In the case of Joan Elspeth Schell, two separate witness accounts had placed the victim both entering a car with three men on the night of her disappearance, and walking alone in the company of a man believed to be John Collins later that evening. [88] Later that evening, Collins informed Davis he had simply decided to "get rid of" the box and its contents. Having compared case notes, investigators in both California and Michigan agreed enough similarities existed between the murder of Roxie Ann Phillips and the Michigan Murders to establish a definite connection between the cases,[113] and on August 5, this connection was formally announced. The documentary will follow the families, detectives, and author J. Reuben Appelman as they examine some of the most compelling suspects, as well as leads like the child pornography ring that was. Her roommate became concerned when she did not return that night and notified police the next day. When asked to formally identify the individual upon whose motorcycle she had observed waiting outside her shop,[84] Goshe pointed directly at John Norman Collins. For 13 months between 1976 and 1977, a still unknown culprit referred to as the Oakland County Child Killer murdered at least two boys and two girls in communities surrounding Detroit. The documentary shows the case from start to finish and features . On a bloody Feb. 16, 1982, a then 31-year-old Robert Lee Haggart gunned down his estranged wife, her parents, her stepsister and three of her stepsister s children in Farwell, a tiny hamlet of 700. "He's got him by the neck now. 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. The prosecution was therefore limited to questioning Davis with regards to whether the contents of this box included women's clothing and jewelry, without specifically describing any particular item. | dG1fR01hTXN4TXg0UDA . Report. 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. Schell was last seen hitchhiking on June 30, 1968, in front of Eastern Michigan's student union. The physical and circumstantial evidence linking Collins to this particular murder was stronger than any of the six outstanding murders then linked to him in Michigan, and authorities in Monterey did file several motions to extradite Collins to California to stand trial for Phillips' murder in 1970 and 1971. [110] Several of Phillips' personal possessions would later be found strewn along State Route 68.[111][112]. Initially, police took him at his word, and did not seek to verify his alibi. 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. Furthermore, Goshe had identified a photograph shown to her of Collins as being the man she had seen with Beineman. Erin's badly-decomposed body was found by a Marquette County Sheriff's deputy while he was investigating off-road . The Michigan Murders: The True Story of the Ypsilanti Ripper's Reign of Terror Audible Audiobook - Unabridged Edward Keyes (Author), Pete Cross (Narrator), & 1 more 964 ratings See all formats and editions Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial This documentary is extremely unique, because most of the footage is from Michael's own documentary crew that he hired during his trial. [60] She was last seen walking home towards her apartment on Thompson Street, having attended a friend's party. He left her body behind an abandoned church and fled. [20], Despite tracing and eliminating more than 150 registered owners of red-and-black vehicles in the state of Michigan, and establishing the alibis of numerous individuals whose physical features bore a likeness to the composite drawing of the driver the police had obtained from Kolbe, all investigative lines of inquiry into the murder of Joan Schell failed to bear fruit. The perpetrator, John Norman Chapman (then known as John Norman Collins) was arrested one week after the final murder. Kennard Christensen, testified as to the results of forensic tests conducted in the Leik family basement: the results of these tests confirmed evidence of bloodstains in four separate areas. [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. 7. Dr. Jervis testified as to his belief that insufficient chemical samples had existed in the samples retrieved from the basement which the prosecution scientists had worked with to form their conclusions, and that to form a conclusive neutron activation analysis, at least ten components in a hair sample must be compared, whereas only five components had been used by the prosecution's forensics experts to determine their findings. Four of these witnesses were employees of a motorcycle sales firm which Collins had visited on the afternoon of Beineman's disappearance. Making a Murderer: Part 2 (Trailer) Making a Murderer (Podcast 2) . The Rosetta Stone proved to be the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. He killed five children ranging between 6 and 11 years old. [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. 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. Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via . Moreover, a psychologist retained by the defense had testified as such on April 20, 1970. Arnold Davis also informed police Collins had been in the company of victim Alice Kalom on the evening of her disappearance. Secrets of the Rosetta Stone (1996) - The Rosetta Stone is a granodiorite stele, found in 1799, inscribed with three versions of a decree issued at Memphis, Egypt in 196 BC. [76] In his opening statement to the jury on July 20, Delhey outlined the prosecution's contention that the evidence to be presented would form a clear pattern indicating that Collins had been in the company of Karen Sue Beineman at the time she was last seen alive by Mrs. Joan Goshe and her assistant; that he had taken her to the home of his own uncle, where he had tortured and beaten the girl before strangling her to death at this location; and that he had then discarded her body, before attempting to persuade his roommate to provide him with a false alibi. [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. [144] The jury then retired to consider their verdict, and would deliberate for over 27 hours over a period of three days, with an additional five-and-a-half hours devoted to their re-reading portions of testimony, before announcing they had reached their verdict. One eyewitness reported seeing the girl minutes thereafter, at approximately 7:35, although her movements thereafter were never verified. They first planned to visit a friend in Mio, 150 miles east. 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. Michigan murders Documentary - YouTube 0:00 / 1:00:35 Michigan murders Documentary 29,117 views Mar 25, 2017 The Michigan Murders were a series of highly publicize .more .more 85. BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (WNDU/Gray News) - A 3-year-old and a 4-year-old were killed in a house fire early Thursday morning in Michigan, according to officials. [114] No hard evidence would ever arise suggesting his involvement in any murders, and the Washtenaw County prosecutor's office would publicly announce on December 18 their satisfaction that Manuel had "no knowledge of the murders. Investigators had established that each victim had been menstruating at the time of her death, and had theorized this may be a factor in the sexual violence exhibited upon the victims. 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. [152], Between 1972 and 1976, Collins appealed his murder conviction on four further occasions; citing contentions that the Michigan Murders had received extensive media publicity in Washtenaw County, and that five separate motions for change of venue had been submitted by the defense counsel (two of which had been filed throughout the actual jury selection process) upon the grounds of pretrial publicity minimizing any chance of obtaining an unbiased jury in Washtenaw County. By July 23, 1969, panic is in the hot, muggy, southeast Michigan air. [42], Little physical evidence existed beyond eyewitness descriptions and forensic reports. MOUNT PLEASANT, MI The 2012 murder of 24-year-old Rebekah Gay and the confessed murderer, a neighbor and pastor at a nearby church, will be featured on a television documentary set to air . [86] When questioned as to the source of these clippings, Leik (who had not been informed of the discovery of the hair clippings found upon Beineman's panties) informed investigators that his wife regularly cut their children's hair in this basement, and that she had done so shortly before the family had embarked upon their vacation. Browse more videos. Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery (2017) The trial of Casey Anthony shook the nation to its core. Brenton Walker tells cops he went into a rage, and pleads guilty to the second-degree murder of Heather Young. [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. [128], The two primary questions before the jury, Delhey stated, would be the accuracy of eyewitnesses who would be called to testify and, ultimately, whether the more than 500 hair samples found upon Beineman's panties matched the hair clippings later recovered from the basement of Collins' uncle. [130], Three days after both counsels had begun introducing witnesses, Joan Goshe was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. 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). Although police theorized that Fleszar had been raped, the advanced state of decomposition of the corpse had erased any conclusive evidence of sexual assault. [107], Phillips' nude, battered body had been found in a ravine in Carmel Highlands on July 13,[108] with the belt belonging to her culotte dress knotted around her neck. [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. Alas, it wasn't her first murder. The documentary on a life-changing prison culinary program will make its Michigan debut at the 10th annual Freep Film Festival. Stars Julia Drahos Laura Frizzo Mark Schwartzman See production, box office & company info On April 30, 1989, police responded to a quadruple murder in a Lakeville, Indiana home. [158] Just six months later, in January 1972, Monterey County District Attorney William Curtis formally announced, via a spokesman, the intention of California authorities to waive all extradition proceedings against Collins for Phillips' murder. Anthony Walker is responsible for the murders of at least six people in Lenawee County, Michigan between 1975 and 1986. [166] In addition, prior to his returning to Michigan, Collins is known to have visited a California hospital to receive treatment for poison oak anaphylaxis.[166]. Although never tried for the murders of Fleszar, Schell, Skelton, Basom, Kalom or Phillips, physical and circumstantial evidence exists in each case indicating that Collins had indeed committed these murders. Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey Delhey also stated the prosecution's intent to prove that Collins had had sole access to his uncle's home and basement on the afternoon of Beineman's disappearance, and although he had made concerted efforts to remove physical evidence from the crime scene, blood samples recovered from this location were a match for the blood type of the victim. See production, box office & company info. Details: David Tyll and Brian Ognjan, both twenty-seven, had been best friends since they were in Boy Scouts together. 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. Investigators noted strong similarities between this murder and previous killings attributed to the Michigan Murderer, including the fact that a garter belt had been tied around Skelton's neck[35] and her clothes and shoes had been neatly placed beside her body. [106] Collins had later returned to Michigan alone in his vehicle; Manuel would later be located in Arizona following Collins' arrest. Michigan Department of Corrections. Investigators determined the knife was consistent with the weapon used to stab Kalom. Although forensic experts would deduce later that morning that the stains covered by the black paint had actually been varnish stains, one of the investigators discovered numerous hair clippingsmany measuring less than three-eights of an inchbeside the family washing machine. Each testified on August 6. 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. [126], Initial jury selection began on this date, and would continue until July 9. [66][101], On August 1, 1969, John Norman Collins was formally arraigned for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman. Her murderer had likely driven to the location to dispose of her body, before making rudimentary efforts to conceal the body with clumps of grass. [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]. The Michigan Murders were 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. 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. Menu. [145], On August 19, 1970, John Norman Collins was unanimously found guilty of the first-degree murder of Karen Sue Beineman. He assumed the position in December 2022 as part of the revamp and relaunch of the national news network. [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 first motion by Collins' attorneys, contending denial of defense motions to move the trial outside of Washtenaw County and the prejudice of prosecution witnesses, was filed with the Michigan Court of Appeals on December 14, 1970. In Kim Barker's memory, the city of Laramie, Wyo. [92][n 2]. where she spent some years as a teenager was a miserable place. [133] In addition, Mrs. Sandra Leik testified to Collins being given a key to the family home in order that he could feed the family's German shepherd. On Sunday, July 27, police arrived at the apartment on Emmet Street Collins shared with his roommate, Arnold Davis. [39] Nonetheless, Ann Arbor Police Chief Walter Krasny formally linked Skelton's murder to the series. Documentary Crime In the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face with a possible serial killer. He worked hard as an accountant at a nearby bank to provide for his family. This former girlfriend was able to provide Mathewson with two recent photographs of Collins. An autopsy revealed Mixer had been shot twice in the head with a .22-caliber pistol, then garroted with a nylon stocking which, the pathologist noted, had not belonged to her. When Mathewson questioned Collins on July 25 as to his movements two days earlier, he admitted that on the date in question he had been riding his Triumph Bonneville in the vicinity, and that he had stopped to converse with a former girlfriend of his while doing so (the point at which Mathewson had observed him). [19], Kolbe later stated she had attempted to dissuade Schell from entering this vehicle, but that Schell had opted to accept the driver's offer, promising to call her roommate to assure her of her safety once she reached her boyfriend's Ann Arbor residence. David Leik and his wife, Sandra, following their testimony against Collins at his trial. Goshe then observed Beineman climb onto the motorcycle before the young man with whom she had accepted the ride drove away. A forensic examination of this trailer revealed it had been completely wiped of fingerprints. (Chapman holds. Defense attorneys Neil Fink and Joseph Louisell, in their opening statement, labeled the eyewitnesses' identification of both Collins and his motorcycle as flawed and unreliable, and stated their intentions to introduce several witnesses who would provide an alibi for their client in the early afternoon hours the prosecution contended Karen Sue Beineman had been abducted and murdered. [17], The lack of blood beneath or near the corpse, plus the testimony of eyewitnesses, led investigators to determine Schell's body had lain in its present location for less than 24 hours. [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. Following her identification of a photograph of Collins, police further questioned the proprietor of the wig shop in which Beineman had last been seen alive, asking her to identify the man she had seen with Beineman in a police lineup. They grew up in Detroit, Michigan. [119], In November, Ryan, in an effort to determine the most effective defense strategy, persuaded Collins to undergo a private and independent polygraph test. Glass particles found within this basement were of a similar consistency to those found upon the soles of Basom's shoes. 99,084 views Jul 26, 2019 John Norman Collins, aka "The Michigan Murderer," was suspected of killing six women in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor area between 1967-69 and a seventh woman in. Siblings Kandy and Randy Laufer were heading home from school one uneventful day in September when their lives changed forever. 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. 4) Juwan Knumar Deering. Shortly before the body was discovered, the murderer had again returned to the body, which he had moved a further three feet.[13]. Had this violation of the county prosecutor's order not taken place, Collins may not have realized how seriously he was considered a suspect at that stage, and thus may not have disposed of the physical evidence which would have assisted in linking him to other killings linked to the Michigan Murders. Upon conducting a search of the basement of this farmhouse, investigators discovered a further garment of her clothing, a length of electrical flex of the same type used to strangle the victim, and fresh human bloodstains, indicating this location as being the site of Basom's murder. 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. I was flabbergasted when I found this documentary. [147] In response, Collins rose from his chair and made the following speech:[148]. Her fully clothed body, covered with her own raincoat and with a copy of the novel Catch-22 placed by her side, was found the following morning atop a grave in Denton Cemetery in Van Buren Township. Davis informed police he had long suspected Collins had murdered Schell, but had been too afraid to report his suspicions. In this lineup, Goshe positively identified the man she had seen with Karen Sue Beineman as John Norman Collins. David Leik, had refused to divulge the blood type(s) of his family to defense attorneys. Autopsy results were completed Wednesday for the victims, reports Correspondent Christine Behrens of CBS affiliate WWMT-TV in Kalamazoo, Mich. Between 1976 and 1977, the sleepy suburbs of Oakland County, Michigan, were invaded by a demonic presence. Deering was owed $200 in a crack deal in 2000, so he doused a home full of children with charcoal lighter fluid and set the building on fire. [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. 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. [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. A killer is on the loose, five women in southeast Michigan are dead, and a sixth is missing. The first known victim linked to the Michigan Murderer was a 19-year-old Eastern Michigan University accounting student named Mary Terese Fleszar,[8] who was last seen alive on the evening of July 9, 1967, by a neighbor walking towards her Ypsilanti apartment. [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. [12] Kolbe later informed investigators that Schell had informed her of her intentions to hitchhike when it became apparent she had missed the last bus, and that one of the first vehicles to pass when Schell had begun hitchhiking was a red-and-black Pontiac Bonneville containing three young white men. Kindle $9.99 Rate this book Darker than Night: The True Story of a Brutal Double Homicide and an 18-Year-Long Quest for Justice Tom Henderson 3.87 904 ratings112 reviews On a cold, snowy night in 1985, two men begged for their lives In 1985, two 27-year-old friends left their suburban Detroit homes for a hunting trip in rural Michigan. [105], On August 14, 1969, Collins attended a pretrial hearing at Ypsilanti District Court. As for the Regan murder, Michigan prosecutors maintained she lured the 53-year-old to her .