All rights reserved (About Us). But back in Denver, his former neighbors did recognize him, and called police. Its a twisted way of fulfilling my fathers request that I take care of her so she wouldnt suffer.. Morrison said that by 1977, Clark had begun to find work as an accountant, List's occupation before he disappeared. Delores was born in Racine, January 17, 1935, to John and Cecelia (Nee: Kirkegaard) Poulsen. Eventually, he took a decently paying job with a paper company at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and settled there with his family. Jim Clark Bro. 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. But he fled to Colorado, assumed a new name and remarried, managing to elude a nationwide manhunt for 18 years. Human name disambiguation pages. 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. Mr. She turned pale and kept looking at it, saying, Oh, my! Although he sincerely believed in heaven and that his dead family would be saved, his own survival is proof of false consciousness. After cashing in his mothers savings bonds and pocketing the money, heskipped town. List then killed his kids one by one as they returned home from school. Hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.". He joined the Army in World War II and later attended the University of Michigan. To much rationalizing. 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. Mr. Clark started doing work on the side for H & R Block. He later completed his masters degree in accounting and worked as an accountant in the military. At one 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. Several weeks later, in his rambling 19-room Victorian mansion in Westfield, N.J., the police found the bodies of his mother, his wife and his three children. And of course both presidential candidates have strengths and weaknesses but so polarised are the positions of even intelligent and well-informed people (it would be fair to regard a good proportion of those who work in the national media as such) that there is little no attempt to be even-handed; and defence of one being regarded as attack of the other. She had married in her 30s, and John was her only child. He dyed his hair and changed his name to establish new credit accounts and a phony Social Security number. It was one day out of all these many many years.'' She had a young daughter from her previous marriage. Little is known of Peggy, who stopped talking to her father in 1975 and hasnt spoken out about him since. He was apprehended 18 years later in 1989 and was sentenced to five terms of life sentence. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. He then called his childrens school to grant them leave to visit their grandmother in South Carolina. It is still unclear where or how Mr. Clark spent 1972. It took Johns fingerprints to match with the military records to convince the authorities that he was John List. He said he found Mr. Clark ''a little strange.'' Delores Miller Clark (m. 198589) John Emil List (September 17, 1925 March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer [1] and long-time fugitive. Agree. ''It's still not true.''. Another way of characterising them might be to state that he was sick of his mad wife (who some sources say was a public embarrassment to him by getting publicaly drunk and remarking on his lack of sexual prowess, etc), was indifferent to the children, had embezzled the mothers money and needed to off her, was losing the house, and had no job. Work Mr. Clark switched to a restaurant in a Denver department store, and, Mr. Wetmore said, he mentioned taking a course at H & R Block and doing a little tax work to make extra money. Pieced together, they form a portrait of a man with a talent for deflecting attention, a quiet person who led a simple life of work, gardening, television and the Lutheran church. I said, Thats Bob, Flanery recalled. And when they did, he shot them, one by one. But I feel when we get to heaven theyll either have forgiven me or wont realize what happened.. What a sorry attempt at humor using President Trump at the end. Anyway, Was there any word on what happened to his family that he started after getting remarried? ''If he was the last man on earth, he still wouldn't be alone. 'Been Through That Before'. 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. His sixteen years old daughter and 13 years old son returned from the school at noon. He took out the last $2,000 on the day of the killings, said Moran, who found the withdrawal slip while searching the house. Divorce would have meant paying child support for three and possibly alimony. In April, 1986, Clark was laid off. Quiet and Simple Life, In a telephone conversation with his closest friend in Richmond this week, he said only that he was ''sorry for any embarrassment he put me through or put his friends and relatives through. Clark held several cooking jobs in the early 70s and moved frequently, Wetmore said. He said, ''We were dealing with a gentleman who certainly had the academic credentials,'' but he acknowledged that no attempt was made to ascertain whether Mr. Clark had, in fact, attended the University of Michigan, as he had stated. List died at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton four days after being taken there from the New Jersey State Prison, officials told The Associated Press. He went on to wed again, join a new family and live in peace and anonymity for nearly two decades. According to a letter List leftin the house along with the five bodies, heturned to homicidein part to preventthe embarrassment that losing the homewould cause his family. List left a confession letter at the scene, so police had little doubt as to who was responsible for the killings. He believed that it was his failure as a man to be unable to provide for his family. WebView the profiles of people named Delores Clark. He did not mention his wife, his mother, or his children. John and I were classmates and were on the same baseball team. "I knew it was wrong. Spouse/Ex-: Delores Miller Clark (m. 19851989), Helen List (m. 19511971), children: Frederick List, John, Jr. 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.. "So eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill them. It became apparent to me they would soon foreclose on the home and the questions of where would we go. His free time was spent with Delores Miller and volunteering at church. List (born 1968), American economist. The unlikely story of his capture, the tip that led to it and the wild coincidences Gluck encountered as he followed the story are told in the latest episode of Father Wants Us Dead, an investigative true crime podcast about the List killings from NJ Advance Media. Authorities are not certain just when List arrived in the Denver area, but one Denver man remembered meeting Robert P. Clark in Golden in early 1973, just over a year after the murders. Out of the marriage that he despised, out of the family responsibility, out to a new life. 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. Later, John took a lucrative job at Xerox and moved to New York and lived there with his family for a few years. He had been fired from all his jobs due to his cold demeanor and his inability to be social with his co-workers. They say he spent much of his leisure time in church-related activities. ''He was living meagerly, said he needed a full-time job,'' Mr. Oldson added. 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 spent a lot of my life on skid row and in cow camps,'' Mr. Wetmore, 71 years old, said in an interview this week. (The List Murders,Forensic Files). John List was an American mass murderer, who became infamous in the 1970s for killing his mother, wife and three children. Breaths will not be held, I say *largely* irrelevant because Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal are more than tangential to some of the issues of justice that were interested in here. The case turned cold until18 years later, whenthen-newTV showAmericas Most Wantedcommissioned forensic artist Frank Bender to sculpt a bustthat aged List. List worked in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich., before rejoining the Army during the Korean War. Mr. Wetmore helped Mr. Clark move ''one pickup truck's worth load of stuff'' to Denver. Internet research turned up a number of statistics that surely would have providedList with some consolation if he faced his sameproblems post-2000. R. C. Miller is not in business there, and there is no evidence it ever existed. The couple had three children together, while Helens daughter Brenda left home in 1960 after her marriage. The bodies of the three children were positioned face down, usually indicating some degree of shame or discomfort. Bob West, said Clark became a pillar of the church during the 11 years he attended. Yes, at the age 85 Clark is still performing all her hits, touring the U.S., and releasing a new album. Maybe not. He later moved to California, and then Detroit, where he worked as an accountant in a local firm. At a church singles party in 1977, Clark met Delores Miller, a 40-year-old divorcee. Following a stint in prison, after pleading guilty to felony bankruptcy fraud, Abby Lee Miller was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma in 2018. First, a recap of theForensic Filesepisode The List Murders with some additional research from the internet. Hence, his severe lack of social skills cost him jobs after jobs. His picture was also shown on television, which led one of his neighbours to notify the authorities. John Emil List was born 63 years ago in Bay City, Mich., the son of a wealthy German immigrant grocer who had married, for the second time, late in life. 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. He was arrested in 1989 after a former neighbor recognized him from a profile on the syndicated TV show America's Most Wanted. He took the name Robert Clark, eventually got an accounting job, and remarried. Finally, with the prospect of foreclosure threatening to expose his financial failure, List made his terrible decision to kill his family but not himself. Still more ironic, if List had become President, he could have Xed even more people, and got paid to do it. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Flanery received two letters from Delores Clark after she moved away. The family attendedthe Redeemer Lutheran Church, where John taught Sunday school. . Attorney David Baugh, who represented List in Virginia, offers support.AP Photo/Steve Helber. A favorite television program was ''America's Most Wanted'' on the Fox network. Butin a pre-Antiques Roadshowworld, he didntthink to get an appraisal and try to sellthe glass if it really existed, that is. Mrs. Clark also has relatives nearby, in Maryland. Bustthe case. 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 was perspiring like anything," he remembers, but said his wife did not seem to have recognized him. He also claimed to be suffering from PTSD. . ''He said it was all just terrible.''. We don't know if some of them are still It was so methodical, so cold-blooded, Moran said. Meanwhile, back at Breeze Knoll, investigators found the bodies after neighbors summoned police because they hadnt seen anyone enter or leave the house in a month. 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. ''Delores said it wasn't Bob,'' Mrs. Flanery recalled. He had planned the murders so meticulously that even after many years of the incident, the police and FBI found no trace of John. What no one knew was that John, an accountant, hadtrouble holding onto a job. I guess I was thinking, well Ive started, now Ive got to finish it.. In 1975, Clark joined St. Pauls Lutheran Church in downtown Denver. I guess I finally decided the only way to save them from that was to kill them.. John had a very normal childhood and he did not show any signs of psychological troubles. Zealotry is a pejorative term: zealots, as fanatics, are necessarily bad. They'll either have forgiven me or won't realize, you know, what happened," List told Downtown's Connie Chung in an interview at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, where he is serving five life sentences. In February 1988, the couple moved to Midlothian, Virginia, where List, still using the name Bob Clark, resumed work as an accountant. Clark left Denver in February, 1988, to take the new job, just as the company was getting busy with tax season. Mrs. Clark's job at a warehouse at the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center did not pay enough to support the two of them, and they began to fall behind on their mortgage payments. The last thing I remember hearing about Delores Clark is that she finally accepted the fact that her husband was John List. The Lindbergh Kidnapping: Forensic Files Lost Episode, Dawn Fehring: A Missionary Dies Too Young, Ron Gillette: An Air Force Man Who Didnt Exactly Aim High. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. About two years ago, she said, she saw a picture of Mr. By 1971, he was still leaving for work every morning, but unknown to his family he was unemployed and unable to pay the bills. Anyone can read what you share. Oh, my! . Police didnt discover the bodies until several weeks later. If List simply admitted to his family and creditorsand the IRS thathe was in crisis, a solutionthat didnt involvehomicideand pseudonymscould have beenhammered out. JOHN List the quiet New Jersey accountant who murdered his entire family in 1971, took on a new identity and a new family and went undetected for 18 years says the killing were merely his assignment for the day., In his first TV interview since the infamous murders, tonight on 20/20 Downtown, List tells Connie Chung: Eventually I got to the point where I felt that I could kill [his family], hopefully they would go to heaven, and then maybe I would have a chance to later confess my sins to God and get forgiveness.. At a church singles party in 1977, Clark met Delores Miller, a 40-year-old divorcee. In an interview, he stated that he did not kill himself because suicide prevents one from going to heaven. We've received your submission. In Loving Memory: Obituaries February 20-26, 2023 ROBERTSON COUNTY TENNESSEE: (Smokey Barn News) *Refresh this page for updates and newly listed obituaries for this week. On June 19, 1975, Mr. Clark joined St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Denver. Johnand Helen List, both 46, lived with their three teenage children and Johns mother, Alma, in acavernous home in the affluentUnion County town. (Although largely irrelevant to this blog, I regard the US media as overwhelmingly anti-Trump, simply unable to acknowledge that he achieved anything positive, which he certainly, objectively, did. The company makes folding boxes for supermarkets. He murdered his mother, wife and three children in November 1971, due to financial distress and other issues within the family, and fled. Flanery recalls asking Delores Clark then if she thought her husband might be John List. Delores attended Washington Park High School. meticulously murdered his mother, wife and three kids. Way roomy. Its first entry is R. C. Miller, a business he said was in Wheatridge, Colo., a suburb north of Denver. 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 then drove his son back to the house and emptied both the guns on him, shooting him in his head and chest repeatedly. He took the name Robert Clark, eventually got an accounting job, and remarried. He was stationed at Ft. Eustace, Va., when he met the woman who would become his wife. Your email address will not be published. On June 2, 1956 she was united in marriage to Ralph L. Miller at Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Mr. Clark also changed jobs at this point, becoming a cook at the Piney Country Club in Parker, southeast of Denver, where he helped Mr. Wetmore obtain a cleaning job. However, today we are not here to talk about the legendary singer but about his son Tamon Pendergrass. 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. According to Mortgage Bankers Associationdatacited by the FDIC, lenders foreclose on one in every 200 U.S. homes and one child in every classroom belongs to a family in jeopardy of losing a home because of difficulty meeting mortgage payments. By then, he was assigned to the finance corps, from where he was discharged in 1952. His dad used to go to the ball games. The familyhad bought the house for around $50,000 in 1965. Asked to check Mr. Clark's resume in their files, the executives found that it was gone. Authorities later revealed that John kept lying to his family about his jobs. Once, when Wetmore asked his friend if he had a family anywhere, it touched a nerve.