Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [1] She was the second wife and widow of businessman John Jacob Astor IV . Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. He made himself a sandwich, closed out his bank accounts, and cheered for his only surviving son, John, at his high school soccer game. But back in Denver, his former neighbors did recognize him, and called police. List's home, a. [31] Though her health progressively deteriorated, she said nothing to List or her physicians until 1969, when a thorough workup revealed the condition. 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. 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 His father died in 1944. One tip came from a woman in Richmond, Virginia, who thought her next-door neighbor, Robert Clark, bore a striking resemblance to the bust. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. 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. List assumed a new identity, remarried, and eluded justice for nearly 18 years. 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. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. 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). John fled the house after putting all the bodies on sleeping bags, turning the house lights on and putting on some classical music. 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. 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. 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. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. . Rebecca Everett may be reached at [email protected]. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. [43], The movie A Killer Next Door, based on the events that led to the capture of John List, was released In July 2020. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. They married in 1985. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. We have estimated John A. List's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. If you want to get the most Any streaming system that wants to deliver live audio must have microphones. 'To find his wife having a veneral disease was morally, ethically and religiously a very hard thing for him to accept,' the psychiatrist said. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. Like his father, List was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. 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. List graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1943. [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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. John and Helen married on December 1, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, the family moving to northern California. "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. 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. 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. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. 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. In an interview with Connie Chung in 2002, List said he didnt kill himself after killing his own family because he felt that would prevent him from getting to heaven. Fast forward 18 years to 1989. After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. 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. In 1971, John List lost his job at the bank at age 46. But unlike the other members of the List family who dropped instantly, John Jr. struggled. [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. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. 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. He turned on the lights and the radio, leaving religious hymns playing in the houses empty rooms. Their faces were covered. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. [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. 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. He later took a job as the vice president at a bank in New Jersey, where the family finally got settled. He watched John Jr. play soccer at school, then drove him home and killed him, too. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. 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.. 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. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. 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. Forensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. [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. 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. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. $1 Million - $5 Million. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. [42] In 2015, the story was covered in the season 2, episode 2 of the Investigation Discovery TV series Your Worst Nightmare. Police investigated hundreds of leads without success. 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 is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. If no one claims List's body, Fedekenheuer said, "we call the local funeral director, and that person will have the body cremated. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. 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. 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. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? 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. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program Americas Most Wanted May 21. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. When the children left for school, he shot his wife and his mother to death. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. [35], List filed an appeal of his convictions on grounds that his judgment had been impaired by post-traumatic stress disorder due to his military service. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. The trail went cold. 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. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. It took 18 years for John List to be arrested. The Army, realizing List's accounting skills, reassigned him to the Finance Corps. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. So he spent his days at the train station, reading the newspaper and secretly skimming money from his mothers bank accounts to pay the mortgage. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. And it came from a family member of all people. He is a quiet yet friendly man who loves his work and the people he works with.. 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. The video above will play a live video stream of the Monday, Feb. 27 proceedings in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial or a replay upon completion. Helen List apparently was infected with the disease by her first husband, a soldier who was killed in Korea. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. 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. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. He lost the bank job, and a succession of subsequent jobs. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. 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. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. Judge William L'E. The mansion in New Jersey where John List lived with his family burned down several months after the murders. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. 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. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. "[36] The judge was unpersuaded: "John Emil List is without remorse and without honor," he said. John List met Helen Morris Taylor, a young widow of an American enlisted man who had died in the Korean War. At a border crossing to Mexico in March 1944, she said she. "[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. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. 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 was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. When police officers entered the home on Dec. 7, 1971, they heard organ music on an intercom system and found the bodies of Mr. List's wife, Helen, 46; his daughter, Patricia, 16; his sons. His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. John List died in prison in 2008 at age 82. 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. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. Following the gruesome death of his family. 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. List and his family were the embodiment of the American dream in 1965. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. Authorities went to Clarks home and spoke to his wife, whom he met at a church social gathering. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. WhenAmericas Most Wantedaired the story of the John List murders on May 21, 1989, an audience of 22 million saw Frank Benders sculpture. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. He couldnt bear to tell his family about the loss of income. 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. 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. In a second attempt at love, he was lucky enough to find a business and life partner in Allain, a producer and hairstylist. He was 82. [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 had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. Simring said List showed "no evidence of anything that approached genuine remorse," adding, "He's a cold, cold man.". In 1965, when List and his family moved to affluent Westfield, N.J., he seemed to be a model of suburban success and propriety. List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. John Emil List (September 17, 1925 March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer[1] and long-time fugitive. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. 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. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program "America's Most Wanted" May 21. In an effort to baffle the police, he cleaned the crime scenes and used scissors to remove his image from every photo in the mansion. 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). John enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and was a laboratory technician during World War II. "I feel when we get to heaven we won't worry about these earthly things. 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. A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. 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. Hence, his severe lack of social skills cost him jobs after jobs. He worked as an accountant, bringing a stable income back to his Victorian mansion; home to himself, his wife, three children and his mother. 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. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. 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.". A nationwide manhunt was launched. 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. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. He was caught after the television show "America's Most Wanted" air a segment on the murders. He later completed his masters degree in accounting and worked as an accountant in the military. They separated in 1973 and he moved . John List was on the run when they met in 1985 after having murdered his family members about 14 years before. At one religious gathering, he met an Army PX clerk named Delores Miller and married her in 1985. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. 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. The episode, "Murder House", premiered on November 18, 2015. "[38], Over the years, List and his crimes have furnished inspiration for documentaries, television dramas and feature films. 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. His middle son, John Jr. who was also his favorite suffered the most brutal death. 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. A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. [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. Although it is a work of fiction, much of the character John Graff was borrowed from the story of the John List murders. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. Then Frederick, 13. John List and his family were the definition of the American Dream in 1965; they seemed to have it all. 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. YouTubeThe note John List wrote excusing his children from school. He was apprehended 18 years later in 1989 and was sentenced to five terms of life sentence. John List with his wife and three children. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. 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. news, His lawyer, Elijah Miller Jr., argues that knowing his wife suffered from syphilis helped drive the deeply religious man over the edge. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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 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. He. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home.
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