John Norman Collins Canadian Connection

When I speak to people about the Washtenaw County murders of the late 1960s, I am usually asked, "Have you been in contact with any of John Norman Collins's family?" My answer is always, "I've made several attempts without success."

JNC's older brother and his late sister were steadfast in their silence about their notorious younger brother. Neither of John's siblings bear any responsibility for what their brother did; regardless, they both paid a heavy personal price and are victims of the collateral damage from the very public and court case. They chose not to comment--well within their rights.

John Norman Collins (13), his brother (16), and sister (15) - December 30th, 1960.

The Collins' family wall of silence is a legacy from their mother, Loretta--the family matriarch. She was the sole ruler and spokesperson for the family during her son's trial and afterward. Not even John was allowed to speak in his own defense. Now that Loretta is gone, no one speaks for the family. I had just about given up establishing contact with anyone in the Collins clan when I received an unexpected email from a surprising source.

"My name is John (Philip) Chapman; I am John Norman Collins's Canadian cousin. I've been in contact with my cousin since 1981, thirty-two years now--and I have some interesting information I would be willing to share with you pertaining to John's family history and facts he has revealed to me. 

"I normally would never get involved, however, after reading your blog post--Treading on the Grief of Others in the John Norman Collins Case--I agree a debt is owed to history that must be paid.

"My heart truly goes out to those young women and their families who had their daughters taken away from them too soon. If there is anything I can share with you to help, I would be happy to do so."

John Philip Chapman appeared exactly when we needed him most. My researcher Ryan M. Place and I had worked for three years to get someone from the Collins family to speak with us about John's early family history.

Richard Chapman in 1944 on motorcycle seen with his friend Fred Higgins who saved his life.

"John's father--my Uncle Rich--was a light-infantry officer and an explosives/demolition expert in His Majesty's Canadian Services. He lost his left leg in 1944 during the Second World War. After his injury, he spent weeks in a military hospital recovering from battle fatigue and physical complications before being shipped home to Canada. He was on medication for the rest of his life. My uncle lived until 1988.

"I want to correct a public inaccuracy. Uncle Richard was never abusive towards his children or my Aunt Marjorie (Loretta went by her middle name in Canada). He never abandoned his children and never would. My aunt divorced my uncle for alleged 'extreme mental cruelty.' Uncle Rich loved his children very much, however, due (to) the amount of lies Aunt Marjorie put in their heads, they didn't want to be bothered with him. Hoping to avoid dragging their children through a bitter divorce, my uncle gave Aunt Marjorie what she wanted--full custody. My cousin Gail learned the truth shortly before her Dad passed away."

According to Chapman, "My Aunt Marjorie's family felt Uncle Rich was not good enough for their daughter. He wasn't Catholic. Her parents didn't like their son-in-law and offered him money to disappear.... I know for a fact that my Uncle Rich never took the money."

John Philip Chapman

John Philip explained that he had been writing his cousin John (Collins) in prison since he (Chapman) was seven or eight years old. "(Collins) is twenty-five years older than me and has always been like a big brother. In our letters, he refers to me as 'Little Brother'." John Philip Chapman explained that he was an only child and found comfort in the attention from his older American cousin who became a virtual 'Big Brother' for him.

Somehow, Chapman managed to remain ignorant of his older cousin's crimes. Over the years, Chapman maintained a "Don't ask - Don't tell" policy regarding his cousin's imprisonment. After all, Collins had insisted he was innocent of the Karen Sue Beineman murder. Collins also complained in his letters that he was victimized by a rogue cop (Sheriff Douglas Harvey), an overzealous prosecutor (William Delhey), and a corrupt legal system looking for a scapegoat. Now forty-one years old, Chapman's personal search for knowledge about his cousin was making him confront his deepest fears.

John Philip Chapman asked if I would be interested in receiving some of his cousin's prison letters. Chapman had noticed a change in tone and intensity in the letters of late, and he wanted me to look at them. Then, Chapman volunteered something unexpected. He offered to see what other information he could find out from his cousin about his crimes. 

Without JNC's knowledge, over the next four months we received a total of nine prison letters from Collins to his cousin. The letters average seven pages and cover a range of subjects, but one theme became more and more prevalent as time went on. Collins was pressing for an international prisoner exchange with Canada. This was Chapman's original motivation for contacting me. He wanted to know if he and his mother had anything to fear from Collins. I told Chapman that I wouldn't feel comfortable with Collins in my house or my neighborhood.

Chapman told me that Collins tried unsuccessfully to get an international prisoner exchange with Canada in 1981. Canada has more liberal sentencing provisions than the United States, so Collins saw parole as a very real possibility. The basis for his repatriation claim was he was born in Canada and held dual citizenship. He claimed he had relatives and a support system there.

But both JNC's father and his uncle refused to offer their sponsorship to Collins after being contacted by authorities on both sides of the Detroit River informing them of the particulars of Collins's crimes. When the Detroit Free Press ran an article about the possible transfer acting on a tip from a Marquette prison inmate, the Michigan Department of Corrections summarily revoked Collins's application for the international prisoner exchange.

John Norman Collins

Thirty-two years later, Collins summoned up the courage to ask his younger cousin--his last Canadian blood relative--to sponsor him for another prisoner transfer attempt in hopes of receiving dispensation for timed served in Michigan. To Collins's way of thinking, all he needed was a relative and a place to stay; then, he could be assigned to a work release program in Canada and be free of his Michigan prison cell and his jailers. Now, it became clear to Chapman what JNC had been driving at for months--the chicken hawk wanted to come home to roost.

Link to the above mentioned blog post:
http://fornology.blogspot.com/2013/06/treading-on-grief-of-others-in-john.html

John Norman Collins' Last Wish, "I Want To Die on Canadian Soil"

In a recent letter to a Canadian Immigration official, John Norman Collins (JNC) expressed his desire to attempt another International Prisoner Exchange Treaty bid with the country of his birth.

In 1981, Collins was one signature away from being transferred to a prison in Ontario near Toronto when a Marquette Prison inmate blew the whistle on him. 

A letter fell on the desk of the night city desk editor at The Detroit Free Press, William Hart, who ran a story about it after intrepid reporter, Marianne Rzepka, corroborated the details. The story "Transfer to Canada For Killer" was run in the evening edition of the paper, and by morning, the Michigan Associated Press sent the story far and wide throughout the state's media network. 

***

JNC took the words of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to heart when he made a public statement about there being too many people in Michigan's prisons because of minor drug offenses and an aging prison population. He was sixty-six and one of the oldest inmates at Marquette Branch Prison.

In several prison letters to his cousin, JNC moans about his aches and pains, the indifferent medical staff, and the inadequate services available to him. What he doesn't mention to his cousin is that he often refuses to ante up his co-pay for medical services. I have several prison Administration Hearing documents that detail how JNC refuses to pay, and then he makes an issue of it.

Collins writes that he is a physical wreck from "too much weightlifting and playing hockey," though he still plays handball and basketball whenever he can. He complains about his bad knees, bum hip, and arthritic back, the simple ravages of the aging process many of us Baby Boomers suffer from.

Of a more serious nature was an incident that occurred in May of 2012, which he details in a September 7, 2013 letter to his cousin:

"I did have a scary moment last year. I was going to the Chow Hall with my friend, Big Mike and we just got outside the unit and I CRASHED to the concrete FACE FIRST. I thought I woke right up, BUTT, Big Mike told me I was out for a couple of minutes. I tried getting up but the guards told me to stay down. My face was a bloody mess.

"They took me to Health Care and there was a doctor there and he sent me immediately to the hospital in Marquette. At first they thought I had a heart attack or a stroke. They did over $100,000 of tests on me for a day and a half and found no bleeding in my brain, so they were CORNfused and couldn't find a cause."

JNC now hoped he could parley his private health concerns to portray himself as an old-timer who is a shadow of his former self and a danger to no one. 

If he could only convince a sitting Michigan governor to pardon him or override the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) revocation of his 1981 transfer application, he could be "home" in the country of his birth awaiting a work release program. Of course, JNC needed his Canadian cousin's help with a commitment to sponsor him, to provide a home for him, and to supervise his "reintegration into society." In short, to be responsible for him.

***

In the same letter, JNC asked Chapman to visit him in Marquette Branch Prison which he had never done before. 

Shortly afterwards in an email to me, Chapman wrote:

"He does want to see me face to face for the first time and he wants my help, as he said neither (his brother or sister) have ever offered to 'put him up.' However, I am not sure what to do.

"I know who John is to me, regardless of what he has done in the past... however, never at any time, have I ever found myself afraid of him and I think I would be safe if I had him here. After all, his victims were all women, not men. 

"But with that in mind, I am worried that if I was miraculously able to get him to Canada, I would worry that he might hurt some woman, and I just don't want that on my conscience.

"As well, I am aware of the relationship that he has with some of his "friends" in prison, and I use the term "friends" very loosely. I may be naive, but I am not stupid. So that concerns me. Would he try something on me? I am not being paranoid, just trying to protect myself and my mom.

"Let's say (hypothetically), if John did get back to Canada and I did sponsor him, do you honestly think that my Mom and I would be in danger? I am conflicted now"

My immediate response to John Philip Chapman was:

"John, your cousin is a hardened criminal. Straight up! His own mother had discipline problems with him. He has a self-professed anger management problem. Factor in forty-five years of pent up frustration and rage. I wouldn't take a chance."

John Philip Chapman's quick reply was:

"I will take your advice seriously and be very cautious moving forward with communications with my cousin. The interesting thing about all this is that if this were anyone else, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, or any other serial killer, I would not even waste any time on the issue.

"I have been writing to him since I was ten years old and obviously too young to understand the kind of person he was then. As the years went by, I suppose I never outgrew that vision I saw of him in my head... but then the facts are what they are. John is NOT where he is by accident or a corrupt legal system... he deserves to be where he is. This is for society's protection and, I suppose, even for him.

"Greg and Ryan, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for not judging me or regarding me in the same circle as my cousin. I am who I am and John is who he is."

***

After nixing the trip to Marquette Prison, Chapman received an unexpected collect call from JNC. Collins needed to strengthen his grip on his wavering cousin and synchronize "their" strategy. 

On September 13, 2013, JNC wrote to Chapman:

"I was so pleased with our phone call. I must admit that I was (a) bit nervous at first. I didn't know what to say. You sound so grown up now. Anyway, it was finally great to break the ice after so many months. You are the most important person in my life right now. I also consider you my best friend."

The message soon shifted into drawing Chapman into JNC's transfer conspiracy:

"We have to watch what we say about Frank (Collins' contact at the Canadian Consulate). I don't know how the process works over there, BUTT it is so easy for the MDOC to simply say no to everything. Hopefully a higher power (the governor) will take over and over-ride the MDOC (VETO)."

***

Early in October, Chapman wrote Collins saying he had been reading internet articles about him and didn't feel comfortable sponsoring him. This must have hit Collins like a punch in the face. 

In an email dated October 7th, JNC began to panic and show desperation:

"I HOPE YOU HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK OVER YOUR DECISION. WHATEVER THEY SAID WAS A LIE JUST LIKE IT WAS 32 YEARS AGO WITH DELHEY (Washtenaw County Prosecutor). THEY USED THEIR EMAILS TO SCARE YOU. WHO IS IT THAT CONTACTED YOU? 

"YOU HAVE WORKED TOO HARD AND TOO LONG TO LET THEM KEEP US FROM EACH OTHER. YOU HAVE KNOWN ME FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS AND THEM ZERO. THEY MADE YOU OVERACT BECAUSE THEY KNOW YOU ARE A VERY GOOD AND SENSITIVE PERSON. I NEVER HURT(my nephew), AND I WOULD NEVER HURT YOU OR YOUR MOTHER. NEVER!!!

"I WANT TO CALL YOU TOMORROW IF I CAN. PLEASE DON'T DO ANYTHING UNTIL YOU RECEIVE MY NEXT LETTER. YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE THIS WEEK AND ANOTHER ONE THE WEEK AFTER. PLEASE READ THEM BOTH BEFORE MAKING YOUR FINAL DECISION. 

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO PROTECT ME... NOT SELL ME DOWN THE RIVER. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY SENT YOU, BUT IT IS A LIE AND THEY WANT TO SCARE YOU INTO THINKING THAT I WOULD HURT YOU JUST LIKE THEY DID 32 YEARS AGO.

"PLEASE DON'T FALL FOR THIS PLOY. I'M OUT OF TIME. I LOVE YOU, JOHN, WITH ALL MY HEART. I KNOW THAT WE CAN BE A REAL FAMILY. BYE FOR NOW. LOVE ALWAYS."

In an October 17th email that John Philip Chapman sent me, the Canadian transfer saga came to an abrupt end:

"Greg, I really want this man out of my life for good, and I seriously want to cut all ties with him. There was a time in my life up until recently that I did care about my cousin. After all, he is family, and I believe that family needs to stick together and support each other, but that has its limitations.

"For over 30 years, I believed my cousin and thought what he was telling me was the truth. It was complete and total bullshit. John tells half-truths and is an excellent manipulator, that is for sure. All I got to see over those years was a side of John that he wanted me to see and not who he really is.... However, I just do not want to communicate with him anymore, and I see no value in doing so."

When JNC tried to call Chapman back at his home, John Philip decided to block all future phone calls from his infamous relative. With that, the Canadian International Prisoner Exchange became an impossible reality for Collins. JNC had exhausted all of his appeals and every avenue for an early release. 

My advice for Mr. Collins is that he make an application to the Make a Wish Foundation and see how that goes.

But the Story Goes On!

Background on JNC's first attempt at a Canadian Prisoner Exchange: http://fornology.blogspot.com/2013/06/john-norman-collins-and-canadian-prison.html

John Norman Collins' Canadian Border Bid

On Wednesday, August 7, 2013, John Norman Collins (JNC) finally got around to asking his Canadian first-cousin what he had been edging towards for months, sponsorship for an international prisoner exchange.

In letter after letter, JNC stresses in elevated and maudlin detail the close personal and emotional ties that bind him and John Philip Chapman together. "I love you, Little Brother" is the most common refrain in  his letters. JNC repeatedly plays the "happy family card" and John Philip quietly accedes. 

For his part, Chapman did little to discourage Collins' line of thinking because it kept the door open for his older cousin to reveal more details about his complicity in some of the other murders he is thought to have committed but was never charged with. 

Chapman was secure in the thought that this "sponsorship" ploy was pure delusion on the part of his cousin. After all, Cousin John had attempted the same thing in 1981 to circumvent the Life Sentence decreed by The People of The State of Michigan, and he had failed. 

So you can imagine how Chapman felt when JNC sent him a copy of a letter he had written to a Canadian Immigration official in Ontario, Canada, a mere month after he had approached Chapman for his help.
__________

Marquette Branch Prison
John Collins/Chapman 126833
Sunday, September 8, 2013

Honorable Frank Dale:

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your much needed participation and support in my transfer effort to get back home to Canada. Perhaps my cousin, John, has already told you that I tried transferring back to Canada in 1981, under the Prisoner Exchange Treaty between the USA & Canada. That turned out to be a real disaster for me.

Back in 1980, I applied for a transfer and Mr. Douglas Frame was the Canadian Consul at the time. I explained to him that I had a "HIGH PROFILE" case and that it was important for him to move quickly in an attempt to keep my transfer from becoming a "MEDIA CIRCUS." 

Mr. Frame assured me that there wouldn't be any problems and that all of his previous transfers went without a hitch. Once again, I explained my position to Mr. Frame and he assured me once again that there wouldn't be any problems.

Instead of processing my paperwork immediately, Mr. Frame chose to wait several months before coming to visit me. He told me that he and his son were coming up here on a fishing trip and he would visit me then. Those EXTRA COUPLE OF MONTHS cost me my transfer.

Initially, Michigan approved my transfer and so did Washington, who forwarded the paperwork to Canada (Ottawa) for final approval. The paperwork sat on the desk of the person that was supposed to sign the papers for another month because he was off in a foreign country trying to get a relative transferred back to Canada on drug charges.

During that time, the MEDIA learned about my transfer and the victim's family contacted their State Representatives who applied pressure on the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). At that point, I had already been transferred near Detroit for my Verification Hearing and appointed an attorney to represent me.

I thought I was on my way Home. Instead, Michigan rescinded my transfer on the grounds that Canada had not FINALIZED my paperwork yet. Needless to say, I was devastated as was my family over in Canada.

On the "POSITIVE SIDE" right now is the fact that the Attorney General (of the United States), Eric Holder, and the Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder, have BOTH come out vocally and said that we have too many people in prison. They spoke about releasing those with Minor Drug cases and the Elderly inmates that are costing the taxpayer way too much money. Hopefully, that will play into our hands this time around.

The MDOC will simply say that LIFERS will not be transferred because of me. If we get Governor Snyder to APPROVE my transfer, then it is out of MDOC's hands. The USA only honor treaties when it is convenient for them....

In closing, I would once again like to thank you for your support. Hopefully, I'll be able to one day "SHAKE YOUR HAND" in person. My dream is to die on Canadian Soil!

Respectfully,
John Collins/Chapman
__________

The conclusions of the above letter bear closer examination. 

JNC's Canadian family was not "devastated" about Collins being refused his transfer to Canada in 1981. In point of fact, both his birth father and his uncle declined to sponsor John for the international transfer. 

And although it is true that a delay did occur in the processing of JNC's transfer application, the official reason for the MDOC veto was sent to John Norman Collins on January 20, 1982. Then Deputy Director of MDOC, Robert Brown, Jr. wrote: 

"I recently learned through diplomatic channels that you would have minimal family contact if in Canada since most of your family lives here in the States. Further, you spent the majority of your life here in the States.

"Since the main purpose of the treaty is to provide for re-integration into society and since this re-integration would not be possible in Canada, I am revoking our consideration of your transfer request."
__________

Detroit/Windsor Tunnel

One common trait of serial killers is that they learn from their mistakes. Had John Norman Collins gotten any smarter in forty-two years?

For more background on JNC's former border bid, view this link:
http://fornology.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-canadian-dream-of-john-norman.html

John Norman Collins and the Canadian Prison Gambit - Part One

International Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor.

On June 10, 1980, Michigan governor William Milliken signed an  agreement (HR4308) with neighboring Canada to exchange prisoners to serve out the completion of their sentences in their home countries. The act joined the State of Michigan to the terms of a 1978 United States/Canadian treaty.

After exhausting all appeals for a new trial, John Norman Collins became aware of the international prisoner exchange treaty. Collins was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 

Collins' mother, Loretta, divorced for a second time by the time John was four, returned to her parents' home in Center Line, Michigan, with her three children in tow. 

John became a naturalized American citizen at five years old. Now, thirty-three years later and serving time in prison, he believed he still held dual citizenship.

John Collins in Jackson Prison Interview

On November 10, 1980, one month after Governor Milliken signed the international prisoner exchange agreement, Collins quietly applied to have his surname changed back to his Canadian birth father's name, Chapman. 

The name change was granted January 5, 1981, and certified by the Deputy Registrar of Probate Court for the County of Macomb.

John's biological father, Mr. Richard Chapman, lived in Kitchener, Ontario. Chapman had been estranged from his children at Loretta's insistence, but once John was charged with Karen Sue Beineman's murder, Mr. Chapman began to correspond and reconnect with his son. He even attended some of the court sessions.

John Collins certainly thought that he might be able to fly under the prison radar as Chapman and begin the process for a prisoner exchange under the international treaty. 

In Michigan with no possibility of parole, Collins had to serve a minimum of twenty years before he could be considered for a pardon by a sitting Michigan governor. The chances of that happening were slim and none. 

In Canada, an inmate serving a life sentence is eligible for parole after fifteen years. With time served in the Washtenaw County jail and various Michigan prisons, Collins could have been eligible for parole in 1985.

Part Two: John Norman Collins Canadian Prisoner Exchange Exposed