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Infamous Murders: Evidence of Murder
Thursday 27 Nov 9.00AM
On 7th December 1971, police made a horrific discovery in a New Jersey home. Five members of the List family had been murdered, and their decomposing bodies were scattered around the house.
But John List, the father, was missing. He had fled, leaving a note with the local pastor explaining that he had gone bankrupt and could no longer afford to support his family.
It was not until 1981, when the FBI used a sculptor to recreate List's face for the TV program ‘America's Most Wanted’, that they finally got a lead. Callers to the program led police to a Denver accountant, List had been living under another identity for the previous 18 years. In 1990 John List was given five consecutive terms for the brutal murder of his family.
On 23rd August 1961, a farm worker discovered a badly injured woman near the A6 road north of London. A few yards away lay the body of a young man. He had been shot twice in the head.
The trail led police to James Hanratty, a small time crook. A line-up was quickly organized and the crippled woman, Valerie Storie, didn't hesitate to pick out Hanratty.
He was immediately charged with murdering her lover, Michael Gregston, and attempting to murder her. The trial lasted a month and on 17th February 1962 Hanratty was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in the early hours on 4th April 1962.
When the body of wealthy businessman Stanley Setty appeared in the marshes outside London in 1949, police had a difficult case to crack. They eventually arrested Donald Hume, a business associate of Setty, but all they could prove was that Hume had dumped the body, they couldn't prove he had committed the murder.
Hume was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment for being an accessory to murder. On his release in 1958 Hume admitted that he had killed Setty during an argument at his apartment, but now he was free to commit further evil and was soon back in prison after killing a taxi driver in Switzerland.
But John List, the father, was missing. He had fled, leaving a note with the local pastor explaining that he had gone bankrupt and could no longer afford to support his family.
It was not until 1981, when the FBI used a sculptor to recreate List's face for the TV program ‘America's Most Wanted’, that they finally got a lead. Callers to the program led police to a Denver accountant, List had been living under another identity for the previous 18 years. In 1990 John List was given five consecutive terms for the brutal murder of his family.
On 23rd August 1961, a farm worker discovered a badly injured woman near the A6 road north of London. A few yards away lay the body of a young man. He had been shot twice in the head.
The trail led police to James Hanratty, a small time crook. A line-up was quickly organized and the crippled woman, Valerie Storie, didn't hesitate to pick out Hanratty.
He was immediately charged with murdering her lover, Michael Gregston, and attempting to murder her. The trial lasted a month and on 17th February 1962 Hanratty was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in the early hours on 4th April 1962.
When the body of wealthy businessman Stanley Setty appeared in the marshes outside London in 1949, police had a difficult case to crack. They eventually arrested Donald Hume, a business associate of Setty, but all they could prove was that Hume had dumped the body, they couldn't prove he had committed the murder.
Hume was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment for being an accessory to murder. On his release in 1958 Hume admitted that he had killed Setty during an argument at his apartment, but now he was free to commit further evil and was soon back in prison after killing a taxi driver in Switzerland.
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