In November 1971, Liszt murdered his wife, mother and three children at their Westfield, New Jersey mansion, where their bodies lay uncovered for a month. 6 John List murdered his family and went on the run for 18 years 6 The bodies of his wife and three children were dragged into the ballroom 6 Part of the letter List left for his pastor The police investigators who finally found the bodies were greeted with a truly gruesome scene. Liszt’s wife Helen, 46; His daughter Patricia, 16; and sons John, 15, and Frederick, 13, were laid out in sleeping bags in the home’s ballroom. The body of Alma’s 84-year-old mother was found upstairs. All five victims had been shot in the head, with John’s eldest son suffering 10 gunshot wounds. Before leaving home, List had cut his face out of every family photo and destroyed his passport so the police would have no photo of him to use in the manhunt. The only evidence of Liszt’s existence was a chilling five-page letter he left behind, confessing to the horrific massacre and trying to justify his crimes. Addressing his pastor, the supposedly pious Lutheran List claimed he had murdered his family “so they could go to heaven.” The letter, which would not be released publicly for nearly 20 years, begins with an apology to Reverend Eugene A Rehwinkel for “adding to his workload.” He blamed the killings on his financial difficulties and feared that his family would abandon their religion. “After they finished, I said a few prayers for everyone – from the hymn book,” he wrote. “It was the least I could do.” He also claimed that God could have helped him, “but apparently he saw fit not to answer my prayers.” Liszt had been fired from his accounting job several months before the murders, but rather than face the shame of telling anyone, he dressed for work every day, drove to the train station, and sat in his car reading the newspaper for hours until returning home. Weakly, the father-of-three tried to justify his crimes in the letter, claiming he was saving their souls. “I know many will only look at the extra years they could live, but if they were finally no longer Christians what would they gain,” he wrote. “Also, I’m sure many will say, ‘How could anyone do such a horrible thing.’ – My only answer is that it is not easy and it was only done after a lot of thought.” I’m sure many will say, “How could anyone do such a horrible thing” John List The letter was dated November 9, 1971, but Liszt said he had originally planned to slaughter his family eight days earlier on All Saints’ Day. This was because he said it would be “the right day for them to reach heaven.” However, he said he decided against that day as his travel plans were delayed. It was this line in the letter that would prove to be the crucial nail in Liszt’s coffin at his trial some 18 years later. After he was finally arrested, Liszt’s lawyers tried to argue in court that he could not be tried for murder because of his mental state at the time. But this line proved that he was calculating and methodical in his plans, setting a preferred date for the murders. Liszt added that he was struggling for money and could not afford maintenance on Breeze Knoll, the sprawling 19-room mansion he had bought several years earlier for $50,000 (£42,000) – about $464,000 (£390,000) in today’s money. “It’s true we could have gone bankrupt and maybe gone on welfare,” he admitted – but said he feared the effects of poverty on his children. He was also worried about his wife’s refusal to go to church anymore and his daughter’s ambitions to become an actress. 6 Liszt had been fired from his job but did not tell his family or friends Credit: Getty 6 He couldn’t afford the payments on his 19-room Breeze Knoll mansion 6 Despite a major FBI operation, he was able to lead a double life Friends say that in the year before her murder, Patricia had become obsessed with witchcraft, describing herself as a witch, in a move that would have horrified her father. A former friend of Rhoda’s described how Liszt had once beaten her in front of his daughter, calling her: “A witch as much as a witch.” Her former drama coach Ed Seredaki told NJ.com’s new true crime podcast, Father Wants Us Dead, how Patricia said her father had made wills about those months before his family’s murders, asking his children if they would like to be cremated. Another friend Susan said that Patricia had told her shortly before she died: “I have a feeling in my gut that something bad is going to happen.” Rhoda insists Patricia knew her father wanted her and her siblings dead and that List seemed “happier” in the weeks before the murders. In his confession note, Liszt blamed the murders solely on his financial situation and his family’s loss of faith. “If either of these were the situation we could have dealt with, but this was too much,” he wrote. “At least I’m sure they’ve all gone to heaven now.” He then discussed “final arrangements” for his family, asking to be cremated and keep funeral costs low. In a shockingly cold thought, he added, “PS Mother is in the hallway on the 3rd floor. She was too heavy to move.”
ON THE RUN
Despite the massive manhunt, Liszt remained free for the next 18 years, living in Denver, Colorado under a new name, where he eventually met his second wife Delores. Former Wall Street Journal reporter Joe Sharkey, who wrote a book Death Sentence about List’s domestic murders, believes List was able to get away for so long because of both the local police and his broader incompetence F.B.I. Speaking to The Sun Online from his home in Arizona, he said authorities should have realized List would reappear at another Lutheran church. “They [the FBI] They were afraid to go near the churches,” he said. “They were afraid to beat around the bush in the religious communities. “They would have found him there very quickly.” He was eventually arrested after his story appeared on an episode of America’s Most Wanted and a former neighbor identified the man she knew as Robert C Clarke as John List. Even after being convicted of murder, Liszt refused to take responsibility for his crimes. Addressing the jury after his life sentence, he said: “I want to let the court know that I am still truly sorry for the tragedy that happened in 1971. “I feel that because of my state of mind at the time, I was unaccountable for what happened. I ask everyone who was affected by this for your forgiveness, understanding and prayers. Thank you.” He would eventually die in March 2008 of pneumonia at the age of 82.
