The man who put the cuffs on JNC!!!). "I knew we had a good case but it was going to be a lengthy trial. 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. With the mounting evidence, Collins was arrested on July 31, 1969. The discovery of several dried bloodstains and two buttons missing from the victim's raincoat at a Northfield Township commercial gravel pit on June 10 indicated the victim had been murdered at this location. [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. 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 Although police theorized that Fleszar had been raped, the advanced state of decomposition of the corpse had erased any conclusive evidence of sexual assault. That car matched a car registered to his mother. [39] Nonetheless, Ann Arbor Police Chief Walter Krasny formally linked Skelton's murder to the series. (Chapman holds. Despite exuding confidence, evidence was overwhelming. [17], The lack of blood beneath or near the corpse, plus the testimony of eyewitnesses, led investigators to determine Schell's body had lain in its present location for less than 24 hours. These horrific acts of violence held our community in terror until Collins arrest in July 1969. 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. Investigators had long suspected John Norman Collins of killing young women and girls in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor areas in the late 1960s. Then come back here for part two. John Collins, by most accounts,grew up to bea good student and a great athlete. Kimberly P. Mitchell is a staff photojournalist that joined the Detroit Free Press in 2005. I saw your video you did on the location of where the girls went missing and where they were found.. That was haunting to me and very disturbing .. After I saw in the video the home you lived in and how you lived next door this man It had to be haunting to you to know you could of been one of his victims After watching the KELLY AND COMPANY VIDEO that i saw I have to question myself if I truly believed he could of murder these women .. After I read the book there was no doubt in my mind.. Well I just want to let you know much I had enjoy the video you had done it just put everything in perspective . In a final address to the jury on August 14, Judge Conlin informed the panel they had two choices in the verdict they could render: Guilty of first-degree murder, or not guilty. The moment passed and they continued their ride uneventfully. It wasn't enough evidence for the state police to recommend new charges, butit was enough to convinceBundshuh. They saw a clean-cut man sitting on a Triumph motorcycle and got a good look at him before he turned away. John Norman Collins's age is 75. As Davis opened the door for his roommate to leave the apartment, he observed that the contents of this box included a woman's purple shoe, rolled-up jean-like material, and a burlap purse. 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. He lifted weights and I didn't," Larry said. [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]. 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. . "The town collectively went into shock," Fournier said. Hewent to Central Michigan University, thentransferred to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Very cool. 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. "My parents never told me anything about the crimes.". [119], In November, Ryan, in an effort to determine the most effective defense strategy, persuaded Collins to undergo a private and independent polygraph test. To expand on their allegations that certain defense witnesses had been subjected to police harassment, and that eyewitness accounts had been flawed, defense attorney Joseph Louisell subjected Sheriff Harvey to a 45-minute cross-examination as to his contact with the two eyewitnesses prior to completion of this composite drawing. Then famed psychic Peter Hurkos was hired to use his skills to find the killer or lead to new clues. She worked across the hall from where Collins had a student job," Fournier said. [18], Schell hailed from Plymouth and had recently moved into a house on Emmet Street in Ypsilanti; she was last seen by her roommate, Susan Kolbe, at a Washtenaw Avenue bus stop on the evening of June 30. This is the only murder for which Collins would ever stand trial. Christensen further stated that although partial fingerprints had been discovered in the basement of the Leik family,[133] no full fingerprints had been discovered in the basement which had not belonged to any Leik family member. 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 event took place quietly this fall, after editors searched for the right cover art and writers for the new prologue and epilogue. Her fully clothed body, covered with her own raincoat and with a copy of the novel Catch-22 placed by her side, was found the following morning atop a grave in Denton Cemetery in Van Buren Township. 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. [88], Police had already established that Collins was a known motorcycle enthusiast[89] who owned several motorcycles, including a blue Triumph Bonneville. She worked alongside Witsil and Maxwell interviewing key figures into the investigation of the Michigan Murders cold case to produce a documentary video and portraits. 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. Investigators determined the knife was consistent with the weapon used to stab Kalom. Collins' uncle, State Police Sergeant David Leik, had been on vacation with his family at the time of Beineman's disappearance, and had only returned home on July 29three days after the discovery of her body. The seven. In this lineup, Goshe positively identified the man she had seen with Karen Sue Beineman as John Norman Collins. In this cross-examination, Sheriff Harvey admitted to having driven Mrs. Goshe and her assistant to East Lansing to view the updated composite drawing of the suspect in Beineman's murder, and that he had shown photographs of various suspects, including Collins, to Goshe prior to her formally identifying Collins in a lineup. There were no recent updates for the slaying of 17-year-old Roxie Phillips, who was slain in Salinas,California, law enforcement officials said. [91] Some acquaintances noted Collins' politeness around women, while others described him as lascivious and bad-tempered. Victims like Mary Terese Fleszar, a 19-year-old EMU accounting major and Joan Elspetch Schell, a 20-year-old art student. Investigators had long suspected John Norman Collins of killing young women and girls in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor areas in the late1960s. And John picked her up and he had a nice carthat was his mother's car," Fournier said. On the day Karen disappeared, Larry said John was sitting on a motorcycle, flirting with pretty college girls. 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. Goshe recalled Beineman visiting her store to purchase a $20 headpiece in the early afternoon of July 23. [48], Investigators found no definite evidence Basom had been subjected to a sexual assault prior to her murder. [110] Several of Phillips' personal possessions would later be found strewn along State Route 68.[111][112]. I know a woman who went bike riding with John during that period. I remember the day they began to extract evidence from Collins apartment and car just down the streetvery, very spooky Geez! That same month, on the 26th, 16-year-old Maralynn Skelton was also found dead, beaten and bludgeoned extensively. Triad Animal torture Yes. ", Collins writeshe "got her shorts off, BUTT, no further,"and he "did not have intercourse with her." [163], When Kalom's body was found, a distinctive boot print on her skirt was found to be a perfect match to a boot Collins had owned, and although Collins had evidently cleaned his car in an effort to destroy evidence prior to his arrest, investigators would find bloodstains in this vehicle and upon a raincoat he owned which were determined to match Kalom's blood type. Jim Bundshuh the 53-year-old detective whosename rhymes with gumshoe andgoes by the nickname Bunny because it's easier to remember said heinterviewedCollinsthree times. They were all shot, strangled, stabbed or subjected to terrible acts. ", "Pretty soon, John started crying," the former sheriff said. The hairs found in Karen's underwear matched hair in his uncle's basement - which is where she was believed to have been killed. Fournier, who offered the letters to the Free Press,speculated that Collins blamed Davis as revenge for testifying against him at trial. Manuel was extensively questioned as to his potential involvement in both Phillips' murder and those committed in Michigan which investigators had linked to Collins, and agreed to submit to a polygraph test. [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. Memeory is fuzzy it might have been you that let me read it. He comes out and said 'take him back to jail.' [147] In response, Collins rose from his chair and made the following speech:[148]. Collins rented a room on the second floor of a Ypsilanti building on Emmet Street. The apartments have a perfect view of Dawn's home. [88], Evidence of culpability in remaining cases. She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. And to your new HOME! She said that the girl was an informant. Almost one year later on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 47 stab wounds. A state prosecutor charged Collins with the first-degree premeditated murder of 18-year-old Karen Sue Beineman, a student at Eastern Michigan University. 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. The first victim, Mary Fleszar, disappeared in July 1967. July 31: John Norman Collins is placed under arrest for Beineman's murder. Although this officer attempted to radio this sighting to his colleagues, the rain had rendered his radio inoperable. Butin 2005, when DNA and other evidenceconvicted Gary Leitermanof killing 23-year-old Jane Mixer, itcleared Collins of suspicion in that case. Collinsassertshis innocence by saying that if the sheriff had caught the killer the night of the stakeout, "I wouldn't be here now.". Prosecutor William F. Delhey agreed to a proviso that the test be conducted off the record and its results remain confidential. "He was probably 20 or 30 pounds heavier that I was. The Michigan Murders was 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. [19], Kolbe later stated she had attempted to dissuade Schell from entering this vehicle, but that Schell had opted to accept the driver's offer, promising to call her roommate to assure her of her safety once she reached her boyfriend's Ann Arbor residence. Everything matched the belt and that swatch, which connected the two," Fournier said. The first victim, Mary Fleszar was last seen being cut off by a guy in a shiny car just a block from Collins' room. "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. 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!!! Sounds like a little youthful imagination!! Collins says he vomited in the laundry tub. 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. [28][n 1], Four days after the discovery of Mixer's body, on March 25, a surveyor discovered the nude, mutilated body of a teenage girl lying upon a blue jacket behind a vacant house on a remote, rural section of Earhart Road,[30] just a few hundred yards from where the body of Joan Schell had been discovered eight months 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. [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]. 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. News articles described John Collinsas a square-jawed,"handsomeAll-American who seemed to be leading a textbook college career." In the case of Joan Elspeth Schell, two separate witness accounts had placed the victim both entering a car with three men on the night of her disappearance, and walking alone in the company of a man believed to be John Collins later that evening. He was held without bond. Chapman said he is convinced of his cousin'sguilt, and in his last letters,hewas"confessing by not really confessing. The evidence that sealed Collins' fate came from a home owned by a Michigan State Trooper. [132] Mrs. Leik also testified to having cut her children's hair in her basement two days prior to embarking on a vacation with her family, and that when they had returned home, she had noticed that several items from her basement had been moved, that she had discovered a wet, soiled cloth containing hair aside a laundry tub, and that other itemsincluding a nearly-full bottle of ammoniawere missing.[76]. You need help desperately. She also orchestrated the evidence locker. His mother attended every single day of the trial. Oh, wait! John Norman Collins "The Co-Ed Killer Information researched and summarized by Jami Lyle, Justin Hanky, & Rex Harrison Department of Psychology . All-American boy John Norman Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted of the strangulation . 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. A few days later, Roxie was found in Pecadero Canyon outside of Salinas. On July 23, 1969, she was last seen alive at a wig shop in downtown Ypsilanti. 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). Secondary full [161] He had further informed his roommate he had agreed to drive Schell from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti the following day. Karen had been tortured before her death, beaten on the head, had been strangled to death and dumped, naked, off Riverside Drive. Collins, Chapman recalled, give him explicit, sexually graphicinstructions on what to do with a girl, including suggestions that some women "like it rough.". [123] Judge Conlin set a trial date of June 1. 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. So sadmy twins are at EMU and they were home this weekend and asked me if I knew anything about the serial killer. 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 first two witnesses to testify were Beineman's two roommates; each of whom discussed Beineman's character, and her movements on the day of her disappearance. Moreover, if Collins believes he was wrongly accused, he can request a review. Randy, bloodstains.c'mon! Thatseemed to make Collins happy. Collins addsFournier's scheme prompted him to think: "TWO can play this 'GAME!' And Collins loved motorcycles a detail that later would come up at trialand decades later in the prison interviews with detectives. Before Collins left the Golden State, he saw a doctor for a case of poison oak. Norman Collins (1967-1969) aka "The Michigan Murderer" was a 30-year old resident of Ypsilanti, Michigan, and he killed 7 female students at Eastern Michigan University using a variety of methods -- guns, knives, blunt instruments, strangulation. Found as a mass of rotting flesh. "We've never met," said Chapman, 47, of Mississauga, Canada, near Toronto. If you missed part one, stop reading right now and go to part one here. Her birthday was on Christmas, and she sought toget into U-M's graduate school for social work. 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. "Roxie is walking down the street, mailed a letter a block away from her house. Fournier deniedCollins' accusations, noting that the Free Press asked him for the letters. "They said she was in the basement having lunch so I went down there and talked with her. 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.. [107], Phillips' nude, battered body had been found in a ravine in Carmel Highlands on July 13,[108] with the belt belonging to her culotte dress knotted around her neck. [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. After those two letters,they quit writing. 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. She had been slashed across the throat,shot in the head and stabbed in the heart. 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. I asked him what was wrong and he just said something like, 'Come and see.' [88] Later that evening, Collins informed Davis he had simply decided to "get rid of" the box and its contents. Greg takes us next to the last place 13-year-old Dawn Louise Basom from Ypsilanti was seen alive. 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. Collins graduated from St. Clement High, a Catholic schoolin Center Line. Furthermore, Goshe had identified a photograph shown to her of Collins as being the man she had seen with Beineman. The same afternoon police searched the Leik family's basement, Collins was confronted with evidence thus far gained and deduced. The clippings were swept into neat piles when they left. "[155] This appeal motion was partly upheld upon the basis that Dr. Guinn's testimony relating to probabilities was based upon on the statistical probability of another prosecution expert, and therefore, this part of his testimony was impermissible. Among those cops was a rookie campus police officer at Eastern Michigan University: Larry Matthewson. [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. Randy/Jerry--C'mon! If police in Michigan were doubting Collins as their man, they got more evidence a few thousand miles away. A vacationing Leik had entrusted Collins to watch over his house while he was away. My mother was friends with Maralynn Skelton. When confronted with this finding, Collins reportedly denied any knowledge of the existence of this item and insisted it had never been in his room; he had apparently neglected to dispose of this item as he had the personal possessions of other victims two days prior to his arrest. 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. Larry said John was memorable because he was a great athlete. Though he was only charged with this final murder, he is considered responsible for six othersincluding that of Mary Terese Fleszar. 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.". "He was in with John for about 45 minutes. He cleaned the sink andwashed his face. This vehicle had slowed to a stop before the driver had asked her, "Want a ride?" ", In the first letter, Collins explains why he denied knowingBeineman. 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. Less than three hours later, Kolbe reported her roommate missing after failing to receive any contact. Investigators noted strong similarities between this murder and previous killings attributed to the Michigan Murderer, including the fact that a garter belt had been tied around Skelton's neck[35] and her clothes and shoes had been neatly placed beside her body.
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