Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. His middle son, John Jr. who was also his favorite suffered the most brutal death. 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.". Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. 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. 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. The morning of November 7, 1971 began in a usual fashion. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. It was a masterful depiction of John List. "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. 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. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. "There has been no communication from any family member of John List. 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. The suspect denied he is List but the FBI said a positive link had been made through fingerprints. At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. [17] From 1979 to 1986, he was the comptroller at a paper box manufacturer outside Denver. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his 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. His zodiac sign is Virgo. [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. [23][16] The segment featured an age-progressed clay bust, sculpted by forensic artist Frank Bender, which turned out to bear a close resemblance to List's actual appearance. Then, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed. John List was on the run when they met in 1985 after having murdered his family members about 14 years before. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. The man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . . However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. March 2 (UPI) -- A Minnesota police officer came to the rescue of a raccoon he spotted running around with a jar stuck over its head. 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. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids. New Jersey prosecutors had come up with a plan. 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. Login "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.". But unlike the other members of the List family who dropped instantly, John Jr. struggled. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! 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. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. Then he sat down and ate lunch at the same table where he had shot his wife hours before. 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. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. Helen had turned into an alcoholic, which caused them to engage in a lot of fights. 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. Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. YouTubeThe bust created of John List, right, next to the real John List, left. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. They got married in December 1951. Because syphilis is not infectious in its later phases, she did not pass it on to John List or her children, although she suffered several miscarriages during her first marriage. Then, read the chilling story of John Wayne Gacy, the original killer clown. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. [41] A 2003 episode of the A&E series American Justice also detailed the case and featured an interview with List. Associated With. Unlike the others, John didn't go quietly, his body jerking as List emptied both the 9 millimeter and the .22 into his son. 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. 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. He also argued that the letter he left behind at the crime scene, essentially his confession, was a confidential communication to his pastor and therefore inadmissible as evidence. He was apprehended 18 years later in 1989 and was sentenced to five terms of life sentence. [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. Though we'd like to say that Wayne and Pilar lived happily ever after, apparently that's not the case. In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." She met Steinbeck in late 1938 or early 1939, when she was just 22. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.". 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. He became increasingly depressed. [13] List also stopped milk, mail, and newspaper deliveries. Robbins is one of Pitt-Bradford's . After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . [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. 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. New revelations in the episode include what List said through tears to his shocked and heartsick second wife, who hoped it was all some mistake and her husband was really the man she thought she had married Robert Clark when she visited him in jail. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. John enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and was a laboratory technician during World War II. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. He was sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms. . . 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. Pending. Authorities never found the cause of the fire, and a new house was built on the property years later. 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 new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. But he fled to Colorado, assumed a new name and remarried, managing to elude a nationwide manhunt for 18 years. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. At one religious gathering, he met an Army PX clerk named Delores Miller and married her in 1985. A nationwide manhunt was launched. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Following his high school graduation, he enlisted into the American military and worked as a lab technician. Upstairs, the body of List's 84-year-old mother Alma was found. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. Following the end of the war, he resumed his studies and enrolled into the University of Michigan, from where he completed his bachelors degree in business administration. 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. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. 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. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. He has also appeared on television shows such as Your Worst Nightmare and American Justice. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. 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. "I've regretted my action and prayed for forgiveness ever since. FBI agents visited his unsuspecting second wife in Virginia and handcuffed the killer, who was going by the name Robert P. Clark, at his accounting office. 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. They attended church each week with List's mother, a strict Lutheran who lived with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_2xrMKO8g. John List was born John Emil List, on September 17, 1925, in Bay City, Michigan, to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. Tips came pouring in. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. They'll either have forgiven me or won't realize, you know, what happened," List told Downtown's Connie Chung in an interview at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, where he is serving five life sentences. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. lists Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. '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. Austin Goodrich, an ABCNEWS consultant who is writing a book with John List, contributed material for this report. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. Realizing he was overhearing an important conversation between List and his second wife, the young officer took notes and later related what he heard to investigators from New . [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 Frederick, 13. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. [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. 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. His play times were replaced with gatherings around . and more from FamousFix.com. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. 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. 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. 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. When authorities entered the Westfield, New Jersey house on December 7, 1971, they heard organ music piped through the intercom system. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. With his first wife, John Frederick had had a son, William George, who happened to be the same . [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. Dr. Steven Simring, a psychiatrist who examined List after his arrest years later, told Downtown his "sense of neatness" was the result of a compulsive personality. John List met Helen Morris Taylor, a young widow of an American enlisted man who had died in the Korean War. 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. Several films and documentaries have been made to cover the details of the List murders. Helen and her three children were buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. They had an expert forensic artist, Frank Bender, create a physical bust of John List as Bender imagined he might have aged. When the police entered the house, on December 7th, the bodies had begun to decompose. 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 earned a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in accounting. [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. [31] Though her health progressively deteriorated, she said nothing to List or her physicians until 1969, when a thorough workup revealed the condition. He was the only child born to German-Americans John Frederick List and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List. 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 He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. John Sr. drove over to his school and watched him playing in a soccer game. All five victims had been shot. Authorities later revealed that John kept lying to his family about his jobs. List, who says he remains deeply religious today, acknowledges that his crimes violated one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill.". 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. The note John List wrote excusing his children from school. John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. [15] Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom's stained glass skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany original, worth at least $100,000 at the time (equivalent to $650,000 in 2021). The tipster said her neighbor was also an accountant and attended church. 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. 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. he is the biggest con man who ever walked the Earth, another unidentified friend told the paper. His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. The News Leaders copyright story quoted his pastor, closest friend and neighbors as saying that the arrest was unbelievable and impossible.. Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling List lived at a Midlothian address under the name Robert Clark, FBI Agent Tom ODonnell said. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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.. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. 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. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? 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, The Mass Murderer Who Killed His Family So Hed See Them In Heaven. 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 . Born In: Bay City, Michigan, United States. [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 faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. He made himself a sandwich, closed out his bank accounts, and cheered for his only surviving son, John, at his high school soccer game. 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. 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? They did not have any children together. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. 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. List caught the tail end of the show with his wife, who did not know his past. 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. "[36] The judge was unpersuaded: "John Emil List is without remorse and without honor," he said. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. When the children left for school, he shot his wife and his mother to death. [12] Neighbors noticed that all of the mansion's rooms were illuminated day and night, with no apparent activity within the house. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. 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