Collins then offers a similar account, but in more detail, that he gave the detectives. And,Schroeder said, when they mentioned Dawn Basom, the 13-year-old victim killed in 1969,it touched a nerve. They were all shot, strangled, stabbed or subjected to terrible acts. David Leik. He adds:"Now I hope that you will simply leave me alone.". But as Leik walked into the basement, he found a mess of the hair and there was blood on the basement floor. She came up missing on July 23, 1969, and was discovered a few days later, strangled and beaten to death. They focused on Kalom, who, like Mixer, also was shot; Basom, the youngest of the cases,and Mary Fleszar, the first woman slain. The family took his surname. 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. A forensic examination of this trailer revealed it had been completely wiped of fingerprints. Decades later, Fournier showed the former sheriffCollins'letters. 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. "There were seven women that he tried to get on that motorcycle before Beineman got on it," Fournier said. 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. Less than three hours later, Kolbe reported her roommate missing after failing to receive any contact. [60], By July 1969, as a result of the coordinated investigation into the killings, more than 1,000 convicted sex offenders had been investigated and eliminated as suspects; over 800 tips from informants had been actively investigated; and several thousand individuals routinely interviewed. Several motions by the defense counsel throughout the jury selection process that the trial should be moved to a jurisdiction outside of Washtenaw County were rejected by Judge John Conlin, who ruled on June 29 that the 14 members of the jury selected from Ann Arbor by this date and considered satisfactory by both counsels would serve as jurors throughout the trial. [88], Police had already established that Collins was a known motorcycle enthusiast[89] who owned several motorcycles, including a blue Triumph Bonneville. Loretta Chapman, an American, then moved with her three children across the Detroit River. 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). "Butwhat you want him to do is admit things that you can investigate. All Rights Reserved. About three weeks later Dawn Basom, just 13, was found dead after disappearing the previous evening. 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. 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. The point is: It's not society's judgment that's important, but the individual's own choice of will and intellect. 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. That would change the next day. 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. [39] Nonetheless, Ann Arbor Police Chief Walter Krasny formally linked Skelton's murder to the series. I spent one year in Marquette and knew john. [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. Formal sentencing was scheduled for 8:30a.m. August 28. [152], At his 1972 appeal hearing, Collins' lawyers did succeed in securing the partial striking of the testimony of Dr. Vincent P. Guinn, the final prosecution witness at his trial, who had testified as to the odds of erroneous matching of the hairs found upon Karen Beineman's panties to those in the Leik family basement being "more than a million-to-one. [96], The basement of Sgt. While DNA matched in Kalom's case, no DNA was found on evidence connected to Basom of Ypsilanti or Fleszar, 19, of Willis. Slayer 'Could be Anyone', "Collins Ordered to Stand Trial for Murder: Judge Bases Ruling on Testimony of Nine in Killing of Co-Ed", "Collins Trial: Never Saw Stakeout Report, Sheriff Testifies", "Continue to Build Case in Collins Trial", "John Collins' Aunt Testifies She Found Items Moved, Missing From Basement", "Crime Center Directs Hunt for Co-Ed Killers", "Collins to Face Trial for Beineman Murder", "Star Prosecution Witness Cross-Examined Sharply", "Michigan Murders: Former Sheriff Recalls Washtenaw County's Most Notorious Serial Killer", "Key State Witnesses Called in Collins Trial", "Scientific Test Inventor Called as Defense Witness for Collins", "Search for Michigan Killer Spreads out to California", "Collins Can't Receive Fair Trial in Ann Arbor, Attorney Claims in Requesting Change of Venue", "Michigan Suspect Linked Directly to Salinas Case", "Multiple Sex Killings Have Terrorized Five States", "Police Say Slain Girl Knew of Accused Man", "Local Officials Irked As California Drops Collins Case", "Murder Similarities Under Investigation", "Collins Faces Murder Examination on Thursday", "Collins Friend Cleared in Co-Ed Deaths: Had No Knowledge of Slayings, Aid in Ann Arbor Says", "Similarities in Deaths of Girls Being Investigated", "Ouster In State's Case is Sought in Co-Ed Sex Slaying", "Continue Hearings: Judge Upholds Collins' Arrest", "Lawyers for the Defense in the John Norman Collins Case", "John Collins Seeks Justice 19 Years After Slayings End", "The Ann Arbor Library: The Michigan Murders", "Two Girls Testify at Collins' Trial: Slain Co-Ed's Roommates Tell of Day She Was Last Seen Alive", "Strong Challenges Face Prosecution in Trial of Collins", "The Michigan Murders Part 1: Seven Young Women", "Links to Other Slayings Sighted in Collins Trial: Defense Protests Plan to Ask Friend of Suspect About Girls' Apparel Items", "Data on Fingerprints, Stains Heard by Trial Jury: Crime Laboratory Head Finds No Marks Identifiable as Suspect's", "Jurors Quietly Visited Basement After Court Recessed Hour Early", "Three Defense Motions Denied for Collins", "Collins Guilty: Life Sentence is Mandatory", "Two Scientists Reject Data in Collins Case: Charge Prosecution Tests on Identifying Hairs Were Invalid", "Hair Not From Same Source, Nuclear Chemist Testifies", "Convicted in Michigan: Co-Ed Slayer Gets Life Term", "Nine Notorious Michigan Men Who Terrorized and Brutalized Women", "Collins Sentenced to Life Imprisonment and Hard Labor in Solitary Confinement", "Denies Killing Girl Before He Gets Life Term", "People vs. Collins: Decided October 24, 1972", "Final State Witness Heard in Collins Case: Defense Readdy to Start Testimony After Finishing Cross-Examination", "People v. Collins: Michigan Court of Appeals; Decided October 24, 1972", "Collins' Lawyer Promises Appeal On Extradition", "Extradition Hearing for Collins: California Seeks to Try Convict in Slaying of Girl", "California Drops Case Against Co-Ed Killer", "Collins is Linked to Schell Case: Slaying Suspect Reportedly was Driver of 'Pickup' Car", "New Book Lists Goofs in Serial Killings Probe", "John Collins' Aunt Testifies She Found Items Moved, Missing from Basement", "An Exclusive Interview: Collins Ends Seven Years of Silence", "Slayer of EMU Co-Ed Fails in Tunnel Escape Attempt", "Appeals Court Supports Canadian Citizenship Application Citizenship", "Never-Before-Published Letters, Interviews Offer Clues in Infamous Michigan Murders", "State Transfers 'Co-ed Killer' Convict to Ionia Prison", "The Michigan Murders Part 4: The Aftershock", "Court of Appeals Rejects Request for a New Trial", "Michigan Murders: Close calls, Haunting Roads, and Life After a Suspected Serial Killer is Arrested", initial 1972 appeal against his conviction, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michigan_Murders&oldid=1130998673, 6. ", "Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked,", Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy.
Michigan Murders: 50 years ago, terror in Ypsilanti ends - FOX 2 Detroit Hidden In Plain Sight: Terror In Ypsilanti | WEMU-FM and Delta Faucet/ Sonetto sink, stainless steel appliances, subway tile backsplash, ceiling fans throughout the home, Almond Darien vinyl flooring in Laundry Room and bathrooms. We have been known to play those kinds of PRANKS on each other in the Fraternity.". 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.
John Norman Collins: Michigan murder suspect's letters, interviews He was known to engage in sexual violence, including one instance in which he had raped a woman who had resisted his advances. Collins was ready to confess, but without a witness, the former sheriff said itmight not stick. [68][81] In total, seven witnesses would be found who would later testify to having seen Collins in the area between the university campus and Mrs. Goshe's wig shop between 11a.m. and 1p.m. on July 23; including three young women who stated Collins had attempted to entice them onto his motorcycle.[95]. 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.
Photos, evidence in Michigan murders case against John Norman Collins "That was tough on Leik. The moment passed and they continued their ride uneventfully. Randy/Jerry--C'mon! She had last been seen on July 1 with John Norman Collins. After Kalom's body was found, Collins writes, Davis"admitted to killing her.". [153], His lawyers further argued that, at an evidentiary hearing in April 1970, shortly before jury selection had begun, Collins' indictment for the California murder of Roxie Ann Phillips had likewise received extensive media coverage in Washtenaw Countyfurther reducing the chances of potential jurors being unbiased. 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. You want to get him to talk.". Fournierwho now lives in Santee, California,nearSan Diego added he also wasnever able to talk to Davis, but is convinced Collins is guilty. 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. [119], In November, Ryan, in an effort to determine the most effective defense strategy, persuaded Collins to undergo a private and independent polygraph test. 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. Living with Mom, and then moved into the basement of his uncle's house. A few days later, Roxie was found in Pecadero Canyon outside of Salinas. Collins' grip of terror on our community ended officially on August 19, 1970, when he was found guilty of first-degree murder. Thetyped,single-spaced letters Collins wrote to his cousin are sprinkled with words in all caps, perhaps for emphasis, andidiosyncratically misspelled words. [105], On August 14, 1969, Collins attended a pretrial hearing at Ypsilanti District Court. All the victims had been sexually mutilated. 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. Karen disappeared and was killed when Leik and his family were on vacation, but the home wasn't empty. CHAPTER 3: 'Handsome' EMU student was unlikely serial killer suspect. [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. In 1970, John Collins was tried for the murder of Karen Beineman. CHECK THE DNA. if what you say is true.why doesn't JNC insist on DNA testing to prove his innocence? [151] This first appeal was formally rejected on October 24, 1972. They wanted to see whether they could find aDNA match with other victims. He shares the nickname The Co-Ed Killer with murderer Edmund Kemper. In fact, the motorcycle he picked up Karen on was cobbled together stolen parts. My mother was a student at EMU then and knew John's aunt. Butback then, DNA profiling didn't exist, and authorities only proved Collins killed 18-year-old Karen Beineman. Collins was then informed by Judge Conlin that if the jurors' verdict was wrong, the error would be corrected in due course.