So sad. Evaluation of individual will and moral restraints within society, written by Collins while enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. He shares the nickname The Co-Ed Killer with murderer Edmund Kemper. Furthermore, Goshe had identified a photograph shown to her of Collins as being the man she had seen with Beineman. [41] By early April, each of these law enforcement agencies had collectively assigned 20 investigators to work exclusively upon the four homicides. Arnold Davis also informed police Collins had been in the company of victim Alice Kalom on the evening of her disappearance. Randy, bloodstains.c'mon! "I would 'NEVER'hurt a CHILDEVER!!!" 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. However, they acknowledged, DNA did lead to a plea ina nearly30-year-old murder of a Californiateen. They stood out," Sheriff Harvey said. 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. Former Washtenaw County Sheriff Doug Harveysaid he wishes that he could have solved the other homicide cases. Decades later, Fournier showed the former sheriffCollins'letters. [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. Although forensic experts would deduce later that morning that the stains covered by the black paint had actually been varnish stains, one of the investigators discovered numerous hair clippingsmany measuring less than three-eights of an inchbeside the family washing machine. Collins graduated from St. Clement High, a Catholic schoolin Center Line. [73] (The blunt instrument used to inflict these injuries to Beineman's skull and brain was never found. Copyright 11826 Caminito Rihely. Welt marks upon the chest and shoulders indicated the killer had also used restraints to hold the victim prone as he whipped her torso and upper legs with a leather belt[35] before tearing a branch from a nearby tree and inserting this instrument eight inches into her vagina. 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. 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. The perpetrator, John Norman Chapman (then known as John Norman Collins) was arrested one week after the final murder. Five different police agencies frantically searched for Karen Sue Beinemanon July 23, 1969. ", Collins writeshe "got her shorts off, BUTT, no further,"and he "did not have intercourse with her." The jury did not take its task lightly, but, I think things were blown out of proportion. Sorry for the error.. xK. Although Collins burst into tears when informed the stains on the floor covered with paint had been varnish, he quickly regained his composure and continued to deny any knowledge of Karen Sue Beineman. Frank Witsil is a staff writer at the Detroit Free Press. Eight days later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; he will live out the remainder of his days in the maximum security wing of Marquette Branch Prison. 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. [88] Later that evening, Collins informed Davis he had simply decided to "get rid of" the box and its contents. Almost one year later on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 47 stab wounds. Ha. [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. Butback then, DNA profiling didn't exist, and authorities only proved Collins killed 18-year-old Karen Beineman. She chose the car. She wasn't upset with me and we got dressed. Delhey also stated the prosecution's intent to prove that Collins had had sole access to his uncle's home and basement on the afternoon of Beineman's disappearance, and although he had made concerted efforts to remove physical evidence from the crime scene, blood samples recovered from this location were a match for the blood type of the victim. 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). He is known for being a Criminal. Karen disappeared and was killed when Leik and his family were on vacation, but the home wasn't empty. 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. All-American boy John Norman Collins was . Sex Slayer Could be Anyone! "He starts shaking.". I was in prison for seven years. The detectives said they tracked Davis to New York but were never able to interviewhim. Fournier deniedCollins' accusations, noting that the Free Press asked him for the letters. [43] These factors led police to publicly conclude the same perpetrator was responsible for at least three of the murders thus far committed. And Collins loved motorcycles a detail that later would come up at trialand decades later in the prison interviews with detectives. And when twonow-retired Michigan State Police detectives questioned Collins face-to-face, his denials began to unravel. I walked over to see if he was playing a JOKE on me and had a dummy there to scare me. 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. And I'm with you we should NEVER forget that something like that Can & DID happen here. All the victims had been sexually mutilated. Fournier said his frat brothers learned that the hard way when he was thrown out because of theft. Collins claimed he never killed anyone and he even agreed to take a polygraph test. (I said) 'the polygraph is sitting over here'. [137] On this date, Collins was formally sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. On the day Karen disappeared, Larry said John was sitting on a motorcycle, flirting with pretty college girls. The killer, a charismatic, athletic E.M.U. "[14] Sternly informed a second time he would not be allowed to view the body, the young man had wordlessly exited the funeral home. 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. Larry said John was memorable because he was a great athlete. "He reveals himself by what he doesn't say, as much as by what he says,"Fournier said of Collins. student named John Norman Collins, was eventually caught when evidence linking him to the murder of final victim Karen Sue Beineman was found in the basement of a home belonging to his uncle, state trooper David Leik. [57] Sections of her clothing were scattered around her body, although one of her shoes was missing. "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. [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 first letter, dated Oct. 22, Collins says he has much to reveal and doesn't "know where to begin." There was a door with steps from the basement into the garage that had been covered over. Each ruling stated no evidence existed to suggest extensive publicity had interfered with pretrial or trial proceedings, and that police had not broken any protocol in showing two eyewitnesses photographs of Collins prior to his arrest and their being asked to identify him in a police lineup. [58], The victim was identified the following day[59] as a 21-year-old University of Michigan graduate student named Alice Elizabeth Kalom, who had disappeared shortly after midnight on the morning of June 8. She had been strangled. Delhey formally closed his opening statement to the jury by requesting they return a verdict of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. The hairs found in Karen's underwear matched hair in his uncle's basement - which is where she was believed to have been killed. A state prosecutor charged Collins with the first-degree premeditated murder of 18-year-old Karen Sue Beineman, a student at Eastern Michigan University. But Collins was a bit bigger than Larry. Butback then, Harvey, 88, saidthere was no DNA profiling and just not enough clues for charges. [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. . After hearing six hours of testimony from nine prosecution witnesses, Judge Edward Deake ruled that probable cause had been established, and Collins was formally ordered to stand trial for Beineman's murder.[73]. [76] These hair clippings were predominantly blond, and as such did not belong to the victim, whose own hair color had been dark brown. They took him at his word. [68][81] In total, seven witnesses would be found who would later testify to having seen Collins in the area between the university campus and Mrs. Goshe's wig shop between 11a.m. and 1p.m. on July 23; including three young women who stated Collins had attempted to entice them onto his motorcycle.[95]. [110] Several of Phillips' personal possessions would later be found strewn along State Route 68.[111][112]. Upon questioning Collins' co-workers, investigators learned that Collins had repeatedly taken delight in describing, in graphic detail, details of the injuries inflicted upon each successive victim linked to the Michigan Murderer to his female colleagues;[19] he had claimed these details had been provided to him by an uncle of his named David Leik, who served as a sergeant in the police force. Since reading this book I have been assumed by every aspect of what happen.. He spilleda drink on the seat, reached for something to clean it up and grabbed a cloth wrapped around the .22 caliber pistol that "we had been shooting the day before. Handsome and clean-cut, he graduated from a. 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. "What you have to remember is he had denied everything about this,knowing her before that.". "This is what I knew deep down in my heart, and I felt so good knowing, without question, this is our guy.". Collins adds:"I like to believe that I still have some 'INTEGRITY.' On July 11, 2005, a 62-year-old former nurse named Gary Earl Leiterman was charged with the murder of Jane Mixer, Chapman is currently serving his life sentence at the, This page was last edited on 2 January 2023, at 01:56. By July 24, every cop in Washtenaw County was issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) for the bike and biker. By that point, Larry had been brought in to share what he had with Michigan State Police, the Washtenaw County Sheriff, and other agencies. [61][62] Investigators had publicly claimed prior to Kalom's murder they were satisfied that the third victim initially linked to the Michigan Murderer, Jane Mixer, had been killed by a separate perpetrator; the fact Kalom had also received a gunshot wound to the head led investigators to reconsider the possibility Mixer may have been murdered by the same perpetrator. They saw a clean-cut man sitting on a Triumph motorcycle and got a good look at him before he turned away. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving. ", Collins, in his recent letter to the Free Press,praised Schroeder as "a good man" who "kept his 'Word' to me." Almost all of them had been raped and mutilated, as Washtenaw County Sheriff Doug Harvey explains. [105], On August 14, 1969, Collins attended a pretrial hearing at Ypsilanti District Court. [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. He was a letterman at the Catholic High School and was a sports hero. SoHarvey called the prosecutorand Collins' attorney. John Norman Collins "The Co-Ed Killer Information researched and summarized by Jami Lyle, Justin Hanky, & Rex Harrison Department of Psychology . 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. These horrific acts of violence held our community in terror until Collins arrest in July 1969. Prior to his passing sentence, Judge Conlin asked Collins if he wished to address the court before mandatory life sentencing was imposed. Kalom, who graduated from the University of Michigan not long before she was killed, was described as a "wholesome-looking girl" with "a vivid imagination." The killer had taken too big of a risk with Beineman however. [24] Blood spatterings and churned soil close to the crime scene indicated she had been beaten close to where her body was discovered, and that she may have attempted to escape her attacker. "He likes to have control over what is happening.". [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. Greg takes us next to the last place 13-year-old Dawn Louise Basom from Ypsilanti was seen alive. The circumstances surrounding this case prevented me from getting a fair trial. ", Chapman said when he was a teen, he asked Collins for dating advice. [32] A subsequent autopsy revealed the victim had died of numerous fractures covering one-third of her skull and one side of her face,[33] all of which had been inflicted with a heavy blunt instrument. He's believed to be the last person to see the first victim alive. [81] Reportedly, Beineman herself insisted Goshe observe the man with whom she had accepted a ride, stating that she had made two foolish errors in her life: purchasing a wig; and accepting a ride from a stranger,[82] before stating: "I've got to be either the bravest or the dumbest girl alive, because I've just accepted a ride from this guy." That house still has a bad feeling to it, when I go by it!!! [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. 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. [89] At a press conference relating to the arrest and charge of Collins in relation to the last of the Michigan Murders held on this date, Police Superintendent Frederick Davids revealed that Collins had been a suspect in the Beineman case from the very day she had disappeared, and that these suspicions had heightened following their forensic examination of David Leik's basement; furthermore, surveillance of Collins had been initiated on July 26, following the submission of a report compiled by Patrolman Larry Mathewson detailing the positive eyewitness identification he had obtained, and he had been formally arrested upon an open charge on the evening prior to his arraignment. The next year, hestarted tutoringinmates on how to pass theGED exam, the test for ahigh-school equivalency diploma. All had been killed and then dumped on back roads. 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. 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 ? My name is C and I have been doing some research about the co ed killer. Very nice job!!! 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. Investigators had established that each victim had been menstruating at the time of her death, and had theorized this may be a factor in the sexual violence exhibited upon the victims. "This source that I have says he saw Alice on the back of Collins' motorcycle, driving away," Fournier said. Though he was only charged with this final murder, he is considered responsible for six othersincluding that of Mary Terese Fleszar. Melanie Maxwell has been a picture editor at the Free Press since 2018. 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. ". It seemed,Schroeder said, as if Collins was describing what "he had done himself. [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. News articles described John Collinsas a square-jawed,"handsomeAll-American who seemed to be leading a textbook college career." "Okay John, let me give you a little prelude to the 'STORY'that ended with me in here for the past 45 yrs. In 1970, John Collins was tried for the murder of Karen Beineman. 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. Glass particles found within this basement were of a similar consistency to those found upon the soles of Basom's shoes. (FOX 2) - By July 23, 1969, panic is in the hot, muggy, southeast Michigan air. 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. There have been six before her, five in southeast Michigan and one in California - though that one was not connected at the time. [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. In 1969.my family had a coney island in Annarbor.across from the Michigan theater..we all remember it well.I read the book and took the same tour.but at that time the old farm house was still standing.my brother and I went there late at night, and we walked the property.when U drive up the short driveway..when U reach leavel.that's were the lilac plums were placed togather..one extra flower to indicate there is an other death comming soon ! She came up missing on July 23, 1969, and was discovered a few days later, strangled and beaten to death. The owner of the wig shop, Joan Goeshe, and her assistant stepped out to watch the young girl on the bike. [86] When questioned as to the source of these clippings, Leik (who had not been informed of the discovery of the hair clippings found upon Beineman's panties) informed investigators that his wife regularly cut their children's hair in this basement, and that she had done so shortly before the family had embarked upon their vacation. 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. [70], Three days after the disappearance of Beineman, her nude body was discovered face-down in a wooded gully alongside the Huron River parkway. The rookie cop soon found out his football fraternity's rival: it was John Norman Collins. Although earlier attempts to enforce news blackouts as to the discovery of Basom and Kalom had proven unsuccessful,[60] on this occasion, police successfully ordered a news blackout relating to the discovery of this latest victim. They combed the 100 square miles of side roads between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti for the 18-year-old who was last seen getting on a motorcycle with a stranger in Ypsilanti. 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. Great Job! Collins was then informed by Judge Conlin that if the jurors' verdict was wrong, the error would be corrected in due course. A low-maintenance backyard with irrigation is the perfect place to relax and entertain guests. In college, he drank beer, joined Theta Chifraternity and dated often. In 1967, John Norman Collins lived in a rental about one block south of EMUs campus. They were all shot, strangled, stabbed or subjected to terrible acts. [131], Although subject to intense cross-examination by defense attorney Neil Fink as to the credibility of her testimony, Goshe remained insistent in her identification of John Norman Collins as being the individual who had waited for Karen Sue Beineman to return to his motorcycle. ICK!!! 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. Four of these witnesses were employees of a motorcycle sales firm which Collins had visited on the afternoon of Beineman's disappearance. Folklore! 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.