Michigan murders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Norman Collins | |
|---|---|
 John Norman Collins committed 6 of the 7 Michigan murders |
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| Background information | |
| Alias(es): | The Ypsilanti Killer, The Co-Ed Killer, John Chapman |
| Penalty: | life in prison with no possibility of parole |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 6 |
| Span of killings: | July 10, 1967 through July 23, 1969 |
| Country: | USA  |
| State(s): | Michigan |
| Date apprehended: | 1969 |
The "Michigan Murders", as they came to be called, were a series of highly publicized killings in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan between 1967 and 1969.
The murders began with Eastern Michigan student Mary Fleszar on July 10, 1967. Her body was found on August 7 on an abandoned farm a few miles north of where she disappeared. It had multiple stab wounds and was missing her hands and feet. Almost one year later, on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 5 stab wounds. She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins, a student at Eastern Michigan University and a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. When questioned, Collins claimed he was with his mother at the time. Police took him at his word.
In late March, 1969, Jane Mixer was found in Denton Cemetery, just off Michigan Ave, a few miles East of Ypsilanti, in Wayne County. A law student at the University of Michigan, she had been shot and strangled. Her shoes and a copy of the novel "Catch-22" were placed by her side. It is now believed that Mixer was killed by Gary Leiterman, thought to be a copycat of Collins. That same month, on March 26, 16-year-old Maralynn Skelton was also found dead, her body badly beaten. About three weeks later, 13-year-old Dawn Basom was found dead by strangulation after disappearing the previous evening. University of Michigan graduate student Alice Kalom was found in a field with her throat cut, stab wounds, and a gunshot to the head. The public outcry was increasing and the psychic Peter Hurkos was brought in to help, but proved to be of little help.
Soon the police had yet another body on their hands, student Karen Sue Beineman, who went missing on July 23, 1969, and was discovered a few days later, strangled and beaten to death. This was the killer's downfall. While waiting on Beineman on the day she disappeared, a shop manager had got a good look at her companion seated on his motorcycle. He was the previously mentioned John Collins, who was subsequently taken into police custody but again denied any involvement in the killing. During the investigation police discovered Collins was considered "oversexed," and that he had a history of sexual harassment. Collins then was positively identified by the store manager, and tests showed that hairs found attached to Beineman's underwear matched those found at the home of Collins' uncle in [Ypsilanti, Michigan]. Investigators also found a bloodstain on the washing machine in the basement of the house, and matched it to Beineman's blood type. Collins was caring for his uncle's dog while the family was on vacation at the time of Beineman's murder. Collin's uncle was a state trooper and brought his suspicions about his nephew to the attention of his superiors, eventually leading to Collin's arrest.
Collins went to trial and, on August 19, 1970, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
In the early 1980s Collins legally changed his last name to Chapman, his mother's maiden name, and applied to be transferred to a Canadian prison. The request was denied.
Collins is currently serving his sentence in Marquette, Michigan.
In 2005 former nurse, 62 year old Gary Leiterman was tried and convicted of the killing of Jane Mixer. Leiterman came to the attention of authorities 35 years after the fact. His DNA was found at the scene, as was a blood drop of a convicted MI killer who was only 4 years old at the time. Leiterman's DNA was found on the pantyhose of the deceased that were recovered at the 1969 crime scene. However the most incriminating evidence was a small written sample taken from a phone book recovered at the University of Michigan phone booth the day after the murder that contained the victim's name and the destination of where she had been looking for a ride on a public bulletin board. His current writing sample matched and led to Leiterman's arrest. A Michigan law going into effect in January of 2002 required felons to give DNA samples and Leiterman was convicted of forging narcotics prescriptions three days after the law went into effect.
