He was sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See But back in Denver, his former neighbors did recognize him, and called police. [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. This is either the most unbelievable mix-up or . Suspect in Family Slaying 'Not Man I Know,' Wife Says After light bulbs began burning out one by one, they called the police. 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. '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. She met Steinbeck in late 1938 or early 1939, when she was just 22. He was caught after the television show "America's Most Wanted" air a segment on the murders. Although the destruction was officially ruled arson, it remains officially unsolved with no suspects. On November 9, 1971, John List put his plan into action. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. 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). Oct 9, 2018. 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. 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. Ideal YouTube Profile Picture: Size, Dimensions, Tricks, and More, Reasons To Invest In A Good Gaming Laptop, Microphone Sound Recording for Live Streaming, Delores Miller Clark: Learn More about John Lists Ex-Wife, Johanna Thiebaud- All about Shania Twains Stepdaughter, What You May Not Know About Gweneth Gonzales Thomas, Richard Thomas Daughter, Linnell S. Nobori: All there is to Know about Ted Bessells Wife, Online Pharmacies Make it Easy to Compare Medicines Prices, Katya Ariel Tylo Personal Life, Net Worth, & More, Isis Rae Boykin, Personal Life and Net Worth, Finn William Leeves Coben Lifestyle and Personal Life. [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. If no one claims List's body, Fedekenheuer said, "we call the local funeral director, and that person will have the body cremated. John List A Killer's Secret Life Exposed by Art - George Pallas Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "I remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. [12] Alma's body was flown to Frankenmuth, Michigan, and interred at the Saint Lorenz Lutheran Cemetery. Details of Delores life before she married John List are unavailable. Authorities went to Clarks home and spoke to his wife, whom he met at a church social gathering. There, he eventually became director of accounting services. 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. 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. . It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast extras: Never before seen List - Nj John Emil List (1925-2008) - Find a Grave Memorial America's Most Wanted: The Disturbing Case of John List 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. All rights reserved (About Us). 07, 2022, 8:00 a.m. Like her sister, Rosanne Cindy inherited her father's musical talent, and by the time she was 16 she was already performing on stage with Johnny and his second wife June Carter. [16], List eventually expressed a degree of remorse for his crimes. The judge finally overruled her but continued to bar testimony that List's daughter, Patricia, 16, was a practicing witch. [44], In 2022, NJ Advance Media released "Father Wants Us Dead," a podcast serial on the events.[45]. He then walked up to the third floor and shot his 85-year-old mother, Alma. 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. He then cleaned the various crime scenes, removed his own picture from all family photographs in the house, tuned a radio to a religious station, and departed. Under Review. 2023. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. 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. They married in 1985. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. 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 Twisted Mind of Family Annihilator John List - America's Most Haunted Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. 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. 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. [17] From 1979 to 1986, he was the comptroller at a paper box manufacturer outside Denver. John List: He Committed the (Almost) Perfect Murder Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 'To find his wife having a veneral disease was morally, ethically and religiously a very hard thing for him to accept,' the psychiatrist said. The Rev. Then he drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where he left his car as a false lead and took a bus into the city. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. [1] She was the second wife and widow of businessman John Jacob Astor IV . John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. Interview statement on List's confession to his second wife. "At least I'm certain that all have gone to heaven now. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. I was shocked to hear about Bobs arrest and what he is charged with, the statement said. John Sr. drove over to his school and watched him playing in a soccer game. Discover The 33 Scariest Animals In The World, From The Deep Sea To The Tropical Skies, The Story Of Caril Ann Fugate And Charles Starkweather's Natural Born Killing Spree, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Wikimedia CommonsJohn List with his wife and three children. John Emil List (September 17, 1925 March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer[1] and long-time fugitive. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. 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. 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 [26][27] List continued to stand by his alias for several months, even after his 1989 extradition to Union County, New Jersey; finally, faced with irrefutable evidence including a fingerprint match with List's military records, as well as evidence found at the crime scene he confessed his true identity on February 16, 1990. March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. He also claimed to be suffering from PTSD. A 1996 episode of the series Forensic Files discussed the List murders. He had drained his and his mothers bank accounts and fled, changing his identity. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. First Patty, 16. All List wanted was to reunite with his wife, mother, and children in the afterlife, where he believed there would be no pain or suffering. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. He was 82. He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. John List was a devout Lutheran who lived with his wife, mother and three children. List and his family were the embodiment of the American dream in 1965. 'America's Most Wanted' killer John List remains infamous - mlive 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. 7-year-old baseball umpire seeks Guinness World Record. John List was on the run when they met in 1985 after having murdered his family members about 14 years before. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. Helen and her three children were buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. 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. . Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. He took a new identity and also joined a Lutheran church, where he met his second wife, Delores Miller. 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. List died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82. He refused to go on welfare, as it would entail excruciating embarrassment in the community and violate the principles of self-sufficiency that he learned at his fathers knee. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped to eventually join them. "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. He said they were going to North Carolina to visit an ailing relative. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. Helen List apparently was infected with the disease by her first husband, a soldier who was killed in Korea. [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. [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. The man I know is kind, loving, a devoted husband and a dear friend. The new lovers wed on 1 December 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. "So eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill them. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. John List (murderer) - Wikipedia 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. It was the biggest story he could remember, and the local fervor for information was immediate. 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 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. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. A former Denver neighbor alerted the police, who made the arrest later. He feared his family, confronted with a world full of evil and poverty, would turn from God; this was the only way to ensure their safe arrival in heaven. ", Woman wins $100,000 lottery prize 11 hours after $11,000 casino jackpot. They did not have any children together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_2xrMKO8g. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. The Stepfather is Based on the True Story of John List - Wicked Horror In a second attempt at love, he was lucky enough to find a business and life partner in Allain, a producer and hairstylist. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. The bust created of John List, right, next to the real John List, left. Specifically: I am a member of St Lorenz Lutheran Church with access to burial records. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. Johnny Cash Fathered 5 Children with 2 Wives Meet All His Kids List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "It was my belief that if you kill yourself, you won't go to heaven," he said. 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. At one religious gathering, he met an Army PX clerk named Delores Miller and married her in 1985. 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 simply exploded.'. Then Frederick, 13. 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. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. However, he was not ready to disclose his incompetency to his family yet and hence, he left the house every morning, sat on the railway station and read books and newspapers all day. He was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. He first shot his wife, then his mother, waited for his children to get home, and murdered them.