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.". Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. A new house was built on the site in 1974. And it came from a family member of all people. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. Salary in 2021. John Emil List (September 17, 1925 March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer[1] and long-time fugitive. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. 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. '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. 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. [13] List also stopped milk, mail, and newspaper deliveries. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. John List (murderer) (1925-2008), American mass murderer. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. He slept in the mansion where his family lay dead, then walked out the door the next morning and wasnt seen again for 18 years. 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. [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. "I remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. He then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. Jurors deliberated for about . John Emil List was born in Bay City, Michigan, on September 17, 1925, to John Frederick and Alma Marie List. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. His zodiac sign is Virgo. In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. He then called his childrens school to grant them leave to visit their grandmother in South Carolina. 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. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood, To cut costs, Amazon delays completion of second headquarters, closes retail stores, Migrant woman dies after U.S. Coast Guard stops vessel carrying 54. 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. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. WhenAmericas Most Wantedaired the story of the John List murders on May 21, 1989, an audience of 22 million saw Frank Benders sculpture. He was vice president and comptroller of a nearby bank, and his family lived in an 18-room mansion with marble fireplaces and an elegant ballroom. He turned on the lights and the radio, leaving religious hymns playing in the houses empty rooms. He says today he felt he was letting the family down. Hence, his severe lack of social skills cost him jobs after jobs. The man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. 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. 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. Authorities never found the cause of the fire, and a new house was built on the property years later. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. [24][25] On June 1, less than two weeks after the broadcast, List was arrested at a Richmond accounting firm after a Denver neighbor recognized the description and alerted authorities. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. "It was my belief that if you kill yourself, you won't go to heaven," he said. [1] She was the second wife and widow of businessman John Jacob Astor IV . "I knew it was wrong. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. List's death ended a sordid chapter in Westfield's history. [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. Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German-American parents John Frederick List (18591944) and Alma Barbara Florence List (18871971). 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). John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. 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). Returning home, he made several calls to explain that the family had gone to North Carolina to visit his wife's ailing mother, and that he was planning to follow by car. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. 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. First Patty, 16. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. After gruesomely murdering his entire family, John List had begun living a normal life again. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. He worked as an accountant, bringing a stable income back to his Victorian mansion; home to himself, his wife, three children and his mother. 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. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. The tipster said her neighbor was also an accountant and attended church. 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. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic. "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. 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. [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. He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. 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. 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. Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool. List methodically murdered his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their three childrenPatricia, 16; Frederick, 13; and John Jr., 15. Episodes, photos and other information are also available at fatherwantsusdead.com. Joseph Vought, Ludwig "Lou" Silbermann, Jerome Kendall, George Corbett,. However, the marriage was not very good. From New York, he had traveled overland to Denver, where he began a new life under the name Robert P. Clark, working first as a hotel fry cook and later as an accountant for H&R Block. [11], Breeze Knoll remained empty until it was destroyed by fire in August 1972, nine months after the murders. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. [44], In 2022, NJ Advance Media released "Father Wants Us Dead," a podcast serial on the events.[45]. Helen was first. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. 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. In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." He also thought his children were steering off the godly course as his son wanted to be an actor. When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. They got him down in Virginia.. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. The devout Lutherans attended church every Sunday, and List taught Sunday school. "The body is still at the Mercer County Medical Examiner's Office," said county spokesman Pete Daly. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Then he sat down and wrote a confession letter to his pastor explaining his financial problems. They got married in December 1951. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. Additionally, the financial burden on the family was increasing, causing him severe psychological distress. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. 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. List's home, a. After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. The FBI found his car parked at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, but they never found him. lists Fast forward 18 years to 1989. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. and more from FamousFix.com. 'List believed doing what he did do to his family was allowed because he was sending them to join God and saving them from the embarrassment of having to be on the public dole.'. He was too shy and seemed disinterested in talking to even his superiors. 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. 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. 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. John List with his wife and three children. 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. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. "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." March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. [16], List eventually expressed a degree of remorse for his crimes. When the police entered the house, on December 7th, the bodies had begun to decompose. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. At a border crossing to Mexico in March 1944, she said she. Attorney David Baugh, who represented List in Virginia, offers support.AP Photo/Steve Helber. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. 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.
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