Oddball Holidaze: We Got You a Murder! (Michigan True Crime)

Welcome To The Oddity Shop, Where The Bizarre is Always on Sale.  This Christmas, your Curator Kara is gifting us all a Michigan True Crime Story.

\We revisit the Michigan co-ed murders across Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti in the late 1960s, where a clean-cut college student hid behind charm and familiarity while women disappeared. This isn’t a lurid deep-dive into a killer’s mystique. It’s a careful retelling of the victims’ lives, the warning signs people ignored, and the moments of courage that finally cracked the case.

We walk through the shifting “safe” culture of a college town where hitchhiking felt normal and dorms stayed unlocked. Witness after witness noticed the small things: dead, cold eyes in a wig shop, a hovering presence, a fresh coat of paint in a basement that smelled like bleach. When those observations were reported early and clearly, the investigation turned. Forensics aligned with accounts, and the murders stopped. That’s the point: vigilance is a practice. You don’t need to be a detective to make a difference; you just need to act on the feeling that something isn’t right.

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend, hit follow, and leave a quick review. And tell us: what safety habit will you change today? Your insight might help someone else speak up when it counts.

Reference Shout Outs: 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Murders

• https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-murders-50-years-ago-terror-reigned-in-ypsilanti

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Murders

•  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Norman_Collins

•  https://aadl.org/features/john_norman_collins

• https://aadl.org/tags/michigan_murders 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19690726 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19670809 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19690610 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19690323 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19690418 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19690512 

•  https://aadl.org/aa_news_19690725 

• https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-murders-50-years-ago-terror-in-ypsilanti-ends

• https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2019/09/50-years-later-the-michigan-murders-still-haunt-ypsilanti.html 

•  https://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/predators/collins/index.html 

•  https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/collins-john-norman.htm

•  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2303492/jane-mixer-autopsy/ 

•  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11499823/joan-schell-investigation/ 

•  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2750014/karen-beineman-disappearance/ 

•  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2750033/karen-beineman-autopsy/

• https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2750073/alice-kalom-case/

•  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2749980/dawn-basom-case-details/ 

Each Week at the Oddity Shop, Your Curators Kara and Zach will bring you stories from Cryptids to Conspiracies, Cults to Curiosities, Myths to Mysteries, and so much more!

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