2022.08.24 WednesdayMy friend admonished her telling her that it was too dangerous to ride with a strange man. William Milliken promised to leave "no stone unturned" to find herkiller. Several of these wounds had punctured her lungs, liver and carotid artery, with one additional wound inflicted behind her left ear fracturing her skull. John Norman Collins, 22, of Center Line Collins, a 22-year-old Eastern Michigan University student, never fit anyone's image of a killer. Leik acknowledged that the evidence thus far gathered against his nephew was compelling, although in this first interview, he did not advise officers of the items missing from his household, or the paint marks he and his wife had found upon the floor of the family basement; however, the following morning, Leik scraped away some of the black paint which had been sprayed in his basement to reveal a stain which looked ominously like human blood and immediately returned to the police station to report his findings. ", After 10 p.m., he claims an upset-looking Davis said he "needed to talk to me.". The hairs found in Karen's underwear matched hair in his uncle's basement - which is where she was believed to have been killed. My name is Sheri I live in Salem twp not far from the Michigan murders.. A couple of yrs ago I was told by the Librarian at Salem to read this book. He wrestled, played basketball, baseball, football and skied. Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked Paperback - August 1, 2016 by Gregory A. Fournier (Author) 236 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $6.95 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Paperback $22.95 12 Used from $12.59 15 New from $16.50 Audio CD $30.54 2 New from $28.44 News articles described John Collinsas a square-jawed,"handsomeAll-American who seemed to be leading a textbook college career." He lured women into his clutches by exploiting a common practice at the time, women hitchhiking or arranging rides with strangers to get from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor and beyond. Chapman said he is convinced of his cousin'sguilt, and in his last letters,hewas"confessing by not really confessing. On the surface, John Norman Collins was an all-American boya fraternity member studying elementary education at Eastern Michigan University. Best wishes! 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. The email, detectives said, is characteristic of Collins, full of denials and rationalizations. 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!!! Almost one year later on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 47 stab wounds. [165] Moreover, a sweater found in Collins' closet was found to contain 22 pubic hairs which had not originated from Collins or any of the seven Michigan victims. Then-Gov. Secondary full Everything matched the belt and that swatch, which connected the two," Fournier said. While DNA matched in Kalom's case, no DNA was found on evidence connected to Basom of Ypsilanti or Fleszar, 19, of Willis. 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. MATURE CONTENT WARNING: This story contains descriptions of gruesome crime scenes. ". They stood out," Sheriff Harvey said. Dual sink vanity in main bathroom, with walk-in shower and tub. 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. In this lineup, Goshe positively identified the man she had seen with Karen Sue Beineman as John Norman Collins. "The town collectively went into shock," Fournier said. Collins criticizes former sheriff Harvey, accusing him of having an obsession with hismother. The next year, hestarted tutoringinmates on how to pass theGED exam, the test for ahigh-school equivalency diploma. 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. There were no recent updates for the slaying of 17-year-old Roxie Phillips, who was slain in Salinas,California, law enforcement officials said. "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?" Although this officer attempted to radio this sighting to his colleagues, the rain had rendered his radio inoperable. Investigators had long suspected John Norman Collins of killing young women and girls in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor areas in the late 1960s. "He was in with John for about 45 minutes. Delhey formally closed his opening statement to the jury by requesting they return a verdict of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. "In my mind," the detectivesaid, "the Kalom case is solved.". 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. Folklore! Living with Mom, and then moved into the basement of his uncle's house. And when twonow-retired Michigan State Police detectives questioned Collins face-to-face, his denials began to unravel. 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!!! "[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. [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. [126], Initial jury selection began on this date, and would continue until July 9. He tries to give his cousin a glimpse of prison life. He was held without bond. Hurkos accurately predicted that the murderer was a strongly built white male under 25 years of age, who had been born outside the United States, and who rode a motorcycle. He has been connected by physical and circumstantial evidence to other victims, including the June 1969 murder of Roxie Ann Phillips in Monterey, California, but those cases were never pursued after his initial conviction. [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. Thank you for doing this.I read a book called Michigan Murders, I think, in 1977 and I was shocked this happened.This really gives visuals to the descriptions the book gave and its interesting & sad to see where they were found, where they were last seen, where all the locations were.To this day, some 33 years after reading the book, it still haunts me. As such, he may have become acquainted with Basom throughout the time he frequented his girlfriend. Thatseemed to make Collins happy. Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. She was a Kind & Loving person to all that knew her." After Kalom's body was found, Collins writes, Davis"admitted to killing her.". Larry turned to one of the girls he saw Collins flirting with to see if he was the same man that drove off with Karen in downtown Ypsilanti. 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. 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. August 1: Collins is arraigned on murder. Just basicallyfraternity rivals and that.". ", Collins writeshe "got her shorts off, BUTT, no further,"and he "did not have intercourse with her." Collins has been locked up for 50 years - but that doesn't erase the pain. In the few days he was in southern California, 17-year-old Roxie Phillips disappeared. 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. Oh, wait! If police in Michigan were doubting Collins as their man, they got more evidence a few thousand miles away. John Norman Collins Known variously as "The Michigan Coed Killer" and the "Ypsilanti Ripper," Collins was a student at Eastern Michigan University convicted of raping and murdering at least one female student and suspected of killing eight or more. She had been strangled. "[93] before angrily walking out of her apartment. [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]. Fournierwho now lives in Santee, California,nearSan Diego added he also wasnever able to talk to Davis, but is convinced Collins is guilty. It's one thing,Chapman said, Collins can take with him to the grave. Location: Near an old farmhouse in a field in Superior Township, two miles north of Ypsilanti. He comes out and said 'take him back to jail.' The receptionist could not offer any clear description of the man beyond that he was a handsome young white male with dark hair, that he had driven a blue-grey Chevrolet, and that he had not been carrying a camera. He was known to engage in sexual violence, including one instance in which he had raped a woman who had resisted his advances. She also hintedhe had another side: Collins was moody and seemed "mad most of the time.". But Collins was a bit bigger than Larry. [49] Sales of tear gas, knives, and security locks increased,[64] hitchhiking became a rarity among students, and the reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer increased to $42,000 (the equivalent of about $341,046 as of 2023[update]). The first known victim linked to the Michigan Murderer was a 19-year-old Eastern Michigan University accounting student named Mary Terese Fleszar,[8] who was last seen alive on the evening of July 9, 1967, by a neighbor walking towards her Ypsilanti apartment. John Norman Collins is a suspect connected to seven young women's vicious and heinous murders. 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. 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 assistant DA was a friend of my Dad's! Despite exuding confidence, evidence was overwhelming. Collins says he vomited in the laundry tub. 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). They were all shot, strangled, stabbed or subjected to terrible acts. In college, he drank beer, joined Theta Chifraternity and dated often. That seems tocorrelatewith a memory Collins describes in his longletters. Author Greg Fournier later wrote a book about the killings. Both roadmap the journey of the book and John Norman Collins, who was convicted of one of the murders and linked to six of them, in the years after the original 1976 publication date. He says he wasn't allowed to keepPolaroid photos of his late mother. Davis "told me that 'SOMETHING' happened at my uncle's house and that I needed to see it. I have two things to say: I think they [the jury] conscientiously tried to give me a fair trial. Before Collins left the Golden State, he saw a doctor for a case of poison oak. A low-maintenance backyard with irrigation is the perfect place to relax and entertain guests. She replied that it was probably stupid but that he was just taking her home. 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. 7 months agoIt really hammers down the point that you need to watch yourself. ", In 30 years of letters, Chapman said, Collins exhibited a domineering personality, expressed misogynistic views, and seemed to have "underlying anger toward his mother. [34], These injuries had been inflicted after the victim had been extensively beaten and tortured: her killer had placed a section of her own shirt into her trachea to muffle her screams as she received extensive blunt force trauma to the face, head and body,[34] including several deep lacerations believed to have been inflicted with a leather strap. Having compared case notes, investigators in both California and Michigan agreed enough similarities existed between the murder of Roxie Ann Phillips and the Michigan Murders to establish a definite connection between the cases,[113] and on August 5, this connection was formally announced. Her body was found two days later in a field. ", "The thing with my cousin, as much as I hate to say this, is, he is narcissistic," Chapman said. Her body was later found with multiple stab wounds, and more grotesquely, no hands or feet on August 7. [96], The basement of Sgt. Collins "was arrested based on a tip provided by his uncle" (Ejk), who was a Michigan State Trooper. [137] On this date, Collins was formally sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. Triad Animal torture Yes. Prosecutor William F. Delhey agreed to a proviso that the test be conducted off the record and its results remain confidential. A vacationing Leik had entrusted Collins to watch over his house while he was away. I also know someone who was a graduate student working on a project with Alice at the time she disappeared--she was absolutely horrified to find out that she had been murdered. "I said, 'I knew it. 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. 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. He was a letterman at the Catholic High School and was a sports hero. Since reading this book I have been assumed by every aspect of what happen.. He adds:"Now I hope that you will simply leave me alone.". 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. [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. Upon tracing Collins' movements in relation to the dates of the disappearance and murder of the seven murder victims linked to the Michigan Murderer (which then included Jane Mixer), police discovered that, on June 21,[105] Collins and his roommate, Andrew Manuel, had traveled to Monterey in Collins' Oldsmobile Cutlass, which the pair used to tow a camper-trailer they had rented under false names, and had paid for with a stolen check, for the vacation. [158] Just six months later, in January 1972, Monterey County District Attorney William Curtis formally announced, via a spokesman, the intention of California authorities to waive all extradition proceedings against Collins for Phillips' murder. On top of that, Collins, in two 2013 letters to his cousinJohn Chapman, revealed inhis own words what he said "really happened" all those years ago, confirming details from the cases and recanting his claim that he never knew his victim. One reason, Collins says, is because, in prison, snitches and rats are killed. [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. [124], The trial of John Norman Collins for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman began in the Washtenaw County Court Building on June 2, 1970. When Davis returned home, he told Collins he went to a partyandhad an accident in his car. Letters, interviews reveal dark side. Both letters begin,"Hello John, =: )," and Collins ends one calling Chapman "the Best Little Brother ever! Each testified on August 6. Collins details his discomfort at being locked up in the Washtenaw County jail before his trialand his steadfast refusalto "allow them to BREAK ME. I remember the day they began to extract evidence from Collins apartment and car just down the streetvery, very spooky Geez! The first victim, Mary Fleszar, disappeared in July 1967. 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? 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. His female friends described him as aggressive and short tempered. Still, in interviews with detectives,Collins described meetingKalom, 21, of Portage, and taking her on a motorcycle-riding date just before she was slain. John Collins grew up in Center Line, north of Detroit. He told me that he tried to get her into his car, BUTT, he couldn't because of the dog barking in the driveway. 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. Still, in the police interviews and the letters, Collins steered clear of outrightconfessing to killing anyone, and in his email to the Free Press last week, he claims he has been exploited and wronged that in a way, he isthe victim. Formal sentencing was scheduled for 8:30a.m. August 28. With the mounting evidence, Collins was arrested on July 31, 1969. [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. Sowhen DNA matching Collins turned up on Alice Kalom's clothing, it was significant. The tiny hairs in Karen's underwear were a fit to the hairs in the basement. Anyways, in this sad state of affairs vigilance and protection is key. Among those cops was a rookie campus police officer at Eastern Michigan University: Larry Matthewson. [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. He lifted weights and I didn't," Larry said. [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. Karen was the latest girl in a two-year stretch to go missing. They saw a clean-cut man sitting on a Triumph motorcycle and got a good look at him before he turned away. Bundshuh remembered Collins cried when asked about Kalom, saying they dated. [67] Although this information proved to be of little help throughout the actual manhunt, Hurkos also predicted that this individual would shortly strike one final time. In 2011, asearch of Collins' cell uncovered shards of metal, one of which was shaved to a point. ". [106] Collins had later returned to Michigan alone in his vehicle; Manuel would later be located in Arizona following Collins' arrest. The moment for a confession, Harvey said, had passed. During the course of the investigation, police determined that she had been killed in the basement of Collins uncles family home in the College Heights neighborhood.
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