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 placed the bodies of his wife and . List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. YouTubeAn aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. He was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. Although it is a work of fiction, much of the character John Graff was borrowed from the story of the John List murders. He made himself a sandwich, closed out his bank accounts, and cheered for his only surviving son, John, at his high school soccer game. 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. Then Frederick, 13. [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). news, [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. On April 12, 1990 he was found guilty on five . The tipster said her neighbor was also an accountant and attended church. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. That left his oldest son. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. 2023. John List - Biography - IMDb When they entered the house, music was still playing on the intercom, but List was long gone. 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. Jurors deliberated for about . 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). It was the biggest story he could remember, and the local fervor for information was immediate. 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. But unlike the other members of the List family who dropped instantly, John Jr. struggled. Just as the kids entered from the main door, he shot both of them in the heads as well. "I don't know whether it was only because he was still jerking that I wanted to make sure that he didn't suffer, or that it was sort of a way of relieving tension, after having completed what I felt was my assignment for the day," List said. He also thought his children were steering off the godly course as his son wanted to be an actor. 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. But what led Delores husband to commit such a chilling crime? He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. '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. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. Extras - Father Wants Us Dead: A True Crime Podcast From NJ.com 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. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. However, he was a loner who was not socially active and had very few friends in school and his locality. He later took a job as the vice president at a bank in New Jersey, where the family finally got settled. 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. John List was born John Emil List, on September 17, 1925, in Bay City, Michigan, to John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List. Alex Murdaugh murder trial: The jury finds him guilty on all counts : NPR "I was hungry," he told Downtown, adding with a chuckle, "that's just the way it was.". John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program "America's Most Wanted" May 21. After learning about the murders committed by John List, check out the story of Dale Cregan, the one-eyed killer. 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. Under Review. ", 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. He murdered his mother, wife and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey on November 9, 1971. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. Pending. His father was a devout Lutheran who also taught at a local Sunday School in Bay City. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. Austin Goodrich, an ABCNEWS consultant who is writing a book with John List, contributed material for this report. This is not the man I know. 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. 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. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. The Twisted Mind of Family Annihilator John List - America's Most Haunted At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. 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. 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. A federal appeals court rejected both arguments. "I wish I had never done what I did," he told Connie Chung in 2002. She was born 25th October 1916. He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. 'He faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. John confessed to committing the murders in February 1990. Delores Miller (wife) and John List are divorced. 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. Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders See who retired from Pitt in the second half of 2022 He told her she went through a slow, agonizing death, the friend said. 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. 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 lost the bank job, and a succession of subsequent jobs. Simring said List showed "no evidence of anything that approached genuine remorse," adding, "He's a cold, cold man.". Associated With. List assumed a new identity, remarried, and eluded justice for nearly 18 years. 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. Like his father, List was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. 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. His lawyer, Elijah Miller Jr., argues that knowing his wife suffered from syphilis helped drive the deeply religious man over the edge. Because this is one of the most. John Emil List, 63, was profiled on the TV program Americas Most Wanted May 21. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. While there is no set timetable on when that might happen, Daly said the remains of other prison inmates have been stored for up to roughly three months by the medical examiner's office. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. [14] All reliable photographs of List had been destroyed. John E. List, 82, Killer of 5 Family Members, Dies Where Is John List Now? 'The Watcher' John Graff True Story, Real [16], List eventually expressed a degree of remorse for his crimes. We have estimated John A. List's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. Net Worth in 2022. "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. 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. At one religious gathering, he met an Army PX clerk named Delores Miller and married her in 1985. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. 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.". John had first moved to Michigan, and then to Colorado, where he took an accounting job in Denver. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. . 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. In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. 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. John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. he is the biggest con man who ever walked the Earth, another unidentified friend told the paper. John Sr. shot him nine more times before dragging him into the ballroom with the rest of his family. 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. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. [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. 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. Alex Murdaugh trial updates: John Marvin faults SLED, doesn't believe Serial killer who murdered entire family hid in plain sight for years Helen List lied to her doctors during several hospitalizations, Liss said. 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. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. He was the only child born to German-Americans John Frederick List and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. John List: He Committed the (Almost) Perfect Murder Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. [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. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! Examples include "Savior," the season 6, episode 16 of the television series Law & Order; the 1987 film The Stepfather and its 2009 remake; the 1993 film Judgment Day: The John List Story, in which List was portrayed by Robert Blake;[39] and the character Keyser Sze in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.[40]. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. On November 9, 1971, after the children left for school, List shot his wife Helen in the back of the head as she was drinking her coffee. Then, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed. Kentucky man stops for breakfast, wins $50,000 lottery prize. ', Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. 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. A deputy sheriff at the Henrico County Jail was tasked with watching John List after his arrest in 1989. John Schneider Nursed His 'Miracle' Wife Back to Health after Born in an extremely strict Lutheran family, John was raised as a single child. Salary in 2022. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. John and Helen married on December 1, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, the family moving to northern California. 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. He said they were going to North Carolina to visit an ailing relative. Bender gave him a hawk nose, grizzled eyebrows, and horn-rimmed glasses. A South Carolina jury has found once-prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the deaths of his wife and son. [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. [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. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. 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. The research in this book is outstanding, and Sharkey clearly put a great deal of time and effort into it. Once inside the kitchen, John Sr. shot him in the back of the head. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. "I've regretted my action and prayed for forgiveness ever since. On November 9, 1971, John List put his plan into action. He was caught after the television show "America's Most Wanted" air a segment on the murders. The Rev. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. It turned out that List had changed his identity and moved to Colorado under the assumed name Robert Clark. 'The Watcher's John Graff is based on grim true story of family John Emil List (1925-2008) - Find a Grave Memorial Delores and John divorced in 1989, probably following his arrest on 1 June. John List was born on September 17, 1925 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. Delores Clark, right, tells reporters at a press conference on June 8, 1989 that she did not believe her husband was John List. List (born 1968), American economist. [43], The movie A Killer Next Door, based on the events that led to the capture of John List, was released In July 2020. Her story put an end to the 18-year-long mystery. 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. John List: The Perfect Family Man Who Killed His Perfect Family He joined a local Lutheran church and, in 1985, married a widow named Delores Clark, with whom he moved to Richmond, Va. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. 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). 'To find his wife having a veneral disease was morally, ethically and religiously a very hard thing for him to accept,' the psychiatrist said. 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. List, who says he remains deeply religious today, acknowledges that his crimes violated one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill.". The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. 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. [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. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. YouTubeForensic artist Frank Bender uses photographs to sculpt an aged bust of mass murderer John List. John List - History, Crime. Liss summarized Helen List's medical reports for the jury. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. John Emil List, a.k.a. Though we'd like to say that Wayne and Pilar lived happily ever after, apparently that's not the case. 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 imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. At a border crossing to Mexico in March 1944, she said she. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. He then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. [46] Played by Joe Mantello, much of John Graff's story was identical such as his being an accountant, attending a Lutheran church, and murdering his family members and live-in mother, along with leaving music playing in the house and planning an alibi that would cause the bodies to remain undiscovered for several weeks. 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. Wertheimer allowed the jury to hear testimony about Helen List's syphilis after Miller told him, in a brief hearing, that List knew what his wife suffered from before he killed her. 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. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. Body of killer John List remains unclaimed - nj.com 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. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. First Patty, 16. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. Helen had turned into an alcoholic, which caused them to engage in a lot of fights. Spouse/Ex-: Delores Miller Clark (m. 19851989), Helen List (m. 19511971), children: Frederick List, John, Jr. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. All five victims had been shot. 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 Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. Gallery - Father Wants Us Dead: A True Crime Podcast From NJ The neighbours called the police when Johns daughter Patricias dancing teacher came home to see why Patricia was not coming to the classes. Judgment Day: The John List Story (TV Movie 1993) - IMDb "I knew it was wrong. Episodes, photos and other information are also available at fatherwantsusdead.com. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. 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. They did not have any children together. "At least I'm certain that all have gone to heaven now. He then cleaned the crime scenes, removed his pictures from all family photographs, turned the lights and the radio on, and departed. [12] Neighbors noticed that all of the mansion's rooms were illuminated day and night, with no apparent activity within the house. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Authorities never found the cause of the fire, and a new house was built on the property years later. Police investigated hundreds of leads without success. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. 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. "It was my belief that if you kill yourself, you won't go to heaven," he said.
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