The Watcher's John Graff Is Based on Real Murderer John List
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The Watcher digs deeper than one horrifying true story that occurred in Westfield, New Jersey. The dark Netflix series also weaves in the real crimes of John List through a character called John Graff (played by Joe Montello). While there are many similarities between the two stories, there are a few key differences—including how the John List family massacre took place in a different house, and not at 657 Boulevard.
In the show, we’re first introduced to John Graff as a very off-putting building inspector who actually turns out to be a former owner of 657 Boulevard circa 1995. The fictionalized version reveals that he lived there with his family, received letters from The Watcher, killed his whole family, and went on the run. In the reimagined tale, the whole incident goes unreported.
The character is inspired by the real murderer John List, an accountant and religious man who has been referred to as “the bogeyman of Westfield.” In 1971, he killed his mother, wife, and three children in their 19-room mansion called Breeze Knoll at 431 Hillside Avenue. He arranged most of their bodies in the home’s ballroom on sleeping bags and left his mother’s body in an attic closet. He left the lights on, lowered the thermostat, turned on organ music, and vanished. The bodies were found a month later when neighbors noticed the home’s lights started to go out and the daughter’s teachers got suspicious. Less than a year after the massacre in 1972, the home mysteriously burned to the ground. While a new one stands in its place, it's often still referred to as the List house.
During the 18 years List was on the run, he assumed a fake identity, moved to the South, and remarried. He wasn’t captured until his bust aired on America's Most Wanted in 1989. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to five life terms in prison. He died in 2008 from complications of pneumonia.
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