John List's Stately Home

The Killer: John Emil List (September 17, 1925–March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer that killed his wife, his mother, and his three children at their large home in Westfield, New Jersey. List fled the scene of the murders in 1971 and was not apprehended until June 1, 1989. Upon his arrest, List confessed to the crimes and claimed that financial problems and the fact that his entire family had strayed from their religious faith were the reasons for their deaths. He believed that by killing them, he would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he would eventually join them. The List family moved to Westfield after having lived in Detroit, Michigan and Rochester, New York, where List had work as an accountant for two companies. In 1965, List accepted a position as vice president/

comptroller at a bank in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was then he and his family moved with his mother into Breeze Knoll, a 19-room Georgian-style mansion, located in Westfield's affluent Mountainside neighborhood. When brought to trial for the murders, List was sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment. List died while imprisoned at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey in 2008. In reporting his death, the New Jersey Star-Ledger referred to him as "The Boogeyman of Westfield," as many residents in the town believed for years that List remained in the area after committing his heinous act.

The House:  Built around 1896 by a German immigrant and a titan of industry, Breeze Knoll was more than just a house. The residence symbolized affluence and elegance in the community of Westfield. A spectacle of Colonial Revival architecture with heavy Georgian influence, the mansion included visual symmetry admired by the whole town. The home's interior boasted oak flooring, ten fireplaces, two living rooms, a stately dining room, a large kitchen, a butler’s pantry, a laundry room, several storage rooms, and a grand ballroom. While the place would be mostly known for the List family murders, the house had seen it's share of scandal and tragedy prior to the Lists moving in. In 1908, a domestic servant reportedly attacked the wife of the house's owner with a large stick of wood. The same mistress of the house died in Breeze Knoll on January 15, 1929, at the age of 87. Her husband died seven years later after falling down the grand staircase in 1936. After the List murders, Breeze Knoll remained empty until a fire destroyed it in August of 1972. The destruction was officially ruled as arson, but no suspects have ever been named. A new house was built on the site in 1974.

The Floor Plan:  While I able to find a lot of pictures on-line of Breeze Knoll, I could not find a floor plan anywhere. I resorted to studying Colonial mansion floor plans to get an idea of Breeze Knoll's basic layout. As it would take me a long time to put together an entire floor plan of the residence, I decided to only show you where John List left the bodies of his wife, mother, and three children. In addition, I'm supplying a timeline that allows you to understand how the bodies ended up in such bizarre places:

November 9, 1971:

*After the children left for school, John List spoke briefly with his wife, Helen, over coffee in their kitchen. After, he pretended to leave the house for work. Instead, he went into his study, took his father's Colt .22 caliber revolver from its hiding place in his desk, snuck up behind his wife, and shot her in the back of the head.

*List immediately went up to the third floor apartment where his mother, Alma, lived. She had just finished breakfast in her tiny kitchen, and she asked her son what was the popping noise she heard. List said he didn't know, and his mother went into a nearby storage room to retrieve something. When she turned around, List, who had come up behind her, shot his mother above the left eye.

*List went down to the cellar to retrieve several sleeping bags. Using one of the nylon bags, he dragged Helen's body from the kitchen into the ballroom. He placed a towel over her face and went back into the kitchen to mop up her blood. After, he went up to his mother's apartment and attempted to carry her down to the ballroom. Finding her too heavy, he opted to leave her in the storage room, and he promptly mopped up her blood.

*Later that morning, List's daughter, Patricia, called from school to say she wasn't feeling well. List picked her up, brought her to the house, and shot her in the back of the head once they were in the kitchen. Using one of the sleeping bags, List dragged his daughter's body into the ballroom. He then proceeded to mop her blood from the kitchen floor.

*After making himself a sandwich, List went to his bank and closed out his and his mother's bank accounts. He went back to the house and waited for his son, Frederick, to come home from school. When he did, List shot his son in the back of the head and dragged his body on a sleeping bag to the ballroom.

*After cleaning up Frederick's blood in the kitchen, List went to Westfield High School to watch his oldest son, John, play in a soccer game. Upon arriving home, List shot his son repeatedly, dragged his body into the ballroom, and placed a towel over his face.

*After calling his children's school and saying they would be traveling with he and his wife to visit a sick relative, List wrote a five-page confession letter to his pastor and left it on the desk in his study. He then cleaned up the remaining blood, tuned a radio to a religious station, turned on all the lights in the house, and departed.

Sources:

Bathory, Brooke. "Family Annihilator: John Emil List." 24 June, 2018. www.truecrime365.com. Accessed 21 November 2024.

Benford, Timothy; Johnson, James. Righteous Carnage: The List Murders. Scribner Press, 1991.

Crime Museum. "Serial Killers vs. Mass Murderers." 2024. www.crimemuseum.org. Accessed 21 November 2024.

Di Ionno, Mark. "The Boogeyman of Westfield, a Ghost Story that Won't End." The Star Ledger, 25 March 2008.

Douthat, Strat. "The Fugitive: In 18 Years on the Run, Slaying Suspect's Life Comes to Resemble His Old One." The Los Angeles Times, 18 June 1989.

Father Wants Us Dead. "A True Crime Podcast Series from NJ.com." 2024. www.fatherwantsusdead.com. Accessed 21 November 2024.

McCracken, Elizabeth. "Wanted: A Killer Disappears Into Another Life." The New York Times, 28 December 2008.

Nightmare Houses. "The Legacy of Breeze Knoll: An Architectural Gem with a Dark History." 6 November 2023. www.medium.com. Accessed 21 November 2024.

Ramland, Katherine. "John List: Massacre." 4 April 2005. www.crimelibrary.org. Accessed 21 November 2024

Ramsland, Katherine. "John List." 28 May 2008. www.trutv.com. Accessed 21 November 2024.

Stout, David. "John E. List, 82, Killer of 5 Family Members, Dies." The New York Times, 25 March 2008.

Wadlow, Brad. "Remember When . . . Westfielder John List Convicted of Murdering Five Family Members." 12 April 2023. www.mycentraljersey.com. Accessed 21 November 2024.