The Michigan Murders

This book was at times fascinating, the story sometimes frustrating, the outcome heartbreaking for all involved. I was unfamiliar with details of this case before reading the book. I liked the way the case was presented in a factual manner, but still in story format. It gave the sense of frustration of law enforcement as they desperately searched for anything to break the case open and stop the murders. I found it heartbreaking reading about Armstrong's aunt who only ever knew of his gentle fun-loving nature. I'd love to know what words were exchanged between James and his mother in those moments they shared alone. Knowing he was not that close to her, it was hard to know if her tears were real or manufactured for show. That part was just odd to me. I had little doubt of his guilt, but I still felt saddened for his family. Then there's all the other murders they couldn't charge him with. How do those families feel? Is it enough to know he was sentenced to life in prison? Justice was served, but it was not pleasant getting there. Just relief that it was done. This one may stay with me awhile. Just sad all the way around.

Between July of 1967 and July of 1969, the bodies of 7 young women were found dead and decomposing... all within a 25 square mile area resting between Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The bodies of all of these young women were horribly mutilated, oftentimes with head injuries so severe that immediate identification was impossible. In addition, many of the bodies had been slashed, cut, or burned postmortem. All were sexually assaulted. It is common knowledge that the great majority of serial offenders (both serial rapists and serial killers) tend to escalate in behavior over time. As their obsessive and deviant fantasies become ever more powerful and difficult to control or ignore, the offender is compelled to kill more often, assuming more risk. This is exactly what happened with the Michigan murders. Consider the statistics: July 1967 - One Victim July 1968 - One Victim March 1969 - Two Victims April 1969 - One Victim May 1969 - One Victim July 1969 - One Victim Initially, I thought the killer had taken time off in June of 1969. However, it was later revealed that the offender took a road trip to California in June of 1969, where he murdered a 17 year old girl. Who was this violent offender so driven to kill and kill again? A well-groomed, attractive, gregarious student attending Eastern Michigan University! On the average, John Norman Collins was murdering at the rate of 1 victim per month near the end of his murderous reign. He was 23 years of age when apprehended. Can you imagine the body count had Collins not been arrested and had continued to kill for another year or two? What if he had gone undetected another 10 years? The thought is horrifying! I found it interesting and very telling that as a Freshman at Eastern Michigan University, Collins maintained good grades and was considered a successful student. During the second semester of his Sophomore year, Collins began cutting classes and his grades suffered greatly. Collins began killing the semester after his school performance began to suffer and he fell behind, suggesting that for a a full semester before he ever killed, Collins was in the grip of psychological deterioration and decline. It seems likely that he began his stalking and prowling behaviors during this time, his fantasies finally giving way to murderous rage in July of 1967. The truly sobering fact is this: John Collins was questioned by police investigators following the 2nd homicide. He was dismissed as a possible suspect. As a result, 6 more women would die before Collins was finally apprehended. I found THE MICHIGAN MURDERS riveting. In fact, had I been allowed to use 1/2 star ratings, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars. Why not 5 stars? There were some minor portions of the story where the descriptions of the police investigation dragged and the trial coverage was rather tedious and dry. The coverage of the trial could easily have been reduced by 10 pages without losing any real content. However, the slower portions of the story were not extended and did not detract greatly from the book as a whole. I highly recommend THE MICHIGAN MURDERS for all True Crime lovers. I did want to mention one issue that confuses me greatly. Nowhere in my copy of THE MICHIGAN MURDERS is the offender ever named as John Norman Collins! In the book, the offender is named as James Armstrong. When I initially read the other reviews, I thought I must have read another book by the same title. However, after following a link provided by another reader to the Michigan State OTIS registry, I did a search for John Collins. The information I found indeed confirmed that "James Armstrong" is John Norman Collins. The prison issued identification number for Collins is the same number listed for James Armstrong in the book. The physical description matches. The date of the offense for which Collins was convicted is the same date of the last known murder in Michigan of Carol Ann Gebhardt. What gives? Why is the murderer given a pseudonym in the book? How did it escape my attention - as apprently, I am the only one - that "James Armstrong" is really John Norman Collins? Can someone help me out? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

The author did an excellent job of writing an easy to read and follow narrative of the murders. Very readable! His decision to use aliases was kind of different but his explanation made sense. He wrote the book soon after everything happened and wanted the innocent to have some privacy. This did make it difficult to find pictures of the people and places. Ebooks don’t seem to have pictures so I had to search. It’s always sad to see the faces of the young women who were murdered. Also, the brutal details were explained in a brief and matter-of-fact manner which I appreciated. Law enforcement was portrayed with all its weaknesses and strengths. Quite fairly, as far as I could tell. I’m pretty certain that he’s guilty. On the internet, I found out that the convicted killer is still alive in prison and still proclaims his innocence. He might have been paroled, but he tried to tunnel out in 2008. I wish that the author would have written other true crime books. He did such a good job with this one!

The Michigan Murders book gives an excellent inside look at a string of murders around two Michigan universities, but its problems made it impossible to give it high marks. Four issues were bothersome. First, the author chose to use fictional names for many of the characters, in the supposed interest of not hurting any innocent people. True crime stories don’t work that way; readers today want to check other sources and compare information. We didn’t even get the killer’s real name! Second, the testimony from the trial is usually a key part of any book like this. A lot of it was really shortened, while the author went overboard with hair analysis testimony with poor explanations. A strong finish was certainly damaged here. Third, where are the photos, maps, sketches, et cetera? Again, this is true crime and nonfiction. What’s the deal? It’s a good thing we have the internet to supplement this book. And, finally, the wrap-up was pretty slim. Where’s the reactions of the people involved, not only in the murder trial but other victims tied to the killer? What about the jury? It’s a good book that had some great research and writing. It fell short in too many ways, however, to give it 4 or 5 stars. Recommend it? Yes. But that recommendation comes with fair warning that you may not be completely satisfied.

The crimes described in these pages happened when I was just a little girl so I had not heard of the case before reading this book. I will say at the outset , if a potential reader has a weak stomach, or is extremely sensitive, this will likely be a book you will wish to skip. I know during those parts, I wished I had. The author evidently did a great deal of research because the book goes into quite a bit of detail in many areas. There are descriptions of the murdered girls education, their personalities, a little about their background and of course, details about how they were found, the conditions of the bodies, the positioning, even the weather at the time of discovery. Further, there are a lot of characters in the book: victims, any roommates, parents, several siblings, a few extended family members, business owners, college faculty, suspects of the crimes, reporters, property owners, suspects family members, detectives, and a variety of law enforcement personnel, attorneys, judges etc. Despite this I found it to be fairly easy to keep track of them all. Over all, it was a well written book but I can't say it was "enjoyable." There were places it seemed to drag a bit but then again, things were very different in the mid to late 60's, it was a different time. And even today, the "wheels of justice" sometimes turn slowly.

I lived near Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, MI when these murders took place. I was the same age as a couple of these young women. My boyfriend attended Eastern Michigan University and everyone was afraid. Even cities and towns all over SE Michigan were on alert and young women thought twice about going out alone. People used to put up notes on bulletin boards asking for rides home. Very innocent time. No one ever thought this would happen in those two towns. College towns were supposed to be safe. This books takes a great look at the murders, but shows the deep frustration of multiple police departments. I remember so much of this book, the fear that took over, but looking behind the scenes is eye opening. So much less police can do then that police can do with even the least bit of evidence. Anyway, it’s a good mystery. It’s a reminder of how innocence ended in that area. And it’s a very good read. Couldn’t put it down.

I didn’t take issue with much except for the tomfoolery involved in the police work and that he didn’t get sentenced to death. But I’m glad I bought it. I’d seen a one hour show about this and there was way, way more actual information than what could be fit into an hour. This was really well written. P.S. Look up John Norman Collins (the killer’s real name; real names aren’t used here). He was nowhere near even cute, let alone as “good looking” as everyone described him.

I read this book in 1977 when it first came out. I was the features editor for the Eastern Michigan University school newspaper, the Eastern Echo and reviewed it for the school newspaper. I got to interview several of the key investigators and went to most of the killing and dumping sites. The book is amazingly accurate and a fast paced read. I loved reading and following it. I reread it this year and now we have this thing called the internet which wasn't around in 1977 and it makes a big difference. Many gaps can be filled in and speculation answered that couldn't be addressed thoroughly in 1977. I recommend some serious internet searches for anyone buying this book today so you can augment what was known in 1977, particularly the television interviews with all of the principals and the jail interview with John Norman Collins. It is fascinating follow-up to the book. Now that we have DNA testing that confirms JNC did most of the murders, it makes the accuracy of the book even more amazing. The more that is learned, the more impressive the book has become. Edward Keyes did an amazing job. In the internet search it reveals that Sheriff Harvey and his group believed John Norman Collins' mother was a prostitute which contributed to why JNC went off the deep end and started killing young women. I wish he had come out and said that in the book, although he hinted at it. It provides the motive for the killings. Also, there is widespread belief there was one more than one killer and I have come to that conclusion myself. At least one other person helped move the bodies. The book alludes to that and also notes that JNC's friends and housemates must have suspected JNC but never spoke to the authorities probably out of misguided loyalties. Like I said, the book has been proven extremely accurate over time and people who like true crime stories simply must read Keyes' excellent book. Watch the Channel 7 TV interviews on the internet too to get a more complete story. Incredible!

Very gripping story telling. Who needs fiction when you can read true crime thats been written so well? Keyes uses fictitious names which is in respect to those who suffered but I’d forgotten by the end of the book that he’d done that so was confused when I tried to research the killer by the incorrect name. Unbelievable that John Norman Collins wasn’t tried for all the other murders he committed including a 13 year old child. He literally got away with murder. What stood out to me was the quiet acceptance and composure by some of the parents of their daughters’ deaths in a time when the term “serial killer” didn’t exist. Everything seemed to go unquestioned. The parents of the first murdered girl were advised not to look at their daughter’s body so probably never knew the extent of the horror she endured before her death. Maybe it was better they didn’t see anything but on the other hand, the quiet reserve and acceptance of what had happened was Disconcerting. It meant that word didn’t get around after the first murder about the shocking horror that had happened which might have helped prevent some of the murders that followed.

What starts out as the quest to solve 7 murders boils down to the battle to convict for just one. The path is long and convoluted but Keyes keeps us turning the page. Up there with the best true crimers!

Well written but a bit drawn out over the hair clipping evidence. Felt there was more that could have come to light. We’re there any further murders!

Details are intense,some murders described too vividly,outcome somehow not satisfying,seems to me Michigan prosecutors and police were either derelict or inept

Brilliantly written. Couldn't put it down. Felt as if I was there. Highly recommend this to all true crime readers.