Her body was found on an abandoned farm in Superior Township just about one month later. Almost one year later on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 47 stab wounds. [165] Moreover, a sweater found in Collins' closet was found to contain 22 pubic hairs which had not originated from Collins or any of the seven Michigan victims. [114] No hard evidence would ever arise suggesting his involvement in any murders, and the Washtenaw County prosecutor's office would publicly announce on December 18 their satisfaction that Manuel had "no knowledge of the murders. ", "Autopsy Shows EMU Coed was Stabbed Many Times", "Ypsilanti Man Arraigned, Accused of Co-Ed Murder", "Citizens Asked to Aid Murder-Suspect Hunt", "Collins' Trial Will Begin on Tuesday: Faces Charge of Murder in Slaying of Co-Ed", "Man Convicted in 1979 Slaying of University of Michigan Student", "Fourth in Area: Girl Found Murdered Near North Campus", "Latest Slaying in Ann Arbor Area Linked to Dope, Policewoman Says", "Path of Murder Victim Traced to Restaurant: Girl Found Slain Near Ann Arbor May Have Bought Food For Killer", "Police Seek Clues to Fourth Girl Murdered", "Murder Victim Had Electric Cord Wrapped Around Neck", "Co-Eds in Michigan Carry Weapons in Wake of Series of Five Slayings", "The LeForge Barn Fire: Murder Site of Dawn Basom, John Norman Collins' Youngest Victim", "Still No Suspect: Latest Victim Identified as 'U' Coed", "Who Killed These Girls? I also know someone who was a graduate student working on a project with Alice at the time she disappeared--she was absolutely horrified to find out that she had been murdered. Victims like Mary Terese Fleszar, a 19-year-old EMU accounting major and Joan Elspetch Schell, a 20-year-old art student.Collins was a student at EMU majoring in elementary education. He says he wasn't allowed to keepPolaroid photos of his late mother. But as Leik walked into the basement, he found a mess of the hair and there was blood on the basement floor. "She asked me if he was in any trouble and I said 'not that I'm aware of, but if you had a picture I probably could (clear him)'," Larry said. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for this final murder attributed to the Michigan Murderer on August 19, 1970, [4] and is currently incarcerated at G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility. Although earlier attempts to enforce news blackouts as to the discovery of Basom and Kalom had proven unsuccessful,[60] on this occasion, police successfully ordered a news blackout relating to the discovery of this latest victim. [118] At this hearing, Collins' court-appointed attorney, Richard Ryan, challenged the validity of the physical evidence and the credibility of the circumstantial evidence before formally requesting the case against his client be dismissed and the evidence seized from his rooming house and vehicle suppressed upon the grounds Collins had not consented to a police search of his property. New evidence in 2005 resulted in the conviction of Gary Earl Leiterman for one of the murders attributed to John Norman Collins, the murder of law student Karen Mixer. All-American boy John Norman Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted of the strangulation . It was a travesty of justice that took place in this courtroom. Despite exuding confidence, evidence was overwhelming. Larry turned to one of the girls he saw Collins flirting with to see if he was the same man that drove off with Karen in downtown Ypsilanti. Citing Collins' then-ongoing appeals against his convictions in the state of Michigan as the cause, and their likely resubmittal should any of his Michigan appeals be successful. The event took place quietly this fall, after editors searched for the right cover art and writers for the new prologue and epilogue. At the request of Michigan authorities, Phillips' body was exhumed in Oregon in order that pubic hair samples could be obtained from her for comparison with those found upon Collins' sweater: The pubic hairs upon Collins' sweater proved to be a precise match to those obtained from Phillips' body, and investigators believe they may have transferred from her body to Collins' sweater as she was carried to the location in which her body was discarded. Greg takes us next to the last place 13-year-old Dawn Louise Basom from Ypsilanti was seen alive. He remembered something from the day before. Melanie Maxwell has been a picture editor at the Free Press since 2018. The increase in frequency in which the killer was striking throughout the spring and summer of 1969coupled with the fact most victims had been connected to the University of Michigan or Eastern Michigan University, suggesting the killer may be a fellow studentfurther compounded the concerns of female students. John Norman Collins was born on the 17th of June, 1947. (I said) 'the polygraph is sitting over here'. Greg Fournier who attended EMU and wrote a book,"Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked,"and blog, Fornology.com spent years gathering informationwith his researcher Ryan Place. She had been slashed across the throat,shot in the head and stabbed in the heart. The killer had taken too big of a risk with Beineman however. A veteran Detroit journalist, she joined the Free Press in 2012. It is Alpha Xi Delta, I am a member and will be living in the house next year. "He starts shaking.". [135] Immediately following the testimony of Walter Holz, a colleague of his named Curtis Fluker testified that the blood type of the tissue samples recovered from the Leik family basement matched that of Karen Sue Beineman. [26] The pathologist also stated that Mixer had not been sexually assaulted, that death had occurred at approximately 3a.m. on March 21, and that she had not been killed at the location where her body had been discovered. He gave her a ride to the wig shop, and thenshe rodewith Collins tohis uncle's house to feed the dog. Although Collins emphatically protested his innocence and insisted the eyewitnesses' identification of him had been an error, he refused to return to the police station to take a polygraph test. The Most Dangerous Serial Killers Of The 1960s - Grunge.com They focused on Kalom, who, like Mixer, also was shot; Basom, the youngest of the cases,and Mary Fleszar, the first woman slain. "What you have to remember is he had denied everything about this,knowing her before that.". epub download Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked Some know John Norman Collins, now 74 and serving a life sentence at Ionia Correctional Facility, as "the Ypsilanti Ripper," or "the Co-Ed Killer." Collins grew up in Michigan. It sentstate police looking atthe other unsolved cases. Leik acknowledged that the evidence thus far gathered against his nephew was compelling, although in this first interview, he did not advise officers of the items missing from his household, or the paint marks he and his wife had found upon the floor of the family basement; however, the following morning, Leik scraped away some of the black paint which had been sprayed in his basement to reveal a stain which looked ominously like human blood and immediately returned to the police station to report his findings. The man they led away, John Norman Collins, could not have been further removed from the public image of a killer he was a 22-year-old Eastern Michigan education student, former football . "He was probably 20 or 30 pounds heavier that I was. David Leik. She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. Another individual would be convicted of the murder of Jane Mixer in 2005. Following Collins' arrest, a section of a red-and-white belt bearing the same distinctive floral pattern was found in the trailer he and Manuel had towed to Salinas on June 21. Had this violation of the county prosecutor's order not taken place, Collins may not have realized how seriously he was considered a suspect at that stage, and thus may not have disposed of the physical evidence which would have assisted in linking him to other killings linked to the Michigan Murders. [71] As had been the case with previous victims, her killer had placed a section of cloth in her throat to muffle her screams throughout her torture. The following evening, Davis observed Collins emerging from his bedroom carrying a box partially covered by a blanket. Sowhen DNA matching Collins turned up on Alice Kalom's clothing, it was significant. I grew up in YPSI. Seems basic enough, but a lot of this could have been avoided (or just brought the killer behind bars faster) if these girls would have followed these basic precautions. [58], The victim was identified the following day[59] as a 21-year-old University of Michigan graduate student named Alice Elizabeth Kalom, who had disappeared shortly after midnight on the morning of June 8. But they were striking. Through interviewing a recent girlfriend of Collins, investigators also learned that she had lived in an apartment complex directly across the road from the home of Dawn Basom, and that, throughout their courtship, Collins had been a regular visitor to her apartment. She had received extensive skull and brain injuries which had been inflicted with a blunt instrument, had been forced to ingest a caustic substance,[58] and her neck, shoulders, nipples and breasts had been burned with the same caustic agent. On August 3, two Washtenaw County detectives traveled to Salinas Police Department to review information and determine whether a connection existed between Phillips' murder and those which Collins was suspected of committing in Michigan. "Roxie is walking down the street, mailed a letter a block away from her house. Sex Slayer Could be Anyone! Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. [119], In November, Ryan, in an effort to determine the most effective defense strategy, persuaded Collins to undergo a private and independent polygraph test. John Norman Collins, who was dubbed the "Ypsilanti Ripper," continued his spree until his arrest in 1969, just seven days after killing Karen Sue Beineman. Now, 40 years later, I find that a close, (unnamed), old girlfriend of mine was one of the last people to speak to Karen alive. [147] In response, Collins rose from his chair and made the following speech:[148]. He spent five months reporting on the state police investigation;reviewing books on John Norman Collins and serial killers; interviewing dozens of detectives, witnesses, experts and others connected with the case; and sifting through hundreds of archived newspaper articles, police photos and records and court documents. He planned to become a teacher. ICK!!! [49] Many female students opted to arm themselves with knives, with others adopting a "buddy system" whereby they would refuse to walk anywhere unless in the company of a trusted male friend or at least three other girls. The Inside was really old and spooky, like still 1870's. All-American boy John Norman Collins was . the ironic thing of this is that my mother was very close friends with one of the girls maybe you should talk to her some time, I work with Doug Harvey's grand son Joe whom claims his gradpa solved this case is this not true and he was a botched job ? Beineman, she said, went in the store,purchased a brown hairpiece, and left with Collins on his motorcycle. [96], The basement of Sgt. [68][81] In total, seven witnesses would be found who would later testify to having seen Collins in the area between the university campus and Mrs. Goshe's wig shop between 11a.m. and 1p.m. on July 23; including three young women who stated Collins had attempted to entice them onto his motorcycle.[95]. [3], All the victims of the Michigan Murderer were young women between the ages of 13 and 21 who were abducted, raped, beaten and murderedtypically by stabbing or strangulationwith their bodies occasionally mutilated after death before being discarded within a 15-mile radius of Washtenaw County. [152], At his 1972 appeal hearing, Collins' lawyers did succeed in securing the partial striking of the testimony of Dr. Vincent P. Guinn, the final prosecution witness at his trial, who had testified as to the odds of erroneous matching of the hairs found upon Karen Beineman's panties to those in the Leik family basement being "more than a million-to-one. [36], The victim was identified as a 16-year-old Romulus[37] high school student named Maralynn Skelton, who had disappeared while hitchhiking in Ann Arbor. She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. He comes out and said 'take him back to jail.' He has been connected by physical and circumstantial evidence to other victims, including the June 1969 murder of Roxie Ann Phillips in Monterey, California, but those cases were never pursued after his initial conviction. It also fits with previously reported information: Awitness said he owned a .22 and bloodwas found in his car. CHECK THE DNA. if what you say is true.why doesn't JNC insist on DNA testing to prove his innocence? [70], Three days after the disappearance of Beineman, her nude body was discovered face-down in a wooded gully alongside the Huron River parkway. And here's California - and they've got a better case than us, and they've got the death penalty," Sheriff Harvey said. Sounds like a little youthful imagination!! At his uncle's house, they went downstairs. Andunlessauthorities uncover more evidence sometime soon,he just might. By that point, Larry had been brought in to share what he had with Michigan State Police, the Washtenaw County Sheriff, and other agencies. [90], Collins had established a reputation among his peers at Eastern Michigan University as a habitual thief who had once been evicted from a fraternity house for stealing from his roommates. "And nobody wanted to say anything to anybody because it was very obvious by that time that there was a serial killer working this area.". All had been killed and then dumped on back roads. When informed his request was impossible,[3] the young man had replied: "You mean you can't fix her up enough so I could just get one picture of her? Fournier said Collins'cousin, John Chapman, gave him the letters, but he decided against including them inhis 2016 book. [76] These hair clippings were predominantly blond, and as such did not belong to the victim, whose own hair color had been dark brown. Has it been 40 years?!? Defense attorneys Neil Fink and Joseph Louisell, in their opening statement, labeled the eyewitnesses' identification of both Collins and his motorcycle as flawed and unreliable, and stated their intentions to introduce several witnesses who would provide an alibi for their client in the early afternoon hours the prosecution contended Karen Sue Beineman had been abducted and murdered. Detectives recalled that'sabout thesame timewhen they visited Marquette to confront Collins about the new DNA evidence that linked him to Kalomand to try to turn over some new stones. On August 17, 1970, John Normans Collins was found guilty. [60], By July 1969, as a result of the coordinated investigation into the killings, more than 1,000 convicted sex offenders had been investigated and eliminated as suspects; over 800 tips from informants had been actively investigated; and several thousand individuals routinely interviewed. [88], Police had already established that Collins was a known motorcycle enthusiast[89] who owned several motorcycles, including a blue Triumph Bonneville. Chapman said he is convinced of his cousin'sguilt, and in his last letters,hewas"confessing by not really confessing. They saw a clean-cut man sitting on a Triumph motorcycle and got a good look at him before he turned away. He tries to give his cousin a glimpse of prison life. [44], At 6:30a.m. on April 16, the body of a 13-year-old schoolgirl named Dawn Louise Basom was found beside a desolate road in Ypsilanti. Collins adds:"I like to believe that I still have some 'INTEGRITY.' Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked Upon tracing Collins' movements in relation to the dates of the disappearance and murder of the seven murder victims linked to the Michigan Murderer (which then included Jane Mixer), police discovered that, on June 21,[105] Collins and his roommate, Andrew Manuel, had traveled to Monterey in Collins' Oldsmobile Cutlass, which the pair used to tow a camper-trailer they had rented under false names, and had paid for with a stolen check, for the vacation. student named John Norman Collins, was eventually caught when evidence linking him to the murder of final victim Karen Sue Beineman was found in the basement of a home belonging to his uncle, state trooper David Leik. She had made arrangements to meet Collins at her home on the evening of June 30, but Collins had never arrived. The mail lady did a "double-take", every time she put their mail in! Both women had agreed this composite drawing was accurate, and only disagreed as to the structure of the suspect's chin. [84] He held a part-time job as an inspector at a firm which manufactured drum brakes,[66] and was currently majoring in elementary education at Eastern Michigan University. She researched the key suspects past, dug through hundreds of evidence photos and newspaper clippings and worked with Witsil to uncover new details in the cases. The failed sting caused Harvey substantialpublic embarrassment, and bringing it up again, Harvey said, was Collins' way of mocking him, as if heweresaying: "Ha. Sheriff Harvey said, just before the test, John met in private with his attorney. Collins' attorneys also alleged these alibi witnesses had been subjected to police harassment, that the tests conducted upon the hair samples found upon Beineman's panties were unreliable, and that Collins' uncle, Sgt. Collins ends his email, with a request: "You can say whatever you want about me" butleave "my Dear Mother" out. [83], Although Goshe would initiallyand incorrectlydescribe the motorcycle as being possibly a Honda 350 model,[84] when police questioned Carol Wieczerca, a clerk in the store adjacent to the wig shop, Wieczerca was able to state that the model of the motorcycle was actually a Triumph. He lured women into his clutches by exploiting a common practice at the time, women hitchhiking or arranging rides with strangers to get from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor and beyond. Police had noted (and would continue to note) common denominators in the physical characteristics of the victims, and the manner in which they died: all of the victims had been brunette Caucasians; each (excluding Mixer) had been the recipient of extensive violence inflicted with a blunt and/or bladed instrument prior to her murder; each of the victims' bodies had been found within a 15-mile radius of Washtenaw County; and each victim (excluding Mixer) had received knife wounds to the neck. In an effort to discredit Goshe's testimony, Fink diverted questioning as to the model of motorcycle she had seen outside her shop, to which Goshe conceded her initial belief as to the model being a Honda 350 was inaccurate. I was only 5 and 6 yrs old when the murders happened so never heard about them.. My friend, in the wig shop, told Karen to NOT go on the motorcycle with this guy..because he had just tried to pick my friend up for a ride. So ur saying the women that live there cried a lot because of what happened there previously?? This spokesman indicated the reasoning being that, as Collins had already received a life sentence in Michigan, the case therefore was undeserving of "priority attention" by California authorities, in part due to the fact Collins would be returned to Michigan to serve his sentence if convicted. John Norman Collins committed the "Michigan Murders" as it was named by media and locals, between 1967 and 1969, during this period of time he committed eight murders of women ranging from 13 to 23 years old. [88], Evidence of culpability in remaining cases. The prosecution was therefore limited to questioning Davis with regards to whether the contents of this box included women's clothing and jewelry, without specifically describing any particular item. Karen was the latest girl in a two-year stretch to go missing. I know a woman who went bike riding with John during that period. If a person wants something, he alone is the deciding factor of whether or not to take it, regardless of what society thinks is right or wrong if a person holds a gun on somebodyit's up to him to decide whether to take the other's life or not. Less than three hours later, Kolbe reported her roommate missing after failing to receive any contact. Living with Mom, and then moved into the basement of his uncle's house. News articles described John Collinsas a square-jawed,"handsomeAll-American who seemed to be leading a textbook college career." The next year, hestarted tutoringinmates on how to pass theGED exam, the test for ahigh-school equivalency diploma. She told him she had a boyfriend in Center Line. I remember the day they began to extract evidence from Collins apartment and car just down the streetvery, very spooky Geez! [40], Following the March 24 murder of Maralynn Skelton, police from the five separate jurisdictions where the murderer had abducted or disposed of the bodies of his victims formally combined resources in an effort to compare information and identify the perpetrator. . Collins also wrote two letters in 2013 that gave specific accounts of how two of the victims Kalom and Beineman died, and his involvement with them. A medical examination revealed Beineman had been extensively beaten about the face and body, with some lacerations inflicted being so severe sections of skin had been removed, exposing subcutaneous tissues. The first letter, dated Oct. 22, Collins says he has much to reveal and doesn't "know where to begin." Several motions by the defense counsel throughout the jury selection process that the trial should be moved to a jurisdiction outside of Washtenaw County were rejected by Judge John Conlin, who ruled on June 29 that the 14 members of the jury selected from Ann Arbor by this date and considered satisfactory by both counsels would serve as jurors throughout the trial. Although Collins burst into tears when informed the stains on the floor covered with paint had been varnish, he quickly regained his composure and continued to deny any knowledge of Karen Sue Beineman. When questioned Collins claimed that he was with his mother at the time in Centerline, MI and it was probably just a case of mistaken identity. Eight days later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; he will live out the remainder of his days in the maximum security wing of Marquette Branch Prison. Among those cops was a rookie campus police officer at Eastern Michigan University: Larry Matthewson. You can contact Patrick at734.487.3363, on twitter@WEMUPC, or email him atpcampion@emich.edu, Serving Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, MI, PublishedOctober 30, 2017 at 6:55 AM EDT, Credit Lisa Powers (image on left) / https://lisapowers2020.smugmug.com/, Credit Lisa Powers / https://lisapowers2020.smugmug.com/, Credit Lisa Powers (image on right) / lisapowers2020.smugmug.com/, In our daily drives this time of year, we frequently encounter cyclists on the paths and roadways around town. "Was he still going to deny everything?". John Norman Collins's age is 75. "I said, 'I knew it. They wanted to see whether they could find aDNA match with other victims. Some peoples facts are not so good but you did a nice job!!! ", THE EVIDENCE LOCKER: What police discovered at 7 Michigan murder crime scenes, CHAPTER 1: Never-before-published letters, interviews offer clues in infamous Michigan murders, CHAPTER 2: Murders of Michigan women still unsolved 50 years later but cops had eye on 1 man. Living with Mom, and then moved into the basement of his uncle's house. Collins last victim was 18-year-old Karen Sue Beineman, another EMU student. Collins was ready to confess, but without a witness, the former sheriff said itmight not stick. While DNA matched in Kalom's case, no DNA was found on evidence connected to Basom of Ypsilanti or Fleszar, 19, of Willis. This summer, as Bundshuh prepared to retire, he gathered the more-than-50-year-old files that he had become familiar with so he could ship them to the Michigan State Police headquarters in Dimondale so the state candigitize them. Randy/Jerry--C'mon! She told me years ago that Maralynn was killed by a motorcycle gang. PDF John Norman Collins - Murderpedia Folklore! The detectives made special arrangementsto allow Collins to keep one of the pictures with him in prison. [46], The orange mohair sweater belonging to Basom was found in a deserted farmhouse just 100 yards from the desolate road on which her body had been placed after her murder. Just basicallyfraternity rivals and that.". ", "I started talking to him like a father would talk to his son," Harvey recalled, telling Collins:"Youve got a serious problem, son, and weve got a good case. They took him at his word. Anenraged Collins responded by forcefully asserting:"I didnt kill that baby!". It wasn't enough evidence for the state police to recommend new charges, butit was enough to convinceBundshuh. Pretty weird at the time how close they came to catching him at different times. Go back and read Part One here:Michigan Murders: 50 years ago, terror reigned in Ypsilanti, Continue reading Part Three here:Michigan Murders: Close calls, haunting roads - life after a suspected serial killer is arrested, This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All Rights Reserved. [120] Three weeks after the examination, at a meeting with the family in Judge Conlin's chambers, Ryan summarized its tentative conclusions and suggested a "diminished capacity" plea for an insanity defense. bathroom tub shower and dual sink vanity all heated by Tankless water heater! You need help desperately. Sheri, I grew up in Farmington and in 1978 Timmy King the last victim of the Oakland county child killer was found a mile from my home SO yes I understand how life was scary MY world stopped that day of my innocents Im still haunted by that.. The girl gave him a picture, which he put in a photo lineup and went to the chocolate shop to look for the employee. In part three of our special series, we'll meet the women who had close calls with the killer, including one woman who says he's still luring women into his clutches today, from his prison cell.
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