Mugshot of John List, c.2005 |
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| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Emil List |
| Occupation | Accountant |
| Born | September 17, 1925 Bay City, Michigan |
| Died | March 21, 2008 (aged 82) Trenton, New Jersey |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Penalty | Five consecutive life terms |
| Parents | John Frederick List, father, 1859–1944 and Alma List, mother, 1887–1971 |
| Spouse(s) | Helen List 1926–1971, married 1952–1971 (her death) Delores Clark (Miller), married 1985 |
| Killings | |
| Date | November 9, 1971 |
| Location(s) | Westfield, New Jersey |
| Target(s) | Mother, wife, and children |
| Killed | 5; bullet wounds to head and body |
| Weapon(s) | 9 mm handgun, .22 caliber revolver |
John Emil List (September 17, 1925 – March 21, 2008) was an American murderer. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother, and three children in their home in Westfield, New Jersey, and then disappeared. He had planned the murders so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone noticed that anything was amiss. A fugitive from justice for nearly 18 years, List, after assuming a false identity and remarrying, was finally apprehended on June 1, 1989, after the story of his murders was broadcast on America's Most Wanted. List was found guilty of the murders and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment. He died of natural causes while in prison custody in 2008.
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Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German American parents, John Frederick List (1859–1944) and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List (1887–1971). He was a devout Lutheran and taught Sunday school. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later was given an ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant.[1] He attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in accounting. List met his wife, Helen, in 1951, and they married shortly after.
On November 9, 1971, List methodically killed his entire family: his wife, Helen, 45; his children, Patricia, 16, John, Jr., 15, and Frederick, 13; and his mother, Alma, 84. He had used his father's 9mm Steyr automatic handgun and his own .22 caliber revolver in the murders. He first shot his wife in the back of the head and his mother above the left eye, while his children were at school. When Patricia and Frederick came home, they were shot in the back of the head. John, Jr., the oldest son, was playing in a soccer game that afternoon. List made himself lunch and then drove to watch John play. He brought his son home and then shot him once in the back of the head. List saw John twitch as if he were having a seizure and shot him again. It was later determined that List had shot his eldest son at least ten times.
List dragged his dead wife and children, on sleeping bags, into the ballroom of their 19-room Victorian home after each kill.[2] He then cleaned up the crime scene, turned on all the lights, and switched on the radio. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic and stated in a letter to his pastor on his desk in his study that "Mother is in the attic. She was too heavy to move." In the letter, List also claimed he had prayed over the bodies before going on the run. The deaths were not discovered for a month, partly due to the Lists' reclusiveness. Moreover, List sent notes to the children's schools and part-time jobs stating that the family would be in North Carolina for several weeks, and had stopped the family's milk, mail and newspaper deliveries. He took money from his bank account, as well as his mother's bank account, then fled in his Chevrolet Impala.
The case quickly became the second most infamous crime in New Jersey history, surpassed only by the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh Baby. A nationwide manhunt for List was launched. His Impala was found parked at Kennedy Airport, but there was no record of him taking a flight.[2] The police checked out hundreds of leads without results.[3]
John List moved to Colorado and assumed the identity Robert "Bob" Clark and in 1985 married divorcee Delores Miller.
In 1989, New Jersey law enforcement approached the producers of the television show America's Most Wanted because of that show's track record of fugitive captures. It was the oldest unsolved case the show had ever featured. The broadcast included an age-progressed clay bust, which, as it turned out, looked remarkably similar to List, even though he had been missing for 18 years.
The bust was sculpted by forensic artist Frank Bender, who had successfully captured many aging fugitives and identified decomposed bodies via his art. To imagine what an older List would look like, he consulted forensic psychologist Richard Walter, who created a psychological profile. He looked at photographs of List's parents and predicted his appearance, giving List a receding hairline and sagging jowls. Bender and Richard Walter were particularly praised for one final touch: a pair of glasses. They theorized that List would want to appear more important than he really was, and would effect a stereotypical intellectual/professional appearance by wearing glasses. John Walsh, the host of America's Most Wanted, called Bender's work the most brilliant example of detective work that he had ever seen. Walsh kept Bender’s bust of List in a place of honor in his office for many years, and in 2008 donated it to a forensic science exhibit at the privately owned National Museum of Crime & Punishment.
List was arrested on June 1, 1989, nearly 18 years after killing his family.[4] At the time he was employed by a Richmond, Virginia accounting firm where he worked while living under the fictitious name Robert "Bob" Peter Clark. List had chosen the name because it had belonged to one of his college classmates, who later stated that he had never known List.[5] List had lived in Denver, Colorado and Midlothian, Virginia before his arrest, having remarried and resumed working as an accountant. Upon viewing the broadcast a friend of the Clarks recognized the subject of the profile as a neighbor and contacted the authorities. FBI agents arrested List at the office where he worked after visiting his home and speaking with his current wife Delores.[6]
List was extradited to New Jersey as Robert Clark and sent to the Union County, New Jersey jail to await trial. He continued to stand by his alias despite overwhelming evidence, including his fingerprints at the crime scene, of both his true identity and of his guilt.
List made his first admission of his identity to a fellow inmate while he was still in the Union County Jail. During a casual discussion List made reference to his military service during World War II, and the inmate said to List (using his alias), "Bob, that might be just what you need to prove that you're not John List. They took your fingerprints when you joined the military, didn't they?"
List hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and mumbled, "Yes, they did." He then excused himself, saying that he was tired and needed a nap. The next day, List said, "Richard, my name is John List, not Bob Clark." List thereafter corrected any inmate or staff member who called him "Bob" or "Mr. Clark."
List would not admit his true identity to the court until February 16, 1990, eight months and fifteen days after his capture.[7]
On April 12, 1990, List was convicted in a New Jersey court of five counts of first-degree murder. On May 1, he was sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment. List never expressed any remorse for his crimes. In a 2002 interview with Connie Chung, when asked why he had not taken his own life, he said he believed that suicide would have barred him from Heaven, where he hoped to be reunited with his family.[8]
List had lost his job as an accountant and was suffering from financial problems before the murders. He would sit at the local bus station every day, hiding his unemployment from his family, and making believe he was traveling to his accountant job. He owed $11,000 on his mortgage and was skimming from his mother's bank accounts.[2] He was also dealing with his wife's dementia, brought on by advanced syphilis contracted from her first husband and hidden from List for 18 years.[9][10]
List was described by a psychiatrist as having obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. A psychiatrist who interviewed List testified that he saw only two solutions to his family's financial and health problems – either go on welfare or kill his family and send their souls to heaven. He was especially concerned about the soul of his daughter, Patty, who showed little interest in church. She was also active in the theater department, smoked marijuana, and was interested in Wicca. He was afraid that welfare would expose them to ridicule, show that List did not love them, and violate his own authoritarian father's teachings to always care for and protect the family.[10]
List died from complications of pneumonia at age 82 on March 21, 2008, while in prison custody at a Trenton, New Jersey hospital.[8] In announcing his death the Newark, New Jersey, Star-Ledger referred to him as the "boogeyman of Westfield".[11] His body was not immediately claimed,[12] though he was later buried next to his mother in Frankenmuth, Michigan.[13]
The List home was destroyed by arson ten months after the murders. Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom's stained glass skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany original worth over $100,000.[2]