"The Michigan Murders", as they came to be called, began with Eastern Michigan student Mary Flezlar on July 10, 1967. Her body was later found with multiple stab wounds, and more grotesquely, no hands or feet on august 7. Almost one year later on July 6, 1968, student Joan Schnell was found dead in Ann Arbor with 47 stab wounds. She had last been seen on July 1 with none other than John Norman collins. When questioned Collins claimed that he was with his mother at the time and it was probably just a case of mistaken identity. They took him at his word. Sometime towards the end of March, 1969, Jan Mixer was foundin a cemetary. She was shot and strangled and like the previous victims, was a student at Eastern Michigan.

That same month, on the 26th, 16-year-old Maralynn Skelton was also found dead, beaten and bludgeoned extensively. About three weeks later Dawn Basom, just 13, was found dead after disappearing the previous evening. She had been strangled. Eastern University grad Alison Kalom was next, found in a field with her throat cut, stab wounds, and a gunshot to the head. The public outcry was becoming immense and famed psychic Peter Hurkos was even brought in to give his impressions of the murder spree but proved to be of little help and soon the police had yet another body on their hands, student Karen Sue Bieneman. She came up missing on July 23, 1969, and was discovered a few days later, strangled and beaten to death.

The killer had taken too big of a risk with Bieneman however. While waiting on Bieneman on the day she disappeared, a shop manager had gotten an excellent look at her companion outside seated on his motorcycle. Collins was subsequently taken into police custody but denied any involvement whatsoever in the killing. During the investigation into Collins police were soon told that Collins was considered oversexed and tended to harass women past the point of normal behavior. Then he was positively identified by the store manager and tests on hairs that were found attached to Bieneman's underwear which matched with hairs found at Collins' aunt's home. A bloodstain on the basement floor of the house that matched Bieneman's type was also found.

Collins went to trial and on August 19, 1970, was found guilty and sent to prison for life with hard labor.