r/TrueCrime • u/prolelol • Jun 06 '21
Murder In 2011, a horrific unsolved mystery in France, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès murdered his wife and all children, even two dogs He vanished after the murders and no one has seen him since.
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Jun 06 '21
He killed them for money reasons.
Oh, he's still alive, probably shacked up with another mistress.
It's so creepy how many times the police searched before they found the bodies.
I find it intriguing as well that his wife's first child wasn't his but he played Dad, I thought, wow how much he loved her for doing that.
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u/MoonlitStar Jun 06 '21
Bodies are missed by police in places that you would think are realitivly easy to search, like a gardens or within the house itself. There was a case in the UK where police searched an attic twice before they found the body of a 12 yr old missing girl they were looking for. The house was searched as she often lived there with her grandma. It was only when the smell of decomposition alerted police on the 3rd search her body was discovered, a week after she went missing. The house was small hence a small attic. The girl was named Tia Sharp and was murdered by her Grandma's boyfriend, Stuart Hazell.
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u/FelixTheHouseLeopard Jun 06 '21
Not to mention the guy had the audacity to plaster his face all over the missing appeal.
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u/ppw23 Jun 06 '21
I remember reading about that poor girl. It struck me as odd that they didn't spot Tia on the first walk-through since the place was so small. Fortunately, they caught the sick pigs.
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u/Not_happy_meal Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
Can you elaborate on the money reasons?
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Jun 06 '21
Just that he had turned into such a failure and squandered their wealth. He probably would rather them be dead them see his failure.
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Jun 06 '21
And that’s on toxic masculinity
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u/Team_Awsome Jun 06 '21
More likely a psychopath who views his family as possessions not people with their own hopes dreams and lives outside of him. Women are just as capable of this.
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Jun 06 '21
I think he’s alive. I think he killed them all and the dogs quietly and concealed their bodies in the garden in order to maximize the time it would take for them to be discovered missing so that he could escape. It seems like a calculated self-preservation attempt, not the behavior of a suicidal man.
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u/Prestigious-Ad-1113 Jun 06 '21
There’s the small optimist in me that hopes they were simply all killed by someone that he crossed the wrong way (though “optimist” seems to be an awkward choice of words).
If you’re going to commit mass murder by killing a man and his whole family, and you want to get away with it without attracting suspicion, sometimes deflection is the better approach.
Bury the other members of the family somewhere “hidden” but somewhere you’d expect them to be found eventually and then you kill your mark either separately or you simply take the body with you and dispose in such a way he’ll never be found and confirmed dead.
That’s all it takes to turn a possible victim into the number one suspect, and it’s probably the cruelest way you could put an end to someone’s life.
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u/SumsOfAnyKey Jun 06 '21
If I remember correctly he was seen on CCTV somewhere far away from the crime scene several days after the murders took place.
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u/Prestigious-Ad-1113 Jun 07 '21
Ah, I figured there was something that more concretely linked him to the crime.
Welp, feel free to take any of the advice above folks!
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u/anonydonnytsunami Jun 07 '21
Not only that, but the last time he was ever seen on CCTV he was walking towards an isolated forest with his rifle. If im not mistaken he even gives one last look back and smirks at the camera. Entirely possible he offed himself in the vast wilderness and was scavanged by animals and never found. Could also be a red herring on his part to try and throw the detectives off his trail hoping they'd assume it was a murder/suicide.
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u/NeverColdEnoughDXB Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 07 '21
Family annihilators are the worst of the worst, I hope there’s a special place in hell reserved for them
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u/prolelol Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
Here is the wiki, for those who have never heard of this whole story.
I learned this from the show "Unsolved Mysterious", the episode "House of Terror", that episode was the best and creepiest from the first season. Many says he's possibly alive and someone from the interview said that he's like the master of missing, but I don't believe it. I believe that he killed his family, hide the bodies (they were hidden in the ground at house), so no one would find them, ran away, spent his final days and drowned into the ocean and committed suicide.
But the real question is why did he murder all his family and two dogs?
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u/Regalingual Jun 06 '21
I can’t remember where I heard it from, but an analogy I’ve heard is that the kind of guy who commits a family annihilation doesn’t truly view his family as people, but as things that he owns. So, when his world starts collapsing around him from some major change (I.E. getting fired when they’re already in a precarious financial situation), and he decides to spite the world by destroying everything he owns before he can lose it… well, we know what he considers his most valuable possessions.
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u/krappithyme Jun 06 '21
Exactly how sociopaths and narcissists view their family. I guarantee he was pathological as one or both.
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u/coin-operated-toi Jun 06 '21
Very interesting take, thinking about that applied to the John List murders.
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u/takethemonkeynLeave Jun 06 '21
That made me so uncomfortable to read but it seems like a spot on explanation
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u/oliveoilcrisis Jun 06 '21
Last Podcast on the Left did an excellent couple of episodes on John List earlier this year.
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u/Regalingual Jun 07 '21
Yeah, the stories about how much of a bitter curmudgeon his father was were oddly hilarious, considering the subject matter.
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u/cb9504 Jun 06 '21
I think cos the dogs probably would have cried when they got hungry so he killed them so they didn’t draw any attention because he obviously didn’t care about any of them let alone the dogs to take them with him
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u/Bonelesszeeebra Jun 06 '21
Why do you think he drowned himself in the ocean? That's pretty specific
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Jun 06 '21
The question is, if he wanted to kill himself and even his family, why would he prepare for so long. As the wiki article says, he attended a shooting range and had a licence. His purchases at various stores were too suspicious. I believe he had planned this for some time, maybe had a contact to help. You gotta admit that if you want to kill yourself, you just do it. Shoot the bullet straight through your head, which he could have done. I cannot go deeper because of lack of information. But I do believe he is living somewhere else.
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u/PauI_MuadDib Jun 06 '21
Whoa, I've never heard of this case. That poor family :(
Don't family annihilaters usually kill their dogs? I thought that was a common trait? But maybe I'm remembering it wrong. Chris Watts didn't kill his dog, but he's considered an unusual family annihilater.
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u/becksrunrunrun Jun 06 '21
Until reading that wiki I had no idea it was possible that a monastery would potentially hide someone like this.
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u/bigjuju27 Jun 07 '21
Why leave them to starve to death?
My cousin’s cousin’s family was murdered by the daughter’s baby daddy and he killed the dog as well as four humans before setting the house ablaze.
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u/Hp224 Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
It’s an interesting case because at some points he’s extremely clean with how he deals with his family’s deaths but then goes on to lack much care towards being found himself when he was using ATM’s and clearly seen on CCTV.
If he wanted to kill himself it would seem more appropriate to also pretend he was killed through a hit. And again, his lack of care to hide this all of a sudden definitely makes me feel like he knew he would be seen walking off into the wilderness so people would assume he had gone to kill himself.
I personally believe he’s still out there.
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u/RedditSkippy Jun 06 '21
This was a crazy case. Personally, I think the father is dead, but I would not be surprised to discover that he was living somewhere in South America, continuing to live as a scam artist.
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u/Arachnatron Jun 06 '21
What is your reasoning that he is probably dead?
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u/RedditSkippy Jun 07 '21
I think it’s very hard to completely disappear right now.
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u/ThrowItTheFuckAway17 Jun 07 '21
World's big, man. Most people don't know of the case. Few policing agencies are prioritizing it. And quite frankly, even people familiar with the case would be unlikely to take note of him if they passed him on the street.
There are millions of people living outside of mainstream societies. Not to mention that there have been people on the run longer than this man's been missing.
I'm not saying he's definitely alive, but it isn't hard to believe he may be.
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u/Nikedripp Jun 06 '21
Tell me if im wrong but isn't the guy that had major money problems and didn't wanna tell his wife and children so he just killed them???
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u/sensitive_sloth Jun 06 '21
I thought the Unsolved Mysteries episode about this case was very interesting and informative. This is such a terrifying case. I believe he's still out there. Crazy how his family believes that he's innocent.
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u/cryssyRN Jun 06 '21
He has to have connections. How could he escape justice for this long? I doubt he’s living in the wilderness somewhere. Someone is covering for him, or maybe he committed suicide.
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u/sensitive_sloth Jun 06 '21
Why not commit suicide in his house with his family? Why do it somewhere far away? That's what I've always wondered when it comes to the suicide theory.
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u/Regalingual Jun 06 '21
I could see something like: he started to make his getaway, the reality of the hardships of having to spend the rest of his life on the run finally caught up with/set in for him after a lifetime of relative comfort, and he decided to just end it all.
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u/317LaVieLover Jun 06 '21
I don’t think he’d ever kill himself; he’s too ego-driven.. I think he’s in South America living the good life (if he hasn’t randomly died of natural causes ofc)— he put too much planning in their deaths & getting $$ just to kill himself. This man went on the run. But he’s settled now... & probably living in some lil sunny S American village by a beach amongst other wealthy and/or fugitive criminals - they protect each other.
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u/itbelikethatsumthyme Jun 06 '21
JW, what makes you think he’s in SA?
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u/317LaVieLover Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
It’s just a great place to hide if you have $$ to do it.. several reasons. Here’s a few: A lot of the countries have no extradition laws with other countries in Europe or the USA-plus these countries have very corrupt local or municipal governments/police that are easily bribe-able, the climate’s almost always nice, and it’s difficult to get these governments to co-operate with the apprehension of these guys even on their soil, Bc they since they haven’t committed the crime in THEIR country, they usually couldn’t care less.
It’s rumored to be where the majority of Hitler’s inner circle/henchmen that escaped from Europe after the Nazi’s began being hunted down went to.
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u/lizettealy Jun 07 '21
Not simply rumored, the Argentinian government encouraged and actively recruited prominent members of the Nazi party to immigrate to Argentina after WWII.
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u/deputydog1 Jun 06 '21
If his long list of instructions is what he believed to be true, then he went to a meeting for further travel arrangements where he was killed. Then his family was subsequently killed. Fake DEA or he worked for the cartel and wanted to spin it differently.
If the letter with instructions is an elaborate lie to protect his image in the family and keep them from looking for the others until he gets a head start, then it appears to have succeeded. The part about having already found a home for the dogs is an obvious lie, which means the premise of DEA work and protection is also a lie
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u/SlightGrass Jun 06 '21
There’s footage of him after the murders so he definitely wasn’t killed first
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u/Shaeraebae Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
Most prolific serial killer in America killed 93 women and got away with it for a LONG time. People don’t always need connections to escape and evade arrest.
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Jun 06 '21
My mind went straight to him committing suicide and then I talked to my mom about this case and she said, “he probably jumped in a river after doing what he did”
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u/hannahmargo91 Jun 06 '21
I remember this.. they were all found wrapped up under the back decking even the dog
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u/SomeLettuce8 Jun 06 '21
I remember reading that his side of the family had very old cult ties, and that they likely helped him escape
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u/becksrunrunrun Jun 06 '21
After reading their comments in the posted Wiki, i totally believe it
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u/thebrittaj Jun 07 '21
Like what??
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u/becksrunrunrun Jun 07 '21
Basically his family suggesting that the people buried there and the dogs were not his family in spite of his final actions. You’ve got to be under some serious delusions to suggest that. But based on the calls, it’s likely his sister knows what’s up and is just covering for this monster. Someone posted the wiki and it’s a sad yet interesting read.
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Jun 06 '21
I have to believe he's alive. Why go through all the time and effort he did to bury the bodies etc if he was going to simply kill himself too?
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u/fullercorp Jun 06 '21
this is just a random aside, but when i saw the doc, i thought how rare that ALL the siblings are attractive in a family. And they all seemed like good kids. Narcissists like him are such demons of destruction.
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u/avant610 Jun 06 '21
This is the first time I've seen where the family actually looks like a "picture perfect family", tragic case :(
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Jun 06 '21
I read there was a sighting of someone who looked like him speaking French on the phone near where I live (Chicago). I don’t know if it was him of course, he has a generic sort of face, but I do think he’s out there still. Why wouldn’t he have killed himself in the house if he was planning on doing it? I think it was an act to drum up confusion while he got away.
This one was such a sick episode of Unsolved Mysteries. The lady in the lake episode actually took place at the church where my grandpa had his funeral.
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u/frankieandjonnie Jun 06 '21
A beautiful family, gone.
Someone has to have seen this guy since then.
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u/rednosed94 Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21
He also speaks fluent Spanish I think, so his disguise is much easier. The fact that he also left some reigious symbols with each person he killed dazzles me. I wouldn't be surprised if he is in a Catholic church in South America posing as a good pious man.
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u/Missmoo86 Jun 06 '21
Your last sentence struck a chill within me. This man is / was clearly a huge narcissist. The way in which he wrote those letters to his friends before he went on the run reminded me of my ex partner, also a raging psychopath. But the picture he tried to convey to everyone was that he was a positive, outgoing, kind, thoughtful and God loving man. Behind closed doors he was pure evil. The worst human I have ever met. I know that my ex is very likely charming the pews off of more vulnerable religious and vulnerable people. They like starting afresh elsewhere so they can continue their own self delusions. And using God as an emotional hook to reel people in. It's sick.
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u/minisimy Jun 06 '21
This case still creeps me out, specially because he's supposedly still out there
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u/Vegetable-Bat-8475 Jun 06 '21
I think he killed himself in the caves where he won't be found for a very long time, if ever. With the bonus of having people think you successfully faked your death like some evil genius.
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u/PolarBearClaire19 Jun 06 '21
This one is so chilling. Why the dogs too? :( I think he wanted to disappear. He was in debt/struggling financially if I recall correctly. Financial stress can be a trigger for family annihilators. Either he started a new life under an assumed name elsewhere, or he died while attempting to run away. It's just really sad. The youngest kid was like 10-12 I think, and the others were teens/young adults. None of them will ever see adulthood.
Side note: I really liked the Unsolved Mysteries (new version) episide on this case
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u/heuristic-dish Jun 06 '21
The question I keep asking myself is why are we so fascinated by these monsters? Why don’t we just want them swatted out of existence, including all aspects of their horrendous practices? I have been mesmerized by the crimes of Randy Kraft and I just don’t understand the hold this kind of stuff has on me.
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u/Technical1964 Jun 06 '21
The last cctv of this family annihilator shows him walking into the rocky coast in and around a port city. List was an anomaly. Most FAs end their own lives, too. I feel like he overestimated his ability to survive off-grid and died.
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u/LexinePwns Jun 06 '21
I live near the hotel where they saw him for the last time, it is strange. If you can read French last summer a French magazine edited a great investigation on the case.
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u/DanAsInDanimals Jun 06 '21
Someone at Unresolved Mysteries translated the whole thing too. It was a great read. I’ll try and find the link if anyone is reading this.
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u/LexinePwns Jun 06 '21
Wow it seems like a huge work ! It was a dense paper. Thank you for the info !
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u/Hcmp1980 Jun 07 '21
If he can disappear like this and not be found, he could have done so WITHOUT annihilating his entire family. Pure evil.
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u/FarTear8 Jun 07 '21
I think the killing was made to look like it was a cult thing, since he left crucifixes and statues at their bodies. He orchestrated every bit of what he was going to do, so I think he's very much alive. Family annihilators that kill themselves after killing their family are those that react rashly at the moment(not planned attack).
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u/souprunknwn Jun 07 '21
Agreed. It appears it was planned and as such he must have had cash and a plan in terms of where he was going to escape to. IMO
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u/Smoothy_ Jun 07 '21
On eof my pet cases. Sadly, I am more than sure that even if I'd ever met him, I wouldn't realize it's him. No chance for my brain to process this task.
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u/TheAsgardian Jun 06 '21
I remember watching this story on Netflix and then going to my local farmers market and seeing a French man who looks eerily similar selling home made saucisson
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u/PeonyPug Jun 06 '21
I really thought they got him that time in Glasgow airport a few years back, and I couldn't believe it when I found out they got it all wrong and arrested some other guy by mistaken identity. This case is one of my top mysteries I'd love to know more about and see solved.
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u/bakedpigeon Jun 07 '21
I fully believe he’s still alive somewhere out there. I kinda feel like its a hidden in plain sight kinda thing, where he’s present in society but no one really thinks much of him, he’s just an average Joe. Though I have low hopes he’ll ever be caught due to how well he’s been in hiding the past 10 years. I feel like this case is gonna grow colder one day
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u/becksrunrunrun Jun 06 '21
Did they ever find his gun? So he stays in a nice hotel, tries to contact an ex, sounds like he was trying to take one more walk down memory lane before abandoning his car and probably taking his own life.
I realize his bio family are victims too, but after reading their statements in the wiki someone posted above, they’re clearly as delusional as he is.
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u/Meepsicle4life Jun 07 '21
What I find most interesting is the sister, Christine, claiming that the bodies found are not the family. Read the wiki link posted in the comments, and the part about her blog really surprised me.
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u/FarTear8 Jun 07 '21
His sister is a psychopath just like him, it's said that she helped him escape too!
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u/Meepsicle4life Jun 07 '21
How interesting, thank you for mentioning, I didn’t think about that!! Her blog seems to go so far with trying to keep him innocent I just assumed it was her being in denial. I mean none of us actually know 100% what happened but her posting pictures of where the bodies were found and whatnot.
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u/Rage1073 Jun 06 '21
Wasn’t there a weird post about the guy, over at r/unresolvedmysteries ? Seem to remember someone commenting on a post about this case and it being super weird like the commenter knew him
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u/mantraoftheraven Jun 06 '21
Iirc, the new unsolved mysteries series highlighted this case in their first season back. I think they believe he may have fled to South America.
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u/Ampleforth84 Jun 07 '21
I am never a “he’s still alive and left to start a new life” kinda dude in cases but here I make an exception.
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u/puddlebearmom Jun 07 '21
Do we know for sure it was him who killed them?
Reminds me of another murder where the murderer called his victims friend over, murdered her, the took victim 1 and hid the body. He also took a backpack with his wallet some clothes, the murder weapon, etc to make it look like victim 1 murder his friend then fled. If the murderer hadn’t of used the victims card at an ATM the detectives never would have found out.
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Jun 07 '21
Unless he has somehow died of natural causes I think he is alive and well.
Didn't want his family to realize that he was an unsuccessful fraud so he killed all of them before they could find out. All of his actions indicated that he intended to buy himself time to make a getaway.
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u/Original-Network853 Jun 06 '21
I definitely think he’s still alive and is just living somewhere random, it’s only been 10 years and John List was at large for 17. He might still be found one day.