. John List was on the run when they met in 1985 after having murdered his family members about 14 years before. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. [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 packed off his children to school and loaded both of his handguns. 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. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. 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. 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John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. The bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. Soon after his high school graduation, he joined the United States Army during the Second World War, where he worked as a laboratory technician. 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.