The Michigan Murderer: John Norman Collins and the Ypsilanti Terror

He was handsome, popular, and lived the perfect fraternity life in Ann Arbor. But behind John Norman Collins’s all-American image lurked one of Michigan’s darkest secrets. In the late 1960s, a series of brutal murders terrorized the college towns of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti . Seven young women—mostly students—were abducted, raped, and murdered. The media called the killer “The Michigan Murderer.” In this Radio Free Flint episode, Arthur Busch interviews Gregory Fournier , author of Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked . Fournier recounts how Collins became the prime suspect, how his crimes shattered the sense of safety near two major universities, and why prosecutors charged him with only one of the seven killings. Collins was ultimately convicted of the murder of Karen Sue Beineman , an 18-year-old Eastern Michigan University student. He received a mandatory life sentence , and his conviction was upheld on appeal. But many still ask: Why were the other murder cases never prosecuted? Fournier shares his extensive research into the evidence, police investigation, and unanswered questions that continue to haunt Michigan’s true-crime history. Fournier shares his extensive findings about these murders in our interview. The book "Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked" is available at bookstores. Fournier, a Detroit native, is one of America's premier true crime authors. He has written several other books, including about Detroit's Purple Gang. ----------- Obtain a copy of the book "Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked" by visiting your local bookstore or Amazon Books . To learn more about Gregory Fournier and other published true crime books, visit the Author's Website . -------- -------- Join us on The Mitten Channel on Substack .

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The Michigan Murderer: John Norman Collins and the Ypsilanti Terror is an episode from Radio Free Flint Podcast by The Mitten Channel.

This episode is 24:58 long.

This episode was published on Nov 14, 2025.

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