He grew up as an only child with strict German parents, he had an overly protective and domineering mother (sort of like Norman Bates). 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Also in 2022, Netflix released a seven-part dramatic fictional miniseries called The Watcher. His play times were replaced with gatherings around . A new house was built on the site in 1974. This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. The family were devout Lutherans. [16], List eventually expressed a degree of remorse for his crimes. 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. 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. 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 then called his childrens school to grant them leave to visit their grandmother in South Carolina. His father-in-law had heard from the county sheriff: After nearly 18 years, List had been caught. He was arrested in 1989 after a former neighbor recognized him from a profile on the syndicated TV show America's Most Wanted. John Sr. drove to the field and watched him play, then gave him a ride home. The memory of the murders still haunts Westfield residents. Overdue book returned to Massachusetts library after 56 years. Following the gruesome death of his family. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their . 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, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed. [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. He was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. [12], The murders were not discovered until December 7, nearly a month later, due in part to the family's reclusive tendencies, and in part to notes sent by List to the children's schools and part-time jobs claiming that the children would be visiting their ailing maternal grandmother in North Carolina for a few weeks. Then he sat down and wrote a confession letter to his pastor explaining his financial problems. List, Patricia List, place of death: Trenton, New Jersey, United States, education: University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. New revelations in the episode include what List said through tears to his shocked and heartsick second wife, who hoped it was all some mistake and her husband was really the man she thought she had married Robert Clark when she visited him in jail. Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling. Liss summarized Helen List's medical reports for the jury. As I was doing it I knew it was wrong," he said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. 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. 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. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. Her story put an end to the 18-year-long mystery. During that time, he was associated romantically with a number of celebrities, including a nine-year affair with actress Merle Oberon. The department will use any money remaining in List's account at the prison to pay for all or part of the cremation and burial, according to state regulations. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. Associated With. Inside the mansion's cavernous ballroom, the bodies of List's wife Helen, 46, and his three children Patricia, 16, John, 15, and Frederick, 13, were laid out on the floor on sleeping bags. Those who knew List, including in his second life: Kathleen "Kay" Ciarfello, Randy Mitchell, Les Wingfield, the Rev. Delores kept a low profile after Johns arrest, and it is unclear what happened to her. On 9 November 1971, John murdered his wife, mother, and three children by shooting them. Though we'd like to say that Wayne and Pilar lived happily ever after, apparently that's not the case. Moreover, his wife was a heavy drinker and she had also contracted Syphilis from her first marriage. The jury finally found John List guilty and a judge sentenced him to five life terms in a New Jersey prison. At his trial in 1990, defense lawyers argued that List suffered from PTSD from his military service in World War II and Korea. In 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. Based on information gleaned from dozens of interviews and hundreds of pages of police and FBI documents, Father Wants Us Dead is an in-depth and chilling narrative from two reporters with more than 25 years of combined experience. Austin Goodrich, an ABCNEWS consultant who is writing a book with John List, contributed material for this report. [11][12], List placed the bodies of his wife and children on sleeping bags in the mansion's ballroom. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. Early life [ edit] Katherine (left) and Madeleine Force. 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. First Patty, 16. He simply exploded.'. He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. Jurors deliberated for about . 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. The day after the killings, List scoured the house for family photographs, tearing his image out of them so police would have nothing to use in Wanted posters. The alias worked, and he kept it when he moved to Richmond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_2xrMKO8g. "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 1950, John List was recalled to active military service. He made himself a sandwich, closed out his bank accounts, and cheered for his only surviving son, John, at his high school soccer game. He went upstairs and shot his 84-year-old mother. Under Review. I ask all affected by this for their forgiveness, understanding and prayer. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. She was born 25th October 1916. Helen lived with her daughter Brenda near Fort Eustis in Virginia, where John served. John List and his family were the definition of the American Dream in 1965; they seemed to have it all. John List's confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of 'Father Wants Us Dead' podcast Published: Jun. John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife), See "[21][22] List was questioned by FBI investigators after his capture, but he denied any involvement in the Cooper case. John Emil List, a.k.a. [1] She was the second wife and widow of businessman John Jacob Astor IV . In November 1971, the mass murderer and long-time fugitive killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey. Help us build our profile of John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife)! March 3 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man who stopped to buy some breakfast said he lost his appetite when he won $50,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket. After driving John Frederick home, List shot him repeatedly because, as misfire evidence showed, his son attempted to defend himself. 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. A federal appeals court rejected both arguments. There, he eventually became director of accounting services. He had drained his and his mothers bank accounts and fled, changing his identity. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. Then, read the chilling story of John Wayne Gacy, the original killer clown. A nationwide manhunt was launched. He murdered his mother, wife and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey on November 9, 1971. 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. 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. After extradition to New Jersey, he was convicted on five counts of first degree murder and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment, making him ineligible for parole for nearly 75 years.[2]. John List (murderer) and Delores Miller (wife) - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. The list of retirees in the second half of 2022 isn't very long, but the years of service add up into the hundreds. Hence, his severe lack of social skills cost him jobs after jobs. 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. The mass murderer was an active member of his local Lutheran church and married his second wife Delores in 1985. 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. John fled the house after putting all the bodies on sleeping bags, turning the house lights on and putting on some classical music. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. Because this is one of the most. YouTubeThe bodies of John Lists wife and three teenage children were found laid out on sleeping bags in the ballroom. John List was a devout Lutheran who lived with his wife, mother and three children. 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. 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. After seeing his daughter and two sons off to school, List walked into the kitchen of his 19-room HIllside Avenue mansion on Nov. 9, 1971, and shot his wife, Helen, as she sipped her morning. He says today he felt he was letting the family down. The Army, realizing List's accounting skills, reassigned him to the Finance Corps. After seeing all his children off to school, John List set his plan in motion. Oct 9, 2018. 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. The wife of Robert P. Clark--whom the FBI says is really John List, a man who killed his family in 1971--says his arrest is unbelievable and that the alleged killer is not the man I know.. Then, he went to the bank to close his accounts and cash his mother's savings bonds. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. Robbins is one of Pitt-Bradford's . ", 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. [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. "I'm sure that if we recognize each other that we'll like each other's company just as we did here, when times were better.". '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.'. 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. 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. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. Over the years, the John List murders have been featured in films such as Judgment Day: The John List Story and The Stepfather. 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. 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John and Helen married on December 1, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, the family moving to northern California. 'To find his wife having a veneral disease was morally, ethically and religiously a very hard thing for him to accept,' the psychiatrist said. He lived at 431 Hillside Avenue with his wife, Helen Morris Taylor; mother, Alma Barbara Florence List; and two children: daughter Patricia, and sons Frederick and John. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. [16], List died of complications from pneumonia aged 82 on March 21, 2008, while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. The couple later moved to Richmond together . 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. Additionally, the financial burden on the family was increasing, causing him severe psychological distress. 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. ', 'List was being bombarded by stresses,' the doctor added. Episodes, photos and other information are also available at fatherwantsusdead.com. [13] List also stopped milk, mail, and newspaper deliveries. In addition, it will contact the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration and Public Welfare for any possible death benefits. 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 . But unlike the other members of the List family who dropped instantly, John Jr. struggled. [16] In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield. 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. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The Rev. Authorities later revealed that John kept lying to his family about his jobs. news, He was born as the only child in the highly religious German-American household. [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. 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. Gwyn Conger Steinbeck was the second wife of John Steinbeck, master story-teller and Nobel Prize winner. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. 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. With his first wife, John Frederick had had a son, William George, who happened to be the same . 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. 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. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. List caught the tail end of the show with his wife, who did not know his past. List's home, a. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. 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. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. He told her she went through a slow, agonizing death, the friend said. They attended church every Sunday as devout Lutherans and List taught Sunday school. He defended himself saying that he was not mentally stable. 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. I thought I was being real clever," he said. Attorney David Baugh, who represented List in Virginia, offers support.AP Photo/Steve Helber. They separated in 1973 and he moved . John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. He canceled all deliveries and contacted his childrens schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. Delores Clark said that she was making her statement reluctantly and that she would have no further comment. Joseph Vought, Ludwig "Lou" Silbermann, Jerome Kendall, George Corbett,. John List appeared to be the perfect son, husband, and father. 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. The FBI found his car parked at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, but they never found him. [31] Though her health progressively deteriorated, she said nothing to List or her physicians until 1969, when a thorough workup revealed the condition. When they met, she led a simple life working as an Army PX clerk. His middle son, John Jr. who was also his favorite suffered the most brutal death. 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. 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. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. "I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them," he said. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. 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 remember talking about funerals and cremation and burials. 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. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children.

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