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Then John, 15, after the boy put his bookbag down on a kitchen countertop. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . [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). He then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. 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 met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. '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. 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. John died aged 82 in March 2008 of complications from pneumonia while still imprisoned. Kentucky man stops for breakfast, wins $50,000 lottery prize. A month passed before neighbors, curious about the constantly burning lights and empty windows, began to suspect something was wrong at the List mansion. [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. The mansion in New Jersey where John List lived with his family burned down several months after the murders. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. [15][16], In 1971, as the FBI later discovered, List had traveled by train from New Jersey to Michigan and then to Colorado. Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Clark strongly protested telling the jury of Helen List's syphilis during bitter legal arguments over several days. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. The alias worked, and he kept it when he moved to Richmond. It turned out that List had changed his identity and moved to Colorado under the assumed name Robert Clark. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. He then shot both his wife and mother in their heads. At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. One night after dinner, he even asked his family what should be done with their bodies after they died. On April 12, 1990 he was found guilty on five . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, K-Pop isnt the only hot ticket in Koreatown how trot is captivating immigrants, Los Angeles is suddenly awash in waterfalls, Officials admit being unprepared for epic mountain blizzard, leaving many trapped and desperate, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, Californias snowpack is approaching an all-time record, with more on the way, This is me, this is my face: Actress Mimi Rogers on aging naturally, without cosmetic surgery, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick. 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. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. John seemingly grew up without incident, reporting a normal childhood with the exception of his stringently religious upbringing, with which he identified wholeheartedly. John Emil List was born in Michigan, in 1925, the only child of John and Alma List. 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. he is the biggest con man who ever walked the Earth, another unidentified friend told the paper. The family later moved to Rochester, New York, to work with Xerox. 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. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. John List passed away on March 21, 2008, after suffering from pneumonia. Dr. Sheldon Miller, who examined List after his arrest last year, described him Friday as a man who had already been hit by the loss of his job and then learned that his wife had deceived him for years about her medical condition. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. An aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. The family were devout Lutherans. [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. Salary in 2022. The crime remains one of the most gruesome acts of all time. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck - Who was She? YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. 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. Now, in his first-ever public comments about the 1971 crime, the 76-year-old former Sunday school teacher says he is waiting to be reunited with them in the hereafter. She is famous for Second wife of murderer John list. He gave him a ride home, then shot him in the chest. That left his oldest son. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. 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 This article is about the murderer. He began living with a new identity in Virginia, where he was spotted by a local and got arrested. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. When the police entered the house, on December 7th, the bodies had begun to decompose. Delores and John moved to a house around Brandermill, Midlothian, Virginia, where her husband worked as an accountant at an accounting firm. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The couple later moved to Richmond together . The army discharged him in 1946, after which he joined the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. [8], On November 9, 1971, List murdered his entire immediate family, using his own 9mm Steyr 1912 semi-automatic handgun[9] and his father's Colt .22 caliber revolver. [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. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. Although it is a work of fiction, much of the character John Graff was borrowed from the story of the John List murders. 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. Im convinced hes just pulling my chain, Gluck recalled. 'He faced limited options and like a small rubber band, he snapped. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. 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? Helen was first. "I approached all of them from behind so they wouldn't realize till the last minute what I was going to do to them," he said. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. If you take gaming seriously, you shouldn't accept anything less than the greatest. Attempts to reach List's former wife, Delores, whom he married in Denver while a fugitive and later moved with to Richmond, Va., where he was apprehended, have been unsuccessful. His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. 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. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. He lined up the four bodies in the ballroom (he said his mother's body was too heavy to move), put music on the internal intercom, and cleaned up meticulously. "It was my belief that if you kill yourself, you won't go to heaven," he said. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See The bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. 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. They got him down in Virginia.. 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. After the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie . Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! He was arrested in 1989 after a former neighbor recognized him from a profile on the syndicated TV show America's Most Wanted. "I was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. He died on March 21, 2008 in Trenton, New Jersey, USA. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Their faces were covered. The List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. "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. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. All rights reserved (About Us). Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. He was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. 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. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. A former neighbor in Denver saw the episode and recognized List, who was then tracked to his new home in Virginia. After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time. In 1965, they moved again to Breeze Knoll, a 19-room mansion in Westfield. 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. There, he eventually became director of accounting services. 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. 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. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. 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. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them. The trail went cold. 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. The morning of November 7, 1971 began in a usual fashion. She met Steinbeck in late 1938 or early 1939, when she was just 22. In a three-sentence statement to the court, he said he was sorry for "the tragedy that happened in 1971." Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. Delores Miller (wife) and John List are divorced. 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. He simply exploded.'. news, Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. 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.