Who Knows What Evil Lurks In The Hearts Of Men????

"My children, surely, are innocent of their misfortune."
--Francois Soubirous in "The Song Of Bernadette"

No, darlings that line was not delivered by actor Roman Bonhen (who played Francois) in the 1943 screen masterpiece, of course starring Jennifer Jones, but by Francois himself in the opening pages of the Franz Werfel novel. And as I was reading
Timothy Benford and James Johnson's "Righteous Carnage--The List Murders In Westfield," this line passed through my head, because, as I read the mounting tale of how suburban sicko John List murdered his entire family--wife, mother and three children--my heart went out especially to the three children, for whom I copiously wept, and who, of all the figures in this case, were truly the innocent ones.

It is grisly to recall that this incident, which put New Jersey on the map in a way unseen since the Lindbergh kidnapping, took place only 20 miles north of where I grew up, (Highland Park) in Westfield. And, as I read further, I came to realize that the List children--Patty, John Jr. and Frederick (oldest to youngest) would, give or take years on either side, be about my age, if alive today. Furthermore, Patty, whose birth date was January 8, 1955, had she been at Highland Park, or I at Westfield, would not only have been in the same graduating class as I, but, with our mutual interests in theater, we would certainly at least have crossed paths.

In the face of such tragedy, and lives of such promise that never had a chance, I feel incumbent with gratitude for the time I have been given, and am continued to be given, even at my ripe old age of 57. Though my professional age is STILL 24!!!!!!

These were my first reactions upon reading this book. The other is wanting to commend Benford and Johnosn for getting us inside the mind of John List, so that we come, to understand--though certainly not condone--bit by bit, his curious reasoning that led him to this twisted outcome.

If it were not for that outcome, or--I am sorry to say--if List had killed himself with his family--one might have felt sorry for him. But what he did makes that impossible. And, secondly, much as I hate to say it, I think the murders were inevitable, that they would have happened, no matter where or what.

It was a perfect storm just waiting to happen. By the time the Lists arrived in Westfield, it seemed as if their fate had been sealed, for already John List's abilities to maintain family support and authority were on shaky ground. And when they finally began to collapse, in Westfield, somewhere around 1970, despite smoke signals of red, hive-like blotches that would appear on List's face when truly angered, or List's overturning a family dining table during a meal early on in his marriage, his glaring malevolently at teen party goers at his daughter's Halloween party, even his kicking a couple on the couch necking, to stop them, speaks of a simmering rage that would inevitably boil over and erupt.

Add to that a checkered history with women; not so much fooling around, as having been fooled. List's mother was extremely domineering and repressed him in classic Norman Bates fashion. His marriage to wife, Helen, was a sham from the start; trapped into it by allegations of pregnancy, which later proved false, and with Helen hiding her history of tertiary syphilis, contracted from her first marriage, which, by the arrival in Westfield had begun to eat away at her physically and mentally, the Norman Rockwell American ideal List had been led to expect, was crumbling all around him. As was, according to neighbors, Helen's sister, and those party goers, the house itself, which was barely furnished, as the Lists could not afford it, and was falling apart around them; even to water leaking from an upstairs bathroom above. The Cunicks, nearby neighbors, were always taking in and feeding the List children, who were often described as wild and disheveled; not surprising, really, since they had no real parental guidance at all. The Lists Of Westfield were slowly turning into that town's version of the Beales Of Grey Gardens!!!!!! And there was nothing pretty or glamorous about it.

Despite that Patty and Frederick worked part time jobs, despite Patty's active interest in theater, and a close, working relationship with her drama teacher, Ed Illiano, no one heeded the signals needed to save the Lists. Patty had told her teacher her father planned to kill them all; the night before, for reasons now unknown, she begged him to come over to their house that evening, in some kind of intervention.

But no intervention would have worked, because List would not listen. As one psychiatrist said, having felt God had abandoned him, he took it upon himself to become God. The only way things might have changed is if the children had been removed from the house the night before. But where might they have gone??? As for the women, while not as innocent as the children, they were also undeserving of what befell them.

It was interesting to me that List had planned to murder them on November 1, which was All Saints Day, and which, to a religiously righteous person like List, would have made sense; especially as, from his POV, he was sending "innocent souls" to Heaven. But a delay in acquiring a stock option led to an eight day delay, which, when time came for him to be tried, decided one juror on his guilt--that despite the rampant OCD that was blamed for his deeds, he nevertheless DID have an ability to change his mind when he felt warranted.

That last phrase is key, for List was a chilling mix of repression and narcissism; the first allowing his rage to boil over and do what he did, the second allowing him to seek escape, never to turn himself in, till captured. Despite the myriad problems mounting up on him, it cannot be overlooked that List killed everyone in that house to get on with his life, because he did not want to be tied down. He is someone who should never have been married in the first place.

Which is ironic, considering that, when found, List had married again, to Delores Miller, and that evidence showed patterns which had surfaced in the first marriage were appearing again, leading many, and I am one, to believe, eventually, Delores would have found herself in danger, if not being offed by List himself. Or that, if List had married when young, there might have been a whole string of family annihilations across the country.

The crime of family annihilation was not a first with the John List case; it nevertheless crystallized it, and I believe List and his crime is the case that coined the phrase. He certainly set the gold standard for it, a dubious distinction, at best.

The book is so good, in fact, I was surprised two questions were left unanswered--what of Brenda, Helen Taylor List's daughter by her first marriage, who did spend some time within the List house before striking out on her own, and what of List's second wife, Delores Miller, whom many regard as his sixth victim. After he is extradited to New Jersey, she is never heard from again. Did she divorce, him I hope???????? And how horrifying, having come to terms with someone you chose to marry being a notorious sociopath.

That last word is never mentioned, but there is no doubt in my mind that that is what List was. Nearly four decades after his death, his precedence of evil remains unbroken. And I imagine, even after 40 years, his is still a negating presence that haunts the bucolic town of Westfield.

Add this book to your book list, darlings, and cross List off as scum!!!!!!!!!!

And, John, darling, too damn bad--you aren't notorious enough to be among a deck of Serial Killer cards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burn, baby, burn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!