The EX-Banker Who Murdered His Family Then Disappeared For 18 Years

John List seemed like the ideal son, husband, and father. To support his family, he worked as an accountant at a nearby bank. He lived in a 19-room New Jersey mansion with his mother, wife, and three children, which included a ballroom, marble fireplaces, and a Tiffany skylight.

John List and his family lived the American dream. As devout Lutherans, they went to church every Sunday, and he even taught Sunday school. On the surface, everything appeared to be in order. But deep inside, there was chaos.

This is the compelling story of the mass murderer who was so ashamed of being broke.

John List, The Banker and Mass Murderer

John List lost his job at the bank when he was 46 years old, in 1971. Subsequent jobs didn't pan out. He couldn't bring himself to tell his family that he had lost his job.

So, he spent his days at the train station, reading the newspaper and stealing money from his mother's bank accounts to pay the mortgage. He felt ashamed to go on welfare.

John List would later say that killing his mother, wife, and children was the only thing that made sense to him.

He shot and killed his wife Helen, his daughter Patricia, who was 16, his son John, who was 15, his son Frederick, who was 13, and his mother Alma, who was 85.

One by one, they were shot. Helen was first. List sent the kids to school and then shot her as she drank her usual morning coffee in the kitchen. Then, he went up to the third floor and murdered his mother in her bed.

He killed Patricia when she returned home from school, then the youngest son, Frederick. He made himself a sandwich, closed out his bank accounts, and cheered for his only surviving son, John, at his high school soccer game. He drove him home, and when they got there, he shot him in the chest.

John's Escape

John List laid the bodies of his family members on top of sleeping bags in the ballroom, then composed a note to his pastor, who he felt would understand. He was afraid that his family would turn away from God because the world was so bad and poor. This was the only way to make sure they would get to heaven safely.

He didn't want to face the real-world consequences of what he did, though. In order to confuse the police, he cleaned up the crime scenes and cut himself out of every picture in the mansion.

He canceled all deliveries and contacted his children’s schools to let their teachers know the family would be on vacation for a few weeks. He turned on the lights and radio and left religious songs playing in the empty rooms of the house.

He spent the night in the mansion where his family was dead. The next morning, he walked out the door and wasn't seen again for 18 years.

A month went by before the List mansion's neighbors started to think something was wrong because the lights were always on and the windows were all shut.

When police went into the house in Westfield, New Jersey, on December 7, 1971, they could hear organ music coming from the intercom system. They also saw the five-page note from John List explaining that he killed them out of mercy. That he had saved the souls of the people he loved.

The FBI found his car parked at New York City's Kennedy International Airport, but they never did find him.

After Eighteen Years

The prosecutors in New Jersey had come up with a plan.

Frank Bender, a skilled forensic artist, made a bust of John List as Bender thought he might have aged.

It was a masterful depiction of John List. When America’s Most Wanted aired the story of the John List murders on May 21, 1989, and published Frank Benders work, tips started pouring in.

One tip came from a woman in Richmond, Virginia, who believed her next-door neighbor, Robert Clark, had a striking resemblance to the bust. She also said he worked as an accountant and went to church.

The police went to Clark's house and talked to his wife, whom he had met at a church event. The 18-year-old hunt came to an end after the visit.

List had moved to Colorado under the name Robert Clark, but it turned out that he had changed his name. The alias worked, and he kept it when he moved to Richmond.

John List Arrest, Trial and Convictions

John List was caught by police in Virginia on June 1, 1989. This was just nine days after his case was shown on America's Most Wanted.

At his trial in 1990, lawyers for the defense said that List had PTSD from his time in the military in World War II and Korea. Expert psychologists thought instead that List was going through a midlife crisis, which, as the prosecution pointed out, was not an excuse for killing five innocent people.

A judge gave John List five life sentences in a New Jersey prison after a jury found him guilty.

List later said in an interview in 2002 that he didn't kill himself after killing his own family because he thought that would keep him from going to heaven. List only wanted to see his wife, mother, and kids again in the afterlife, where he thought there would be no more pain or suffering.

In 2008, John List, who was 82 years old, died in prison.

References and Further Reading

John E. List, 82, Killer of 5 Family Members, Dies

John List’s confession to his 2nd wife revealed in new episode of ‘Father Wants Us Dead’ podcast

Man who killed family, hid in Denver, has died

On Youtube: John List: The Killer Next Door