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[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. Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German-American parents John Frederick List (18591944) and Alma Barbara Florence List (18871971). John List is a revolutionary experimenter whose unique methods and ideas have changed how the field of economics functions. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. He took a break and made himself lunch. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. [35] At his sentencing hearing, he denied direct responsibility for his actions: "I feel that because of my mental state at the time, I was unaccountable for what happened. 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. That left his oldest son. $1 Million - $5 Million. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. A deputy sheriff at the Henrico County Jail was tasked with watching John List after his arrest in 1989. 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. She was born 25th October 1916. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. He became increasingly depressed. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. The man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_2xrMKO8g. [16], List died of complications from pneumonia aged 82 on March 21, 2008, while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. 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. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. The episode aired on May 21, 1989 (Opens in a new tab), catching the eye of a neighbor who called the police and warned Clark's second wife, who seemed "stunned." (Opens in a new tab) List was . In an interview in 2008, parents told a reporter in New Jersey that children will not walk past that property, nor do they even want to live on the same street. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. [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. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. Details of Delores life before she married John List are unavailable. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program "America's Most Wanted" May 21. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. The first seven episodes of Father Wants Us Dead are available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can subscribe on those platforms to be alerted when new episodes drop every Tuesday through June 21. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. National Park Service: 'Never push a slower friend down' in a bear encounter, March 2 (UPI) -- The National Park Service offered some sage advice for park visitors who encounter bears: "Never push a slower friend down. and more from FamousFix.com. He joined a Lutheran congregation and ran a car pool for shut-in church members. 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. YouTubeForensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. [44], In 2022, NJ Advance Media released "Father Wants Us Dead," a podcast serial on the events.[45]. 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. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. [17] From 1979 to 1986, he was the comptroller at a paper box manufacturer outside Denver. 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. 2023. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. John List and his family were the definition of the American Dream in 1965; they seemed to have it all. List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. Once inside the kitchen, John Sr. shot him in the back of the head. [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. Help keep John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) profile up to date. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. 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. Psychologists theorized that List would wear the same spectacles he wore as a younger man to remind him of more successful days. He earned a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in accounting. A manhunt for John was declared, but it was not until 18 years that he was arrested. 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. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. 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. 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 grew up as an only child with strict German parents, he had an overly protective and domineering mother (sort of like Norman Bates). Dr. Sheldon Miller, who examined List after his arrest last year, described him Friday as a man who had already been hit by the loss of his job and then learned that his wife had deceived him for years about her medical condition. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. One night after dinner, he even asked his family what should be done with their bodies after they died. Soon after his high school graduation, he joined the United States Army during the Second World War, where he worked as a laboratory technician. They also found the five-page note from John List explaining that the bloodied bodies on the ballroom floor were his family members, killed out of mercy. Additionally, the financial burden on the family was increasing, causing him severe psychological distress. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. [31] Though her health progressively deteriorated, she said nothing to List or her physicians until 1969, when a thorough workup revealed the condition. [42] In 2015, the story was covered in the season 2, episode 2 of the Investigation Discovery TV series Your Worst Nightmare. But, during a four-hour interview, he sought to explain how worries that financial hardship would split his family and turn them away from their faith forced him to make a tough decision. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. 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. 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. 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. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. 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. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. The department will use any money remaining in List's account at the prison to pay for all or part of the cremation and burial, according to state regulations. He was born John Emil List on 15 September 1925 to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his three children. "I wish I had never done what I did," he told Connie Chung in 2002. John was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. [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. March 2 (UPI) -- A Maryland woman scored a $100,000 prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket less than 12 hours after she scored an $11,000 jackpot at a casino. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. The bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. List graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1943. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. [12] Alma's body was flown to Frankenmuth, Michigan, and interred at the Saint Lorenz Lutheran Cemetery. He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. 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.". He says today he felt he was letting the family down. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. He joined a local Lutheran church and, in 1985, married a widow named Delores Clark, with whom he moved to Richmond, Va. 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. List, 64, faces multiple life sentences if he is convicted. Westfield police did not discover the bodies until nearly a month later. The trail went cold. He was previously married to Delores Miller and Helen List. 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. Salary in 2022. 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. Kentucky man stops for breakfast, wins $50,000 lottery prize. Their faces were covered. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. [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. List's home, a. He later took a job as the vice president at a bank in New Jersey, where the family finally got settled. 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. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. [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. I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. The couple later moved to Richmond together . All List wanted was to reunite with his wife, mother, and children in the afterlife, where he believed there would be no pain or suffering. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Unlike the others, John didn't go quietly, his body jerking as List emptied both the 9 millimeter and the .22 into his son. In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. They were shot methodically one by one. 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. Their faces were covered. 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. During his years on the run, List went by the name Robert Clark. A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. ', Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. 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. He killed them to save their souls so they would go to heaven. 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. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. This article is about the murderer. Now, in his first-ever public comments about the 1971 crime, the 76-year-old former Sunday school teacher says he is waiting to be reunited with them in the hereafter. He went to the post office to stop the family's mail, then to the bank, where he cashed his mother's savings bonds, checking that he got the correct interest to the penny. He died in the prison hospital at the age of 82, in 2008. 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. After driving John Frederick home, List shot him repeatedly because, as misfire evidence showed, his son attempted to defend himself. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. The family car was found parked at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, but police found no evidence that List had boarded a flight. List, who says he remains deeply religious today, acknowledges that his crimes violated one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill.". Because this is one of the most. He had saved the souls of the people he loved. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See 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. Net Worth in 2022. Authorities went to Clarks home and spoke to his wife, whom he met at a church social gathering. photos, [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. Associated With. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. 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. He simply exploded.'. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. [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. It took 18 years for John List to be arrested. 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). 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. 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood, To cut costs, Amazon delays completion of second headquarters, closes retail stores, Migrant woman dies after U.S. Coast Guard stops vessel carrying 54. March 3 (UPI) -- A sheep spotted wandering loose on a British highway was given a lift back to its owner by a concerned bus driver on her first day on the job. They did not have any children together. His play times were replaced with gatherings around . The family were devout Lutherans. But then his life began to crumble. He worked as an accountant, bringing a stable income back to his Victorian mansion; home to himself, his wife, three children and his mother. Attorney David Baugh, who represented List in Virginia, offers support.AP Photo/Steve Helber. Early life [ edit] Katherine (left) and Madeleine Force. 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. Several films and documentaries have been made to cover the details of the List murders. A nationwide manhunt was launched. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. He lost the bank job, and a succession of subsequent jobs. 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. It rippled through the county and state: John List, the man who had meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids in their Westfield mansion and disappeared without a trace, was in custody. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . If no one claims List's body, Fedekenheuer said, "we call the local funeral director, and that person will have the body cremated. 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. I thought I was being real clever," he said. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. Inside the mansion's cavernous ballroom, the bodies of List's wife Helen, 46, and his three children Patricia, 16, John, 15, and Frederick, 13, were laid out on the floor on sleeping bags. Under Review. news, Then Frederick, 13. 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. [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. They separated in 1973 and he moved . [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. He was portrayed in the 1993 film Judgment Day: The John List Story by actor Robert Blake, who, ironically, was later convicted of killing his own wife. Salary in 2021. 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. . 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. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. 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. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. 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. 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. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . 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. [15][16], In 1971, as the FBI later discovered, List had traveled by train from New Jersey to Michigan and then to Colorado. [7] In 1965, List accepted a position as vice president and comptroller at a bank in Jersey City, New Jersey, and moved with his wife, children, and mother into Breeze Knoll, a 19-room Victorian mansion at 431 Hillside Avenue in Westfield. His sixteen years old daughter and 13 years old son returned from the school at noon. Austin Goodrich, an ABCNEWS consultant who is writing a book with John List, contributed material for this report. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. 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. 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. Oct 9, 2018. [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. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. 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.