SERIAL KILLER: "The Ypsilanti Ripper" John Norman Collins Pt. 1 with Katie Ring from America's Most Infamous Crimes
Serial Killers & Murderous Minds
Crime House
4.5 • 713 Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2026
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Vanessa and Dr. Engels are joined by Katie Ring, host of the Crime House Original America's Most Infamous Crimes to discuss the crimes of the "Ypsilanti Ripper." In the late 1960s, Eastern Michigan University students Mary Fleszar and Joan Schell were brutally murdered by someone hiding in plain sight: their charming, honor-roll neighbor John Norman Collins. Despite a witness placing Collins with one victim and a description matching his car, he talked his way out of police scrutiny and continued killing. This episode examines Collins's violent childhood, his escalating crimes, and the psychological unraveling behind his all-American facade.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Before we get into today's episode, I want to tell you about another show I think you'll love. |
| 0:08.0 | Hidden History with Dr. Harini Bot. Every Monday, Dr. Bot goes where history gets mysterious. |
| 0:15.0 | Vanished civilizations, doomsday prophecies, paranormal phenomena, and events that science still can't fully explain. |
| 0:24.3 | Dr. Bot treats these moments like open case files, not myths, not superstition, just incomplete explanations, waiting for a closer look. |
| 0:33.3 | Hidden History drops every Monday. Follow now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, so you never miss a mystery. |
| 0:55.0 | Going off to college is an exciting time in someone's life. |
| 0:59.0 | Most people never forget that first taste of freedom, |
| 1:02.0 | planning your own schedule, going to parties, and choosing your own path. |
| 1:06.0 | For many, entering college marks the beginning of a bright new chapter. |
| 1:10.0 | But for John Norman Collins, it was the beginning of his sadistic downfall. |
| 1:14.6 | When John started college in the late 1960s, he had everything going for him, |
| 1:19.6 | friends, good grades, and a steamy dating life. |
| 1:23.6 | So when female students started turning up dead, no one suspected that John was the monster behind it all. |
| 1:30.3 | The human mind is powerful. It shapes how we think, feel, love, and hate. |
| 1:48.2 | But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable. |
| 1:51.8 | This is serial killers and murderous minds, a crimehouse original. |
| 1:55.9 | I'm Vanessa Richardson. |
| 1:57.4 | And for the next two episodes, Dr. Engels and I are thrilled to welcome our special guest, Katie Ring, the host of the Crime House original America's Most Infamous Crimes. |
| 2:07.1 | Thanks so much for having me on you, too. |
| 2:09.2 | Of course. And for everyone listening, if you're not following America's most infamous crimes, make sure to do it now. |
| 2:16.4 | Each week, she goes deep on one of the most |
| 2:19.2 | notorious true crime cases in American history, like Ted Bundy, the Idaho murders, O.J. Simpson, |
... |
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