he is the biggest con man who ever walked the Earth, another unidentified friend told the paper. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. 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. He is from American. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. They also found the five-page note from John List explaining that the bloodied bodies on the ballroom floor were his family members, killed out of mercy. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. Then he made a sandwich, drove to the bank, and disappeared for 18 years. He later completed his masters degree in accounting and worked as an accountant in the military. HOW HE MET HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE John Schneider and his wife, Alicia Allain, began their journey after his divorce from his first wife of twenty-one years. 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. 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. Dr. Miller said List had learned before the killings that syphilis was the cause of his wife's worsening medical and psychological problems and that knowing she had a sexually transmitted disease would have a 'tremendous impact' on someone of his background. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. All five victims had been shot. A former Denver neighbor alerted the police, who made the arrest later. 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. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. YouTubeThe note John List wrote excusing his children from school. His zodiac sign is Virgo. Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. As his daughter Patricia, 16, and younger son Frederick, 13, arrived home from school, List shot each of them in the back of the head. The third wife was Pilar Pallette, with whom he had three more children. 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. Want more true crime? 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 died in the prison hospital at the age of 82, in 2008. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. The tipster said her neighbor was also an accountant and attended church. 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. "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." Read on to discover more details. List is accused of killing his wife, his three children and his mother in 1971. Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . WhenAmericas Most Wantedaired the story of the John List murders on May 21, 1989, an audience of 22 million saw Frank Benders sculpture. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey, and then disappeared; he had planned the murders so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone suspected that anything was amiss. List (born 1968), American economist. [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. 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? 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. It was a masterful depiction of John List. John was convicted of five counts of first degree murder in April 1990 and was imprisoned with five terms of consecutive life imprisonment. 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). 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. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. 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. [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. The inconspicuous accountant was arrested without incident Thursday at work. 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. 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. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But what led Delores husband to commit such a chilling crime? More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. John List was a devout Lutheran who lived with his wife, mother and three children. Next he went upstairs, to where his 84-year-old mother was having breakfast, kissed her ("like Judas," he told Downtown), and shot her in the head. "I was hungry," he told Downtown, adding with a chuckle, "that's just the way it was.". Bank Vice President and Sunday School Teacher. 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. 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 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. As I was doing it I knew it was wrong," he said. 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. [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. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. He was the only child born to German-Americans John Frederick List and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List. [12] Alma's body was flown to Frankenmuth, Michigan, and interred at the Saint Lorenz Lutheran Cemetery. ", Woman wins $100,000 lottery prize 11 hours after $11,000 casino jackpot. One tip came from a woman in Richmond, Virginia, who thought her next-door neighbor, Robert Clark, bore a striking resemblance to the bust. He murdered his mother, wife and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey on November 9, 1971. Then he sat down and wrote a confession letter to his pastor explaining his financial problems. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See The unlikely story of his capture, the tip that led to it and the wild coincidences Gluck encountered as he followed the story are told in the latest episode of Father Wants Us Dead, an investigative true crime podcast about the List killings from NJ Advance Media. He joined a Lutheran congregation and ran a car pool for shut-in church members. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. 7-year-old baseball umpire seeks Guinness World Record. List and his family were the embodiment of the American dream in 1965. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. 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. They attended church each week with List's mother, a strict Lutheran who lived with them. 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. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. 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. It rippled through the county and state: John List, the man who had meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids in their Westfield mansion and disappeared without a trace, was in custody. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. [14] All reliable photographs of List had been destroyed. The man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. It was the biggest story he could remember, and the local fervor for information was immediate. 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. List assumed a new identity, remarried, and eluded justice for nearly 18 years. The devout Lutherans attended church every Sunday, and List taught Sunday school. If things had gone on who knows if that would be the case," he wrote. [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 did not have any children together. All rights reserved (About Us). Her story put an end to the 18-year-long mystery. John List (murderer) (1925-2008), American mass murderer. 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. 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. 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. 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 . Bradford Patricia Colosimo (23 years), director of arts programming Jon Draeger (35 years), associate professor of chemistry Andrea Robbins (40+ years), instructor of chemistry and algebra, Division of Physical and Computational Sciences. He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. 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. In 1965, they moved again to Breeze Knoll, a 19-room mansion in Westfield. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. He couldnt bear to tell his family about the loss of income. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. The List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. When the children left for school, he shot his wife and his mother to death. Helen List lied to her doctors during several hospitalizations, Liss said. . Then, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. Joe Sharkey's DEATH SENTENCE is an account of the life of John Emil List who, in a case that was well known in the 70s, killed his mother, his wife, and their 3 children. [7] In 1965, List accepted a position as vice president and comptroller at a bank in Jersey City, New Jersey, and moved with his wife, children, and mother into Breeze Knoll, a 19-room Victorian mansion at 431 Hillside Avenue in Westfield. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. 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. She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. Following the gruesome death of his family. List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The two met at a Christian religious gathering. 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 believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. The neighbors tipped the police after a month of not seeing anyone entering or leaving the house. 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.