Welcome to Lakeside. Larry was still a senior in college and, though he may not have known his name, he recognized his face. John Norman Collins eventually found his way into a Washtenaw County, Michigan, courtroom. After his Michigan arrest, the car he drove to California was impounded where they found some important evidence for the California murder. "Mary worked at the university. [82], The description of the young man with whom Beineman had last been seen alive was heard by a patrolman named Larry Mathewson, who believed the person described by Diana Goshe and others may be John Norman Collins: a former Theta Chi fraternity brother[85] of his who had previously been interviewed but eliminated from police inquiries,[86] and who he had himself seen riding his motorcycle around the Eastern Michigan University campus on the afternoon of July 23. Everything matched the belt and that swatch, which connected the two," Fournier said. Larry said John was memorable because he was a great athlete. Perkons testified as to his belief that the hair samples retrieved from Beineman's panties were of a "different origin" than the hair samples retrieved from the Leiks' basement,[140] whereas Golub stated that because he had found only one single fiber upon the victim's panties, the likelihood of her undergarments accumulating these hairs from a basement was extremely remote. [12], Almost one year later, on July 5, 1968, the partially decomposed, mutilated body of a 20-year-old art student named Joan Elspeth Schell[15] was found by construction workers on an Ann Arbor roadside. 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. So sadmy twins are at EMU and they were home this weekend and asked me if I knew anything about the serial killer. ", 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. Found: August 7, 1967. [132]), Also to testify at the trial on behalf of the prosecution was Marjorie Barnes, who testified on July 30 to having observed Collins leaving his uncle's home carrying a laundry box covered with a blanket on either July 24 or 25, 1969. Collins' grip of terror on our community ended officially on August 19, 1970, when he was found guilty of first-degree murder. [166] In addition, prior to his returning to Michigan, Collins is known to have visited a California hospital to receive treatment for poison oak anaphylaxis.[166]. [105], On August 14, 1969, Collins attended a pretrial hearing at Ypsilanti District Court. In response to questioning from prosecution attorneys, Goshe described how, on the afternoon of her disappearance, Beineman had informed her she had accepted a lift home from the man waiting outside the wig shop. The clerk at the chocolate shop next door was a motorcycle enthusiast and also noticed the bike and the handsome man sitting on it. Davis "told me that he tried to make a move on her and she resisted," Collinswrites. On October 14, Judge Conlin rejected defense motions to dismiss the case, or suppress any evidence obtained; ruling Collins' arrest had been on the reasonable grounds he had committed a felony. 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. Although this officer attempted to radio this sighting to his colleagues, the rain had rendered his radio inoperable. Bundshuh remembered Collins cried when asked about Kalom, saying they dated. Before Collins left the Golden State, he saw a doctor for a case of poison oak. Glass particles found within this basement were of a similar consistency to those found upon the soles of Basom's shoes. [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. 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 . Muddy Waters, coach at Hillsdale, would take us (freshman) there to make us tough JNC was a little sh*t, smart alec and cocky wore a stocking cap under his helmet played middle linebacker and would cuss at and spit upon the offensive line men (ME) anyway, thanks for the memory, albeit sad. [142] Prosecuting attorney William Delhey argued first, recounting the evidence the state had presented and Collins' conscious efforts to destroy physical evidence at the Leik household before telling the jury that their collective application of common sense could only dictate a guilty verdict.[143]. [39] Nonetheless, Ann Arbor Police Chief Walter Krasny formally linked Skelton's murder to the series. Shemarried William Collins. The forensic experts who had testified on behalf of the prosecution, Dr. Jervis stated, had therefore based their conclusions on "insufficient data". [72], Beineman had died of strangulation, although the pathologist noted the blunt force injuries inflicted to her skull and brain had been so extensive they would likely have proven fatal. The victim's right thumb had also received a gunshot wound, suggesting the woman had instinctively raised her hand to protect herself before her killer had fired the gun at point-blank range. they didn't clean well enough??!! All-American boy John Norman Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted of the strangulation . Another individual would be convicted of the murder of Jane Mixer in 2005. The rented trailer in which Collins and Manuel had traveled to California was located on August 1 in Monterey County, behind the home of Andrew Manuel's grandfather. If police in Michigan were doubting Collins as their man, they got more evidence a few thousand miles away. Living with Mom, and then moved into the basement of his uncle's house. I read the Jane Mixer story and how they found out recently that GARY LEIBERMAN killed her but what i find amazing is how a 4 yr old boys blood was found on her hand when he lived many miles away.. ITs too bad DNA wasn't known back in the 60s maybe then John Collins could of been stopped sooner.. Collins adds Davis admitted to going back toBeineman's body the night the sheriff's deputies had it andquietly tried to set a trap for the killer by replacing it with a mannequin, which matches police accounts of the failed sting. He added that he "likedhim and thought well of him," but heard "he was having some HEALTH ISSUES" and asked, "if you ever come in contact with him again kindly tell him that I wish him nothing BUTT Good Health the rest of his retired years.". "[116][n 3], A formal indictment would later be served against Collins for the first-degree murder of Roxie Ann Phillips in April 1970, although the evidence surrounding this indictment was ordered to be sealed until after the trial of Collins for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman had concluded. ", In the first letter, Collins explains why he denied knowingBeineman. As for Alice Kalom, who disappeared after a party in Ann Arbor, she got on a motorcycle. For those of us who lived here during those years, the palpable fear in the air at the time will always be a strong memory. The address has been changed to "College Place" to try to thwart groupies, but at the end of the name list on the Mailbox, we put "John Norman Collins" as a joke. Between the summers of 1967 through 1969, before the term serial killer was coined, a predatory killer stalked the campuses of Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan seeking prey until he made the arrogant mistake of killing his last victim in the basement of his uncle's home. Mary Terese Fleszar was last seen alive the evening of July 9, 1967. This psychologist had been adamant that Collins' trial should be held outside Washtenaw County, and this motion had likewise been reserved. Instead, Collins said he lent Davis, who was having car trouble, his keys and he went to Ann Arbor. Clothed only in a white blouse and bra, which had been pushed around her neck, she had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest and genitals,[45] had received multiple slash wounds across the breasts, buttocks and stomach,[46] then strangled to death with a two-foot length electrical flex still knotted around her neck. [162] Although Collins had claimed to police that he had been with his mother in the Detroit suburb of Center Line on the weekend of Schell's disappearance, police had never sought to verify his alibi.[24]. [21] Nonetheless, the inquiry into both murders remained active, and a reward then-totaling $7,800 for information leading to the conviction of the perpetrator of both homicides remained.[22]. His female friends described him as aggressive and short tempered. Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. After Kalom's body was found, Collins writes, Davis"admitted to killing her.". Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com. ", Collins, in his recent letter to the Free Press,praised Schroeder as "a good man" who "kept his 'Word' to me." But they also found something unusual, more than 500 short clipped blonde hairs. Before they left for vacation, Leik's wife gave his kids haircuts in the basement. ", Collins writeshe "got her shorts off, BUTT, no further,"and he "did not have intercourse with her." Three days later it was discovered, and this set a strange sequence of events into effect that would eventually lead to the capture of who many had dubbed the "Ypsilanti Ripper.". [74]), The forensic examination of Beineman's body further revealed she had been raped prior to her murder, and that her torn panties had been forcefully placed inside her vagina; these panties revealed the presence of human semen and 509[75] human hair clippings measuring less than three-eights of an inch upon the material. Although neither eyewitness was certain, both believed this student to be John Norman Collins: a student at Eastern Michigan University majoring in elementary education,[20] who lived directly across the street from Schell at 619 Emmet,[23] and whose physical features bore a likeness to the composite drawing police had generated of the driver of the vehicle Schell had entered. The tiny hairs in Karen's underwear were a fit to the hairs in the basement. I jus wish we lived in a world where that wasnt necessary, and where that sick man would have gotten the help he needed. The following day, Washtenaw County Sheriff Douglas Harvey testified as to the discovery of Beineman's body, her subsequent autopsy, and his obtaining an updated composite drawing of the suspect with whom Beineman had last been seen alive from Mrs. Joan Goshe and her assistant, Patricia Spaulding. I hope some day it will be corrected; second, I never knew a girl named Karen Sue Beineman; I never had a conversation with her. A 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Bathroom, 2 story condo in a highly sought community RIVERVIEW Courts. [68], The final murder attributed to the killer was that of 18-year-old Karen Sue Beineman, an Eastern Michigan University student who was last seen alive on July 23, 1969. What is the exact address of where Karen was murdered? Both women had agreed this composite drawing was accurate, and only disagreed as to the structure of the suspect's chin. You need help desperately. [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. JOHN NORMAN COLLINS Born in Windsor, Canada in 1947, John Norman Collins was the youngest of 3 children. Author Greg Fournier later wrote a book about the killings. And to your new HOME! Hetook her there, waited for her and then, they ended up at his uncles house. 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. Investigators didnt know it then, but this was the beginning of a series of murders attributed to John Norman Collins. "It all began the day before I met Karen B. "We were trying to figure out not just on the Kalom casebut all the cases was, was he to the point he wanted to talk?" [52] (The farmhouse itself was destroyed in an act of arson on May 13; when the fire was extinguished, five clipped lilacs[53] were found arranged in an even row across the driveway to the building, leading investigators to theorize they had been placed there by the murderer to symbolize each victim. In response to questions as to her personal character, Goshe further conceded she had previously lied under oath on two occasions (one instance of which was unrelated to the trial). The Inside was really old and spooky, like still 1870's. This is part two of our Michigan Murders series. Though he was only charged with this final murder, he is considered responsible for six othersincluding that of Mary Terese Fleszar. On this weeks "Hidden in Plain Sight,"WEMUs Patrick Campion meets up with Terror in Ypsilanti author Gregory Fournier to take us on a tour of some of the sites and sounds associated with the Michigan Murderer who preyed on Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti co-eds for two years. Folklore! The killer, a charismatic, athletic E.M.U. The DNA evidence, combined with what Collins said in his prisoninterviews with detectives and what he wrote in never-before-published letters to his second cousin in Canada,refocused attention on Collins as a suspectin some of the unsolved cases. "In my mind," the detectivesaid, "the Kalom case is solved.". She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. "When I turned on the light and looked around, I saw a naked woman," Collins writes. And to your new HOME! More than two years later, Karen Beineman disappeared. Yet, investigators added, as Collins and any other potential suspects age, the window of time is closing on whether the casescan be prosecuted tobring justice and resolution for the victims and their families. Collins says he vomited in the laundry tub. "The Leik children, the three boys were all white blonde little guys and that hair, color wise, the first original look at it, seemed to be a fit," Larry said. I'm making a documentary about the coed murders, would you or anyone be interested in helping or being interviewed? It sentstate police looking atthe other unsolved cases. Ryan further stated at this hearing he was "undecided" as to whether the upcoming trial be held away from the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti district due to pretrial publicity, and this final motion was held in abeyance until an impartial jury could be selected. He remembered something from the day before. Albrecht had provided Monterey County investigators with an identikit which, in addition to her descriptions of the suspect's possessions, circumstances and status, bore a striking resemblance to John Norman Collins. [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. [92][n 2]. [31] Investigators called to the crime scene noted a dramatic increase in the savagery exhibited against the victim, with one investigator describing the injuries inflicted upon the victim as being the worst he had seen in 30 years of police work. Following the state's closing argument, both Neil Fink and Joseph Louisell delivered separate closing arguments on behalf of the defense, describing Collins as a "young victim of circumstances" and dismissing much of the evidence presented as "fuzzy allegations," with Louisell being particularly scornful as to the testimony of Walter Holz, to whose conclusions, he asserted, the prosecution hinged its entire case. Andunlessauthorities uncover more evidence sometime soon,he just might. The detectives made special arrangementsto allow Collins to keep one of the pictures with him in prison. 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. From his second floor window he would have been able to see the very women he chose as some of his victims. "Was he still going to deny everything?". "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.". The rookie cop soon found out his football fraternity's rival: it was John Norman Collins. Schell had intended to travel to Ann Arbor to visit her boyfriend, and her roommate had accompanied her to the bus stop. Her body was later found with multiple stab wounds, and more grotesquely, no hands or feet on August 7. In a new twist just this week,Collins revised his story yet again. [107] Albrecht described this individual, whose surname she did not know, as being 5 ft 11 in tall, clean-cut, with dark brown hair and who had described himself as an Eastern Michigan University senior with aspirations to become a teacher. You can't change the past, BUTT, you can HOPE for a better future.". ", After 10 p.m., he claims an upset-looking Davis said he "needed to talk to me.". Butback then, DNA profiling didn't exist, and authorities only proved Collins killed 18-year-old Karen Beineman. [42], Little physical evidence existed beyond eyewitness descriptions and forensic reports. [5], Although never tried for the remaining five murders attributed to the Michigan Murderer, or the murder of a sixth girl killed in California whose death has been linked to the series,[6] investigators believe Collins to be responsible for all seven murders linked to the same perpetrator.[7]. mean while looking for Iggys fun house. " Collins writes he figured Davis just"made a mess" at the house. He once told a girl that he had strangled a cat with a clothesline. Upon conducting a search of the basement of this farmhouse, investigators discovered a further garment of her clothing, a length of electrical flex of the same type used to strangle the victim, and fresh human bloodstains, indicating this location as being the site of Basom's murder. The assistant DA was a friend of my Dad's! As he had explained this to Davis, Collins had been carrying a red handbag, which he claimed Schell had left in his car. The perpetrator, John Norman Chapman (then known as John Norman Collins) was arrested one week after the final murder. "This is what I knew deep down in my heart, and I felt so good knowing, without question, this is our guy.". He lifted weights and I didn't," Larry said. COLLINS' LETTER: John Norman Collins one of Michigan's most notorious killers pens letter to the Free Press. His mother attended every single day of the trial. Delhey formally closed his opening statement to the jury by requesting they return a verdict of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. [77], At approximately 12:15a.m. the following morning,[78] in the midst of a heavy, humid storm, one officer observed a young man running from the gully;[79] the heavy rain and insect irritation had prevented the officer from observing the young man actually approaching the gully. [48], Investigators found no definite evidence Basom had been subjected to a sexual assault prior to her murder. I walked over to see if he was playing a JOKE on me and had a dummy there to scare me. "He suggested they had met within a day or so before she was murdered, and they had gone out scrambling on a motorcycle," Bundshuh said. [50] She had been accompanied part of the way by a friend named Earl Kidd, who informed police he and Basom had parted company at a desolate road just five blocks from her home,[51] where Basom had begun walking alone alongside railroad tracks toward her home. On August 18, investigators announced that all significant leads had been exhausted, and that the number of officers assigned to investigate the case had been reduced. Copyright 11826 Caminito Rihely. [130], Three days after both counsels had begun introducing witnesses, Joan Goshe was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. The jury did not take its task lightly, but, I think things were blown out of proportion. Right after Alice Kalom was killed in June '69, Collins and a friends took a road trip to Salinas, California. The clippings were swept into neat piles when they left. This neighbor twice observed a young man in a blue-grey Chevrolet slow to a halt beside Fleszar and begin talking to her: each time, Fleszar had shaken her head and walked away from the car. Memeory is fuzzy it might have been you that let me read it. Investigators had established that each victim had been menstruating at the time of her death, and had theorized this may be a factor in the sexual violence exhibited upon the victims. But Collins was a bit bigger than Larry. Honest to God, that's what they said - apparantly, they didn't clean it well enough, and they came through the paint!Needless to say, Sherry and Mike were creeped out!!! Then, he waited. 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. 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. "They took the car apart and they found under one of the seats, a swatch of fabric, I think was about the size of a dime. [109] Upon questioning Manuel's grandfather, investigators were informed that his grandson and one John Collins had temporarily resided in the trailerwhich they had hired from an Ypsilanti rental firmbetween June and July, before both men had abandoned the trailer and (he believed) returned to Michigan. Bundshuhadded that the new information, along with the DNA match, supported that Collins was the "perpetrator in that case." He writeshe ran into Beineman, "she SMILED AT ME and WAVED her hand." jc painted basement floor, uncle was suspicious had test done found blood, thats how jc got caught, "I was a 6th grader at Fletcher Elementary School and I can remember that my older sister knew Dawn. She also orchestrated the evidence locker. Each testified on August 6. Anenraged Collins responded by forcefully asserting:"I didnt kill that baby!".