A few posts back, I mentioned that my mom was cornered in her apartment by a "serial killer". Becky (from the hilarious and awesome Blog of Becky), requested that I elaborate on the story. This is all speculation, and something that occurred to my mom after the fact.
When my mom was in her late teens (in the late 60's), she lived in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area of Michigan. She worked two jobs to support herself, one at a bowling alley and the other at a nearby Burger King. She was just at that age where she wanted to live on her own, but probably in reality, should have stayed at home just a smidge longer. Anyway, on this particular day my mom was running late. She was leaving the bowling alley and was rushing to get to her second shift at BK. She did not have a car, so she was running along the sidewalk when a car pulled up along side her.
"do you need a ride?" the handsome young man in the car asked her.
My mom looked him up and down carefully. She noted that he was clean cut, handsome wearing a sweater vest, penny loafers and he seemed intelligent, so she accepted his offer.
The young man drove my mom to her apartment so that she could change into her BK attire. When they arrived, he asked her if she'd like him to wait for her so he could drive her to her next destination. Because she was in such a hurry, and the man seemed so nice, she again accepted his offer.
"Why don't you come up and have a seat in my living room while I change," my mom offered. (Sigh, can't you just see where this is going? How easy of a victim was she?")
My mom and the man entered her apartment. As my mom was in her room changing, he commented about a poster stuck to the living room wall. The poster said:
" If I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped." (how 60's)!
The man asked if my mom if she followed the poster's saying. Casually, she answered yes as she finished up changing and came out of her bedroom. She looked up and there he was, buck naked with his clothing folded neatly beside him.
"I'm just doing my thing!" he told her.
"What the He!! are you doing?!?!" my mom yelled.
Luckily, on their way to the apartment my mom had mentioned that a police officer lived upstairs from her. Right off the bat, after entering her apartment, the man heard a noise and asked what it was. My mom told him it was probably the officer upstairs moving around.
Upon discovering the naked stranger in her apartment, she began screaming at him to leave or she'd run upstairs and alert the cop. When he wouldn't leave, she bolted out of her apartment and up the stairs to the cop's apartment. As she was knocking on the officer's door, she could see down the open staircase to her apartment. She saw the man leave. He was mostly dressed except for his you know what that remained uncovered. After he left, my mom called her sister to come pick her up. She quit her jobs and moved home.
A while later, this man was arrested for the murder of young girls in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. My mom says he looks very much like the same man who offered her a ride. His name is John Collins, and he is currently serving a life sentence in Marquette, Michigan. Though my mom isn't certain (and never will be) that it truly was John Collins that night in her apartment, it sure makes for a good story. Also, please don't EVER accept a ride from a stranger like that - YIKES!!!!!! There is actually a book out there somewhere that tells the horror story of this man's deeds. It's a good read if you like scary, mystery type books. It's called "The Michigan Murders". By Edward Keyes.
When my mom was in her late teens (in the late 60's), she lived in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area of Michigan. She worked two jobs to support herself, one at a bowling alley and the other at a nearby Burger King. She was just at that age where she wanted to live on her own, but probably in reality, should have stayed at home just a smidge longer. Anyway, on this particular day my mom was running late. She was leaving the bowling alley and was rushing to get to her second shift at BK. She did not have a car, so she was running along the sidewalk when a car pulled up along side her.
"do you need a ride?" the handsome young man in the car asked her.
My mom looked him up and down carefully. She noted that he was clean cut, handsome wearing a sweater vest, penny loafers and he seemed intelligent, so she accepted his offer.
The young man drove my mom to her apartment so that she could change into her BK attire. When they arrived, he asked her if she'd like him to wait for her so he could drive her to her next destination. Because she was in such a hurry, and the man seemed so nice, she again accepted his offer.
"Why don't you come up and have a seat in my living room while I change," my mom offered. (Sigh, can't you just see where this is going? How easy of a victim was she?")
My mom and the man entered her apartment. As my mom was in her room changing, he commented about a poster stuck to the living room wall. The poster said:
" If I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped." (how 60's)!
The man asked if my mom if she followed the poster's saying. Casually, she answered yes as she finished up changing and came out of her bedroom. She looked up and there he was, buck naked with his clothing folded neatly beside him.
"I'm just doing my thing!" he told her.
"What the He!! are you doing?!?!" my mom yelled.
Luckily, on their way to the apartment my mom had mentioned that a police officer lived upstairs from her. Right off the bat, after entering her apartment, the man heard a noise and asked what it was. My mom told him it was probably the officer upstairs moving around.
Upon discovering the naked stranger in her apartment, she began screaming at him to leave or she'd run upstairs and alert the cop. When he wouldn't leave, she bolted out of her apartment and up the stairs to the cop's apartment. As she was knocking on the officer's door, she could see down the open staircase to her apartment. She saw the man leave. He was mostly dressed except for his you know what that remained uncovered. After he left, my mom called her sister to come pick her up. She quit her jobs and moved home.
A while later, this man was arrested for the murder of young girls in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. My mom says he looks very much like the same man who offered her a ride. His name is John Collins, and he is currently serving a life sentence in Marquette, Michigan. Though my mom isn't certain (and never will be) that it truly was John Collins that night in her apartment, it sure makes for a good story. Also, please don't EVER accept a ride from a stranger like that - YIKES!!!!!! There is actually a book out there somewhere that tells the horror story of this man's deeds. It's a good read if you like scary, mystery type books. It's called "The Michigan Murders". By Edward Keyes.
John Norman Collins ~ The Michigan Murders
P.S. My mom would like me to add that this was over 30 years ago, and things were different then. There wasn't as big a scare of strangers as there is now ~ but still, YIKES!
5 comments:
That was so scary! I'm happy she got away unharmed!
OMG!!!!!! your Mom is SO lucky!!!! What a crazy story!
So creepy....she was so lucky.
This story makes the hair on my arms stand up. Lucky. Lucky, lucky, lucky.
Hi. This was very interesting, and indeed scary. So glad to read your mother ended up OK. My father, Edward Keyes, wrote The Michigan Murders. He spent years investigating, writing, and rewriting and created a real thriller based on the actual facts (like Capote did with In Cold Blood). Dad passed away in 2002, but my family is proud that the Univ. of Michigan Press has re-issed his book. I re-read it recently and it really is riveting. Dad's got a big heavenly smile right about now!
Terence (Terry) Keyes
White Plains, NY
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