In the case of victims Mary Fleszar and Joan Schell, investigators were able to establish he had been a neighbor of both women,[94] and that at the time of Fleszar's disappearance, Collins had actually worked in an office at the Eastern Michigan University located directly opposite the hallway from the office where Fleszar had herself worked. [151] This first appeal was formally rejected on October 24, 1972. [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. 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. In an email to the Free Press sent this week, Collins maintainshe is innocent. 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 writes he figured Davis just"made a mess" at the house. (Chapman holds. Now, 40 years later, I find that a close, (unnamed), old girlfriend of mine was one of the last people to speak to Karen alive. But they were striking. I spent one year in Marquette and knew john. 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. [104] Reviewing information regarding the murder of Roxie Ann Phillips, investigators discovered that immediately prior to her disappearance, Phillips had informed a close friend that she had become acquainted with an Eastern Michigan University student named John, who drove a silver-grey Oldsmobile Cutlass and who was temporarily residing with a friend in a camper-trailer. Collins took Beinemans lifeless body to a gully off Riverside near the Huron River in Ann Arbor. [121][122], In January 1970, Neil Fink and Joseph Louisell, partners at one of Detroit's highest-priced law firms, agreed to take over Collins' defense. 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 nephew had stayed at the home: John Norman Collins. Michigan Serial Killer Unmasked: John Norman Collins She came up missing on July 23, 1969, and was discovered a few days later, strangled and beaten to death. It was a travesty of justice that took place in this courtroom. But Collins was a bit bigger than Larry. Collins was ready to confess, but without a witness, the former sheriff said itmight not stick. Davis pointedto the laundry room. What is the exact address of where Karen was murdered? Bundshuhadded that the new information, along with the DNA match, supported that Collins was the "perpetrator in that case." It's one thing,Chapman said, Collins can take with him to the grave. Andunlessauthorities uncover more evidence sometime soon,he just might. Like 89.1WEMUonFacebookand follow us onTwitter, Patrick Campion is the WEMUProgram Director. [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. Fournier, who offered the letters to the Free Press,speculated that Collins blamed Davis as revenge for testifying against him at trial. The testimony of Joan Goshe was further supported by Patricia Spaulding, who testified as to having observed Collins for between three and four minutes as he had waited for Beineman to return to his motorcycle. The jury did not take its task lightly, but, I think things were blown out of proportion. [73] (The blunt instrument used to inflict these injuries to Beineman's skull and brain was never found. My mother was friends with Maralynn Skelton. Living with Mom, and then moved into the basement of his uncle's house. Photos, evidence in Michigan murders case against John Norman Collins Collinsassertshis innocence by saying that if the sheriff had caught the killer the night of the stakeout, "I wouldn't be here now.". "That was tough on Leik. You need help desperately. Onone visit, the detectives brought Collins photosof his beloved motorcycle. "In my mind," the detectivesaid, "the Kalom case is solved.". I walked over to see if he was playing a JOKE on me and had a dummy there to scare me. [87] When Mathewson showed these photographs to both Goshe and her assistant, Patricia Spaulding, both women were adamant the man in the photographs was the same individual with whom Beineman had last been seen alive. One of the personal items missing from Fleszar's body was an Expo 67 Canadian silver dollar she is known to have worn around her neck; this item was discovered in Collins' dresser when police conducted a search of his room. It seemed,Schroeder said, as if Collins was describing what "he had done himself. JOHN NORMAN COLLINS Born in Windsor, Canada in 1947, John Norman Collins was the youngest of 3 children. Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. Collins had returned to their shared apartment shortly thereafter and asked Davis to hide a knife for him. Norman Collins (1967-1969) aka "The Michigan Murderer" was a 30-year old resident of Ypsilanti, Michigan, and he killed 7 female students at Eastern Michigan University using a variety of methods -- guns, knives, blunt instruments, strangulation. 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. 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. "I may be off on the day/time etc. [125][110] He was tried in Ann Arbor, before Judge John Conlin. John Norman Collins, now known as John Norman Chapman, continues to maintain his innocence despite this evidence and having been convicted by a jury of his peers. By '69, he was a senior at Eastern Michigan University, studying to be a teacher. 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. Schell had intended to travel to Ann Arbor to visit her boyfriend, and her roommate had accompanied her to the bus stop. Greg takes us next to the last place 13-year-old Dawn Louise Basom from Ypsilanti was seen alive. They saw a clean-cut man sitting on a Triumph motorcycle and got a good look at him before he turned away. [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. On this weeks "Hidden in Plain Sight,"WEMUs Patrick Campion meets up with Terror in Ypsilanti author Gregory Fournier to take us on a tour of some of the sites and sounds associated with the Michigan Murderer who preyed on Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti co-eds for two years. Though he was only charged with this final murder, he is considered responsible for six othersincluding that of Mary Terese Fleszar. 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. And to your new HOME! [76] These hair clippings were predominantly blond, and as such did not belong to the victim, whose own hair color had been dark brown. The driver had been aged around 20 and clean-cut with short, dark, side-parted hair. [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. Collins' attorneys also alleged these alibi witnesses had been subjected to police harassment, that the tests conducted upon the hair samples found upon Beineman's panties were unreliable, and that Collins' uncle, Sgt. Thanks for the reply. 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. Investigators didnt know it then, but this was the beginning of a series of murders attributed to John Norman Collins. 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. The following year, he formally requested transfer to a Canadian prison, in the belief this would facilitate his prospects of eventual release. Still, in interviews with detectives,Collins described meetingKalom, 21, of Portage, and taking her on a motorcycle-riding date just before she was slain. She was a Kind & Loving person to all that knew her." Mary Terese Fleszar was last seen alive the evening of July 9, 1967. News articles described John Collinsas a square-jawed,"handsomeAll-American who seemed to be leading a textbook college career." [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]). Among those cops was a rookie campus police officer at Eastern Michigan University: Larry Matthewson. He told me that he tried to get her into his car, BUTT, he couldn't because of the dog barking in the driveway. Eric Schroeder, 54, said inextensive interviews with the Free Press. [96], The same day, Leik was advised by investigators of his nephew's suspect status, and the level of circumstantial evidence unfolding against him. Kim you have the location for Dawn Basom's murder site wrong. Welcome to 11826 Caminito Rihely A look at five of Michigan's serial killers and their crimes 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 ? And as long as Collins denies he's a killer, he still has control even from prison. "He was in with John for about 45 minutes. The first two witnesses to testify were Beineman's two roommates; each of whom discussed Beineman's character, and her movements on the day of her disappearance. [110] Several of Phillips' personal possessions would later be found strewn along State Route 68.[111][112]. [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. ", Collins writeshe "got her shorts off, BUTT, no further,"and he "did not have intercourse with her." The detectives made special arrangementsto allow Collins to keep one of the pictures with him in prison. In this lineup, Goshe positively identified the man she had seen with Karen Sue Beineman as John Norman Collins. Memeory is fuzzy it might have been you that let me read it. That would change the next day. Triad Animal torture Yes. He also did some modeling, appearing in a bodybuilding magazine bare-chested with ripplingmuscles. Five different police agencies frantically searched for Karen Sue Beinemanon July 23, 1969. [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. Collins says he vomited in the laundry tub. Citing Collins' then-ongoing appeals against his convictions in the state of Michigan as the cause, and their likely resubmittal should any of his Michigan appeals be successful. [157], The state of California postponed their requests to extradite Collins to face charges relating to Phillips' murder in June 1971. [168] Collins had protested his innocence on this occasion, and insisted the eyewitnesses' identifications of him had been erroneous, although he refused to return to the police station to take a polygraph test. [134] Although subjected to intense cross-examination by Joseph Louisell as to the reliability of his findings, Holz remained adamant the color, length, type and diameter of the hair samples found upon Beineman's panties were a precise match to those found in the Leik family basement. 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. In 1967, John Norman Collins lived in a rental about one block south of EMU's campus. 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.". The Michigan Murders was a series of highly publicized killings of young women committed between 1967 and 1969 in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan by an individual known as the Ypsilanti Ripper, the Michigan Murderer, and the Co-Ed Killer. 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. [84], On July 27, Arnold Davis testified as to his being in the company of Collins throughout the late afternoon and evening of July 23, 1969 (hours after Beineman had last been seen alive). He planned to become a teacher. [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. Welcome to Lakeside. [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! She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. According to Davis, he had heard Collins and Kalom arguing behind closed doors, before Kalom had run out of his (Collins') apartment, with Collins chasing after her. Copyright 11826 Caminito Rihely. A few days later, Roxie was found in Pecadero Canyon outside of Salinas. Almost all of them had been raped and mutilated, as Washtenaw County Sheriff Doug Harvey explains. "[116][n 3], A formal indictment would later be served against Collins for the first-degree murder of Roxie Ann Phillips in April 1970, although the evidence surrounding this indictment was ordered to be sealed until after the trial of Collins for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman had concluded. He once told a girl that he had strangled a cat with a clothesline. He spent five months reporting on the state police investigation;reviewing books on John Norman Collins and serial killers; interviewing dozens of detectives, witnesses, experts and others connected with the case; and sifting through hundreds of archived newspaper articles, police photos and records and court documents. To expand on their allegations that certain defense witnesses had been subjected to police harassment, and that eyewitness accounts had been flawed, defense attorney Joseph Louisell subjected Sheriff Harvey to a 45-minute cross-examination as to his contact with the two eyewitnesses prior to completion of this composite drawing. So sadmy twins are at EMU and they were home this weekend and asked me if I knew anything about the serial killer. There was a door with steps from the basement into the garage that had been covered over. [82], The description of the young man with whom Beineman had last been seen alive was heard by a patrolman named Larry Mathewson, who believed the person described by Diana Goshe and others may be John Norman Collins: a former Theta Chi fraternity brother[85] of his who had previously been interviewed but eliminated from police inquiries,[86] and who he had himself seen riding his motorcycle around the Eastern Michigan University campus on the afternoon of July 23. [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. john norman collins uncle's house - indiancountrycounts.org "He knew me, and I knew him. "They took the car apart and they found under one of the seats, a swatch of fabric, I think was about the size of a dime. From his second floor window he would have been able to see the very women he chose as some of his victims. Butback then, DNA profiling didn't exist, and authorities only proved Collins killed 18-year-old Karen Beineman. The letter was mailed so they knew she got that far. Davis "told me that 'SOMETHING' happened at my uncle's house and that I needed to see it. "This is what I knew deep down in my heart, and I felt so good knowing, without question, this is our guy.". Furthermore, Goshe had identified a photograph shown to her of Collins as being the man she had seen with Beineman. David Leik, had refused to divulge the blood type(s) of his family to defense attorneys. [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. Then we googled the address and the Michigan Murders popped up. He wrestled, played basketball, baseball, football and skied. As Davis opened the door for his roommate to leave the apartment, he observed that the contents of this box included a woman's purple shoe, rolled-up jean-like material, and a burlap purse. Maryann Struman is Freep Now director at the Detroit Free Press and project leader. [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." We have been known to play those kinds of PRANKS on each other in the Fraternity.". He shares the nickname The Co-Ed Killer with murderer Edmund Kemper. Collins then offers a similar account, but in more detail, that he gave the detectives. Go back and read Part One here:Michigan Murders: 50 years ago, terror reigned in Ypsilanti, Continue reading Part Three here:Michigan Murders: Close calls, haunting roads - life after a suspected serial killer is arrested, This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In this cross-examination, Sheriff Harvey admitted to having driven Mrs. Goshe and her assistant to East Lansing to view the updated composite drawing of the suspect in Beineman's murder, and that he had shown photographs of various suspects, including Collins, to Goshe prior to her formally identifying Collins in a lineup. Collins rented a room on the second floor of a Ypsilanti building on Emmet Street. Then, he waited. [127], The prosecutors at Collins' trial, William Delhey and Booker Williams, opted to charge Collins only with the murder of Karen Sue Beineman, with the state contending that she had been murdered by Collins in the basement of the Leik household. 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. From his second floor window he would have been able to see the very women he chose as some of his victims. Sex Slayer Could be Anyone! [16] In addition, her throat had been slashed, and her miniskirt then tied around her neck. [39] Nonetheless, Ann Arbor Police Chief Walter Krasny formally linked Skelton's murder to the series. By that point, Larry had been brought in to share what he had with Michigan State Police, the Washtenaw County Sheriff, and other agencies. Davis informed police he had long suspected Collins had murdered Schell, but had been too afraid to report his suspicions. The clerk at the chocolate shop next door was a motorcycle enthusiast and also noticed the bike and the handsome man sitting on it. "A lot of the girls were beaten about the face, and so on, let alone the stab wounds," Harvey said. But Collins wasn't all that he seemed. Did I turn you on to the book Michigan Murders that had a bunch of stuff on John Norman Collins? A veteran Detroit journalist, she joined the Free Press in 2012. She had made arrangements to meet Collins at her home on the evening of June 30, but Collins had never arrived. 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. 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. John Norman Collins is a suspect connected to seven young women's vicious and heinous murders. He is currently in Marquette Branch Prison at Marquette, Michigan. I was in prison for seven years. 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. [34], These injuries had been inflicted after the victim had been extensively beaten and tortured: her killer had placed a section of her own shirt into her trachea to muffle her screams as she received extensive blunt force trauma to the face, head and body,[34] including several deep lacerations believed to have been inflicted with a leather strap. Collins last victim was 18-year-old Karen Sue Beineman, another EMU student. The car had Michigan plates. The Inside was really old and spooky, like still 1870's. [56] She had also been raped, although the pathologist was unable to determine whether this act had occurred before or after death. [130], Three days after both counsels had begun introducing witnesses, Joan Goshe was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. No search warrant had been sought prior to Collins being questioned on this date, and his apartment would only be searched on July 30two days after Arnold Davis had observed Collins hurriedly remove a box of women's clothing and jewelry from his apartment. Before they left for vacation, Leik's wife gave his kids haircuts in the basement. In fact, the motorcycle he picked up Karen on was cobbled together stolen parts. "Mary worked at the university. 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. "My parents never told me anything about the crimes.". Although neither eyewitness was certain, both believed this student to be John Norman Collins: a student at Eastern Michigan University majoring in elementary education,[20] who lived directly across the street from Schell at 619 Emmet,[23] and whose physical features bore a likeness to the composite drawing police had generated of the driver of the vehicle Schell had entered. [46], The orange mohair sweater belonging to Basom was found in a deserted farmhouse just 100 yards from the desolate road on which her body had been placed after her murder. I have read all that is available on this story and feel this guy was wrongly convicted. One eyewitness reported seeing the girl minutes thereafter, at approximately 7:35, although her movements thereafter were never verified. The Michigan Murders by Edward Keyes | Goodreads Although police theorized that Fleszar had been raped, the advanced state of decomposition of the corpse had erased any conclusive evidence of sexual assault. "[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. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving. The injuries described by Collins were consistent with those inflicted upon the victims which had not been disclosed to the news media, and David Leik would inform investigators that he had not disclosed any information regarding the Michigan Murders to his nephew. The same day, the head of the state police crime laboratory, Sgt. Barlow testified as to the fact that although Beineman had been deceased for almost 72 hours, her body had only lain in the location where she was found for 24 hours before discovery.[74]. She wasn't upset with me and we got dressed. [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. I didnt go into it thinking that hed admit to the murders," retired Sgt. [68], The final murder attributed to the killer was that of 18-year-old Karen Sue Beineman, an Eastern Michigan University student who was last seen alive on July 23, 1969. She was never seen alive again. Collins was then informed by Judge Conlin that if the jurors' verdict was wrong, the error would be corrected in due course. The detectives said they tracked Davis to New York but were never able to interviewhim. Hidden In Plain Sight: Terror In Ypsilanti | WEMU-FM [153], In each appeal instance, Collins' conviction was upheld, with successive appellate judges of the Supreme Court announcing in October 1974, their refusal to review his conviction[154] and the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit announcing their own satisfaction with the earlier findings of the district court. My friend admonished her telling her that it was too dangerous to ride with a strange man. He was held without bond. "[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. This is part two of our Michigan Murders series. [11], A detailed examination of the crime scene revealed that the body had been moved three times throughout the month it had lain undiscovered:[12] initially, the body had lain upon a pile of bottles and cans obscured from view by elder trees, before being dragged five feet from this location into a field, where it had remained exposed throughout much of the time it had lain undiscovered.
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