John Norman Collins

Serial Killer

John Norman Collins – The Michigan Murders

Overview

John Norman Collins, later known legally as John Norman Chapman, is the convicted murderer most closely associated with the series of killings known as the Michigan Murders or Co-Ed Murders. The crimes terrorized the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area of southeastern Michigan between 1967 and 1969. Young women and teenage girls disappeared while walking, hitchhiking, attending school or otherwise going about ordinary activities, and their bodies were later discovered in secluded locations around Washtenaw County and neighboring areas. Although Collins has frequently been described as a serial killer responsible for seven murders, an important distinction must be made between crimes established against him in court and murders investigators attributed to him. Collins was convicted of only one murder: the July 23, 1969 killing of Karen Sue Beineman. Five other Michigan murders were attributed to him but never prosecuted, and he was indicted in California for the murder of Roxie Ann Phillips but was never tried in that case. Some historical accounts also include University of Michigan law student Jane Louise Mixer among Collins's victims. Mixer was indeed investigated as part of the Michigan Murders at the time, but she should not be classified as a confirmed or current suspected victim of Collins. Decades later, Gary Earl Leiterman was convicted of Mixer's murder. His conviction was subsequently affirmed on appeal. Although questions about possible laboratory contamination have generated controversy surrounding that conviction, Mixer's case is legally attributed to Leiterman rather than Collins.

John Norman Collins

Collins was born June 17, 1947, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and was raised primarily in Michigan. During the period of the murders he attended Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti and was studying education. He was physically fit, rode motorcycles and was familiar with the roads and communities surrounding Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. Those characteristics became important when investigators began examining the disappearances. Several victims had been hitchhiking or were otherwise in circumstances in which they might have accepted transportation from a stranger. Witnesses in the final case described Karen Sue Beineman leaving with a young man on a motorcycle, ultimately giving police the direct lead they had lacked in the earlier murders. ...

Confirmed Victims: (1)

Karen Sue Beineman Age: (18), Date of Death: 1969-07-23

Suspected Victims:

Mary Terese Fleszar Age: (19), Date of Death: 1967-07-09

Joan Elspeth Schell Age: (20), Date of Death: 1968-06-30

Maralynn Skelton Age: (16), Date of Death: 1969-03-24

Dawn Louise Basom Age: (13), Date of Death: 1969-04

Alice Elizabeth Kalom Age: (21), Date of Death: 1969-06

Roxie Ann Phillips Age: (17), Date of Death: 1969-06-30

Michigan Murders - Wikipedia