Michigan Murders
John Norman Collins | |
|---|---|
Collins, pictured at his arraignment for the murder of Karen Sue Beineman, August 1, 1969 | |
| Born | John Norman Collins June 17, 1947 Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | The Co-Ed Killer The Michigan Murderer The Ypsilanti Killer The Ypsilanti Ripper |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Conviction | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 1–7+ |
Span of crimes | July 9, 1967 – July 23, 1969 |
| Country | United States |
| States | Michigan: 1 (convicted); 5 (alleged) California: 1 (alleged) |
Date apprehended | July 30, 1969 |
| Imprisoned at | G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility |
The Michigan Murders were a series of highly publicized killings of young women committed between 1967 and 1969 in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan by an individual known as the Ypsilanti Ripper, the Michigan Murderer, and the Co-Ed Killer.
All the victims of the Michigan Murderer were young women between the ages of 13 and 21 who were abducted, raped, beaten and murdered—typically by stabbing or strangulation—with their bodies occasionally mutilated after death before being discarded within a 15-mile radius of Washtenaw County. The perpetrator, John Norman Chapman (then known as John Norman Collins) was arrested one week after the final murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for this final murder attributed to the Michigan Murderer on August 19, 1970, and is currently incarcerated at G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility.
Although never tried for the remaining five murders attributed to the Michigan Murderer, or the murder of a sixth girl killed in California whose death has been linked to the series, investigators believe Collins to be responsible for all seven murders linked to the same perpetrator.