They stood out," Sheriff Harvey said. 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. There was a moment,though, Harvey recalled, he thought Collins would confess. During the trial, Collins sat more relaxed than before: He smiled at attorneys, his mother, and his family. The email, detectives said, is characteristic of Collins, full of denials and rationalizations. The same day, the head of the state police crime laboratory, Sgt. She replied that it was probably stupid but that he was just taking her home. When the killer had not been found in two years, the public outcry was became intense. "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 Michigan Murders' is one of those rare books you re-read because 7 months agoIt really hammers down the point that you need to watch yourself. 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. August 1: Collins is arraigned on murder. He added the letters appeared to be "a desperate attempt to convince his cousin of his innocence, and the ultimate end game would be to get a Canadian prison transfer.". Samples recovered from both locations would prove to be a precise match. I remember her telling us how shocked the aunt was at the arrest and how hard she found it to believe that her nephew was involved. She supported herself by waiting tables at a Detroit restaurant. Reading this book should be required for all college students, especially females. The assistant DA was a friend of my Dad's! She had made arrangements to meet Collins at her home on the evening of June 30, but Collins had never arrived. [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. [96], The basement of Sgt. The Most Dangerous Serial Killers Of The 1960s - Grunge.com ", Collins introducedBeineman and Davis and offeredBeineman the option of riding home on his bike with him or going in the car with Davis. Her body was found two days later in a field. Five different police agencies frantically searched for Karen Sue Beinemanon July 23, 1969. 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. Each testified on August 6. [55][63], By the spring of 1969, public outcry regarding the murders committed by the individual dubbed by the press as the Michigan Murderer and the Co-Ed Killer was increasing, particularly among the student population of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. In the case of California victim Roxie Ann Phillips, police had discovered that, prior to her murder, the victim had told a close friend she had met an Eastern Michigan University student named John, who owned a silver Oldsmobile Cutlass and several motorcycles; her nude, strangled body was found discarded in a patch of poison oak on July 13,[164] with the distinctive red-and-white floral patterned belt from her culotte dress knotted around her neck. Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. Sherry and Mike (my bro and sis) went down to babysit some kids whose parents who'd rented the house afterwards, and actually saw the bloodstains!!! 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. COLLINS' LETTER: John Norman Collins one of Michigan's most notorious killers pens letter to the Free Press. Retro Kimmer'S Blog: the Michigan Coed Murders 40 Years Later [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. Collins says he vomited in the laundry tub. And here's California - and they've got a better case than us, and they've got the death penalty," Sheriff Harvey said. He was a letterman at the Catholic High School and was a sports hero. The hairs found in Karen's underwear matched hair in his uncle's basement - which is where she was believed to have been killed. 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. He also triesto discredit his cousin for disclosing his private letters,suggesting what he wrote ismostly fiction. Thank you to Gregory A. Fournier, author of "Terror in Ypsilanti," for taking us on this tour, and photographer Lisa Powers for documenting our work. The detectives made special arrangementsto allow Collins to keep one of the pictures with him in prison. Michigan Murders: A timeline of events - mlive.com 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. The detectives said they tracked Davis to New York but were never able to interviewhim. 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.". John Norman Collins's age is 75. I was in prison for seven years. It sentstate police looking atthe other unsolved cases. As for Alice Kalom, who disappeared after a party in Ann Arbor, she got on a motorcycle. Throughout their vacation, Collins had been temporarily residing in the Leik family's Ypsilanti home, having been granted sole access to the house in order that he could feed their German shepherd. dear retrokimmer & brother, I dearly love that you did this memorial to the poor victims of that sadistic monster,My father & I were going to do this very thing, but Then I got very badly injured,and couldn't finish our memorial, (there;s next year) fine job thank you for remembering the girls !!!!! 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 ? He is currently in Marquette Branch Prison at Marquette, Michigan. Lol, 12:41pm Mar 4didn't want to post this, detract from your wonderful honoring of the victims, but I remember this era well went to Huron Relays in ypsi shortly thereafter also I played football against JNC at Jackson Prison. There were no recent updates for the slaying of 17-year-old Roxie Phillips, who was slain in Salinas,California, law enforcement officials said. The same afternoon police searched the Leik family's basement, Collins was confronted with evidence thus far gained and deduced. Collins claimed he never killed anyone and he even agreed to take a polygraph test. Kim you have the location for Dawn Basom's murder site wrong. [114] An FBI arrest warrant was issued against Andrew Manuel, who was located in Phoenix on August 6[115] and detained by FBI agents. 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. (He said) 'take him back to jail.' "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. [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. Enjoy dual pane vinyl windows, high 9' ceilings top & bottom floors, a spacious loft 10' x 10' that can be used as a bedroom or game room, a 10' x 5' Harry Potter closet previously used as an office, hand-carved lightly distressed maple hardwood flooring-Ponto . Slayer 'Could be Anyone', "Collins Ordered to Stand Trial for Murder: Judge Bases Ruling on Testimony of Nine in Killing of Co-Ed", "Collins Trial: Never Saw Stakeout Report, Sheriff Testifies", "Continue to Build Case in Collins Trial", "John Collins' Aunt Testifies She Found Items Moved, Missing From Basement", "Crime Center Directs Hunt for Co-Ed Killers", "Collins to Face Trial for Beineman Murder", "Star Prosecution Witness Cross-Examined Sharply", "Michigan Murders: Former Sheriff Recalls Washtenaw County's Most Notorious Serial Killer", "Key State Witnesses Called in Collins Trial", "Scientific Test Inventor Called as Defense Witness for Collins", "Search for Michigan Killer Spreads out to California", "Collins Can't Receive Fair Trial in Ann Arbor, Attorney Claims in Requesting Change of Venue", "Michigan Suspect Linked Directly to Salinas Case", "Multiple Sex Killings Have Terrorized Five States", "Police Say Slain Girl Knew of Accused Man", "Local Officials Irked As California Drops Collins Case", "Murder Similarities Under Investigation", "Collins Faces Murder Examination on Thursday", "Collins Friend Cleared in Co-Ed Deaths: Had No Knowledge of Slayings, Aid in Ann Arbor Says", "Similarities in Deaths of Girls Being Investigated", "Ouster In State's Case is Sought in Co-Ed Sex Slaying", "Continue Hearings: Judge Upholds Collins' Arrest", "Lawyers for the Defense in the John Norman Collins Case", "John Collins Seeks Justice 19 Years After Slayings End", "The Ann Arbor Library: The Michigan Murders", "Two Girls Testify at Collins' Trial: Slain Co-Ed's Roommates Tell of Day She Was Last Seen Alive", "Strong Challenges Face Prosecution in Trial of Collins", "The Michigan Murders Part 1: Seven Young Women", "Links to Other Slayings Sighted in Collins Trial: Defense Protests Plan to Ask Friend of Suspect About Girls' Apparel Items", "Data on Fingerprints, Stains Heard by Trial Jury: Crime Laboratory Head Finds No Marks Identifiable as Suspect's", "Jurors Quietly Visited Basement After Court Recessed Hour Early", "Three Defense Motions Denied for Collins", "Collins Guilty: Life Sentence is Mandatory", "Two Scientists Reject Data in Collins Case: Charge Prosecution Tests on Identifying Hairs Were Invalid", "Hair Not From Same Source, Nuclear Chemist Testifies", "Convicted in Michigan: Co-Ed Slayer Gets Life Term", "Nine Notorious Michigan Men Who Terrorized and Brutalized Women", "Collins Sentenced to Life Imprisonment and Hard Labor in Solitary Confinement", "Denies Killing Girl Before He Gets Life Term", "People vs. Collins: Decided October 24, 1972", "Final State Witness Heard in Collins Case: Defense Readdy to Start Testimony After Finishing Cross-Examination", "People v. Collins: Michigan Court of Appeals; Decided October 24, 1972", "Collins' Lawyer Promises Appeal On Extradition", "Extradition Hearing for Collins: California Seeks to Try Convict in Slaying of Girl", "California Drops Case Against Co-Ed Killer", "Collins is Linked to Schell Case: Slaying Suspect Reportedly was Driver of 'Pickup' Car", "New Book Lists Goofs in Serial Killings Probe", "John Collins' Aunt Testifies She Found Items Moved, Missing from Basement", "An Exclusive Interview: Collins Ends Seven Years of Silence", "Slayer of EMU Co-Ed Fails in Tunnel Escape Attempt", "Appeals Court Supports Canadian Citizenship Application Citizenship", "Never-Before-Published Letters, Interviews Offer Clues in Infamous Michigan Murders", "State Transfers 'Co-ed Killer' Convict to Ionia Prison", "The Michigan Murders Part 4: The Aftershock", "Court of Appeals Rejects Request for a New Trial", "Michigan Murders: Close calls, Haunting Roads, and Life After a Suspected Serial Killer is Arrested", initial 1972 appeal against his conviction, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michigan_Murders&oldid=1130998673, 6. In response to defense questioning, Sgt. Collins sayshe didn't expect the 2013 letters"would become such a 'FOCAL POINT'after 50 years," and accuses Fournier of using his cousinto "dig-up some dirt on me" and garner media attention for himself. It was the same pattern, same floral pattern, and save weave of dress. On the surface, John Norman Collins was an all-American boya fraternity member studying elementary education at Eastern Michigan University. On August 17, 1970, John Normans Collins was found guilty. He also had a new story to tell them about Beineman. In 2011, asearch of Collins' cell uncovered shards of metal, one of which was shaved to a point. Collins was ready to confess, but without a witness, the former sheriff said itmight not stick. 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. She had been strangled. "When the doctor and his wife came down here to the end of the street to get the mail, his wife looked down and said 'there's a body down there," Fournier said. 50 years later, investigation into Michigan Murders leads to DNA revelations, Through interviews with John Norman Collins and DNA evidence, Michigan State Police look to solve the cold case Michigan Murders, a "wholesome-looking girl" with "a vivid imagination. As the Ruelas and Mixer cases had been processed in the same, List of serial killers by number of victims, List of serial killers in the United States, legislatively abolished the death penalty, "Inmate Information Details: Collins, John Norman", "Who Killed these Girls? he was in the same building as me interesting is now because I just moved to ypsi and live four blocks from where he did. He tries to give his cousin a glimpse of prison life. About three weeks later Dawn Basom, just 13, was found dead after disappearing the previous evening. And,Schroeder said, when they mentioned Dawn Basom, the 13-year-old victim killed in 1969,it touched a nerve. Davis put thepanties which, from Collins' account, had his DNA on them inside Beineman's body. Clothing found near the body was identified as belonging to Mary by her parents. After those two letters,they quit writing. From what I read, the city and officials were so quick to get this solved (perhaps their donuts were getting cold) that they failed to look at anyone else. Victims like Mary Terese Fleszar, a 19-year-old EMU accounting major and Joan Elspetch Schell, a 20-year-old art student. All-American boy John Norman Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted of the strangulation . Larry said John was memorable because he was a great athlete. [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. Kennard Christensen, testified as to the results of forensic tests conducted in the Leik family basement: the results of these tests confirmed evidence of bloodstains in four separate areas. How about a private finished attached 2-car garage with overhead storage! He's believed to be the last person to see the first victim alive. She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. Kimberly P. Mitchell is a staff photojournalist that joined the Detroit Free Press in 2005. Although investigators had informally exchanged information with agencies from other jurisdictions on an irregular basis since the previous summer, no coordination to combine efforts and resources had ensued until the discovery of the third victim definitely linked to the series. One of the men in the car Schell had entered was Collins' roommate, Arnold Davis, who later informed police the girl had indeed entered the car he had been driving, but that Collins had insisted he give Schell the lift she was seeking to Ann Arbor in his own car. Two months after Schell's murder, police inquiries produced two further eyewitnesses who stated they had observed Schell walking with a young man along Emmet Street on the evening she disappeared. As for the youngest victim, 13-year-old Dawn Basom, he was connected to her too: he had friends that lived in the apartment building near Dawn's home. True story, but I will protect my lady friend's privacy and withold her name. That would change the next day. Through interviewing acquaintances of Phillips, investigators established that she had been introduced to the individual she had referred to as "John from Michigan" through a 17-year-old friend named Nancy Ann Albrecht, who informed police she had herself become acquainted with Collins on June 29, and that she had mentioned her friend (Phillips) to Collins on this date. The jury did not take its task lightly, but, I think things were blown out of proportion. A sorority house, quiet student rentals, family homes, downtown businesses, and isolated tracts of land still stand, hidden in plain sight, as a reminder of the lives cut short during a time of Terror in Ypsilanti. Aside from being the last person seen with Karen and living directly across the street from Joan Schell, there was more to link John Collins to the murders. She had been beaten and strangled and then dumped in a patch of poison oak in the canyon. Photos, evidence in Michigan murders case against John Norman Collins I know a woman who went bike riding with John during that period. [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. Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked - amazon.com [57] Sections of her clothing were scattered around her body, although one of her shoes was missing. I understand they still have DNA, perhaps if the local press would get off this guys back and allow fairness to take place you might find out the culprit was someone else. [56] She had also been raped, although the pathologist was unable to determine whether this act had occurred before or after death. 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. [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]. [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. Davis "told me that 'SOMETHING' happened at my uncle's house and that I needed to see it. She also orchestrated the evidence locker. He was known to engage in sexual violence, including one instance in which he had raped a woman who had resisted his advances. 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. My mother was a student at EMU then and knew John's aunt. He gave her a ride to the wig shop, and thenshe rodewith Collins tohis uncle's house to feed the dog. Chapman's theory: Collins wasunhappy with his mother's marriage choices, blamed her for taking him away from his father, and took out his hatred for his mom on women like her: attractive, brunette, smart, independent and who rejected him. Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted to a life sentence for Beinemans murder. The first victim, Mary Fleszar was last seen being cut off by a guy in a shiny car just a block from Collins' room. [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. Moreover, this search had also uncovered small bloodstains in nine areas of the basement. Sex Slayer Could be Anyone! The two played intramural football. [121][122], In January 1970, Neil Fink and Joseph Louisell, partners at one of Detroit's highest-priced law firms, agreed to take over Collins' defense. [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. [151] This first appeal was formally rejected on October 24, 1972. [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. Four of these witnesses were employees of a motorcycle sales firm which Collins had visited on the afternoon of Beineman's disappearance.