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John List was a Sunday school teacher and a Boy Scout troop leader alongside being a rather strict father who imposed rigid rules on his children, according to the History Channel. On November 9, 1971, John Emil List murdered his entire family which included his mother, Alma, his wife, Helen, and their three children. He then escaped from the crime scene. List was on the run for nearly 18 years before he was finally caught and convicted.
On the morning of November 9, List sent his children to school. He then got hold of two handguns from his garage. He lived with his family in the Breeze Knoll, a luxurious 19-room mansion. List then made his way up and shot his wife, Helen in the kitchen. They had been married for 20 years. His mother Alma was 84 and lived on the third floor which was converted into an apartment. John List made his way up to her room and killed her too, according to People magazine.
John List reportedly dragged his wife’s body into the ballroom and mopped the kitchen floor. He then made himself a sandwich and ate it as he waited at the kitchen table for his children to return home. 16-year-old Patricia and 13-year-old Frederick were reportedly killed by one bullet each while 15-year-old John, who reportedly put up a tough fight, was shot ten times. He then laid the bodies of his three children beside that of his wife in the ballroom.
The List family murders were not exposed until a month after the incident as John List had written to the children’s school that they’d be away for a bit to visit their ailing grandmother.
Why did John List murder his family?
According to ABC News, John List killed his family to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion. He also claimed it was a way to make sure they went to heaven and said he was waiting to join them there. When authorities discovered the bodies of List’s children and wife, they also found a letter that List had left for his pastor. In the letter, he claimed that he was losing his money and was broke. He claimed that he didn’t want to subject his children to poverty. The letter also revealed that the murders were planned in advance.
He also reportedly canceled milk, newspaper, and mail deliveries to his home over the days preceding the murders. This made it unlikely for anyone to find the crime scene. Meanwhile, John List fled to Colorado and began living a new life. He changed his name, remarried, and evaded coming onto authorities’ radar for 18 long years. It was in 1989 that he was finally arrested after a neighbor of his identified him from a profile on America’s Most Wanted.
John List was sentenced to five consecutive life prison terms. List’s mother was a strict Lutheran and the family reportedly attended Church every week. List was a symbol of success and propriety in their Westfield neighborhood. He allegedly feared that the loss of money would tear his family apart and lure them away from faith.
In 2008, John List died at the St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton while he was serving time at the New Jersey State Prison, the New York Times reported. He died from complications of Pneumonia and was 82 years old at the time of death.
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