00:00:07
Narrator: FOR 18 YEARS, A MASS MURDERER SUCCESSFULLY
ELUDED THE F.B.I. [PEOPLE SINGING
<i> A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD]</i>
00:00:16
HE WAS WANTED FOR THE MURDER
OF HIS ENTIRE FAMILY. [GUNSHOT] [GUNSHOT] [GUNSHOT]
00:00:36
[GUNSHOTS] [GUN COCKING] [GUNSHOT] THIS IS HOW ART AND SCIENCE
LED TO HIS CAPTURE.
00:01:26
Narrator: THE LIST FAMILY LIVED IN
THIS LARGE VICTORIAN HOME IN THE QUIET, AFFLUENT TOWN
OF WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY.
00:01:33
JOHN LIST WAS
A 46-YEAR-OLD ACCOUNTANT. HE AND HIS WIFE HELEN HAD BEEN MARRIED
FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS.
00:01:40
THEY HAD 3 CHILDREN, 16-YEAR-OLD PATRICIA, 15-YEAR-OLD JOHN, AND 13-YEAR-OLD FREDDIE.
00:01:47
JOHN LIST'S
ELDERLY MOTHER ALMA ALSO LIVED WITH THE FAMILY IN HER OWN SEPARATE APARTMENT
ON THE THIRD FLOOR.
00:01:54
THE LIST CHILDREN
ATTENDED LOCAL SCHOOLS AND WERE ALL ACTIVE
AND POPULAR. JOHN LIST WAS A DEVOUT LUTHERAN
AND TAUGHT SUNDAY SCHOOL.
00:02:04
IN THE FALL OF 1971,
THE LIST HOUSE STOOD EMPTY. THE FAMILY WAS AWAY
VISITING A SICK RELATIVE.
00:02:11
BUT WHEN A MONTH WENT BY
WITH NO SIGNS OF ACTIVITY, NEIGHBORS GREW SUSPICIOUS
AND DECIDED TO CALL THE POLICE.
00:02:20
THEY FELT
THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG. THEY ASKED US TO CHECK
THE HOUSE, WHICH WE DID.
00:02:24
Narrator:
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED, THEY ENTERED THE HOUSE
THROUGH AN UNLOCKED WINDOW.
00:02:28
THE HOUSE WAS COLD, AND THERE WERE NO SIGNS
OF ACTIVITY, BUT THEY HEARD MUSIC. LIKE A FUNERAL--
DIRGE-TYPE MUSIC
00:02:35
THAT WAS VERY DISTURBING TO
THE OFFICERS WHO WERE IN THERE. Narrator: THE POLICE
ALSO NOTICED THE FAINT SMELL
00:02:42
OF DECOMPOSING FLESH. THEY FOUND THE SOURCE
IN THE BALLROOM-- 4 BODIES, EACH LYING
ON A BLOOD-SOAKED SLEEPING BAG,
00:02:52
LINED UP NEATLY
SIDE BY SIDE. THE VICTIMS WERE
IDENTIFIED AS HELEN LIST
AND HER 3 CHILDREN.
00:03:01
ALL HAD BEEN SHOT TO DEATH
AT CLOSE RANGE. POLICE NOTICED A BLOOD TRAIL
ON THE FLOOR,
00:03:09
INDICATING THAT
HELEN AND THE CHILDREN
WERE SHOT IN THE KITCHEN, THEN DRAGGED
INTO THE BALLROOM.
00:03:15
IN THE KITCHEN,
POLICE FOUND BAGS FULL
OF BLOOD-SOAKED PAPER TOWELS AND A BLOODY MOP--
00:03:22
EVIDENCE THAT THE KILLER
CLEANED UP AFTER THE MURDERS. POLICE SEARCHED
THE REST OF THE HOUSE.
00:03:29
UPSTAIRS ON
THE THIRD FLOOR, THEY MADE ANOTHER
CHILLING DISCOVERY: A FIFTH BODY--
84-YEAR-OLD ALMA LIST.
00:03:37
SHE HAD BEEN SHOT
IN THE HEAD. IN THE DEN,
POLICE FOUND TWO GUNS AND A LETTER ADDRESSED TO
THE PASTOR OF THE LOCAL CHURCH
00:03:47
THE LIST FAMILY ATTENDED. Man, voice-over:
I KNOW THAT WHAT
HAS BEEN DONE IS WRONG.
00:03:52
I'M SURE MANY WILL SAY,
HOW CAN ANYONE DO
SUCH A HORRIBLE THING... MOTHER IS IN THE HALLWAY
IN THE ATTIC.
00:04:00
SHE WAS TOO HEAVY TO MOVE. Narrator: THE LETTER
WAS NOT ONLY A CONFESSION, BUT AN EXPLANATION.
00:04:06
IT WAS SIGNED BY JOHN LIST. LIST HAD RECENTLY LOST
A LUCRATIVE BANKING JOB, WAS HAVING MONEY PROBLEMS,
00:04:14
AND FEARED HIS FAMILY
WOULD HAVE TO GO ON WELFARE. AND HE HAD OTHER CONCERNS. AS A DEVOUT CHRISTIAN,
00:04:22
LIST FEARED HIS FAMILY
WAS TURNING AWAY FROM
A CHRISTIAN LIFE AND WOULD EVENTUALLY
STOP GOING TO CHURCH.
00:04:28
HE DISAPPROVED OF HIS DAUGHTER'S
GROWING INTEREST IN AN ACTING CAREER-- A PROFESSION HE CONSIDERED
TO BE IMMORAL.
00:04:35
IN THE MIND OF JOHN LIST, THERE WAS ONLY ONE PLACE
HE COULD SEND HIS FAMILY TO SAVE THEIR SOULS.
00:04:42
Man, voice-over:
AT LEAST I'M CERTAIN THAT ALL HAVE GONE
TO HEAVEN NOW. Narrator: THE LETTER PROVIDED
SOME DETAILS OF THE MURDERS.
00:04:49
JOHN! [GUNSHOT] Narrator: THAT IT TOOK LONGER
FOR HIS OLDEST SON JOHN TO DIE. [GUNSHOTS]
00:05:00
Narrator:
HE WAS RIVETED WITH BULLETS UNTIL LIST WAS SATISFIED
THE CHILD WAS DEAD.
00:05:06
Man, voice-over:
JOHN GOT HURT MORE BECAUSE HE SEEMED
TO STRUGGLE LONGER. Narrator:
JOHN LIST'S CONFESSION
ALSO DESCRIBED
00:05:13
HIS LAST MOMENTS ALONE
WITH HIS FAMILY. Man, voice-over:
I SAID SOME PRAYERS
FOR THEM ALL FROM THE HYMNBOOK.
00:05:20
THAT WAS THE LEAST
I COULD DO. Narrator: WHEN NEWS
OF THE MURDERS BROKE, NEIGHBORS TOLD POLICE THAT
THE MILD-MANNERED ACCOUNTANT
00:05:27
WAS AN ODD, RECLUSIVE MAN
WITH VERY FEW FRIENDS. TWO DAYS AFTER
THE BODIES WERE DISCOVERED,
00:05:33
POLICE FOUND
LIST'S ABANDONED CAR
IN A PARKING LOT AT JFK AIRPORT IN NEW YORK.
00:05:39
THE DATE ON THE PARKING VOUCHER
WAS NOVEMBER 10, BUT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE
LIST HAD TAKEN A FLIGHT.
00:05:46
BUT POLICE KNEW
WHEREVER LIST WAS, HE HAD A ONE-MONTH
HEAD START. Narrator: THE MANHUNT
FOR A MASS MURDERER HAD BEGUN.
00:05:59
POLICE ISSUED
A NATIONWIDE MURDER WARRANT FOR THE ARREST OF
JOHN EMIL LIST. HE WAS WANTED FOR
THE MURDER OF HIS ENTIRE FAMILY.
00:06:09
Man: IT WAS
A HIGH-PRIORITY CASE. IT WAS SENT TO EVERY
FBI FIELD OFFICE, EVERY POST OFFICE,
00:06:15
AND TO OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Narrator: A BALLISTICS
REPORT CONFIRMED
00:06:20
THAT THE TWO GUNS
FOUND IN JOHN LIST'S DESK WERE THE WEAPONS USED
TO KILL HIS FAMILY.
00:06:26
AUTOPSIES REVEALED THAT
THE VICTIMS HAD BEEN SHOT
IN THE HEAD. THE VICTIMS HAD BEEN DEAD
ABOUT A MONTH
00:06:34
WHEN THEIR BODIES
WERE DISCOVERED. BUT WHERE WAS JOHN LIST? THERE HAD BEEN
TWO SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT.
00:06:43
ONE WAS THAT
HE HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE AFTER COMMITTING
THE HOMICIDES. AND THE OTHER WAS THAT
HE WAS LIVING SOMEWHERE
OUT AROUND THE MIDWEST.
00:06:49
ONCE IN AWHILE
YOU'D GET A SIGHTING--
A LIST SIGHTING. YOU'D GET A REPORT
THAT, UH, THEY SAW A GUY
00:06:54
IN, YOU KNOW, ALABAMA
WHO LOOKED LIKE JOHN LIST-- 'CAUSE THE FBI KEPT,
YOU KNOW, INFORMATION.
00:06:58
Narrator: JOHN EMIL LIST
WOULD ELUDE AUTHORITIES
FOR 18 FRUSTRATING YEARS DESPITE EFFORTS BY
INVESTIGATORS TO KEEP
THE MURDER CASE ALIVE
00:07:10
THROUGH THE MEDIA. Man: WE WOULD CALL
THE NEWSPAPERS, AND WE WOULD INSIST
THAT THEY KEEP IT ALIVE
00:07:16
ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
OR SIXTH ANNIVERSARY-- THE 15th ANNIVERSARY. WE KEPT IT ALIVE.
00:07:21
Narrator:
THEN DETECTIVES HAD AN IDEA. TV announcer: TONIGHT
ON<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED...</i>
00:07:26
Narrator: THE TELEVISION SHOW
<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED</i> HAS LED TO THE CAPTURE
OF SOME OF THE FBI's
MOST CELEBRATED FUGITIVES
00:07:35
BY GENERATING
PHONE TIPS FROM VIEWERS. ONE NIGHT WATCHING TV, WE WATCHED
<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED.</i>
00:07:41
AND I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE
A VERY INTERESTING CASE
FOR THEM TO TAKE ON. IF WE WERE SUCCESSFUL
IN GETTING THE, UH,
THE LIST CASE AIRED,
00:07:49
SOMEONE OUT THERE
WOULD RECOGNIZE HIM AND WOULD, UH,
MAKE THAT TELEPHONE CALL. Narrator:
DETECTIVES CONVINCED
<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED</i>
00:07:58
TO DO AN EPISODE
ON THE JOHN LIST MURDERS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE CASE
WAS ALMOST TWO DECADES OLD.
00:08:04
I SAID, "THIS IS A GUY
I'D LIKE TO SEE CAUGHT," AND WE DECIDED
TO DO JOHN LIST.
00:08:10
Narrator:
BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. AT THE END OF EACH EPISODE, VIEWERS SEE A PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE WANTED PERSON,
00:08:18
BUT THE MOST RECENT PHOTO
OF JOHN LIST HAD BEEN TAKEN
YEARS BEFORE THE MURDERS. WHAT WOULD HE LOOK LIKE
ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER?
00:08:29
THE JOHN LIST MURDER CASE
WOULD NOW ENTER THE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED WORLD
OF FORENSIC SCULPTING.
00:08:35
Walsh: I HAD BEEN INVOLVED
IN THE BATTLE FOR MISSING CHILDREN'S
RIGHTS FOR YEARS
00:08:41
SINCE THE MURDER
OF MY SON IN 1981. AND I HAD COME ACROSS
FRANK BENDER OVER THE YEARS
00:08:46
AS A RENOWNED
FORENSIC RECONSTRUCTION ARTIST. Narrator:
FORENSIC SCULPTOR FRANK BENDER
RECONSTRUCTS FACES
00:08:54
TO HELP POLICE TRACK DOWN
AGING FUGITIVES OR IDENTIFY
DECOMPOSED BODIES-- PART ART, PART SCIENCE,
00:09:04
PART INTUITION. THIS IS THE SKULL OF
AN UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL POLICE FOUND IN A FIELD.
00:09:12
TO MAKE AN IDENTIFICATION, THEY WOULD NEED
TO SEE HER FACE. I WORK WITH
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS,
00:09:18
I WORK WITH ODONTOLOGISTS-- FORENSIC DENTISTS,
IN OTHER WORDS-- UH, PATHOLOGISTS,
00:09:25
DETECTIVES... Narrator: WHEN GOING
FROM SKULL TO FACE, BENDER REFERS TO
SPECIAL CHARTS
00:09:30
THAT MEASURE
FACIAL TISSUE THICKNESS BASED ON RACE,
AGE, AND GENDER. USING THESE MEASUREMENTS
AS GUIDELINES,
00:09:38
BENDER CALCULATES
THE PROPER THICKNESS OF THE SKIN IN ORDER TO MOLD THE SHAPE
OF THE FACE WITH HIS CLAY.
00:09:45
Bender: MORE IMPORTANT THAN
THE FACIAL TISSUE THICKNESS IS PAYING ATTENTION TO
THE FORMS IN THE SKULL--
00:09:50
THE NUANCES, THE DIFFERENCES,
THE ASYMMETRY. WHAT MAKES THIS SKULL
DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS?
00:09:55
AND THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT. Narrator: BENDER THEN MAKES
A FIBERGLASS BUST FROM THE MOLD.
00:10:01
ON THE RIGHT,
BENDER'S FORENSIC BUST OF THE SKULL
FOUND IN THE FIELD. ON THE LEFT IS PHOTOGRAPH
OF A TEENAGE GIRL
00:10:09
WHO HAD BEEN MISSING
AND WAS THEN IDENTIFIED
FROM FRANK BENDER'S BUST. BENDER'S EXTRAORDINARY TALENT
TO PUT FACES ON THE DEAD
00:10:21
WOULD NOW BE APPLIED
TO THE LIVING-- AN AGING MASS MURDERER. <i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED</i>
ASKED FRANK BENDER
00:10:28
TO ADD 18 YEARS
TO THE FACE OF JOHN LIST. THE STAGE WAS NOW SET
TO PUMP NEW LIFE
INTO AN OLD MURDER CASE.
00:10:41
Narrator:
THIS IS JOHN LIST IN 1971. FRANK BENDER'S JOB
WAS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HE WOULD LOOK LIKE
18 YEARS LATER.
00:10:50
ALL HE HAD TO WORK WITH
WAS SOME OLD PHOTOGRAPHS. COMPUTERS CAN AGE A FACE, BUT BENDER'S OLD-FASHIONED,
HANDS-ON TECHNIQUE
00:10:59
GIVES THE FORENSIC BUST
A PERSONAL TOUCH. Bender: A LOT OF THESE
COMPUTERS NOWADAYS
00:11:04
WILL JUST ADD,
LIKE, 5 WRINKLES BECAUSE THEY'RE
8 YEARS OLDER. WELL, SOMETIMES
YOU COULD ACTUALLY LOOK BETTER
00:11:10
AFTER A FEW YEARS
IF YOU TOOK CARE OF YOURSELF. Narrator: TO LOOK AT JOHN LIST
THE INDIVIDUAL,
00:11:16
BENDER NEEDED A PSYCHOLOGICAL
PROFILE OF THE KILLER. Bender: I GET INTO
THE HEAD OF THE PERSON.
00:11:22
IN A SENSE,
I WANT TO BECOME THAT PERSON WHILE I'M WORKING
ON THE FUGITIVE. I WANT TO FEEL
LIKE THAT PERSON.
00:11:28
I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING
ABOUT THAT PERSON. Narrator:
HE CALLED ON THE HELP OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST
RICHARD WALTER.
00:11:35
TOGETHER, SCULPTOR
AND PSYCHOLOGIST WOULD PREDICT
HOW JOHN LIST WOULD AGE. BENDER AND WALTER PORED
OVER NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
AND PHOTOGRAPHS
00:11:44
TO ANALYZE THE MAN
BEHIND THE MURDERS. THEY RESEARCHED
HIS STRICT UPBRINGING
BY GERMAN PARENTS.
00:11:51
"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.
I SHALL NOT WANT." Narrator: THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
HAD BEEN A FOCUS
00:11:57
OF YOUNG JOHN'S LIFE. HE WAS AN ONLY CHILD AND THE SON OF AN
OVERLY PROTECTIVE,
DOMINEERING MOTHER.
00:12:04
LIST HAD A MASTER'S DEGREE
IN ACCOUNTING BUT LACKED SOCIAL SKILLS AND
HAD A HISTORY OF LOSING JOBS.
00:12:11
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
REVEALED A MAN WHO KILLED OUT OF ANGER
AND RETALIATION
00:12:17
BECAUSE OF HIS OWN FAILURE. THE PERPETRATOR HAS
A HISTORY OF FRUSTRATION AND FEELING ENTRAPPED
BY WOMEN--
00:12:26
GENERALLY WOMEN
OF THEIR OWN AGE GROUP OR OLDER OR WOMEN IN AUTHORITY. Narrator:
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
00:12:33
HELPED REINFORCE BENDER'S VISION
OF THE AGING FUGITIVE. Bender: I HAD HIS MOUTH
GOING DOWN ON THE CORNERS
00:12:41
BECAUSE OF ANXIETY THAT I FELT
HE CARRIED WITH HIM FROM COMMITTING
THESE CRIMES.
00:12:47
AND RICHARD BROUGHT OUT
THAT IT WASN'T GUILT
FROM KILLING HIS FAMILY, BUT THE ANXIETY OF
THE FEAR OF BEING CAUGHT.
00:12:56
Narrator: BENDER ALSO
TOOK INTO ACCOUNT GENETICS. HE LOOKED AT PHOTOGRAPHS
OF JOHN LIST'S PARENTS
00:13:02
AND ADDED SAGGING JOWLS
AND A RECEDING HAIRLINE
TO THE BUST. LIST HAD A SURGICAL SCAR
BEHIND HIS RIGHT EAR,
00:13:10
AND BENDER RESEARCHED
HOW THE SCAR WOULD LOOK
AS HE AGED. WITH THE FIBERGLASS BUST
COMPLETE,
00:13:19
BENDER PAINTED
THE SKIN AND HAIR AND PUT LIST
IN A SUIT AND TIE-- WHAT HE AND WALTER
THOUGHT LIST WOULD WEAR
MOST OF THE TIME.
00:13:29
BUT THE BUST
WASN'T COMPLETE. THE FINAL TOUCH
WOULD BE A PAIR OF GLASSES. WALTER WAS CERTAIN
LIST WASN'T VAIN ENOUGH
TO WEAR CONTACT LENSES,
00:13:39
AND BENDER PREDICTED
LIST WOULD BE WEARING
A DIFFERENT STYLE OF GLASSES THAN THOSE HE WORE
AT AGE 46.
00:13:48
BENDER WAS CONVINCED
LIST WOULD WANT TO HIDE THE FACT
THAT HE WAS A FAILURE BY WEARING GLASSES
WITH DARK, THICK FRAMES.
00:13:57
Bender:
TO LOOK MORE INTELLIGENT-- MORE IMPORTANT
THAN HE REALLY WAS. AND THIS WAS THROUGH THE HELP
OF RICHARD WALTER'S PROFILE.
00:14:02
Narrator: BENDER LOOKED
THROUGH DOZENS OF PAIRS
OF USED GLASSES AND FOUND THE PERFECT PAIR
TO USE ON THE BUST.
00:14:10
THE PAINTED FACE
WITH THE DOWNTURNED MOUTH, SAGGING JOWLS,
RECEDING HAIRLINE, AND AGING SCAR,
00:14:18
NOW LOOKED OUT FROM BEHIND
DARK, THICK FRAMES. THE FORENSIC BUST
WAS COMPLETE. TV announcer: TONIGHT
ON<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED...</i>
00:14:29
NOW TONIGHT'S FIRST CASE, THE OLDEST WE'VE EVER PURSUED
ON<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED.</i>
00:14:34
Narrator: ON SUNDAY NIGHT,
MAY 21, 1989, <i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED</i>
AIRED THE EPISODE
ON THE LIST MURDERS.
00:14:46
IN DENVER, COLORADO, A FAMILY RECOGNIZED THE FACE
OF A MASS MURDERER. Walsh: IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT JOHN LIST...
00:14:58
Narrator: THE NIGHT
<i> AMERICA'S MOST WANTED</i> REVEALED THE FORENSIC BUST
OF JOHN LIST,
00:15:04
WANDA FLANERY AND HER DAUGHTER
WERE WATCHING FROM THEIR HOME
IN DENVER, COLORADO.
00:15:09
MUCH TO THEIR HORROR, THEY SAW A STRIKING
RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN JOHN LIST AND A FORMER NEIGHBOR.
00:15:16
AND IT JUST ALL STARTED
ADDING UP GRADUALLY-- THAT HE WAS AN ACCOUNTANT
AND A LUTHERAN;
00:15:23
THAT HE HAD--HE HAD
A SCAR BEHIND HIS EAR. AND HE WAS
WELL PUT TOGETHER... A CLASSY DRESSER.
00:15:32
AND BY THE TIME THEY GOT TO
THE SCULPTURE, I WAS CONVINCED IT WAS HIM. TO LOOK AT IT,
YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN.
00:15:43
AND THE CLINCHER FOR ME
WAS THE GLASSES AND THE JOWLS. WE SAID, "OH, MY GOD.
00:15:50
THAT'S BOB--BOB CLARK." "BOB IS JOHN LIST. WE'VE GOT TO--
WE'VE GOT TO CALL."
00:15:59
Narrator: WANDA FLANERY
TOLD THE FBI THAT HER FORMER NEIGHBOR RECENTLY MOVED TO
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
00:16:05
AND WAS USING THE NAME
BOB CLARK. THE FBI CLOSED IN, AND AGENTS ARRESTED
ROBERT PETER CLARK
00:16:13
AT THE ACCOUNTING OFFICE
WHERE HE WORKED IN RICHMOND. I APPROACHED HIM
AND I ASKED HIM--
00:16:18
I SAID, "ARE YOU MR. CLARK?" AND HE SAID, "YES. AND THEN I SAID,
"ARE YOU JOHN LIST?"
00:16:25
AND HE SAYS, "NO,
I'M ROBERT PETER CLARK." Narrator: BUT BOB CLARK
HAD A SCAR BEHIND HIS RIGHT EAR,
00:16:31
AND A FINGERPRINT CHECK
MATCHED PRINTS ON
A GUN PERMIT APPLICATION JOHN LIST HAD FILLED OUT
ONE MONTH BEFORE THE MURDERS.
00:16:40
BOB CLARK AND JOHN LIST
WERE THE SAME MAN. I SAID, "THEY GOT HIM." AND THAT WAS IT.
THEY GOT HIM.
00:16:48
Narrator:
AMAZINGLY, JOHN LIST WORE
THE SAME STYLE GLASSES THAT FRANK BENDER HAD USED
ON THE FORENSIC BUST.
00:16:57
Walsh: FRANK BENDER
WAS 100% RIGHT. THE PICTURE OF JOHN LIST
WHEN HE WAS CAPTURED
00:17:05
WAS PUT NEXT TO
THE PICTURE OF THAT BUST ON THE FRONT PAGE
OF<i> THE NEW YORK TIMES.</i>
00:17:10
JOHN LIST HAD
THE SAME EXACT GLASSES ON THAT FRANK BENDER HAD PUT
ON THE FORENSIC BUST.
00:17:17
IT WAS UNCANNY. IT WAS ALMOST AS THOUGH
THE PERSON WHO DID THE BUST HAD ACTUALLY BEEN LOOKING AT
JOHN LIST WHEN HE DID IT.
00:17:23
Narrator: AT JOHN LIST'S TRIAL,
THE STORY UNFOLDED OF HOW THE MILD-MANNERED,
CHURCHGOING ACCOUNTANT
00:17:30
METICULOUSLY PLANNED
THE BRUTAL EXECUTION
OF HIS ENTIRE FAMILY. LIST HAD LOST HIS JOB.
00:17:39
BUCKLING UNDER THE STRAIN
OF MOUNTING BILLS AND THE PERCEIVED
MORAL DECAY OF HIS FAMILY,
00:17:46
JOHN LIST MADE A DECISION. HE DECIDED
HE WANTED TO DO THIS. THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY OUT.
00:17:50
THIS WAS THE WAY
FOR HIM TO START
WITH A CLEAN SLATE. AND THAT'S WHY HE DID IT.
00:17:54
Narrator: AFTER THE CHILDREN
LEFT FOR SCHOOL, JOHN LIST PUT HIS PLAN
IN MOTION. [GUNSHOT]
00:18:04
HE SHOT HIS WIFE IN THE HEAD
AT POINT BLANK RANGE. HE THEN CLIMBED
TWO FLIGHTS OF STAIRS
00:18:12
AND ENTERED
HIS MOTHER'S APARTMENT. JOHN! [GUNSHOT] Narrator: HE LEFT
HIS MOTHER'S BODY UPSTAIRS,
00:18:23
BUT PLACED HIS WIFE'S BODY
ON A SLEEPING BAG AND DRAGGED IT
TO THE BALLROOM.
00:18:32
HE THEN CLEANED UP
THE BLOOD. LATER THAT AFTERNOON, AS THE CHILDREN ARRIVED HOME,
HE MURDERED EACH ONE.
00:18:44
[GUNSHOT] [GUNSHOT] THE OLDEST BOY, JOHN,
PUT UP A STRUGGLE, AND LIST FIRED 10 TIMES.
00:19:07
HE DRAGGED THE CHILDREN'S BODIES
TO THE BALLROOM, LINED THEM UP ON SLEEPING BAGS
NEXT TO THEIR MOTHER,
00:19:14
AND CLEANED UP MORE BLOOD. THE LIST FAMILY MORGUE
WAS NOW COMPLETE. WITH THE EXECUTIONS OVER,
00:19:28
LIST SAID A PRAYER, THEN WROTE THE LETTER
TO HIS PASTOR CONFESSING TO THE MURDERS.
00:19:34
HE LOWERED THE THERMOSTAT TO
SLOW THE BODIES' DECOMPOSITION, TURNED ON THE RADIO
TO A CLASSICAL MUSIC STATION,
00:19:43
AND BEGAN HIS LIFE
AS A FUGITIVE. BEFORE THE BODIES
WERE EVEN DISCOVERED, LIST MADE HIS WAY
TO DENVER,
00:19:51
APPLIED FOR A NEW
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
AS ROBERT PETER CLARK. IN TIME HE MADE FRIENDS
WITH HIS NEIGHBOR WANDA FLANERY,
00:20:01
REJOINED THE LUTHERAN CHURCH, AND MARRIED WANDA'S FRIEND
DELORES MILLER. HIS NEW WIFE
NEVER SUSPECTED A THING.
00:20:09
LIST TOLD HER HIS FIRST WIFE
HAD DIED OF CANCER AND THAT HE HAD
NO CHILDREN. I DO NOT BELIEVE IT.
00:20:16
I-I LOVE MY HUSBAND
VERY DEEPLY. I DO NOT BELIEVE
THIS IS THE SAME MAN. Narrator: THE COUPLE
EVENTUALLY MOVED BACK EAST
00:20:24
TO THE RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA AREA, WHERE LIST FOUND
AN ACCOUNTING JOB. RICHARD WALTER'S
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
00:20:31
ACCURATELY PREDICTED
ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF JOHN LIST'S
FLIGHT FROM JUSTICE.
00:20:37
WHAT WAS HE DOING
WHEN THEY CAUGHT HIM? HE WAS A C.P.A. HE WAS STILL A VOLUNTEER
IN A LUTHERAN CHURCH.
00:20:42
A GUY THAT KILLS
HIS OWN MOTHER, HE KILLS HIS OWN WIFE
AND HIS 3 KIDS, IS STILL VOLUNTEERING
IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH?
00:20:47
HE WAS STILL
THE SAME CREATURE THAT HE WAS WHEN HE KILLED THOSE PEOPLE
18 YEARS BEFORE.
00:20:52
Narrator: NEARLY 20 YEARS
AFTER THE BRUTAL MURDER
OF HIS ENTIRE FAMILY, A JURY FOUND JOHN LIST
GUILTY OF 5 COUNTS
OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER
00:21:05
AND SENTENCED HIM
TO LIFE IN PRISON. Man: JOHN EMIL LIST
WILL BE ETERNALLY SYNONYMOUS
00:21:11
WITH CONCEPTS OF SELFISHNESS,
HORROR, AND EVIL. HE'S A MAN WHO COULD
COLDLY, CALCULATINGLY,
00:21:17
AND CUNNINGLY CONCEIVE
AND CARRY OUT A COWARDLY PLAN TO ASSASSINATE
EACH OF HIS 3 CHILDREN.
00:21:24
I WAS JUST THRILLED... THAT THE MERGER, THEN,
BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGY
AND SCULPTURE WORKED.
00:21:33
IT WAS AN INVALUABLE TOOL
IN MAKING A DETERMINATION OF HOW THE GUY
WOULD PROBABLY LOOK.
00:21:39
AND IT WAS--
IT WAS JUST UNCANNY AS TO HOW CLOSE THE SCULPTURE
WAS TO THE ACTUAL MAN.
00:21:46
I REALLY PAID ATTENTION TO, I THINK, AS MUCH INFORMATION
AS I HAD ABOUT JOHN LIST
00:21:52
AND WHAT HE WAS ALL--
WHAT HE WAS ABOUT. I TRULY BELIEVE
THAT IF IT WASN'T
FOR FRANK BENDER,
00:21:58
JOHN LIST
WOULD STILL BE AT LARGE. BUT FINALLY,
WE BROUGHT JOHN LIST TO JUSTICE.