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You are here: Home / Book Reviews / New book: Terror in Ypsilanti

New book: Terror in Ypsilanti

July 11, 2016 By Alice

Terror in Ypsilanti/Michigan Murders/Gregory A. FournierA new book, Terror in Ypsilanti comes out this month about a string of murders in the late 60s. These murders took place in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan.

Women between the ages of 13 and 21 were abducted, raped, beaten, and murdered. After they were stabbed or strangled, their bodies were sometimes mutilated before they were discarded.

Gregory A. Fournier explains why he wrote this book:

“Seven young women went missing without any signs of struggle between the summers of 1967 and 1969 in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The last victim Karen Sue Beineman was last seen with all-American Eastern Michigan University student John Norman Collins–the boy next door. 

I lived one block down the street from John Norman Collins while the Washtenaw County murders were happening. It wasn’t until I saw Collins’s photograph on the front page of The Detroit News on August 1, 1969, that I was able to contextualize my experiences with him.

A full non-fiction account about these brutal sex crimes was never published, though a cozy mystery “The Michigan Murders” was published in 1976 that did more to obscure the identities of the seven victims and their murderer than shed any insight on these cases. With the benefit of almost fifty years of insight, hundreds of vintage press articles, the Freedom of Information Act, and many personal interviews with people connected to these events, I felt it was time to pay a debt to history and I was uniquely qualified to take on the job.

Collins was convicted of Beineman’s sex-slaying, but the other unsolved cases thought to be his work were relegated to cold case status. “Terror in Ypsilanti” tells the stories of the other victims, recreates the trial that took Collins off the streets, and recounts Collins’s years behind Michigan prison bars.”

The Michigan Murders/Gregory A. Fournier
Gregory A. Fournier

Gregory A. Fournier‘s bio:

After teaching high school English for thirty-seven years, I began my writing career. My first book “Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel” is about the culture clash separating the inner city from the suburbs culminating in the worst urban riot in American History.

I have appeared on Investigation Discovery as a guest expert on John Norman Collins for their true crime series “A Crime to Remember” in an episode entitled “A New Kind of Monster.” I also write a weekly blog called Fornology.

You can connect with me on Facebook and on Twitter.

**

Note: John Norman Collins is serving life in the Administrative Segregation of the Marquette Branch Prison. He has never admitted guilt. In 1977, he refused an offer of a public polygraph test to prove his claims.

I have not read Greg’s book. However, I know many of my readers will be interested in this. The book comes out July 2016.

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Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Gregory A. Fournier, John Norman Collins, the Michigan Murders

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  1. Daniel K. Wood, Jr. (Oct. 30, 1941 - Jul. 23, 1954) - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    November 20, 2017 at 5:01 am

    […] likely suspect. If I understand correctly, the man commonly referred to as the Michigan Killer is John Norman Collins. Problem here is that Collins targeted college women and was active between 1967-1969. Also, […]

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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