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. One of the personal items missing from Fleszar's body was an Expo 67 Canadian silver dollar she is known to have worn around her neck; this item was discovered in Collins' dresser when police conducted a search of his room. Michigan Department of Corrections. [151] This first appeal was formally rejected on October 24, 1972. [161] He had further informed his roommate he had agreed to drive Schell from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti the following day. Schell was last seen hitchhiking on June 30, 1968, in front of Eastern Michigan's student union. According to Davis, he had heard Collins and Kalom arguing behind closed doors, before Kalom had run out of his (Collins') apartment, with Collins chasing after her. In the case of victims Mary Fleszar and Joan Schell, investigators were able to establish he had been a neighbor of both women,[94] and that at the time of Fleszar's disappearance, Collins had actually worked in an office at the Eastern Michigan University located directly opposite the hallway from the office where Fleszar had herself worked. On May 24, 2009, five-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan went to play at a neighbor's place in an apartment complex in Monroe County. The testimony of Joan Goshe was further supported by Patricia Spaulding, who testified as to having observed Collins for between three and four minutes as he had waited for Beineman to return to his motorcycle. See production, box office & company info. In a brief final argument on behalf of the prosecution, Booker Williams re-emphasized the physical and circumstantial evidence against Collins, before accusing the defense attorneys of attempting to sow doubt in, particularly, the forensic evidence presented by the prosecution. HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) One more of the group of people convicted in the 1979 rape and murder of 22-year-old Janet Chandler has died. [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. [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]. 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. [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]. In Girl in the Picture, the director adapted Matt Birkbeck's bestselling books Finding Sharon and A Beautiful Child . Everyone from average citizens to celebrities like the Kardashians was invested in the case of Anthony, who was on trial for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Details: On November 21, 1985, childhood friends David Tyll and Brian Ognjan left their homes to go hunting near David's family cabin in White Cloud, Michigan. S.C. attorney Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murder of wife, son. [70], Three days after the disappearance of Beineman, her nude body was discovered face-down in a wooded gully alongside the Huron River parkway. Furthermore, Goshe had identified a photograph shown to her of Collins as being the man she had seen with Beineman. Prosecutor William F. Delhey agreed to a proviso that the test be conducted off the record and its results remain confidential. [60] She was last seen walking home towards her apartment on Thompson Street, having attended a friend's party. [139], Dr. Jervis' conclusions were supported by a private consultant named Auseklis Perkons, and a Massachusetts-based Director of Forensic Research named Samuel Golub. In the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face wit Read allIn the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face with a possible serial killer.In the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face with a possible serial killer. [80], Upon retracing Beineman's movements on the day of her disappearance, police questioned the proprietor of the wig shop Beineman had visited immediately prior to her disappearance, Diana Joan Goshe. The Michigan Murders: The True Story of the Ypsilanti Ripper's Reign of Terror Audible Audiobook - Unabridged Edward Keyes (Author), Pete Cross (Narrator), & 1 more 964 ratings See all formats and editions Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial [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]. The perpetrator, John Norman Chapman (then known as John Norman Collins) was arrested one week after the final murder. [141], On August 13, both prosecution and defense attorneys delivered their closing arguments to the jury (these arguments concluded the following day). Menu. In the fall of 1987, a teenage boy's unexpected disappearance opened a community's eyes to a sadistic killer who was closer to home than anyone in the quiet town of Harrison, Michigan ever expected. Anthony Guy Walker. 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. 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. [114] An FBI arrest warrant was issued against Andrew Manuel, who was located in Phoenix on August 6[115] and detained by FBI agents. [11], A detailed examination of the crime scene revealed that the body had been moved three times throughout the month it had lain undiscovered:[12] initially, the body had lain upon a pile of bottles and cans obscured from view by elder trees, before being dragged five feet from this location into a field, where it had remained exposed throughout much of the time it had lain undiscovered. As such, he may have become acquainted with Basom throughout the time he frequented his girlfriend. [125][110] He was tried in Ann Arbor, before Judge John Conlin. He was held without bond. Prior to his passing sentence, Judge Conlin asked Collins if he wished to address the court before mandatory life sentencing was imposed. An autopsy revealed Mixer had been shot twice in the head with a .22-caliber pistol, then garroted with a nylon stocking which, the pathologist noted, had not belonged to her. Davis had reported this incident to police, and later handed them the knife Collins had allegedly asked him to hide. State (s) Michigan. She was convicted in Michigan and sentenced to life in prison for Regan's murder in May 2016. When asked to formally identify the individual upon whose motorcycle she had observed waiting outside her shop,[84] Goshe pointed directly at John Norman Collins. where she spent some years as a teenager was a miserable place. I never took her life. They first planned to visit a friend in Mio, 150 miles east. [87] When Mathewson showed these photographs to both Goshe and her assistant, Patricia Spaulding, both women were adamant the man in the photographs was the same individual with whom Beineman had last been seen alive. 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. 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. [56] She had also been raped, although the pathologist was unable to determine whether this act had occurred before or after death. In Cold Blood: The Brutal 1959 Murder of the Walker Family. [3] Although Schell had been dead for several days, her entire lower body was in a remarkably preserved condition, whereas her head, shoulders and breasts were in an advanced state of decomposition, leading the pathologist to conclude her body had been stored in a naturally cool environment, but with the upper third of her body exposed to natural heat. Despite the advanced state of decomposition, the pathologist was also able to locate multiple lineal abrasions upon the victim's chest and torso,[10] indicating that Fleszar had been extensively beaten before her death. For 13 months between 1976 and 1977, a still unknown culprit referred to as the Oakland County Child Killer murdered at least two boys and two girls in communities surrounding Detroit. 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). Upon cross-examination, Dr. Guinn did agree with defense attorney Neil Fink that a statistical analysis of hair mixtures had never been attempted in a court of law,[136] although he remained firm that his applications had been performed via scientific principles. It's been a little more than a year since attorney Alex Murdaugh called 911 to his family's home in Hampton County, South Carolina, to report that his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52 . 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. [n 4], The defense contended that although the murder of Beineman was a "vicious, sadistic attack" which had degraded her body "almost beyond human comprehension,"[102] the prosecution's case that Collins was the perpetrator of the crime was a weak one at best. [66][101], On August 1, 1969, John Norman Collins was formally arraigned for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman. A forensic examination of this trailer revealed it had been completely wiped of fingerprints. 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. [68], Mindful of the fact the killer had evidently returned to sites of his previous murders to move the bodies, possibly in a sexual ritual, police theorized he may also attempt to return to this latest crime scene. [132] (The prosecution had initially intended to question Davis in detail as to each of the contents of this laundry box upon the grounds that the contents Davis had previously described to investigators may include Beineman's missing cut-off blue jeans; however, Collins' attorneys successfully objected to this motion upon the grounds that Collins was solely on trial for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman, and this testimony could suggest a link to the six other victims of the Michigan Murders then linked to the same perpetrator. It's just a little clearing in the forest in Onaway, Michigan, a few miles from the Canadian border, population slightly over 800. Leik's home was subjected to an intense forensic examination. [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]. [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. Following her identification of a photograph of Collins, police further questioned the proprietor of the wig shop in which Beineman had last been seen alive, asking her to identify the man she had seen with Beineman in a police lineup. Her murderer had likely driven to the location to dispose of her body, before making rudimentary efforts to conceal the body with clumps of grass. [27], Despite the fact Mixer had not been subjected to a sexual assault, the fact her tights had been lowered to expose her thighs and sanitary napkin suggested a sexual motive behind the murder,[27] and although the victim had not been beaten, stabbed or mutilated, her student status, the tying of a garment around her neck, and the proximity of her abduction and murder led investigators to tentatively link her murder to those of Fleszar and Schell. 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. "A Time to Kill" airs at 10 p.m. Thursday, June 11 on the Investigation Discovery cable channel. 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. Another individual would be convicted of the murder of Jane Mixer in 2005. Alas, it wasn't her first murder. As he had explained this to Davis, Collins had been carrying a red handbag, which he claimed Schell had left in his car. Although Washtenaw County Sheriff Douglas Harvey conceded at a press conference that same month that investigators had little physical evidence to act upon and that the perpetrator had yet to make a serious error, he was adamant about the fact the murderer was still at large was due to pure luck, and not for lack of police effort. Initially, police took him at his word, and did not seek to verify his alibi. What Lies Beyond. [146] He remained impassive upon hearing the jury foreman announce the verdict, although many spectators gasped audibly,[102] and his mother and sister left the courtroom in tears. [133] In addition, Mrs. Sandra Leik testified to Collins being given a key to the family home in order that he could feed the family's German shepherd. [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. [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. Although this officer attempted to radio this sighting to his colleagues, the rain had rendered his radio inoperable. They played cards, hunted, and enjoyed the outdoors together. Three years later, the West Michigan murders still unsolved, police in Ohio arrested Dillon, then 42, of Magnolia, Ohio, in the deaths of five men from 1989 to 1992 two hunters, two fishermen . Each item had been deliberately placed in this location, indicating that the murderer had returned to the scene of the crime and that the two homicides were definitely linked. The documentary shows the case from start to finish and features . In addition, the "outstanding similarities" between the wounds inflicted upon her body and those inflicted upon Fleszar the previous year led investigators to establish a definite connection between both murders, and four detectives were assigned to work full-time on both cases. [128], The two primary questions before the jury, Delhey stated, would be the accuracy of eyewitnesses who would be called to testify and, ultimately, whether the more than 500 hair samples found upon Beineman's panties matched the hair clippings later recovered from the basement of Collins' uncle. [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. By July 23, 1969, panic is in the hot, muggy, southeast Michigan air. The same day, the head of the state police crime laboratory, Sgt. A little Googling and up popped an intriguing case: Jeff Titus, a former Marine and police officer, imprisoned for nearly two decades for the murder of two hunters in Michigan that the original. In this four-part documentary event, A&E . In November 1969, Andrew Manuel would plead guilty to charges of, The death sentence was not an option for the prosecution to seek as Michigan had, DNA belonging to a convicted killer named John Ruelas4 years old at the time of Mixer's murderwas also found upon the victim's clothing. [57] Sections of her clothing were scattered around her body, although one of her shoes was missing. Famed documentary filmmaker Errol Morris takes true crime reenactments to the next level by casting Hollywood actors in Wormwood, his Netflix docuseries that examines the government's attempts to cover up CIA experiments with LSD in the 1950s. Sex Slayer Could be Anyone! [65], At the request of an Ann Arbor citizen's community, a Dutch psychic named Peter Hurkos traveled to Washtenaw County on July 21, to generate a psychic profile of the murderer. 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. She was last seen by co-workers on August 11, 2000. [96], The same day, Leik was advised by investigators of his nephew's suspect status, and the level of circumstantial evidence unfolding against him. The victim had received multiple slash and stab wounds to the body (including two stab wounds which had pierced her heart),[55] and a gunshot wound to the forehead before her neck had been cut through to the spine. For example, in the case of Mary Fleszar, investigators discovered that at the time of her disappearance, Collins had worked part-time in the Eastern Michigan University administration unit, and that his office had been located directly opposite the hallway from the office where Fleszar had herself worked. [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 Michigan Murders were a series of highly publicized killings of young women committed between 1967 and 1969 in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan by an individual known as the Ypsilanti Ripper, the Michigan Murderer, and the Co-Ed Killer. On November 9, 1971, John List shot his wife, his mother, and his three children. [97], The hairs found upon Beineman's panties and those recovered from the basement of the Leik home were subjected to a detailed forensic neutron analysis[98] to determine whether they had sourced from the same individuals. Evaluation of individual will and moral restraints within society, written by Collins while enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. New details shed more light on. 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. [23] Prior to enrolling at Eastern Michigan University in the fall of 1966, he had been an honor student and football co-captain at his high school.[89]. Moreover, a psychologist retained by the defense had testified as such on April 20, 1970. [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. 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. He did not die of COVID-19; prison officials did not release his cause . The victims were held captive before being killed, and forensic DNA testing has indirectly implicated two suspects . The jury did not take its task lightly, but, I think things were blown out of proportion. Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. [153], In each appeal instance, Collins' conviction was upheld, with successive appellate judges of the Supreme Court announcing in October 1974, their refusal to review his conviction[154] and the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit announcing their own satisfaction with the earlier findings of the district court. [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. The timing of these four witnesses' recollections as to when Collins had actually entered the motorcycle shop varied slightly, although consensus among three of these men was that he had entered the premises as they were eating lunch, which they typically did anytime between 1 and 2p.m.[138], Upon cross-examination, the time factor of these witnesses as to when they had actually seen Collins expanded to between noon and 2p.m. Two of these employees had signed statements affirming the time Collins had entered their premises was approximately 2p.m., although one of these witnesses stated he had been repeatedly harassed by an Ann Arbor Police Sergeant as to the actual time he had seen Collins. [147] In response, Collins rose from his chair and made the following speech:[148]. [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. A seasoned journalist with The New York Times, Barker is now also the . On November 22, 1985, they planned to go hunting near David's family cabin in White Cloud. [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. Stars Julia Drahos Laura Frizzo Mark Schwartzman See production, box office & company info Making a Murderer: Part 2 (Trailer) Making a Murderer (Podcast 2) . I have two things to say: I think they [the jury] conscientiously tried to give me a fair trial. [127], The prosecutors at Collins' trial, William Delhey and Booker Williams, opted to charge Collins only with the murder of Karen Sue Beineman, with the state contending that she had been murdered by Collins in the basement of the Leik household. MOUNT PLEASANT, MI The 2012 murder of 24-year-old Rebekah Gay and the confessed murderer, a neighbor and pastor at a nearby church, will be featured on a television documentary set to air . Mrs. Collins, incensed at the implication, immediately dismissed Ryan from the case. The Oakland County Child Killer ( OCCK) is the name given to the perpetrator (s) responsible for the serial killings of at least four children in Oakland County, Michigan, United States, between 1976 and 1977. [54]), Less than two months after the murder of Dawn Basom, on June 9, three teenage boys discovered a partially nude body of a young woman in a field close to an abandoned farmhouse on North Territorial Road. CROWN POINT, IN On Wednesday, Kelly Cochran, 35, was convicted and sentenced to 65 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2016 slaying of her husband, Jason Cochran, 37. [129], Formal witness testimony began on July 20, 1970. Three days prior to Collins' July 30 arrest, in direct breach of a Washtenaw County Prosecutor order,[167] two young Ann Arbor detectives had arrived at the Emmet Street apartment Collins shared with his roommate to question him as to the circumstantial evidence then-obtained against him. 7. On July 31, the prosecution introduced two forensic witnesses to testify regarding the physical evidence indicating the victim had been killed inside the Leik family home. 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. THE MICHIGAN MURDERS Never-before-published letters, interviews offer clues in infamous Michigan murders Eight women and girls were slain in the late 1960s. This former girlfriend was able to provide Mathewson with two recent photographs of Collins. Even Michigan's beautiful north is safe from crime, as two of the cases spotlight cases from the Upper Peninsula. 99,084 views Jul 26, 2019 John Norman Collins, aka "The Michigan Murderer," was suspected of killing six women in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor area between 1967-69 and a seventh woman in. [134] Although subjected to intense cross-examination by Joseph Louisell as to the reliability of his findings, Holz remained adamant the color, length, type and diameter of the hair samples found upon Beineman's panties were a precise match to those found in the Leik family basement. [69] Upon questioning both of Beineman's roommates, police were informed that she (Beineman) had last been seen shortly after noon on her way to a downtown wig shop. Secrets of the Chippendales Murders premieres tonight at 10/9c on A&E. Stream the new true crime documentary series for free with a Philo subscription. 10:18 . On April 30, 1989, police responded to a quadruple murder in a Lakeville, Indiana home. She was last seen alive outside a drive-in restaurant on Washtenaw Avenue two days before her body was discovered (although autopsy reports indicated Skelton had died between 24 and 36 hours before her body was discovered). [152], Between 1972 and 1976, Collins appealed his murder conviction on four further occasions; citing contentions that the Michigan Murders had received extensive media publicity in Washtenaw County, and that five separate motions for change of venue had been submitted by the defense counsel (two of which had been filed throughout the actual jury selection process) upon the grounds of pretrial publicity minimizing any chance of obtaining an unbiased jury in Washtenaw County. On Sunday, July 27, police arrived at the apartment on Emmet Street Collins shared with his roommate, Arnold Davis. [66], Despite recovering numerous stolen items from his apartment and being informed by Arnold Davis that Collins had been in the habit of committing burglaries with a former roommate of theirs named Andrew Manuel,[100] no incriminating evidence linking Collins to Beineman or any victim of the Michigan Murders was discovered, although officers were informed by Arnold Davis on this date of the incident two days earlier in which he (Davis) had observed Collins carrying a laundry box containing women's clothing and jewelry from his apartment and towards his car. 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. [104] Reviewing information regarding the murder of Roxie Ann Phillips, investigators discovered that immediately prior to her disappearance, Phillips had informed a close friend that she had become acquainted with an Eastern Michigan University student named John, who drove a silver-grey Oldsmobile Cutlass and who was temporarily residing with a friend in a camper-trailer.
