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List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. List saw the children off to school and then shot her in the kitchen as she sipped her customary morning coffee. Examples include "Savior," the season 6, episode 16 of the television series Law & Order; the 1987 film The Stepfather and its 2009 remake; the 1993 film Judgment Day: The John List Story, in which List was portrayed by Robert Blake;[39] and the character Keyser Sze in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.[40]. He is most remembered for Murdered his entire family in 1971. His lawyer hopes to convince the jury that List should not be held legally responsible for the deaths because he thought he was saving his family's souls by killing them. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. The third wife was Pilar Pallette, with whom he had three more children. The arrest followed Foxs Americas Most Wanted, featuring a sculpted clay bust of Johns age-progressed face. [35] At his sentencing hearing, he denied direct responsibility for his actions: "I feel that because of my mental state at the time, I was unaccountable for what happened. Subsequent jobs didnt pan out. John Emil List, a.k.a. A nationwide manhunt was launched. Of the more than 200 tips from viewers that the FBI received from the program, one said a man resembling. 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. Police in Virginia arrested mass murderer John List on June 1, 1989, a mere nine days after Americas Most Wanted aired his case. His middle son, John Jr. who was also his favorite suffered the most brutal death. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a laboratory technician during World War II. He married his second wife Delores in 1985. The inconspicuous accountant was arrested without incident Thursday at work. Net Worth in 2022. [23][16] The segment featured an age-progressed clay bust, sculpted by forensic artist Frank Bender, which turned out to bear a close resemblance to List's actual appearance. 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. Then List waited downstairs to kill his children, one by one, as they came home. They attended church every Sunday as devout Lutherans and List taught Sunday school. But, during a four-hour interview, he sought to explain how worries that financial hardship would split his family and turn them away from their faith forced him to make a tough decision. He was previously married to Delores Miller and Helen List. John List was a devoutly religious man, and provided for his family in the town of Westfield, New Jerseywhere they lived in a 19-room mansion called Breeze Knoll. '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. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He waited for Helen to come down for her morning coffee. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. 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. He was 82. YouTubeAn aerial view of the List family home in Westfield, New Jersey. John packed off his children to school and loaded both of his handguns. 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. In addition to the financial distress, his eldest daughter wanted to become an actress, which was not acceptable by John owing to his Conservative upbringing. "I knew it was wrong. 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He met his first wife, Helen Morris Taylor, whose husband had been killed in action in Korea. His lawyer, Elijah Miller Jr., argues that knowing his wife suffered from syphilis helped drive the deeply religious man over the edge. 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. However, the marriage was not very good. They separated in 1973 and he moved . [4], After completion of his second tour in 1952, List worked for an accounting firm in Detroit, and then as an audit supervisor at a paper company in Kalamazoo, where his three children were born. [3], In November 1950, as the Korean War escalated, List was recalled to active military service. [33], A court-appointed psychiatrist testified that List suffered from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and that he saw only two solutions to his situation: accept welfare, or kill his family and send their souls to heaven. 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. He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. ", Woman wins $100,000 lottery prize 11 hours after $11,000 casino jackpot. Authorities walk John List to a plane in Richmond,. List methodically murdered his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their three childrenPatricia, 16; Frederick, 13; and John Jr., 15. Helen was first. 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. [5] By 1959, List had risen to general supervisor of the company's accounting department; but Helen, an alcoholic, had become increasingly unstable. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. [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. "I've regretted my action and prayed for forgiveness ever since. John and Helen began dating and a few months later, Helen revealed to John that she had become pregnant. But his defence was rejected and he was imprisoned at the New Jersey State Prison. Aside from a few extra wrinkles, the bust was spot on. [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. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. He later completed his masters degree in accounting and worked as an accountant in the military. Everything looked great on the surface. "I grew up with the idea that you should provide for your family and to do that you had to be a success in the job that you had or you're a failure, and that was not a good thing to be," he said. John Emil List (September 17, 1925 March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer[1] and long-time fugitive. A seemingly admirable and usual American man, John List and his family lived happily in New Jersey. Delores Miller (wife) is an American Homemaker. List gave critical financial problems, as well as his perception that his family members were straying from their religious faith, as his motivations for the murders. He was arrested 11 days later, and, after a jury rejected his diminished capacity defense, convicted and sentenced. 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. WhenAmericas Most Wantedaired the story of the John List murders on May 21, 1989, an audience of 22 million saw Frank Benders sculpture. The Lists might have appeared to be the ideal American family, but everything was not as it seemed. "After 18 years, five months and 22 days, it is now time for the voices of Helen, Alma, Patricia, Frederick and John F. List to rise from the grave." 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 simply exploded.'. Following the gruesome death of his family. YouTubeThe List house burned down several months after the List family bodies were discovered there. 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. [15][16], In 1971, as the FBI later discovered, List had traveled by train from New Jersey to Michigan and then to Colorado. 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. [32], On April 12, 1990, List was convicted of five counts of first degree murder. Helen's mother was in fact ill, and had canceled a visit to Westfield because of it; had she made the trip, List later said, she would have been his sixth victim. He imposed a sentence of five terms of life imprisonment, to be served consecutively, the maximum permissible penalty at the time.