John List: The Perfect Family Man Who Killed His Perfect Family If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. He had drained his and his mothers bank accounts and fled, changing his identity. After seeing all his children off to school, John List set his plan in motion. 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 List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. He has also appeared on television shows such as Your Worst Nightmare and American Justice. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. Want more true crime? List is charged with shooting his mother, wife and three children in their Westfield, N.J. home, and authorities said he left a five-page note detailing the crime. 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. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. List, who says he remains deeply religious today, acknowledges that his crimes violated one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill.". 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. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program "America's Most Wanted" May 21. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. John List was a devout Lutheran who lived with his wife, mother and three children. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. Delores Miller Clark: Learn More about John List's Ex-Wife He says today he felt he was letting the family down. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . March 2 (UPI) -- A Minnesota police officer came to the rescue of a raccoon he spotted running around with a jar stuck over its head. The suspect denied he is List but the FBI said a positive link had been made through fingerprints. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 'He faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. Judge William L'E. Like his father, List was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. The alias worked, and he kept it when he moved to Richmond. Human name disambiguation pages. He had saved the souls of the people he loved. 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. 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. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. 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. John List may refer to: John A. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. 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. The Twisted Mind of Family Annihilator John List - America's Most Haunted He later moved to California, and then Detroit, where he worked as an accountant in a local firm. But what led Delores husband to commit such a chilling crime? Associated With. In 1989, America's Most Wanted featured List and a forensic sculptor's impression of how he would look then, 18 years after the murders. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. My Life With John Steinbeck - Gwen Gonger - The Forgotten Wife "I wish I had never done what I did," he told Connie Chung in 2002. John Emil List Birth 17 Sep 1925 Bay City, Bay County, Michigan, USA Death 21 Mar 2008 (aged 82) Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA Burial Burial Details Unknown. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. Soon after his high school graduation, he joined the United States Army during the Second World War, where he worked as a laboratory technician. "At least I'm certain that all have gone to heaven now. Suspect in Family Slaying 'Not Man I Know,' Wife Says 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. 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. But back in Denver, his former neighbors did recognize him, and called police. 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. YouTubeThe note John List wrote excusing his children from school. He settled in Denver in early 1972 and took an accounting job under the name Robert Peter "Bob" Clark, one of his college classmates (although the real Bob Clark later asserted that he had never known List). Jurors deliberated for about . Police investigated hundreds of leads without success. [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 packed off his children to school and loaded both of his handguns. [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. It took 18 years for John List to be arrested. 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. At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. March 2 (UPI) -- A Florida woman earned a Guinness World Record when she completed 23 ultra-marathon runs -- 31.1 miles -- in a 23-day period. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He began living with a new identity in Virginia, where he was spotted by a local and got arrested. John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. They did not have any children together. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See America's Most Wanted: The Disturbing Case of John List In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." 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. 1971 Family Killer Breaks Silence - ABC News 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. Then he sat down and wrote a confession letter to his pastor explaining his financial problems. 'The Watcher's John Graff is based on grim true story of family Minnesota officer removes jar from raccoon's head. [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. 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 She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. John List was on the run when they met in 1985 after having murdered his family members about 14 years before. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. [13] List also stopped milk, mail, and newspaper deliveries. List, who grew up in a strict Lutheran community in Bay City, Mich., was 'immersed in his religion,' he said. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. The 14th and final defense witness was the defendant's brother John . John and Helen married on December 1, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, the family moving to northern California. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. [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. 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? This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. 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. YouTubeForensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. He later took a job as the vice president at a bank in New Jersey, where the family finally got settled. If things had gone on who knows if that would be the case," he wrote. Several films and documentaries have been made to cover the details of the List murders. 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. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. 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. John List died in prison in 2008 at age 82. In 1989, Fox network broadcasted a TV show titled Americas Most Wanted, where an episode featured the New Jersey mass murders of John by his family. List, 64, faces multiple life sentences if he is convicted. 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. John Schneider Nursed His 'Miracle' Wife Back to Health after Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. Salary in 2022. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. During that time, he was associated romantically with a number of celebrities, including a nine-year affair with actress Merle Oberon. 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. 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. Then Frederick, 13. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. 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. 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. Alex Murdaugh trial updates: John Marvin faults SLED, doesn't believe He placed the bodies of his wife and . [15][16], In 1971, as the FBI later discovered, List had traveled by train from New Jersey to Michigan and then to Colorado. 2023. 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. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. Joseph Vought, Ludwig "Lou" Silbermann, Jerome Kendall, George Corbett,. 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. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. John List: The Father Who Killed His Entire Family and - The Lineup That left his oldest son. John List and his family were the definition of the American Dream in 1965; they seemed to have it all. He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. Born In: Bay City, Michigan, United States. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. and more from FamousFix.com. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. Helen List apparently was infected with the disease by her first husband, a soldier who was killed in Korea. Help keep John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) profile up to date. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. . 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. Jury in List family-killing trial told of wife's syphilis - UPI 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 . John List: He Committed the (Almost) Perfect Murder Login A new house was built on the site in 1974. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. Spouse/Ex-: Delores Miller Clark (m. 19851989), Helen List (m. 19511971), children: Frederick List, John, Jr. '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.'. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. If you want to get the most Any streaming system that wants to deliver live audio must have microphones. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program Americas Most Wanted May 21. [12] Neighbors noticed that all of the mansion's rooms were illuminated day and night, with no apparent activity within the house. 'America's Most Wanted' killer John List remains infamous - mlive When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. The two met at a Christian religious gathering. 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. This article is about the murderer. His father died in 1944. [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. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. After driving John Frederick home, List shot him repeatedly because, as misfire evidence showed, his son attempted to defend himself. List graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1943. [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. 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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. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. 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. Following the gruesome death of his family. Authorities never found the cause of the fire, and a new house was built on the property years later. Flanery lived next door to John List, who was going by Robert Clark, and his second wife, Delores Clark, in Aurora, Colorado from 1985 to 1988. See the events in life of John List in Chronological Order, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_List_(mugshot).jpg, https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-list-10634.php. They got him down in Virginia.. Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. He joined a local Lutheran church and, in 1985, married a widow named Delores Clark, with whom he moved to Richmond, Va. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. Just as the kids entered from the main door, he shot both of them in the heads as well. He was not, however, willing to suffer the earthly consequences of his actions. 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. Then he sat down and ate lunch at the same table where he had shot his wife hours before. [14] All reliable photographs of List had been destroyed. They got married in December 1951. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. The trail went cold. Read on to discover more details. He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. 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. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. Liss summarized Helen List's medical reports for the jury. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. [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. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. The Truth About John Wayne's Wives - Grunge They separated in 1973 and he moved . The episode, "Murder House", premiered on November 18, 2015. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. He also claimed to be suffering from PTSD. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. Helen List lied to her doctors during several hospitalizations, Liss said. John List - Biography - IMDb His zodiac sign is Virgo. John List was born John Emil List, on September 17, 1925, in Bay City, Michigan, to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. "I approached all of them from behind so they wouldn't realize till the last minute what I was going to do to them," he said. John List Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements Pending. 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. I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. John List - Wikipedia He was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. The mansion in New Jersey where John List lived with his family burned down several months after the murders. The family were devout Lutherans. 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. John List, The Mass Murderer Who Killed His Family So Hed See Them In Heaven. [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. [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 was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. Because this is one of the most. "I've regretted my action and prayed for forgiveness ever since. The memory of the murders still haunts Westfield residents. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. The research in this book is outstanding, and Sharkey clearly put a great deal of time and effort into it. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. John List passed away on March 21, 2008, after suffering from pneumonia. Where Is John List Now? 'The Watcher' John Graff True Story, Real However, the marriage was not very good. Delores Clark, right, tells reporters at a press conference on June 8, 1989 that she did not believe her husband was John List. [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 List - History, Crime. On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his three children. [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects.