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| Eastern Michigan University - Halle Library Archives |
Wanting to maintain a conservative image for the alumnae and parents of students at the university, editors for the campus phone directory chose to dip into their photo archives for a picture from 1966.
Ground was broken on Sill Hall, the Fine Arts building, in 1964, and it was open for the fall semester of 1966. Not only do the clothes and hair styles date the photograph, but the fresh sod and the sapling trees do as well.
I remember this directory and used it many times, as I graduated with a bachelor's degree in December of 1972. What makes this telephone book relic relevant to me now is what I discovered only last year.
Looking at the full sized actual cover of the directory, the photograph is unmistakable to anyone who knew John Collins. In 1966, Collins was beginning his first year at Eastern as a sophomore transfer student from Central Michigan University.
This photograph was taken ten months before the murder of the first victim took place. Mary Fleszar's ravaged body was left to rot in the countryside, found a month later by two thirteen year old boys. Her murder remains officially unsolved.
The university denies this is Collins, but they can't identify who it is. I lived a block up the street from John Norman Collins and saw him numerous times. That's him!
Greg, I am a graduate of EMU and really, really looking forward to your book on John N. Collins. The Michigan Murders book was beyond creepy, especially since I know of every location depicted in the book, but it could have been sooo much better. I find that whole period of time fascinating (67-69) and cannot believe how anyone could have gotten away with murder for so long when it was obvious who the killer was, especially after the Joan Schell murder. It's like, duh, Collins lived right across the street from her and he was seen walking with her the night of her murder. I hope you are able to explain how/why Collins' roomate Arnold Davis did not know he was living with a killer! He saw the box of women's items that Collins kept. Why didn't he come forward? Whatever happened to him? Have you contacted him for the book? I was born in '67, so obviously I could not have experienced the terror my college town had to be experiencing during that time. I hope you are able to convey the feeling of the area during those terrifying days. I am confident you will.
ReplyDeleteHi Greg!
ReplyDeleteI hope all is well with you. I have to agree, that's John. I recognized him right away in the blurred enlargement while scrolling through the page before I even read the article. He had a habit of tilting his head like that if you were talking to him, appearing to be concentrating on what you were saying. For me, the compilation of the features and posture are convincing enough.
The young lady and her friend, whom I adopted a cat from, had both just graduated from U of M with double master degrees. Neither one had never heard of John Norman Collins or the Ann Arbor killings. That surprised me a bit because it seems like the type of story that would become local folk lore. The fear is gone.
Peace Out!
Gordy Hyska