"This is what I knew deep down in my heart, and I felt so good knowing, without question, this is our guy.". [159] At the time of the announcement of this decision, preliminary legal maneuvers between Michigan and California authorities had been ongoing to extradite Collins to Monterey County to face trial for Phillips' murder.[160]. Handsome and clean-cut, he graduated from a. Nonetheless, the three appellate judges at this appeal hearing concluded thus: "In our view, improperly admitted testimony that is merely corroborative of properly admitted evidence is not the basis for holding the error reversible. John Norman Collins is a suspect connected to seven young women's vicious and heinous murders. [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 owner of the wig shop, Joan Goeshe, and her assistant stepped out to watch the young girl on the bike. CHAPTER 3: 'Handsome' EMU student was unlikely serial killer suspect. John Norman Collins committed the "Michigan Murders" as it was named by media and locals, between 1967 and 1969, during this period of time he committed eight murders of women ranging from 13 to 23 years old. Investigators didnt know it then, but this was the beginning of a series of murders attributed to John Norman Collins. Furthermore, Goshe had identified a photograph shown to her of Collins as being the man she had seen with Beineman. *SHUDDER!*. [47] A handkerchief found stuffed in her mouth had likely been placed there to muffle her cries throughout her torture, and her murderer had placed her body in a location where rapid discovery was assured. When informed his request was impossible,[3] the young man had replied: "You mean you can't fix her up enough so I could just get one picture of her? It wasn't enough evidence for the state police to recommend new charges, butit was enough to convinceBundshuh. Did I turn you on to the book Michigan Murders that had a bunch of stuff on John Norman Collins? Then come back here for part two. These horrific acts of violence held our community in terror until Collins arrest in July 1969. I was on the prison yard with him in 1986, we played basketball, and hand ball he maintained his innocence he is well kept, clean, neat, sober and yet at the same time he was not someone to be under estimated "The Michigan Coed Murders", as they came to be called, began with Eastern Michigan student Mary Flezlar on July 10, 1967. [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. I read the Jane Mixer story and how they found out recently that GARY LEIBERMAN killed her but what i find amazing is how a 4 yr old boys blood was found on her hand when he lived many miles away.. ITs too bad DNA wasn't known back in the 60s maybe then John Collins could of been stopped sooner.. "[156], At the time of his 1970 conviction, a grand jury indictment against Collins remained outstanding in relation to the June 1969 murder of Roxie Ann Phillips in Monterey County, California. I asked him what was wrong and he just said something like, 'Come and see.' "Her and the daughter both had miniskirts on and with the boots, all the way up, and long, dangly earrings. 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 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.". This individual had asked for permission to take a photograph of the body as it lay in the coffin as a keepsake for her parents. [68], Mindful of the fact the killer had evidently returned to sites of his previous murders to move the bodies, possibly in a sexual ritual, police theorized he may also attempt to return to this latest crime scene. But, the dog, Prince, had a "NOT SO FRIENDLY STREAK," and Collins warnedBeineman he would bite her and to "STAY BACK. Collins "was arrested based on a tip provided by his uncle" (Ejk), who was a Michigan State Trooper. [75], The 47th and final witness to appear for the prosecution at Collins' trial was a University of California chemistry professor named Dr. Vincent P. Guinn, who testified on August 5 as to his conclusions that the hair samples retrieved from Beineman's panties bore "a remarkable similarity" to those retrieved from the Leik household and that, upon statistical calculations he had begun the previous month, the odds of erroneous matching of the hair samples earlier testified to by Walter Holz were quite low. Arnold Davis also informed police Collins had been in the company of victim Alice Kalom on the evening of her disappearance. Collins then offers a similar account, but in more detail, that he gave the detectives. Collins details his discomfort at being locked up in the Washtenaw County jail before his trialand his steadfast refusalto "allow them to BREAK ME. His mother attended every single day of the trial. [137] On this date, Collins was formally sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. Funny thing, blood and semen evidence were collected from most of the victims and never once has Collins filed an appeal demanding a DNA test. I didn't even know his name at the time," Larry said. [110] Several of Phillips' personal possessions would later be found strewn along State Route 68.[111][112]. 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. [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. The increase in frequency in which the killer was striking throughout the spring and summer of 1969coupled with the fact most victims had been connected to the University of Michigan or Eastern Michigan University, suggesting the killer may be a fellow studentfurther compounded the concerns of female students. Collins graduated from St. Clement High, a Catholic schoolin Center Line. But Collins wasn't all that he seemed. In college, he drank beer, joined Theta Chifraternity and dated often. Kalominvited Collins to a party in Ann Arbor, which Collins claims he wasn't sure whether he would go. Sheriff Harvey said, just before the test, John met in private with his attorney. 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. Here's a link to a news photo that shows it http://oldnews.aadl.org/aa_news_19690418-last_hour_theorized_by_police, Yes you are correct cyclodan. Collins addsFournier's scheme prompted him to think: "TWO can play this 'GAME!' 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. "I was on patrol the afternoon of the 23rd of July, and turned the corner down by Sill Hall on the campus and there was John Collins. 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. Byassertinghis innocence, Chapmansaid, Collins can denythe surviving family members and the rest of society a resolution. She said they stopped for a moment and he asked her "What would you say if I told you I was the coed killer?" [123] Judge Conlin set a trial date of June 1. 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. His nephew had stayed at the home: John Norman Collins. I hope some day it will be corrected; second, I never knew a girl named Karen Sue Beineman; I never had a conversation with her. 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. [130], Three days after both counsels had begun introducing witnesses, Joan Goshe was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. [138], On August 8, Collins' attorneys introduced a renowned neutron analyst named Dr. Robert Jervis in an effort to discredit the earlier testimony of the forensic experts who had testified on behalf of the prosecution. Collins adds Davis admitted to going back toBeineman's body the night the sheriff's deputies had it andquietly tried to set a trap for the killer by replacing it with a mannequin, which matches police accounts of the failed sting. He was then sentenced to serve a term of life imprisonment with hard labor, in solitary confinement, at Southern Michigan Prison. Her body was later found with multiple stab wounds, and more grotesquely, no hands or feet on August 7. [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. It would seem unlikely he didn't know Mary. David Leik and his wife, Sandra, following their testimony against Collins at his trial. Kimberly P. Mitchell is a staff photojournalist that joined the Detroit Free Press in 2005. When questioned Collins claimed that he was with his mother at the time in Centerline, MI and it was probably just a case of mistaken identity. 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. [71] As had been the case with previous victims, her killer had placed a section of cloth in her throat to muffle her screams throughout her torture. [106] Collins had later returned to Michigan alone in his vehicle; Manuel would later be located in Arizona following Collins' arrest. [5] When questioned Collins claimed that he was with his mother at the time in Centerline, MI and it was probably just a case of mistaken identity. Investigators also ascertained Collins had either been acquainted with most of the victims, had currently or previously lived close to their place of residence, or had likely established possible prior contact prior to their murders. 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. [145], On August 19, 1970, John Norman Collins was unanimously found guilty of the first-degree murder of Karen Sue Beineman. [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. "He reveals himself by what he doesn't say, as much as by what he says,"Fournier said of Collins. Greg takes us next to the last place 13-year-old Dawn Louise Basom from Ypsilanti was seen alive. She said that the girl was an informant. 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. I know for a fact that John confessed to him," Sheriff Harvey said. [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. I was in Ypsi when all this was happening. Shortly before the body was discovered, the murderer had again returned to the body, which he had moved a further three feet.[13]. I grew up in Ypsilanti although I was not even born at this time my grandmother had sixteen kids born and raised in Ypsilanti so i have heard about it. 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. 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. One of the men in the car Schell had entered was Collins' roommate, Arnold Davis, who later informed police the girl had indeed entered the car he had been driving, but that Collins had insisted he give Schell the lift she was seeking to Ann Arbor in his own car. My name is C and I have been doing some research about the co ed killer. The victim had received multiple slash and stab wounds to the body (including two stab wounds which had pierced her heart),[55] and a gunshot wound to the forehead before her neck had been cut through to the spine. New evidence in 2005 resulted in the conviction of Gary Earl Leiterman for one of the murders attributed to John Norman Collins, the murder of law student Karen Mixer. Hetook her there, waited for her and then, they ended up at his uncles house. Four of these witnesses were employees of a motorcycle sales firm which Collins had visited on the afternoon of Beineman's disappearance. 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.. If you missed part one, stop reading right now and go to part one here. I remember the day they began to extract evidence from Collins apartment and car just down the streetvery, very spooky Geez! [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. "He starts shaking.". 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. 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. Melanie Maxwell has been a picture editor at the Free Press since 2018. [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. What more do you want? There was a door with steps from the basement into the garage that had been covered over. It didn't take a scientist to figure out what transpired. Both women had agreed this composite drawing was accurate, and only disagreed as to the structure of the suspect's chin. Sorry for the error.. xK. The hairs found in Karen's underwear matched hair in his uncle's basement - which is where she was believed to have been killed. [23] Prior to enrolling at Eastern Michigan University in the fall of 1966, he had been an honor student and football co-captain at his high school.[89]. But back then, DNA profiling didn't exist, and. [107] Albrecht described this individual, whose surname she did not know, as being 5 ft 11 in tall, clean-cut, with dark brown hair and who had described himself as an Eastern Michigan University senior with aspirations to become a teacher. The rented trailer in which Collins and Manuel had traveled to California was located on August 1 in Monterey County, behind the home of Andrew Manuel's grandfather. "Was he still going to deny everything?". ", Collins introducedBeineman and Davis and offeredBeineman the option of riding home on his bike with him or going in the car with Davis. Her underwear had been inserted into the area of her vagina - which police say was one of the killer's signatures. This psychologist had been adamant that Collins' trial should be held outside Washtenaw County, and this motion had likewise been reserved. [97], The hairs found upon Beineman's panties and those recovered from the basement of the Leik home were subjected to a detailed forensic neutron analysis[98] to determine whether they had sourced from the same individuals. "[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. CHECK THE DNA. if what you say is true.why doesn't JNC insist on DNA testing to prove his innocence? All-American boy John Norman Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted of the strangulation . My friend admonished her telling her that it was too dangerous to ride with a strange man. 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. [92] Moreover, several of these female acquaintances divulged that Collins would become enraged upon learning a woman was menstruating: one woman revealed to police that on one occasion, when Collins had begun groping her breasts, she had informed him she was experiencing her period; in response, Collins had yelled, "That is really disgusting! My mother was friends with Maralynn Skelton. The 619 Emmet house is actually a sorority house, not a fraternity house. [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 following day, following a consultation with opposing counsels, Judge John Conlin allowed Davis to testify as to having observed Collins hurriedly remove a laundry box containing women's clothing and jewelry from his apartment and place this box in the trunk of his car two days prior to his arrest. The man who put the cuffs on JNC!!!). By that point, Larry had been brought in to share what he had with Michigan State Police, the Washtenaw County Sheriff, and other agencies. [15], In early August, investigators were contacted by their counterparts in Salinas, California[102] who stated they had reason to believe a Michigan individual named John may be responsible for the June 30 death of a 17-year-old girl named Roxie Ann Phillips.[103]. I don't think there was ever a farmhouse or barn in the area you referenced. ", "I started talking to him like a father would talk to his son," Harvey recalled, telling Collins:"Youve got a serious problem, son, and weve got a good case. In the few days he was in southern California, 17-year-old Roxie Phillips disappeared. [47], One week after the murder of Dawn Basom, a detective conducting a routine examination of this farmhouse basement discovered a scrap of cloth from Basom's blouse, plus an earring later determined to belong to Maralynn Skelton. Then famed psychic Peter Hurkos was hired to use his skills to find the killer or lead to new clues. She had received extensive skull and brain injuries which had been inflicted with a blunt instrument, had been forced to ingest a caustic substance,[58] and her neck, shoulders, nipples and breasts had been burned with the same caustic agent. He once told a girl that he had strangled a cat with a clothesline. While waiting on Beineman on the day she disappeared, a Wig shop manager had gotten an decent look at as she road away with a man on a Triumph 650 Bonneville motorcycle. I remember being quite scared myself at the time and I still think of those girls as I pass the landmarks involved in the case. Collins was subsequently taken into police custody but denied any involvement whatsoever in the killing. Clothing found near the body was identified as belonging to Mary by her parents. Almost all of them had been raped and mutilated, as Washtenaw County Sheriff Doug Harvey explains. I know a woman who went bike riding with John during that period. Victims like Mary Terese Fleszar, a 19-year-old EMU accounting major and Joan Elspetch Schell, a 20-year-old art student.Collins was a student at EMU majoring in elementary education. July 31: John Norman Collins is placed under arrest for Beineman's murder. He tries to give his cousin a glimpse of prison life. [96], The same day, Leik was advised by investigators of his nephew's suspect status, and the level of circumstantial evidence unfolding against him. John Norman Collins (John Norman Chapman) an American serial killer who is a suspect in The Michigan Murders, a series of highly publicized killings of young women committed between 1967 and 1969. In the 1970 trial, Joan Goshe, the owner of Wig's by Joan in Ypsilanti, testified that she saw Collins and Beineman the Eastern Michigan University coed from Grand Rapids outside the shop. That same month, on the 26th, 16-year-old Maralynn Skelton was also found dead, beaten and bludgeoned extensively. I am adding your comment to the story.My friend Ray who grew up near Gale rd confirmed your facts. Triad Animal torture Yes. JOHN NORMAN COLLINS Born in Windsor, Canada in 1947, John Norman Collins was the youngest of 3 children. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving. [66][101], On August 1, 1969, John Norman Collins was formally arraigned for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman. The letter was mailed so they knew she got that far. University of Michigan graduate Alice Kalom was next, found in a field with her throat cut, stab wounds, and a gunshot to the head. [49] Many female students opted to arm themselves with knives, with others adopting a "buddy system" whereby they would refuse to walk anywhere unless in the company of a trusted male friend or at least three other girls. Then, he waited. Seems basic enough, but a lot of this could have been avoided (or just brought the killer behind bars faster) if these girls would have followed these basic precautions. 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. In response to defense questioning, Sgt. I jus wish we lived in a world where that wasnt necessary, and where that sick man would have gotten the help he needed. [137], Five independent witnesses were called to testify on behalf of the defense as to Collins' whereabouts on the dates Karen Sue Beineman had disappeared and her body had been found. Collins was "six feet . It also fits with previously reported information: Awitness said he owned a .22 and bloodwas found in his car. On the day Karen disappeared, Larry said John was sitting on a motorcycle, flirting with pretty college girls. In rebuttal to the testimony of Dr. Golub, the defense recalled Dr. Walter Holz on August 12 to testify as to the samples he had himself taken to Dr. Golub for identification; Dr. Holz affirmed that he had taken twenty magnified photographic slides of samples retrieved from Beineman's panties to Dr. Golub's laboratory for analysis, and that they had contained numerous man-made fibrous materials. 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. You need help desperately. Reading this book should be required for all college students, especially females. ", Collins and Beineman chatted, and then they "started making out. He was held without bond. My brother and I, walk down the rickety steps down the basement as it explained in the book.with the cobble stone walls.let me tell you, something came over me it's hard to explain.but I cried uncontrollablyI will never forget that night ! Although this officer attempted to radio this sighting to his colleagues, the rain had rendered his radio inoperable. ". Two people saw Roxie get in the car. [149][n 5], Upon receipt of the guilty verdict against their client, Collins' defense attorneys announced their intention to appeal upon the grounds of "tainted identification and the change of venue question." The same day, the head of the state police crime laboratory, Sgt. In the spring of 1969, he is connected to two murders, a 23-year-old Michigan law student named Jane Louise Mixer, and a 16-year-old Romulus High School student named Maralynn Skelton who was last seen alive hitchhiking in Ann Arbor. [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. Sowhen DNA matching Collins turned up on Alice Kalom's clothing, it was significant. I was in prison for seven years. Found as a mass of rotting flesh. She chose the car. On August 18, investigators announced that all significant leads had been exhausted, and that the number of officers assigned to investigate the case had been reduced.

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