John List
Encyclopedia
John Emil List was an American murder
er. On November 9, 1971, he murdered his wife, mother, and three children in Westfield, New Jersey
, and then disappeared. He had planned everything so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone noticed that anything was amiss. A fugitive from justice for nearly 18 years, he was finally apprehended on June 1, 1989 after the story of his murders was broadcast on America's Most Wanted
. List was found guilty and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment
, dying in prison custody in 2008 at age 82.
, Michigan
, List was the only child of German American
parents, John Frederick List (1859–1944) and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List (1887–1971). He was a devout Lutheran and taught Sunday school
. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II
and later was given an ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant
. He attended the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
, where he earned a bachelor's degree
in business administration and a master's degree
in accounting. List met his wife, Helen, in 1951, and they married shortly after.
automatic handgun and his own .22 caliber revolver in the murders. He first shot his wife in the back of the head and his mother above the left eye, while his children were at school. When Patricia and Frederick came home, they were shot in the back of the head. John, Jr., the oldest son, was playing in a soccer game that afternoon. List made himself lunch and then drove to watch John play. He brought his son home and then shot him once in the back of the head. List saw John twitch as if he were having a seizure and shot him again. It was later determined that List had shot his eldest son at least ten times.
List dragged his dead wife and children, on sleeping bags, into the ballroom of their 19-room Victorian
home after each kill. He then cleaned up the crime scene, turned on all the lights, and switched on the radio. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic and stated in a letter to his pastor on his desk in his study that "Mother is in the attic. She was too heavy to move." In the letter, List also claimed he had prayed over the bodies before going on the run. The deaths were not discovered for a month, partly due to the Lists' reclusiveness. Moreover, List sent notes to the children's schools and part-time jobs stating that the family would be in North Carolina
for several weeks, and had stopped the family's milk, mail and newspaper deliveries. He took money from his bank account, as well as his mother's bank account, then fled in his Chevrolet Impala
.
The case quickly became the second most infamous crime in New Jersey history, surpassed only by the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh Baby. A nationwide manhunt for List was launched. His Impala was found parked at Kennedy Airport, but there was no record of his taking a flight. The police checked out hundreds of leads without results.
John List moved to Colorado and assumed the identity Robert "Bob" Clark and in 1985 married divorcee Delores Miller.
because of that show's track record of fugitive captures. It was the oldest unsolved case the show had ever featured. The broadcast included an age-progressed
clay bust
, which, as it turned out, looked remarkably similar to List, even though he had been missing for 18 years.
The bust was sculpted by forensic artist Frank Bender
, who had successfully captured many aging fugitives and identified decomposed bodies via his art. To imagine what an older List would look like, he consulted forensic psychologist
Richard Walter
, who created a psychological profile
. He looked at photographs of List's parents and predicted his appearance, giving List a receding hairline and sagging jowls. Bender and Richard Walter were particularly praised for one final touch: a pair of glasses. They theorized that List would want to appear more important than he really was, and would effect a stereotypical
intellectual/professional appearance by wearing glasses. John Walsh
, the host of America's Most Wanted, called Bender's work the most brilliant example of detective work that he had ever seen. Walsh kept Bender’s bust of List in a place of honor in his office for many years, and in 2008 donated it to a forensic science exhibit at the privately owned National Museum of Crime & Punishment
.
accounting firm where he worked while living under the fictitious name Robert "Bob" Peter Clark. List had chosen the name because it had belonged to one of his college classmates, who later stated that he had never known List. List had lived in Denver, Colorado
and Midlothian, Virginia
before his arrest, having remarried and resumed working as an accountant. Upon viewing the broadcast a friend of the Clarks recognized the subject of the profile as a neighbor and contacted the authorities. FBI agents arrested List at the office where he worked after visiting his home and speaking with his current wife Delores.
List was extradited
to New Jersey as Robert Clark and sent to the Union County, New Jersey
jail to await trial. He continued to stand by his alias despite overwhelming evidence, including his fingerprints at the crime scene, of both his true identity and of his guilt.
List made his first admission of his identity to a fellow inmate while he was still in the Union County Jail. During a casual discussion List made reference to his military service during World War II, and the inmate said to List (using his alias), "Bob, that might be just what you need to prove that you're not John List. They took your fingerprints when you joined the military, didn't they?"
List hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and mumbled, "Yes, they did." He then excused himself, saying that he was tired and needed a nap. The next day, List said, "Richard, my name is John List, not Bob Clark." List thereafter corrected any inmate or staff member who called him "Bob" or "Mr. Clark."
List would not admit his true identity to the court until February 16, 1990, eight months and fifteen days after his capture.
On April 12, 1990, List was convicted in a New Jersey court of five counts of first-degree murder. On May 1, he was sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment
. List never expressed any remorse for his crimes. In a 2002 interview with Connie Chung
, when asked why he had not taken his own life, he said he believed that suicide
would have barred him from Heaven
, where he hoped to be reunited with his family.
, brought on by advanced syphilis
contracted from her first husband and hidden from List for 18 years.
List was described by a psychiatrist as having obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
. A psychiatrist who interviewed List testified that he saw only two solutions to his family's financial and health problems – either go on welfare
or kill his family and send their souls to heaven. He was especially concerned about the soul of his daughter, Patty, who showed little interest in church. She was also active in the theater department, smoked marijuana, and was interested in Wicca
. He was afraid that welfare would expose them to ridicule, show that List did not love them, and violate his own authoritarian father's teachings to always care for and protect the family.
at age 82 on March 21, 2008, while in prison custody at a Trenton, New Jersey
hospital. In announcing his death the Newark, New Jersey
, Star-Ledger referred to him as the "boogeyman of Westfield". His body was not immediately claimed, though he was later buried next to his mother in Frankenmuth, Michigan
.
ten months after the murders. Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom's stained glass
skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany
original worth over $100,000.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er. On November 9, 1971, he murdered his wife, mother, and three children in Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 30,316. The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract....
, and then disappeared. He had planned everything so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone noticed that anything was amiss. A fugitive from justice for nearly 18 years, he was finally apprehended on June 1, 1989 after the story of his murders was broadcast on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
. List was found guilty and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, dying in prison custody in 2008 at age 82.
Personal background
Born in Bay CityBay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, List was the only child of German American
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
parents, John Frederick List (1859–1944) and Alma Maria Barbara Florence List (1887–1971). He was a devout Lutheran and taught Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later was given an ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
. He attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, where he earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in business administration and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in accounting. List met his wife, Helen, in 1951, and they married shortly after.
Murders
On November 9, 1971, List methodically killed his entire family: his wife, Helen, 45; his children, Patricia, 16, John, Jr., 15, and Frederick, 13; and his mother, Alma, 84. He had used his father's 9mm SteyrSteyr Mannlicher
Steyr Mannlicher is a firearms manufacturer based in the city of Steyr, Austria. Originally a part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch manufacturing conglomerate, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken in 1990.-History:...
automatic handgun and his own .22 caliber revolver in the murders. He first shot his wife in the back of the head and his mother above the left eye, while his children were at school. When Patricia and Frederick came home, they were shot in the back of the head. John, Jr., the oldest son, was playing in a soccer game that afternoon. List made himself lunch and then drove to watch John play. He brought his son home and then shot him once in the back of the head. List saw John twitch as if he were having a seizure and shot him again. It was later determined that List had shot his eldest son at least ten times.
List dragged his dead wife and children, on sleeping bags, into the ballroom of their 19-room Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
home after each kill. He then cleaned up the crime scene, turned on all the lights, and switched on the radio. He left his mother's body in her apartment in the attic and stated in a letter to his pastor on his desk in his study that "Mother is in the attic. She was too heavy to move." In the letter, List also claimed he had prayed over the bodies before going on the run. The deaths were not discovered for a month, partly due to the Lists' reclusiveness. Moreover, List sent notes to the children's schools and part-time jobs stating that the family would be in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
for several weeks, and had stopped the family's milk, mail and newspaper deliveries. He took money from his bank account, as well as his mother's bank account, then fled in his Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...
.
The case quickly became the second most infamous crime in New Jersey history, surpassed only by the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh Baby. A nationwide manhunt for List was launched. His Impala was found parked at Kennedy Airport, but there was no record of his taking a flight. The police checked out hundreds of leads without results.
John List moved to Colorado and assumed the identity Robert "Bob" Clark and in 1985 married divorcee Delores Miller.
America's Most Wanted
In 1989, New Jersey law enforcement approached the producers of the television show America's Most WantedAmerica's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
because of that show's track record of fugitive captures. It was the oldest unsolved case the show had ever featured. The broadcast included an age-progressed
Age progression
Age progression is the process of modifying a photograph of a person to represent the effect of aging on their appearance. Digital image processing is the most common technique today, although sometimes artists' drawings are used. Age progression is most often used as a forensics tool by law...
clay bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
, which, as it turned out, looked remarkably similar to List, even though he had been missing for 18 years.
The bust was sculpted by forensic artist Frank Bender
Frank Bender
Francis Augustus "Frank" Bender was a world-renowned autodidact forensic artist and fine artist. His job was to make facial reconstructions of the dead and of fugitives, many of whom had, or still have, been on the run for a long time...
, who had successfully captured many aging fugitives and identified decomposed bodies via his art. To imagine what an older List would look like, he consulted forensic psychologist
Forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the criminal justice system. It involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to be able to interact appropriately with judges, attorneys and other legal professionals...
Richard Walter
Richard Walter
Richard Walter is an American forensic psychologist for the Michigan prison system, a crime scene analyst and one of the creators of modern criminal profiling.-Career:...
, who created a psychological profile
Offender profiling
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is a behavioral and investigative tool that is intended to help investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders. Offender profiling is also known as criminal profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling,...
. He looked at photographs of List's parents and predicted his appearance, giving List a receding hairline and sagging jowls. Bender and Richard Walter were particularly praised for one final touch: a pair of glasses. They theorized that List would want to appear more important than he really was, and would effect a stereotypical
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
intellectual/professional appearance by wearing glasses. John Walsh
John Walsh
John Edward Walsh is an American television personality, criminal investigator, human and victim rights advocate and formerly the host, as well as creator, of America's Most Wanted...
, the host of America's Most Wanted, called Bender's work the most brilliant example of detective work that he had ever seen. Walsh kept Bender’s bust of List in a place of honor in his office for many years, and in 2008 donated it to a forensic science exhibit at the privately owned National Museum of Crime & Punishment
National Museum of Crime & Punishment
The National Museum of Crime & Punishment is a privately owned museum dedicated to the history of criminology and penology in the United States. It is located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C., half a block south of the Gallery Place station...
.
Arrest and trial
List was arrested on June 1, 1989, nearly 18 years after killing his family. At the time he was employed by a Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
accounting firm where he worked while living under the fictitious name Robert "Bob" Peter Clark. List had chosen the name because it had belonged to one of his college classmates, who later stated that he had never known List. List had lived in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and Midlothian, Virginia
Midlothian, Virginia
Midlothian is an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Founded over 300 years ago as a coal mining village, it is now a suburban community located in the Southside of Richmond well beyond the city limits of Richmond in the Richmond–Petersburg region.It was named...
before his arrest, having remarried and resumed working as an accountant. Upon viewing the broadcast a friend of the Clarks recognized the subject of the profile as a neighbor and contacted the authorities. FBI agents arrested List at the office where he worked after visiting his home and speaking with his current wife Delores.
List was extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to New Jersey as Robert Clark and sent to the Union County, New Jersey
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
jail to await trial. He continued to stand by his alias despite overwhelming evidence, including his fingerprints at the crime scene, of both his true identity and of his guilt.
List made his first admission of his identity to a fellow inmate while he was still in the Union County Jail. During a casual discussion List made reference to his military service during World War II, and the inmate said to List (using his alias), "Bob, that might be just what you need to prove that you're not John List. They took your fingerprints when you joined the military, didn't they?"
List hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and mumbled, "Yes, they did." He then excused himself, saying that he was tired and needed a nap. The next day, List said, "Richard, my name is John List, not Bob Clark." List thereafter corrected any inmate or staff member who called him "Bob" or "Mr. Clark."
List would not admit his true identity to the court until February 16, 1990, eight months and fifteen days after his capture.
On April 12, 1990, List was convicted in a New Jersey court of five counts of first-degree murder. On May 1, he was sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. List never expressed any remorse for his crimes. In a 2002 interview with Connie Chung
Connie Chung
Connie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
, when asked why he had not taken his own life, he said he believed that suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
would have barred him from Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, where he hoped to be reunited with his family.
Motive
List had lost his job as an accountant and was suffering from financial problems before the murders. He would sit at the local bus station every day, hiding his unemployment from his family, and making believe he was traveling to his accountant job. He owed $11,000 on his mortgage and was skimming from his mother's bank accounts. He was also dealing with his wife's dementiaDementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
, brought on by advanced syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
contracted from her first husband and hidden from List for 18 years.
List was described by a psychiatrist as having obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.- Signs and symptoms :The primary symptoms of OCPD...
. A psychiatrist who interviewed List testified that he saw only two solutions to his family's financial and health problems – either go on welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
or kill his family and send their souls to heaven. He was especially concerned about the soul of his daughter, Patty, who showed little interest in church. She was also active in the theater department, smoked marijuana, and was interested in Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. He was afraid that welfare would expose them to ridicule, show that List did not love them, and violate his own authoritarian father's teachings to always care for and protect the family.
Death
List died from complications of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at age 82 on March 21, 2008, while in prison custody at a Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
hospital. In announcing his death the Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, Star-Ledger referred to him as the "boogeyman of Westfield". His body was not immediately claimed, though he was later buried next to his mother in Frankenmuth, Michigan
Frankenmuth, Michigan
Frankenmuth is a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,838 at the 2000 census. The 2009 census estimate places the population at 4,619. The city is located within Frankenmuth Township, but is politically independent. Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, which bills...
.
Home arson
The List home was destroyed by arsonArson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
ten months after the murders. Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom's stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
original worth over $100,000.
Trivia
- The 1987 film The StepfatherThe Stepfather (1987 film)The Stepfather is a 1987 American thriller film starring Terry O'Quinn in the title role. It is loosely based on the life of mass murderer John List, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era than a true story. It was directed by Joseph Ruben and written by Donald E...
and the 2009 remake were loosely based on the List case. - Robert BlakeRobert Blake (actor)Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
portrayed List in the 1993 film Judgment Day: The John List Story. - The Season Six episode of Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, Savior was based on the John List story. This episode starred Ellen PompeoEllen PompeoEllen Kathleen Pompeo is an American actress, known for playing the title role of Meredith Grey on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.-Early life:...
of Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
fame.
Books
- Righteous Carnage: The List Murders Timothy B. Benford and James P. Johnson, iUniverse, 332 pp., ISBN 0-595-00720-1
- Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders Joe Sharkey, Signet, 305 pp., ISBN 0-451-16947-6
- Collateral Damage: The John List Story John E. List, iUniverse, Inc., 130pp., ISBN 0-595-39536-8
- Thou Shalt Not Kill Mary S. Ryzuk, Warner Books, 509pp., ISBN 0-445-21043-5