The John List Murders: 10 Haunting Facts About the Man Who Erased His Family

The John List Murders: 10 Haunting Facts About the Man Who Erased His Family

John List committed mass murders of his entire family. He was a very religious man and parent who slowly and ruthlessly killed his entire family, including his wife, his mother-in-law, and his three teenagers.

Then, when he was about to lose his enormous New Jersey estate to foreclosure, he abandoned their dead bodies inside. John List committed familicide before fleeing the scene, but not before penning a five-page note that he left at the residence outlining his justifications for the savage killings.

Following the deaths of his mother, wife, and children, List left for the West and created a brand-new life for himself. He even found a new partner and constructed a home in Colorado.

Even though law enforcement continued to make an effort to capture the family killer, he managed to get away with murder for almost 20 years. List’s life as a wanted man came to an abrupt end when a 1989 television broadcast detailing his atrocities was watched by someone who recognized the mass murderer.

1. List taught Sunday school and was a Devoted Lutheran

John was the only child of John Frederick List and Alma Barbara Florence List, German-Americans. List was a devoted Lutheran and a Sunday school instructor, just like his father. In 1943, List obtained his high school diploma from Bay City Central. He joined the US Army the same year, serving in World War II as a laboratory technician.

As the Korean War heated up in November 1950, List was called back into the military. He met Helen Morris Taylor, a widow of a Korean War infantry soldier who had been killed in action, at Fort Eustis in Virginia. Brenda, her daughter, also resided close by. After their marriage on December 1, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, John and Helen relocated their family to northern California.

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2. He Used a 9mm Steyr 1912 Semi-automatic Handgun and Colt.22 Caliber Revolver to Kill His Family

Family photographs commissioned by John List and his wife, Helen., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

List used his 9mm Steyr 1912 semi-automatic handgun and his father’s Colt.22 caliber revolver to murder all of his immediate family members on November 9, 1971. Sadly, He shot his mother Alma above the left eye and then his wife Helen in the back of the head while his kids were at school.

Moreover, List shot each of his children, Patricia, 16, and Frederick, 13, in the back of the head as they were returning from school. After preparing lunch for himself, he headed to his bank to shut his mother’s account. Later, he went to Westfield High School to watch his older son, 15-year-old John Frederick, play football. List shot John Frederick multiple times after dropping him off at home because his kid appeared to be attempting to defend himself, according to misfire evidence.

3. He Placed the Bodies of his Family on Sleeping Bags

In the ballroom of the estate, List put the bodies of his wife and kids in sleeping bags. He abandoned his mother’s body in her attic flat. Then, after cleaning the numerous murder scenes and erasing his likeness from all of the family photos in the home, he turned on a religious radio station and left.

4. The killings weren’t Uncovered for Almost a Month

It took until December 7, or almost a month, to find the murderer. This was because the family tended to withdraw, as well as notes List made to the kids’ schools and part-time employment stating that the kids would be spending a few weeks in North Carolina with their ailing maternal grandmother.

The delivery of milk, mail, and newspapers was also suspended by List. The mansion’s rooms were all lit up day and night, but there didn’t seem to be any activity going on inside, as the neighbors noted. They dialed 911 when light bulbs started to fail one by one. The family’s bodies were found in the basement when police entered through an unlocked window.

5. He murdered them to Ensure their Heavenly Destination

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

List wrote a five-page letter to his pastor that was later discovered on the desk in his study. In it, he made the allegation that there was too much evil in the world and that he had slain his immediate family to save their souls.

He wrote that he thought his family was turning away from God and would ultimately spend eternity in hell for their sins because his wife Helen had stopped going to church. Moreover, his teenage daughter Patty desired to become an actress.

So he thought the only way he could be sure they would go to paradise was to shoot them. The father and husband in their middle age said that he killed his elderly mother Alma because he believed that, as a devout Christian, she would not have been able to bear the shock of the killings.

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6. He Adopted a New Identity

List killed his family, spent the night in the house with the remains, and left his car at JFK Airport the next day. He then took a bus into New York City and boarded a train to Colorado. He began a new life in Denver under the alias Robert P. Clark, working first as a chef and subsequently as an accountant.

The serial murderer married his second wife, Delores, in 1985 while still actively participating in his neighborhood Lutheran church. When the pair eventually relocated to Richmond, Virginia, Delores was completely unaware that her husband was using a false identity, let alone that he had slain his entire family.

7. He was Apprehended due to a TV Program

To prevent the police from making posters with List’s image on them after he killed his family, List erased his face from every photograph in the 18-room mansion.

Nearly two decades later, the TV program America’s Most Wanted decided to include List’s crimes in an episode. They hired a forensic sculptor to produce a rendering of the fugitive’s likely appearance 18 years after the family murder.

As a result of the bust’s startling resemblance to List, one of List’s Richmond neighbors called the police with a tip.List was detained in Richmond, Virginia, just 11 days following the airing of America’s Most Wanted episode. He resisted admitting he was the serial killer police had been looking for for almost two decades. However, after learning his fingerprints matched those of John List, he confessed.

8. His house was about to go into foreclosure

List also claimed that he killed his family because of financial difficulties, in addition to his worries regarding what he perceived to be his family’s sinful and immoral tendencies. List was fired from his well-paying and prominent job as vice president and comptroller of a neighborhood bank. He thus found it challenging to make mortgage payments on the family’s 18-room mansion.

On the verge of foreclosure, List concluded that losing their home would have been too embarrassing for his wife, kids, and aging mother.

On the verge of foreclosure, List concluded that losing their home would have been too embarrassing for his wife, kids, and aging mother. Investigators then discovered that List had been taking money from his 85-year-old mother Alma to pay the mortgage on the luxurious residence.

9. Numerous Marital Issues Existed between him and his Wife

Image by Republica from Pixabay

List and his wife were experiencing a great deal of conflict. In addition to the usual problems that married couples face. Helen’s first husband had infected her with syphilis, and she had passed the sexually transmitted disease on to John, so Lists had to deal with that.

John, a profoundly pious guy, was not informed about Helen’s condition. When he discovered his wife’s illness and her deception, he was heartbroken. Helen is also said to have used tranquilizers abusively, consumed large amounts of alcohol, and spent a lot of time in bed, all of which greatly strained the List marriage.

10. List was Found Guilty of Five first-degree Murder Charges

Image by Daniel Bone from Pixabay

List was found guilty on five charges of first-degree murder on April 12, 1990. He denied taking responsibility for his acts directly throughout the sentencing hearing.

List appealed his convictions because his military experience had caused him to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, which hurt his judgment. Additionally, he claimed that the note he left at the scene of the crime, which was effectively his confession, was a private message to his pastor and thus not admissible as evidence.

In the end, List showed some regret for his acts. He explained that he did not commit suicide because he thought that would have stopped him from going to paradise, where he hoped to be reunited with his family when asked why he had not.

In custody at Trenton, New Jersey’s St. Francis Medical Center on March 21, 2008, List passed away at the age of 82 due to complications from pneumonia.

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