He worked as an accountant, bringing a stable income back to his Victorian mansion; home to himself, his wife, three children and his mother. 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. This is not the man I know. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. His sixteen years old daughter and 13 years old son returned from the school at noon. '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.'. 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. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. On April 12, 1990 he was found guilty on five . 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. John List | Criminal Minds Wiki | Fandom The judge finally overruled her but continued to bar testimony that List's daughter, Patricia, 16, was a practicing witch. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. They got him down in Virginia.. 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. All rights reserved (About Us). The bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. [42] In 2015, the story was covered in the season 2, episode 2 of the Investigation Discovery TV series Your Worst Nightmare. [14] All reliable photographs of List had been destroyed. One tip came from a woman in Richmond, Virginia, who thought her next-door neighbor, Robert Clark, bore a striking resemblance to the bust. Delores Clark, right, tells reporters at a press conference on June 8, 1989 that she did not believe her husband was John List. 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. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. John List - Trivia, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. 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. His father was a devout Lutheran who also taught at a local Sunday School in Bay City. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. Spouse/Ex-: Delores Miller Clark (m. 19851989), Helen List (m. 19511971), children: Frederick List, John, Jr. John List is a revolutionary experimenter whose unique methods and ideas have changed how the field of economics functions. List and his family were the embodiment of the American dream in 1965. But then his life began to crumble. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. He joined a Lutheran congregation and ran a car pool for shut-in church members. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. 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. 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. Under Review. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. He took a break and made himself lunch. John List - History, Crime. [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. 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. 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. Episodes, photos and other information are also available at fatherwantsusdead.com. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. John Emil List was born in Michigan, in 1925, the only child of John and Alma List. The neighbors tipped the police after a month of not seeing anyone entering or leaving the house. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. The couple later moved to Richmond together . [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. He was born John Emil List on 15 September 1925 to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. The bust created of John List, right, next to the real John List, left. If you take gaming seriously, you shouldn't accept anything less than the greatest. John died aged 82 in March 2008 of complications from pneumonia while still imprisoned. 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. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. He grew up as an only child with strict German parents, he had an overly protective and domineering mother (sort of like Norman Bates). 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. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. Jurors deliberated for about . Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. The army discharged him in 1946, after which he joined the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 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. Helen List apparently was infected with the disease by her first husband, a soldier who was killed in Korea. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. Authorities went to Clarks home and spoke to his wife, whom he met at a church social gathering. In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. List methodically murdered his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their three childrenPatricia, 16; Frederick, 13; and John Jr., 15. . They attended church every Sunday as devout Lutherans and List taught Sunday school. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. 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. 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. John List: The Perfect Family Man Who Killed His Perfect Family "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. March 3 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old Louisiana boy with a firm grasp of baseball rules is seeking a Guinness World Record as the world's youngest umpire. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. 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. 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. Delores Clark said that she was making her statement reluctantly and that she would have no further comment. Upstairs, the body of List's 84-year-old mother Alma was found. Suspect in Family Slaying 'Not Man I Know,' Wife Says Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. "I've regretted my action and prayed for forgiveness ever since. List, 64, faces multiple life sentences if he is convicted. Westfield police did not discover the bodies until nearly a month later. They attended church each week with List's mother, a strict Lutheran who lived with them. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. 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. A nationwide manhunt was launched. On November 9, 1971, John List put his plan into action. '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. John Emil List (1925-2008) - Find a Grave Memorial John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. . "I was hungry," he told Downtown, adding with a chuckle, "that's just the way it was.". He placed the bodies of his wife and . More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. $1 Million - $5 Million. His zodiac sign is Virgo. 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. All rights reserved (About Us). Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. Forensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. 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. 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. ", 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. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. Austin Goodrich, an ABCNEWS consultant who is writing a book with John List, contributed material for this report. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. 1971 Family Killer Breaks Silence - ABC News 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. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. 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 . He later completed his masters degree in accounting and worked as an accountant in the military. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.". The Twisted Mind of Family Annihilator John List - America's Most Haunted Helen was first. [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. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Their faces were covered. Alex Murdaugh trial updates: John Marvin faults SLED, doesn't believe Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German-American parents John Frederick List (18591944) and Alma Barbara Florence List (18871971). 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. '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. After gruesomely murdering his entire family, John List had begun living a normal life again. 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 List: He Committed the (Almost) Perfect Murder Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. He was arrested in 1989 after a former neighbor recognized him from a profile on the syndicated TV show America's Most Wanted. ', 'List was being bombarded by stresses,' the doctor added. With his first wife, John Frederick had had a son, William George, who happened to be the same . YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. Madeleine Astor - Wikipedia YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. John List was born John Emil List, on September 17, 1925, in Bay City, Michigan, to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. He then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. He said they were going to North Carolina to visit an ailing relative. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. The John List Murders - Historic Newspapers 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. If no one claims List's body, Fedekenheuer said, "we call the local funeral director, and that person will have the body cremated. John Sr. drove over to his school and watched him playing in a soccer game. 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. 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. My Life With John Steinbeck - Gwen Gonger - The Forgotten Wife 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Following his high school graduation, he enlisted into the American military and worked as a lab technician. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. 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. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. The Truth About John Wayne's Wives - Grunge 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. 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. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. They were shot methodically one by one. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. videos, Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. Alex Murdaugh murder trial: The jury finds him guilty on all counts : NPR Following the gruesome death of his family. The devout Lutherans attended church every Sunday, and List taught Sunday school. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. 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. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. 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. [16], List eventually expressed a degree of remorse for his crimes. The 14th and final defense witness was the defendant's brother John . 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. Returning home, he made several calls to explain that the family had gone to North Carolina to visit his wife's ailing mother, and that he was planning to follow by car. The tipster said her neighbor was also an accountant and attended church. Once inside the kitchen, John Sr. shot him in the back of the head. 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 then cleaned the crime scenes, removed his pictures from all family photographs, turned the lights and the radio on, and departed. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. John List may refer to: John A. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. Joseph Vought, Ludwig "Lou" Silbermann, Jerome Kendall, George Corbett,. He was the only child born to German-Americans John Frederick List and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List. 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. 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. The trail went cold. John List - Wikipedia Extras - Father Wants Us Dead: A True Crime Podcast From NJ.com She was born 25th October 1916. He told her she went through a slow, agonizing death, the friend said. John List A Killer's Secret Life Exposed by Art - George Pallas 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 went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. John List with his wife and three children. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders [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. They got married in December 1951. [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. 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. 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.". 'America's Most Wanted' killer John List remains infamous - mlive 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). On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them.
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