They met at 11 or 11:30 a.m., in front of the U-M student union, chatted and went to Burger King for a bite to eat. Although investigators had informally exchanged information with agencies from other jurisdictions on an irregular basis since the previous summer, no coordination to combine efforts and resources had ensued until the discovery of the third victim definitely linked to the series. ", In the first letter, Collins explains why he denied knowingBeineman. The timing of these four witnesses' recollections as to when Collins had actually entered the motorcycle shop varied slightly, although consensus among three of these men was that he had entered the premises as they were eating lunch, which they typically did anytime between 1 and 2p.m.[138], Upon cross-examination, the time factor of these witnesses as to when they had actually seen Collins expanded to between noon and 2p.m. Two of these employees had signed statements affirming the time Collins had entered their premises was approximately 2p.m., although one of these witnesses stated he had been repeatedly harassed by an Ann Arbor Police Sergeant as to the actual time he had seen Collins. [163], When Kalom's body was found, a distinctive boot print on her skirt was found to be a perfect match to a boot Collins had owned, and although Collins had evidently cleaned his car in an effort to destroy evidence prior to his arrest, investigators would find bloodstains in this vehicle and upon a raincoat he owned which were determined to match Kalom's blood type. 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. Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. The clerk at the chocolate shop next door was a motorcycle enthusiast and also noticed the bike and the handsome man sitting on it. In addition, the "outstanding similarities" between the wounds inflicted upon her body and those inflicted upon Fleszar the previous year led investigators to establish a definite connection between both murders, and four detectives were assigned to work full-time on both cases. One eyewitness reported seeing the girl minutes thereafter, at approximately 7:35, although her movements thereafter were never verified. "He reveals himself by what he doesn't say, as much as by what he says,"Fournier said of Collins. On August 17, 1970, John Normans Collins was found guilty. She researched the key suspects past, dug through hundreds of evidence photos and newspaper clippings and worked with Witsil to uncover new details in the cases. Larry thought he was onto something and, when he found Collins getting ready to put a new license plate on a Triumph bike behind the house, he got nervous. All Rights Reserved. [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. 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. [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. 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. Thetyped,single-spaced letters Collins wrote to his cousin are sprinkled with words in all caps, perhaps for emphasis, andidiosyncratically misspelled words. His female friends described him as aggressive and short tempered. Investigators didnt know it then, but this was the beginning of a series of murders attributed to John Norman Collins. About three weeks later Dawn Basom, just 13, was found dead after disappearing the previous evening. I know for a fact that John confessed to him," Sheriff Harvey said. 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.". Her underwear had been inserted into the area of her vagina - which police say was one of the killer's signatures. The clippings were swept into neat piles when they left. [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. he writes. Triad Animal torture Yes. "She asked me if he was in any trouble and I said 'not that I'm aware of, but if you had a picture I probably could (clear him)'," Larry said. Glass particles found within this basement were of a similar consistency to those found upon the soles of Basom's shoes. Collins' uncle, State Police Sergeant David Leik, had been on vacation with his family at the time of Beineman's disappearance, and had only returned home on July 29three days after the discovery of her body. After those two letters,they quit writing. Among those cops was a rookie campus police officer at Eastern Michigan University: Larry Matthewson. The 619 Emmet house is actually a sorority house, not a fraternity house. [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. Collins then offers a similar account, but in more detail, that he gave the detectives. 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. I am adding your comment to the story.My friend Ray who grew up near Gale rd confirmed your facts. 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. "just watched video with my wife who lived across the street at 614 emmet she said she wiil get intouch with you with some very scarry stories nice job kimmer". Some peoples facts are not so good but you did a nice job!!! The family took his surname. ", "The thing with my cousin, as much as I hate to say this, is, he is narcissistic," Chapman said. [132]), Also to testify at the trial on behalf of the prosecution was Marjorie Barnes, who testified on July 30 to having observed Collins leaving his uncle's home carrying a laundry box covered with a blanket on either July 24 or 25, 1969. Less than two months later, 21-year old Michigan graduate student disappeared shortly after midnight walking home from a friends party on Thompson Street. He has ordered to life without parole in prison. Although police theorized that Fleszar had been raped, the advanced state of decomposition of the corpse had erased any conclusive evidence of sexual assault. But, the dog, Prince, had a "NOT SO FRIENDLY STREAK," and Collins warnedBeineman he would bite her and to "STAY BACK. 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. Two days after the remains had been identified as those of Mary Fleszar, a young man claiming to be a friend of the Fleszar family arrived at the funeral home holding Fleszar's body prior to her scheduled burial. Despite repeatedly challenging the overturning of the 1981 decision to transfer him to a Canadian prison, a federal appellate court ruled in May 1988 that Chapman should remain incarcerated at 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. Karen had been tortured before her death, beaten on the head, had been strangled to death and dumped, naked, off Riverside Drive. "I may be off on the day/time etc. Collins took Beinemans lifeless body to a gully off Riverside near the Huron River in Ann Arbor. For those of us who lived here during those years, the palpable fear in the air at the time will always be a strong memory. July 31: John Norman Collins is placed under arrest for Beineman's murder. The corpse was badly decomposed, although the pathologist who examined Fleszar's remains was able to determine she had been stabbed approximately 30 times in the chest and abdomen with a knife or other sharp object, that her feet had been severed just above the ankle, the thumb and sections of the fingers of one hand were missing, and that one forearm had been severed from her body (these severed appendages were never found). Beineman's body was replaced with that of a tailor's mannequin, and the gully surrounding this mannequin monitored by undercover officers. 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. Andunlessauthorities uncover more evidence sometime soon,he just might. ICK!!! From his second floor window he would have been able to see the very women he chose as some of his victims. The Brutal Murder Spree of John Norman Collins - The Lineup She also orchestrated the evidence locker. My friend admonished her telling her that it was too dangerous to ride with a strange man. And to your new HOME! And,Schroeder said, when they mentioned Dawn Basom, the 13-year-old victim killed in 1969,it touched a nerve. 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. Moreover, a psychologist retained by the defense had testified as such on April 20, 1970. And when twonow-retired Michigan State Police detectives questioned Collins face-to-face, his denials began to unravel. 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. 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. I had no idea that a murderer lived there!-C. ". Fournier said Karen was the only one to get on the bike. In response to questioning from prosecution attorneys, Goshe described how, on the afternoon of her disappearance, Beineman had informed her she had accepted a lift home from the man waiting outside the wig shop. [40], Following the March 24 murder of Maralynn Skelton, police from the five separate jurisdictions where the murderer had abducted or disposed of the bodies of his victims formally combined resources in an effort to compare information and identify the perpetrator. 25070 southfield rd, southfield michigan hood ornament bird john norman collins uncle's house And I'm with you we should NEVER forget that something like that Can & DID happen here. John Norman Collins, who was dubbed the "Ypsilanti Ripper," continued his spree until his arrest in 1969, just seven days after killing Karen Sue Beineman. The man they led away, John Norman Collins, could not have been further removed from the public image of a killer he was a 22-year-old Eastern Michigan education student, former football . The seven. PDF John Norman Collins - Murderpedia 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. I was there and you didn't get me!". What more do you want? 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). John Norman COLLINS - Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers It was a travesty of justice that took place in this courtroom. Collins graduated from St. Clement High, a Catholic schoolin Center Line. I asked him what was wrong and he just said something like, 'Come and see.' john norman collins uncle's house - indiancountrycounts.org He added that he "likedhim and thought well of him," but heard "he was having some HEALTH ISSUES" and asked, "if you ever come in contact with him again kindly tell him that I wish him nothing BUTT Good Health the rest of his retired years.". Michigan Murders: 50 years ago, terror in Ypsilanti ends - FOX 2 Detroit She chose the car. You want to get him to talk.". This spokesman indicated the reasoning being that, as Collins had already received a life sentence in Michigan, the case therefore was undeserving of "priority attention" by California authorities, in part due to the fact Collins would be returned to Michigan to serve his sentence if convicted. "He had several fraternity brothers that rented an apartment there," Fournier said. ", Collins writeshe "got her shorts off, BUTT, no further,"and he "did not have intercourse with her." John Norman Collins is a suspect connected to seven young women's vicious and heinous murders. His nephew, John Norman Collins, had been watching the house. ", After her last prison visit, Chapman said, his aunt told the rest of the family her son confessed to killingBeineman,and aftershe died, left instructions in her will to give Collins nothing "for reasons that John is all too well aware of. ButCollins says Davis did somethingthat would "lead right back to me.". The evidence that sealed Collins' fate came from a home owned by a Michigan State Trooper. 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 Randy, bloodstains.c'mon! The letter was mailed so they knew she got that far. In one of the prison interviews, Schroeder saidCollins confirmed he picked up Beineman on her way to the shop. Great Job! [132] Mrs. Leik also testified to having cut her children's hair in her basement two days prior to embarking on a vacation with her family, and that when they had returned home, she had noticed that several items from her basement had been moved, that she had discovered a wet, soiled cloth containing hair aside a laundry tub, and that other itemsincluding a nearly-full bottle of ammoniawere missing.[76]. "Roxie is walking down the street, mailed a letter a block away from her house. Almost one year later on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 47 stab wounds. Byassertinghis innocence, Chapmansaid, Collins can denythe surviving family members and the rest of society a resolution. Greg Fournier who attended EMU and wrote a book,"Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked,"and blog, Fornology.com spent years gathering informationwith his researcher Ryan Place. "My parents never told me anything about the crimes.". [65], At the request of an Ann Arbor citizen's community, a Dutch psychic named Peter Hurkos traveled to Washtenaw County on July 21, to generate a psychic profile of the murderer. [70], Three days after the disappearance of Beineman, her nude body was discovered face-down in a wooded gully alongside the Huron River parkway. [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]. Prosecutor William F. Delhey agreed to a proviso that the test be conducted off the record and its results remain confidential. A 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Bathroom, 2 story condo in a highly sought community RIVERVIEW Courts. I have read all that is available on this story and feel this guy was wrongly convicted. ". With the mounting evidence, Collins was arrested on July 31, 1969. 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. Ryan further stated at this hearing he was "undecided" as to whether the upcoming trial be held away from the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti district due to pretrial publicity, and this final motion was held in abeyance until an impartial jury could be selected. Shortly before the body was discovered, the murderer had again returned to the body, which he had moved a further three feet.[13]. [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. [83], Although Goshe would initiallyand incorrectlydescribe the motorcycle as being possibly a Honda 350 model,[84] when police questioned Carol Wieczerca, a clerk in the store adjacent to the wig shop, Wieczerca was able to state that the model of the motorcycle was actually a Triumph. He writeshe ran into Beineman, "she SMILED AT ME and WAVED her hand." "[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. Moreover, this search had also uncovered small bloodstains in nine areas of the basement. [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. During the trial, Collins sat more relaxed than before: He smiled at attorneys, his mother, and his family. Social work, she wrote in her application, would help her better understand social relationships. "[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. On July 31, the prosecution introduced two forensic witnesses to testify regarding the physical evidence indicating the victim had been killed inside the Leik family home. 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. Anyways, in this sad state of affairs vigilance and protection is key. There were no recent updates for the slaying of 17-year-old Roxie Phillips, who was slain in Salinas,California, law enforcement officials said. (I said) 'the polygraph is sitting over here'. 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.. So sad. "They said she was in the basement having lunch so I went down there and talked with her. I was in Ypsi when all this was happening. Furthermore, Collins' lawyers argued issues such as the admissibility of testimony relating to the microscopic analysis of hair samples presented at his trial, and the denial of defense motions to suppress prosecution witnesses testifying against their client. [162] Nonetheless, the decision of the prosecution at his 1970 trial was to try Collins solely with the murder of Karen Sue Beineman. After his Michigan arrest, the car he drove to California was impounded where they found some important evidence for the California murder. Everything matched the belt and that swatch, which connected the two," Fournier said. As such, he may have become acquainted with Basom throughout the time he frequented his girlfriend. A few days later, Roxie was found in Pecadero Canyon outside of Salinas. Moreover, if Collins believes he was wrongly accused, he can request a review. Corporal David Leik had just returned from vacation when he noticed things were amiss in the basement. The assistant DA was a friend of my Dad's! The first witness to testify was the head of the Michigan Health Department's Crime Detective Laboratory, Walter Holz, who testified as to the human hair clippings found inside Karen Sue Beineman's panties being an exact match to those recovered from the basement of Sgt. That same month, on the 26th, 16-year-old Maralynn Skelton was also found dead, beaten and bludgeoned extensively. "He was in with John for about 45 minutes. JOHN NORMAN COLLINS Born in Windsor, Canada in 1947, John Norman Collins was the youngest of 3 children. She also recalled having observed a young man with short, side-parted dark hair, wearing a horizontal striped sweater, waiting on a blue motorcycle outside the shop as Beineman made her purchase. But they also found something unusual, more than 500 short clipped blonde hairs. Anenraged Collins responded by forcefully asserting:"I didnt kill that baby!". A sorority house, quiet student rentals, family homes, downtown businesses, and isolated tracts of land still stand, hidden in plain sight, as a reminder of the lives cut short during a time of Terror in Ypsilanti. Davis informed police he had long suspected Collins had murdered Schell, but had been too afraid to report his suspicions. [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]. [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. [125][110] He was tried in Ann Arbor, before Judge John Conlin. Lol, 12:41pm Mar 4didn't want to post this, detract from your wonderful honoring of the victims, but I remember this era well went to Huron Relays in ypsi shortly thereafter also I played football against JNC at Jackson Prison. [130], Three days after both counsels had begun introducing witnesses, Joan Goshe was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. 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.