Paperback: Death Sentence (1990) is more than a story of mass murder. John List savagely murdered his mother, wife and three children but that was only the beginning of the most gruesomely gripping story in true-crime history. He remained at large for eighteen years! When he was finally caught, John List, also known as Robert P Clark, was booked on the federal charge of being a fugitive from prosecution for homicide.
John Emil List. Mild-mannered accountant. Devout churchgoer. Military board games fanatic. And the cold-blooded killer who calmly shot his mother, his wife (Helen), his daughter (16-year-old Pat) and his sons (15-year-old John Jr and 13-year-old Frederick) and vanished from their suburban New Jersey home on 9 November 1971.
This is not only the riveting revelation of the monstrous murders, it is also the first chronicle of what John List did in the eighteen years before he was unmasked. You will learn the terrifying truth about him and his crimes - and the inside story of the trial that made headlines from coast to coast.
On 12 April 1990, after hearing seven days of testimony, a Union County jury found John List guilty of five counts of murder in the first degree. Layer after layer of evidence piled up to persuade the jury that John had committed the murders with full knowledge of the difference between right and wrong, with premeditation, deliberation, wilfulness and malice - the definition of first-degree murder.
In disputing the defense contention that John was suffering from a clinical personality disorder, the psychiatrist for the prosecution asserted that John was suffering from nothing more than a situational depression of the sort that is usually referred to in lay terms as a midlife crisis.
If John had really, in some twisted sense, believed that he had legitimate religious reasons for killing his family, why had he not also then killed himself? Why had he instead chosen to lead a new life free from the liabilities of that family and enjoyed that life of freedom for almost eighteen years? Why was he still alive?
When Reverend Alfred Scheips, a key defense witness, was asked on cross-examination whether there was a greatest sin, a sin for which there could no forgiveness, the minister considered his reply for a few seconds before quoting C S Lewis: "Pride is the greatest sin."
Since there was no capital punishment statute in effect in New Jersey in 1971, John was spared the death sentence he had summarily decreed for his wife, three children and mother. On 1 May 1990, Superior Court Judge William L Wertheimer imposed the maximum sentence, five consecutive life terms, thus ensuring that John would never be eligible for parole.
"The name of John Emil List will be eternally synonymous with concepts of selfishness, horror and evil," the judge said with contempt as John stood at attention before him. "John Emil List is without remorse and without honour. After eighteen years, five months and twenty-two days, it is now time for the voices of Helen, Alma, Patricia, Frederick and John F List to rise from the grave."
He died from complications of pneumonia in prison in 2008 at age 82.
About the author: Joe Sharkey is an American author and former columnist for the New York Times. His columns focused mostly on business travel, while his non-fiction books focus on criminality. Sharkey also co-authored a novel. He has been the Assistant National Editor for the Wall Street Journal, the City Editor for the Albany Times-Union, and a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sharkey's 1994 book Bedlam: Greed, Profiteering, and Fraud in a Mental Health System Gone Crazy is an investigation of the psychiatric industry. Focusing on sensational cases in the United States, Sharkey exposed how powerful elements within the industry maneuvered to exploit new markets when health insurance providers began covering costs for in-hospital mental health treatment.
Another of Sharkey's books is Above Suspicion (1993), the story of FBI agent Mark Putnam, who murdered his mistress in an eastern Kentucky mining town. In Above Suspicion, Sharkey implicitly condemns the FBI for encouraging the use of paid informants. A movie adaptation of "Above Suspicion," starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston and directed by Phillip Noyce, is underway in Kentucky, for release in late 2017. His book Deadly Greed (1991), which has been optioned for a feature film, explores the sensational 1989 Boston killing, in which Charles Stuart fatally shot his pregnant wife Carol and caused racial tensions by accusing a black man of the crime.
Sharkey has also co-authored a novel, Lady Gold (1998), with former New York Police Department detective Angela Amato. The movie rights for the book were purchased by Paramount Pictures and was in development by Mel Gibson's production company, Icon. The second and last book he co-wrote with Angela Amato is Jackpot (2000). Formally residing in the New York area, he and his wife live in Tucson, Arizona.
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