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. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. 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. 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. "I'm sure that if we recognize each other that we'll like each other's company just as we did here, when times were better.". Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. Officers entered through an unlocked window leading to the basement and discovered the family's bodies. List, who grew up in a strict Lutheran community in Bay City, Mich., was 'immersed in his religion,' he said. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. 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. They attended church each week with List's mother, a strict Lutheran who lived with them. 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. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. He told her she went through a slow, agonizing death, the friend said. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. He also thought his children were steering off the godly course as his son wanted to be an actor. 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. 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. 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. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. Unlike the others, John didn't go quietly, his body jerking as List emptied both the 9 millimeter and the .22 into his son. After extradition to New Jersey, he was convicted on five counts of first degree murder and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment, making him ineligible for parole for nearly 75 years.[2]. Read on to discover more details. 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. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. He. Login . This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. 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. [12] Neighbors noticed that all of the mansion's rooms were illuminated day and night, with no apparent activity within the house. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! 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. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. Discover The 33 Scariest Animals In The World, From The Deep Sea To The Tropical Skies, The Story Of Caril Ann Fugate And Charles Starkweather's Natural Born Killing Spree, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. List assumed a new identity, remarried, and eluded justice for nearly 18 years. Pending. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. 'He faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. John List was a devoutly religious man, and provided for his family in the town of Westfield, New Jerseywhere they lived in a 19-room mansion called Breeze Knoll. A new house was built on the site in 1974. 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 you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. "After 18 years, five months and 22 days, it is now time for the voices of Helen, Alma, Patricia, Frederick and John F. List to rise from the grave." Bender gave him a hawk nose, grizzled eyebrows, and horn-rimmed glasses. List caught the tail end of the show with his wife, who did not know his past. Then Frederick, 13. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. "I grew up with the idea that you should provide for your family and to do that you had to be a success in the job that you had or you're a failure, and that was not a good thing to be," he said. 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. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. 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. Currently, the morgue is storing the body of "Thrill Killer" Richard Biegenwald, who died March 10 while serving a murder conviction for killing five victims - two teenage girls, two young women and one man - in Monmouth County from Oct. 31, 1981, to Nov. 20, 1982. Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said the social services unit at New Jersey State Prison, where List was an inmate, will attempt to find the nearest relative to see if that person would claim the body. He simply exploded.'. 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. [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. John enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and was a laboratory technician during World War II. 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. He was caught after the television show "America's Most Wanted" air a segment on the murders. John List was a devout Lutheran who lived with his wife, mother and three children. March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. On Nov. 9, 1971, after sending his children off to school, List took his two handguns out to the car to load them, then walked into the kitchen and shot his wife from behind as she was drinking coffee. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. They were shot methodically one by one. 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. All rights reserved (About Us). He was born John Emil List on 15 September 1925 to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. "I was hungry," he told Downtown, adding with a chuckle, "that's just the way it was.". He killed them to save their souls so they would go to heaven. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. Fast forward 18 years to 1989. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. On April 12, 1990 he was found guilty on five . He placed the bodies of his wife and . He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. There, he eventually became director of accounting services. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. He is a quiet yet friendly man who loves his work and the people he works with.. [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. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. Oct 9, 2018. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? During that time, he was associated romantically with a number of celebrities, including a nine-year affair with actress Merle Oberon. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. Edward Saresky told the jury Thursday that he heard Helen List taunting her husband by telling him that if he was 'half the man her first husband was the family wouldn't have the troubles they were having. John List met Helen Morris Taylor, a young widow of an American enlisted man who had died in the Korean War. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. 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. They separated in 1973 and he moved . I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. John List and his family were the definition of the American Dream in 1965; they seemed to have it all. Delores Miller (wife) and John List are divorced. '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. Based on information gleaned from dozens of interviews and hundreds of pages of police and FBI documents, Father Wants Us Dead is an in-depth and chilling narrative from two reporters with more than 25 years of combined experience. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. The judge finally overruled her but continued to bar testimony that List's daughter, Patricia, 16, was a practicing witch. he is the biggest con man who ever walked the Earth, another unidentified friend told the paper. '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. John was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and five terms of life imprisonment. During his years on the run, List went by the name Robert Clark. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids. The List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program "America's Most Wanted" May 21. This article is about the murderer. The neighbors tipped the police after a month of not seeing anyone entering or leaving the house. He was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. The 14th and final defense witness was the defendant's brother John . The FBI found his car parked at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, but they never found him. List diverted money from his mother's bank accounts to avoid default on his mortgage. 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. 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 man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. 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. She met Steinbeck in late 1938 or early 1939, when she was just 22. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. "[36] The judge was unpersuaded: "John Emil List is without remorse and without honor," he said. Then he sat down and ate lunch at the same table where he had shot his wife hours before. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_2xrMKO8g. 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. photos, Forensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. A federal appeals court rejected both arguments. lists Their faces were covered. 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). Authorities never found the cause of the fire, and a new house was built on the property years later. Though we'd like to say that Wayne and Pilar lived happily ever after, apparently that's not the case. His sixteen years old daughter and 13 years old son returned from the school at noon. 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. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. He was 82. March 3 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man who stopped to buy some breakfast said he lost his appetite when he won $50,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket. On November 9, 1971, John List put his plan into action. 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. A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. John and Helen had three daughters when he worked as an audit supervisor at a paper company in Kalamazoo. After List's discharge in 1946, List enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in accounting, and was commissioned a second lieutenant through ROTC. 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. They attended church every Sunday as devout Lutherans and List taught Sunday school. [42] In 2015, the story was covered in the season 2, episode 2 of the Investigation Discovery TV series Your Worst Nightmare. "The Boogeyman of Westfield", was an American family annihilator and mass murderer who killed five members of his family on November 9, 1971, in Westfield, New Jersey. YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. ", Woman wins $100,000 lottery prize 11 hours after $11,000 casino jackpot. Los Angeles, 12 reasons why Sycamore Avenue is L.A.s coolest new hangout, Fox News finally reveals its kryptonite: the bottom line, The Week in Photos: California exits pandemic emergency amid a winter landscape, Snowboarder dies at South Lake Tahoe resort, California to alter COVID rules in healthcare settings: Masks and vaccinations not required, Welcome to the world, baby Winter, born amid a snowstorm in Lake Arrowhead, Gripped by grace: Thousands gather for Bishop OConnells funeral Mass. [32][34] Welfare was an unacceptable option, he reasoned, because it would expose him and his family to ridicule and violate his authoritarian father's teachings regarding the care and protection of family members. Several films and documentaries have been made to cover the details of the List murders. and more from FamousFix.com. 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 james ferguson obituary, david speck actor now,
