John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program Americas Most Wanted May 21. 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. The John List project: About the reporting - nj.com John and Helen had three daughters when he worked as an audit supervisor at a paper company in Kalamazoo. There, he eventually became director of accounting services. 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. Alex Murdaugh murder trial: The jury finds him guilty on all counts : NPR More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. 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. [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. Following the gruesome death of his family. 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. It took 18 years for John List to be arrested. Delores Miller (wife) and John List are divorced. 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. A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. His zodiac sign is Virgo. List (born 1968), American economist. He couldnt bear to tell his family about the loss of income. "So eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill them. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. John List, The Mass Murderer Who Killed His Family So Hed See Them In Heaven. 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. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. 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 met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. He was caught after the television show "America's Most Wanted" air a segment on the murders. John List died in prison in 2008 at age 82. Following his high school graduation, he enlisted into the American military and worked as a lab technician. John fled the house after putting all the bodies on sleeping bags, turning the house lights on and putting on some classical music. 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. Read on to discover more details. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. He became increasingly depressed. The neighbors tipped the police after a month of not seeing anyone entering or leaving the house. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. He grew up as an only child with strict German parents, he had an overly protective and domineering mother (sort of like Norman Bates). John List A Killer's Secret Life Exposed by Art - George Pallas 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.. [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. One night after dinner, he even asked his family what should be done with their bodies after they died. [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. videos, Unlike the others, John didn't go quietly, his body jerking as List emptied both the 9 millimeter and the .22 into his son. Her story put an end to the 18-year-long mystery. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. 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. He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. Helen and her three children were buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. 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. He later took a job as the vice president at a bank in New Jersey, where the family finally got settled. Bender gave him a hawk nose, grizzled eyebrows, and horn-rimmed glasses. The family later moved to Rochester, New York, to work with Xerox. [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. John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. If you want to get the most Any streaming system that wants to deliver live audio must have microphones. The morning of November 7, 1971 began in a usual fashion. 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. 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. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. 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. John Schneider Nursed His 'Miracle' Wife Back to Health after The Star-Ledger reporter, who loved to chat about the infamous murderer with the locals on his Union County beat, was grabbing a sandwich for lunch when he got a tip of his own. John List is a revolutionary experimenter whose unique methods and ideas have changed how the field of economics functions. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. 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. This article is about the murderer. List caught the tail end of the show with his wife, who did not know his past. 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. 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. John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. 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. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. List, who grew up in a strict Lutheran community in Bay City, Mich., was 'immersed in his religion,' he said. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. Associated With. 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 . 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. He was born John Emil List on 15 September 1925 to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. 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. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. First Patty, 16. List is charged with shooting his mother, wife and three children in their Westfield, N.J. home, and authorities said he left a five-page note detailing the crime. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. 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. 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. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. The couple later moved to Richmond together . He has also appeared on television shows such as Your Worst Nightmare and American Justice. 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 was sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms. He had drained his and his mothers bank accounts and fled, changing his identity. 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. When the children left for school, he shot his wife and his mother to death. [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. and more from FamousFix.com. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. 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 methodically murdered his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their three childrenPatricia, 16; Frederick, 13; and John Jr., 15. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. A federal appeals court rejected both arguments. 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. 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. 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. The Twisted Mind of Family Annihilator John List - America's Most Haunted $1 Million - $5 Million. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck - Who was She? "I feel when we get to heaven we won't worry about these earthly things. 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. Although it is a work of fiction, much of the character John Graff was borrowed from the story of the John List murders. John List was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. Like his father, List was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. Minnesota officer removes jar from raccoon's head. 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. 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. "It was my belief that if you kill yourself, you won't go to heaven," he said. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. Elijah Miller has presented testimony from witnesses, including a Lutheran pastor who knew the Lists in the early 1960s in Rochester, N.Y., to describe the troubled family. Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German-American parents John Frederick List (18591944) and Alma Barbara Florence List (18871971). He simply exploded.'. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.". He says today he felt he was letting the family down. 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 graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1943. 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. 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. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. John List - Wikipedia 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. ', Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. John A. List Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. John List - Trivia, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. 7-year-old baseball umpire seeks Guinness World Record. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. "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. [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. Help keep John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) profile up to date. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. At one religious gathering, he met an Army PX clerk named Delores Miller and married her in 1985. Kentucky man stops for breakfast, wins $50,000 lottery prize. [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 separated in 1973 and he moved . Jury in List family-killing trial told of wife's syphilis - UPI List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. If things had gone on who knows if that would be the case," he wrote. . Their faces were covered. Helen had turned into an alcoholic, which caused them to engage in a lot of fights. He began living with a new identity in Virginia, where he was spotted by a local and got arrested. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. Robbins is one of Pitt-Bradford's . Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. After driving John Frederick home, List shot him repeatedly because, as misfire evidence showed, his son attempted to defend himself. YouTubeForensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. [16], List died of complications from pneumonia aged 82 on March 21, 2008, while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. 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. John List | Criminal Minds Wiki | Fandom They did not have any children together. John was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. Fast forward 18 years to 1989. [44], In 2022, NJ Advance Media released "Father Wants Us Dead," a podcast serial on the events.[45]. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. In February 1988, the couple moved to a house in the Brandermill neighborhood of Midlothian, Virginia, where List, still using the name Bob Clark, resumed work as an accountant at a small accounting firm, Maddrea, Joyner, Kirkham & Woody. 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. That left his oldest son. 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. [43], The movie A Killer Next Door, based on the events that led to the capture of John List, was released In July 2020. It turned out that List had changed his identity and moved to Colorado under the assumed name Robert Clark. 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. But then his life began to crumble. 'It's as if you're on a race track going around and around with no way out,' Miller told the jury in Union County Superior Court. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic. . Oct 9, 2018. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. 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. Then Frederick, 13. This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, 17 things to do in Santa Cruz, the old-school beach town that makes for a charming getaway, Best coffee city in the world? 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. John List (murderer) - Wikipedia He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. lists 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. List had a masters degree in accounting, but lacked social skills and had a history of losing jobs.