- published: 16 Aug 2012
- views: 55504
Washtenaw County ( /ˈwɒʃtɨnɔː/) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area. The county is home to the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, Concordia University Ann Arbor, and the Ann Arbor campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
The earliest histories mention trade conducted in the area at the Potawatomi Trail and Pontiac Trail crossings of the Huron River by French traders, and later English then American settlers. The first successful settlement was established at the present site of Ypsilanti about 1809 by French traders.
In 1822, the Legislative Council of the Michigan Territory government defined the boundaries of the county; however, it was deemed to be a part of Wayne County. Washtenaw was established as a separate county by an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature in 1826. It was attached for administrative purposes to Wayne County until {before 1829} when county government was seated. Ingham and other counties were formed from portions of territorial Washtenaw County.
John Norman Collins is a serial killer who was found guilty for one of the "Michigan Murders", as they came to be called by various media sources and locals. He is allegedly responsible for all but one of the other murders. The Michigan Murders were a series of highly publicized killings in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan between 1967 and 1969 that terrified Washtenaw County for over two years. A naked "mercy" match[clarification needed] in high school is thought to be the trigger that sent John Norman Collins on his killing spree.[citation needed]
The murders began with Eastern Michigan University student Mary Fleszar on July 10, 1967. Her body was found on August 7, decomposing on an abandoned farm a few miles north of where she disappeared. The corpse had multiple stab wounds and was missing her hands and feet. Two days after her remains had been identified, a young man turned up at the mortuary, asking for permission to take snapshots of the body (which was angrily refused). Employees at the mortuary could not offer any clear description of the man.