That was the last I heard from her before Bob was arrested.. That was low. Thats what Ive often wondered, he says. He says he wanted to spare them the shame of losing their New Jersey mansion and to make sure they got to heaven. I'd tell him I wasn't going to get into that kind of mess again, and he said he wasn't going to either. He simply killed them to eliminate the problem and his own stress. God is perfect. Financial troubles combined with his discontentment with his family over many issues caused severe depression to John, who then decided to take a drastic step to end everything once and for all. Her son-in-law Randy Mitchell called the telephone number on the screen on her instructions and gave the operator the phone number and address of the Clarks in Virginia. Helen had turned into an alcoholic, which caused them to engage in a lot of fights. He was stationed at Ft. Eustace, Va., when he met the woman who would become his wife. In a letter to Mrs. Flanery, her neighbor in Aurora, in December, Mrs. Clark wrote that the apartment ''is going to rob us of everything we own.''. Afterwards, he dragged his wifes body to the ballroom and made himself lunch and ate it. Several sources in the book Righteous Carnage mentions his arrogance. In the afternoon, he killed his children as they came home first his daughter Patty, a budding actress at 16; then his youngest, 13-year-old Frederic; and finally 15-year-old John, his namesake and his favorite. He later completed his masters degree in accounting and worked as an accountant in the military. List would also be 63 years old now. List, now 76, is serving five consecutive life sentences for the murders and was interviewed from prison. '', At a news conference yesterday in Richmond, Mrs. Clark said that her husband had told her, too, that his former wife ''was a very sick, sickly lady.'' The program, one that Clark watched regularly and often recommended to neighbors, featured a plaster bust portraying List as he might look now. Heleft the house everymorning,pretending to go to work when he was really whiling away time reading or sleeping in the train station. If List thought he could just hit the delete button on the fam and waltz off *and* find redemption he may be bitterly disappointed when he finds his advocate was busy for his final court appearance and hes going to have to act as his own defense. He was a devout Lutheran layman and his fingerprints matched those of the fugitive John E. List. That he didnt just walk out, never to return was were his psychopathy entered. ''Bob talked about church things so often that he could get monotonous,'' Mr. Bassler said. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Then he went downstairs, dragged his wife's body into the ballroom and began scrubbing up the blood so the children would not realize what was going on when they got back from school. He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. She had married in her 30s, and John was her only child. The bodies of the wife and children were on sleeping bags in the ballroom, off the kitchen. The Star-Ledger reporter, who loved to chat about the infamous murderer with the locals on his Union County beat, was grabbing a sandwich for lunch when he got a tip of his own. John was a strict Lutheran and hence, when he came to know about Helens pregnancy, he right away proposed to her for marriage. Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. List had bachelor's and master's in business administration from the University of Michigan and was a C.P.A. He was 82 years old at the time of his demise. Flipping through his tenant file, she said: Ive never seen anything like this in all the years Ive been here. He became increasingly depressed. List caught the tail end of the show with his wife, who did not know his past. I dont think you can generalise that extremely religious people generally betray family/friends/colleagues by any means, but of their nature they may make many feel uncomfortable. He was vice president and comptroller of a nearby bank, and his family lived in an 18-room mansion with marble fireplaces and an elegant ballroom. A jury convicted John Liston five counts of first-degree murder in 1990. Westfield police did not discover the bodies until nearly a month later. List might look now. He was the apple of her eye.. Host John Walsh, whose own son had been a murder victim, asked viewers to call in tips. To the left are cowbells on a leather strap hung from a nail. His salary rose to $490 a week. But even if it's all true, this is still not a man with a history of murder, but a man with a murder in his history. The Second Move Fertile Field For Tax Work. Its not much of a swipe if its true and it IS true that Mr Ts businesses declared bankruptcy a number of times (not him personally). Bustthe case. She said List, who spoke fluent German, attended a Lutheran elementary school and later went to public high school. One Memory of Anger, The Richmond friend dismissed that image of Mr. Clark as exaggerated. About two years ago, she said, she saw a picture of Mr. I was in despair, List says. Authorities said two of the tips--one from Richmond, Va., another from Denver--led them to a mild-mannered accountant in Midlothian, Va. As of 2018, Peggy, Dolores, and Connie are still alive. On Oct. 4, 1979, Mr. Clark was hired as the comptroller of the All Packaging Company in Aurora, a suburb southeast of Denver, at a starting salary of $300 a week. "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. Meanwhile, back at Breeze Knoll, investigators found the He settled in New Jersey and took a job at a local bank. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together, Chicago's top cop quits one day after woke mayor lost re-election bid, Family raises 250-pound 'dog' for 2 years then realizes it's a bear, RHOA star Drew Sidora accuses ex Ralph Pittman of cheating, mental abuse, Original Gone With The Wind script reveals secret war over slavery, cut scenes, Drake regrets disrupting someones life by name-dropping exes in his songs, Kanye West and 'wife' Bianca Censori look surprisingly happy on dinner date. With Mr. Wetmore's help, Mr. Clark moved again, in 1977, to Wheatridge. The day after the killings, List scoured the house for family photographs, tearing his image out of them so police would have nothing to use in Wanted posters. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Sick minds only justify their inconsistent philosophy and thoughts because their logic is egocentric, and lacks logic ( logic as we normal people know it). We all made a lot of assumptions, such as the fact that he didn't have any children, since his wife had been so sick. Both were quiet, reserved people devoted to the Lutheran faith. And youre obviously a lib. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. His wife wasnt a good mother. WebAccording to sources, during the initial days of their relationship, the couple claimed that both of them had very strong feelings for each other which are more than enough for them to keep their bond. The Downturn Laid Off and Late With the Mortgage, Gradually, Mr. Clark became less and less of an asset to All Packaging. He later pursued a masters degree in accounting from the same university and as the Korean War had escalated in 1950, he was recalled by the Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, stationed at Fort Eustis in Virginia, where he met his wife Helen. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. John List met Helen Morris Taylor, a young widow of an American enlisted man who had died in the Korean War. Jim Clark Bro. While List wouldnt meet the legal threshold for madness, he was unquestionably deeply disturbed: mass murder as well as a later life of lies and deceit. What on earth has your comment got to do with the price of fish? New revelations in the episode include what List said through tears to his shocked and heartsick second wife, who hoped it was all some mistake and her husband was really the man she thought she had married Robert Clark when she visited him in jail. ''I remember talking to him a few times about marriage, because I was having marital troubles at the time,'' Mr. Roberto recalled. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. ''I dismissed it because I felt it was not true,'' she said. That, though, cant be claimed to be a bad thing in itself. John and I were classmates and were on the same baseball team. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. The authorities couldnt find List despite a nationally publicized manhunt led by the FBI; the fugitivehad given himself toogenerous a head start. Moran said List had told people that his wife was an alcoholic spendthrift who nagged him constantly. Wanda Flanery said Clarks arrest should not have come as a complete shock to her friend, however. Listlowered the temperature in the house, cued up some organmusic on the intercom system, and told his kids teachers that the family had gone on a trip to North Carolina. In late 1987 Mr. Clark responded to an advertisment placed in a local newspaper by a Virginia empoyment agency. List, an accountant, insurance salesman, former bank vice president and Sunday school teacher, disappeared in November 1971. I have all the books written on this case but can only put my hands on the one written by Joe Sharkey an excellent read btw! Among his favorite programs, the Stefanos said, was ''America's Most Wanted,'' which on May 21 broadcast the feature on Mr. For example, he would generally eat his lunch in his orange Volkswagen in the parking lot, with its windows rolled up and classical music playing on the radio. Little of this past did List, as Clark, ever reveal. Sometimes, he added, Mr. Clark became so impassioned that sweat broke out on his brow. He married Helen and raised three children with her, while working as an accountant in many places, such as New York and New Jersey. John confessed to committing the murders in February 1990. The familyhad bought the house for around $50,000 in 1965. At a church singles party in 1977, Clark met Delores By then, he owned a 1974 Volkswagen and had gotten an accounting job Little is known of Peggy, who stopped talking to her father in 1975 and hasnt spoken out about him since. Mr. Clark started doing work on the side for H & R Block. If List simply admitted to his family and creditorsand the IRS thathe was in crisis, a solutionthat didnt involvehomicideand pseudonymscould have beenhammered out. And I picked up a typewriter, and Bobby saw me. The Pilgrim Fathers could be described as extremists but theyre a fundamental part of American colonial history. His middle son, John Jr. who was also his favorite suffered the most brutal death. He spent his days at the train station reading, napping, and wondering how to get his family out of their financial mess. "It's just like D-Day, you go in, there's no stopping after you start," he said. Mrs. Clark also has relatives nearby, in Maryland. Any murderer is a hero to people like the writer of this post. Ill keep searching! Ted Oldson, an executive with the accounting firm of Brown, Whitley & Todd, interviewed him for a client, Roberto Distributing, a carpet wholesaler in Denver. ''I let it go.''. The pollalso determined that homeowners fail to contact their lender because they are embarrassed, dont believe the lender can help, and/or believe it would cause them to lose their home more quickly.. Born In: Bay City, Michigan, United States. It became apparent to me they would soon foreclose on the home and the questions of where would we go. Still more ironic, if List had become President, he could have Xed even more people, and got paid to do it. I actually do try to keep this blog politically neutral we all need a break from partisanship. It may be more than coincidence that Miller is the former name of Mr. Clark's wife, Delores, and R. C. are Mr. Clark's initials. I guess I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them.. Mr. Clark flew out at his own expense for an interview and obtained the job. I was going to subscribe and refer until I saw that swipe at Trump. For conservatives, will the fact that nearly half the voters wanted Trump elicit a seemingly somewhat disconnected, arrogant liberal media to modify its stance, pausing to consider whether it adequately reflects and represents ALL the people rather than around just half or so? The Undoing 'Most Wanted,' A Favorite Program. Although Helen reportedly suffered from the effects of syphilis contracted from her previoushusband, the family appeared stable and high-functioning to their friends and neighbors. Morrison said that by 1977, Clark had begun to find work as an accountant, List's occupation before he disappeared. Not to this horrific extent but nevertheless in some way that makes me uncomfortable to be around these type of people. It rippled through the county and state: John List, the man who had meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids in their Westfield mansion and disappeared without a trace, was in custody. List assumed the name Robert P. Clark, eventually marrying a woman named Delores Miller on Nov. 23, 1985 on the 14-year anniversary of the day he had shot his wife. Anyone can read what you share. Bob was in the kitchen, working as a fry cook, Wetmore recalled. Why hadnt he just killed himself, Chung asks? Investigators found that List, then a 45-year-old accountant with an annual salary of $12,000, had two mortgages on the house, totaling $40,000. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Way roomy. He dyed his hair and changed his name to establish new credit accounts and a phony Social Security number. He died in prison as a result of pneumonia. In my 75 years of life, every overly religious person I have met, with a few exceptions, eventually show that they betray those around them in some form. Mr. Wetmore helped Mr. Clark move ''one pickup truck's worth load of stuff'' to Denver. R. C. Miller is not in business there, and there is no evidence it ever existed. Clark had told her that he had been married previously but that his wife had died of cancer before he came to Denver, she said. Police didnt discover the bodies until several weeks later. In 1989, America's Most Wanted featured List and a forensic sculptor's impression of how he would look then, 18 years after the murders. Where was John from? He snapped at me, No family! Wetmore recalled. Doubts From a Friend. However, he was not ready to disclose his incompetency to his family yet and hence, he left the house every morning, sat on the railway station and read books and newspapers all day. WebDelores E. Clark Richmond, Virginia Oct 27, 1930 Jan 21, 2017 Plant Memorial Trees Not the right person? Trivia. Fact cannot be objected to unless its status as fact is contested. "I was hungry," he told Downtown, adding with a chuckle, "that's just the way it was.". His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. After making the decision, List says, there was no turning back. For all I knew, Delores was in danger. And that's the only time. They got him down in Virginia.. It is still unclear where or how Mr. Clark spent 1972. See the events in life of John List in Chronological Order, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_List_(mugshot).jpg, https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-list-10634.php. "I approached all of them from behind so they wouldn't realize till the last minute what I was going to do to them," he said. List died in 2008, a one-of-a-kind killer who disposed of his family amidadilemma that seems fairly prosaic in light ofthe last decade or so. Thanks much, Jean so glad youre enjoying the blog! He didnt have much stuff then, but later, when I helped him move again, he had begun to acquire more possessions.. He said he found Mr. Clark ''a little strange.'' He told Steve Reed, a vice president of the agency, Richmond Placements Inc., that he wanted to live and work in a more vibrant economy. All had been shot in the head. At one His free time was spent with Delores Miller and volunteering at church. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He now says he was too ashamed to tell his wife, Helen, that hed lost his job and would go to the train station each morning, pretending to be at work. But pointing out that someone has had multiple bankruptcies is a statement of fact, not an insult. John was arrested and extradited to New Jersey. ''He did everything by hand,'' the executive said. Feb. 20, 2002 -- Thirty years ago, accountant John List methodically murdered his whole family his mother, his wife, and their three children. I am devoted to him.''. One night after dinner, he even asked his family what should be done with their bodies after they died. 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