He said her body was lying in the same wooded area where scraps of her clothing and bits of bone were found. Harmon was more direct when he returned to the prison a second time. In late 2016, then-director of news Therese Bottomly was presented a freelance story about a retired prosecutor who ran every Christmas Eve in memory of a murdered jogger whose killer he helped put behind bars for life. I relied on interviews with a detective and the woman deputy to reconstruct this scene. I asked her about his clothing. . It is available in multimedia format. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. On a personal level, after the project ran, the Northwest Film Center hosted a free screening of the documentary. Ackroyds grim speculation about the harm that had likely come to Rachanda echoed gory stories like the ones hed replay over and over in Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.. Why did Pam Ramirez lie when first interviewed by the cops? Was it difficult to learn about Kaye Turners husband since her murder? My editor tells me I usually write with economy and directness, so it was also more of my natural style to hone and hone some more. No one listened all those years ago. The series linked Melissa and Sheilas disappearances to Ackroyd for the first time. It was great, Ackroyd would later tell detectives. Source? Maybe we can see each other again, Ackroyd said. He claimed hed reached down to touch the slain womans arm and hair. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer ebook by Ruth Canton - Rakuten Kobo The Oregonian has published the 1977 polygraph reports for both John Arthur Ackroyd and Marlene K. Gabrielsen, who credibly alleges that he raped her at knifepoint. If you change your mind and want to show me, Harmon called out, let me know.. Did you tear off her bra? They had to get him. Sometime after he moved, Ackroyd was in his truck with the daughter of an old friend. He worked overseas as a mechanic and was caught stealing equipment. Maybe it was the girls development, he told police, that drew a predator to the junction. How did you locate her? The girls mother eventually moved to California and remarried. She admitted it could have been her. Eventually, the investigation stalled. She seemed withdrawn and tired. When he returned to the house at approximately 12:45 p.m., Rachanda had vanished. I would imagine there were several possible structures for the series. Main Menu The story also features an annotated version using footnotes identifying all your sources? You could, I assume, have used sources to describe this scene. The reason for concealing the documents and who insisted on secrecy have been lost to time. It was my way of acknowledging to the reader that this has been an epic tale that wont have a Hollywood ending. I knew from the time Id spent with her that shes a strong person, and Day 1 of this series didnt capture that. He was the only son of an office worker at the local police department and a maintenance man. Harmon thought back to the handful of cases from the 1970s that remained unsolved: the bodies or clothes of women and one young man found in the isolated wilderness of Linn County, not far from Highway 20, the route Ackroyd spent years traveling for the state. Plus, in an era of smartphones, a Timex wrist watch gives readers the sense that this crime happened in another era. Investigators talked to Marlenes mother-in-law, too. It also won best special section in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Associations annual awards. It was one of those details I tucked away knowing Id use it somewhere. Why did you write it and place it here? Why? A grand jury would hear the case. Yes, we saw Highway 20 as its own theme and character. Local police didnt put much stock in the accuracy of the trackers findings. Ackroyd knew, too, the dirt spurs that led off the highway and into the forest. Their cases lingered in the communitys collective memory, and the local district attorney decided to reopen them in 2012, eager to identify potential suspects. Why did you go to this trouble? At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. How can you say with certainty that he would have heard the river? The district attorney asked Byron if he supported a plea deal or if he wanted Ackroyd to stand trial. Sheila Swanson and Melissa Sanders were murdered in 1992, in Lincoln County, Oregon. Overseas, he was investigated for selling marijuana and going AWOL. John | Facts, Reign, Legacy, Family Tree, & Magna Carta Some suspect he was but no evidence links him to these cases. When it snapped, he smacked her repeatedly with his open hand. He seemed almost relieved to be able to talk about what hed seen. How did you decide on these and did they form part of the narrative strategy? Why? They mingled with another set that belonged to what appeared to be a large man. Margaret (Haberman) agreed and suggested that we pare them down to a manageable number for publication. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results John Arthur Ackroyd (1902 - 1997) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Stockpiles of cinder rock towered near the buildings inside the complex. The friends shared a meal the night before, then sang carols. Melissa and Sheila had waited until dawn to leave the familys campsite. Marlene and Ackroyd agreed to be polygraphed. Later that morning, the door to the house opened unexpectedly. Died 20 JAN 1929. What lay behind that decision? She invited us in and we waited for Noel to return from running an errand. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and may have been a serial killer. I wanted the reader to hear Ackroyds reaction when confronted with the detectives suspicions. Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian/OregonLive, A lone truck makes its way along Highway 20 at dusk. It lets the reader know that this could be an important turning point in the story. Laront didnt think of it again until that fall when he heard the news on the radio. Its also a newspaper story, not a book. The investigators glanced at each other, stunned by the damning account all these years later. She clung to her boots, which shed grabbed from the clearing. This is the story of, Rachanda Pickle, Kaye Turner, Marlene Gabrielson, Melissa Sanders, Shiela Swan, and potentially many others. In our meetings early on, I filled every square inch of the board with dates, victims, themes, etc. Published March 23, 2020. She often wore a black leather jacket that her parents paid for on installments. This time, the DA and the cops who believed Ackroyd had gotten away with Kaye Turners killing were determined to get the highway worker off the street for good. The teens had managed to build a sordid social circle in their young lives, so investigators had plenty of violent men to consider. They pressed him again and again about his interactions with Kaye. Those contradictions, discrepancies and outright lies had led him to this moment. I read. A cinnamon candy? Its ugly to describe and imagine these killings. Parts of Melissas body were gone, probably dragged away by animals. The shopkeeper, Christine Weston, recognized him. He knew how to navigate the hills and hairpin turns during winter, when fierce storms swept through the Cascades. The project was a true collaboration. Structurally, why did you decide to break here for a biography of Ackroyd? We sought ways to simplify and streamline. Its definitely hard to read but written, I hope its seen, with deliberation and circumspection. Within days of the discovery of Melissa and Sheilas bodies, police zeroed in once again on the highway worker. Ackroyd led investigators into the brush, about a half-mile off the road where Kaye had gone running the previous winter. John Ackroyd ended up dying in prison in 2016. (en) dbo:birthDate: 1949-10-03 (xsd:date) dbo:birthPlace: dbr:Sweet_Home,_Oregon; dbr:Oregon; Its not a transcript. His father worked as a truck driver and his mother was a homemaker. How were you able to describe his breathing? We bounced ideas off each other and checked facts. The men heard a truck pull into the yard. Is that what youre saying? And a lot of time in the woods together and that bonded us to one another. In scene after scene, over a couple of long days as the Christmas holiday approached, the investigators playing Ackroyd and Beck would snatch her off the road. 1946, in Atlanta, Georgia. In other scenes, Beck grabbed her as Ackroyd looked on. Youre going to do what I tell you, Ackroyd said, speaking for the first time, his low, raspy voice laced with a bit of a drawl. Even today parts of the road are so narrow and quiet the highway has the feel of a country lane. Biography. It lets the reader know that this could be an important turning point in the story. You dont describe the rape, instead skipping over graphic details. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. Why did you include a trigger warning at the top of the story? So instead of hundreds of footnotes, we ran about 150 in a separate version of the story that also links to original source material. John Arthur Ackroyd was born on month day 1902, at birth place, to George Ackroyd and Annie Ackroyd (born Sharp). You dont describe the rape, instead skipping over graphic details. You were able, one wrote, to give voice to so many people who have largely gone unheard (until now). Without the film, do you think you would use more voices? How did you find out she tied her hair back and that the couple couldnt afford the buckskin boots she wore, and what she told her daughter? The men ate and left to poach deer, not returning until the next day, she said. My editor tells me I usually write with economy and directness, so it was also more of my natural style to hone and hone some more. Harmon tried to nudge Ackroyd. Melissa and Sheila joined a list of girls last heard from or seen late at night in coastal Lincoln County. The report was a summary of what he told police. You mentioned the watch earlier. Hanlon, whod spent his career practicing law in rural Oregon, knew of Ackroyd from reading a slim three-ring binder stashed in a cardboard box left behind by his predecessor. Accused of felony theft as a teen, he opted to enlist in the Army and was stationed in Korea, Thailand and Germany, where he worked as a mechanic. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215). They climbed back into the truck and continued west on Highway 20. Months later, I wrote him another letter. This time you use a direct quote? Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. Did you use an outline or timeline to keep things straight in this convoluted case? The state didnt take the case to a grand jury. He enlisted in the Army after having been accused of felony theft. It made sense to strip it down. I wanted him to know that the reporting was continuing and that a story would likely appear sometime in the coming months. The focus seemed wrong. Eliot, Charles Dickens, William Blake, Wilkie Collins, Thomas More and, most recently, Charlie Chaplin. This time you dramatize the action instead of summarizing it. It was dark, around midnight. He pointed a handgun at her and ordered her to stop. Linda Ackroyd, who now goes by the last name Monville, says she doesnt know if Ackroyd molested her daughter. At one point, Kelley Benham French was a consultant on the series. Their final call in the spring of 1977 came from a pay phone in Lebanon. Those footnotes helped me sleep at night. The anecdote revealed that Ackroyd knew Melissa and Sheila and that the young women were comfortable enough with him to climb into his truck. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer: A collection of True Crime st thomas the apostle catholic church mass schedule Peter Ackroyd - Wikipedia I asked my colleagues if they thought readers would know about Fireballs and the consensus was yes. The hearing lasted about seven minutes. Months later, I wrote him another letter. Im not sure what the reader gains from reading a detailed description of a rape. Others told the investigators that Ackroyd started hanging around the Sharis in Lebanon after he met the teens. The couple married in the mid-1980s but divorced after a year. You felt a tremendous obligation to the victims and their loved ones in telling this story. Once in a while, Bart Swanson makes his way to the isolated logging road where Sheilas body was found just feet from her friend, Melissa Sanders. Then it was time to go. The style of the series is elliptical in that it leaves out information, such as dialogue, names of source and other details. The couple ate; then they had sex, significant because they almost never did. I asked him for an interview. Showing : Public Libraries K-12 Schools Library Name Distance. By this point, it was time to flesh him out. When she was 12, Ackroyd tattooed his initials on her arm. Kaye had been raped and shot, Beck told Pam. Several thousand when all was said and done. The story reaches its powerful chronological conclusion. John Arthur Ackroyd, 1902 - 1997. Raised in southern Oregon, she was an only child who remained close to her parents and had recently returned from a visit. What was your reaction when you discovered it? While recordings from his earlier police interrogations on the Kaye Turner and Rachanda Pickle cases filled hours of tape, Ackroyd was silent on Melissa and Sheila. Another Oregon courthouse provided the backdrop for Ackroyds second prosecution. How did you decide which characters to include in the epilogue? Anyone who is reporter, you said, knows that a good editor is hard to come by. He was responsible for clearing wrecks, helping people whose cars broke down on the highway, and maintenance. A spare style is my natural tendency. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian/OregonLive. I heard the river on one of those trips and took the liberty of saying he would have heard it too if his windows were rolled down. She went on to work at a local bank. Marlene had hitchhiked plenty and didnt think twice as she squeezed into the front seat between the men. I was riding in another car with a couple of investigators. We talked all along about how graphic to be. What was your source for this description of Ackroyds temper? How much was revision involved in accomplishing this? Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. John Arthur Ackroyd - Wikipedia 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1927 The Big Four 1928 The Mystery . How odd, they thought. For now, I just want the reader to know something triggered their interest in what happened to Marlene and leave it at that. The cause: heart disease. This is a such a powerful, almost poetic detail. We gobbled up newsroom resources and space online and in the paper, but theres a limit and thats the reality of the job and format. The Turner case file filed a metal file cabinet and was a reporters dream as far as narrative details. The gruesome details implicated Ackroyd and suggested to investigators that hed returned to Camp Sherman weeks after the killing to check on Kayes remains. Janes heart raced as she crouched over her handlebars and sped toward the nearby country store, listening for the sound of the truck behind her. He was anxious and beaded with sweat even though the afternoon heat had faded. She cried as she told one of them that she was terrified of returning to the junction alone. . Theyd been dumped off the highway along Ackroyds route from the coast to Sweet Home. John Arthur Ackroyd Free Company Director Check You end this section by withholding what happened with the grand jury. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped off this same stretch of lonely road in rural Oregon, which winds through some of the Northwest's most spectacular scenery. Who was this guy and what made him tick? This is a crucial moment where Ackroyd is confronted with one of these crimes, in this case Rachandas disappearance. How do we create a person's profile? Shed need evidence so police could find him later. Dave listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen. The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. Her case remained unsolved. Hed returned to Sweet Home to live with his mother and split for good with Linda. Why did choose to organize by chronologically, by victim? Though investigators were certain he was behind her disappearance, they couldnt prove it. john arthur ackroyd childhood Search by city, ZIP code, or library name Search Learn more about precise location detection. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. High in the lush canopy, he noticed a birds nest perched on a branch. 25 November 2021. Our partnership was the projects secret ingredient. One of the victims, Terri Jentz, wrote a book about what happened and her search for her assailant. That meant he was on the road unusually late. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer - Barnes & Noble Did you have any models in mind, any that you studied before or as you were writing? She had tried to warn police about Ackroyd. Peter Ackroyd | Biography, Books, & Facts | Britannica And a seat cover, they said, could have been in Ackroyds state rig. The editing and revisions were often focused on fleshing out an idea and switching up styles so it wasnt all spare and lean if that makes sense. I think the local DA wanted to take another look at this cluster of unsolved cases involving young women, and Melissa and Sheila were among them. I am totally innocent, he said, his breathing labored, and Ill say that until the day I die. This took months of work. Detectives didnt dwell on the highway worker. We encourage you to research and examine . It is a very convoluted story with a blizzard of facts, dates, people, incidents, etc. He made a brief stop at the house he shared with his mother in Sweet Home, his hometown. And Ackroyd was molesting Rachanda. Ackroyds low libido was the source of such open conflict that Lindas teenage son, Byron, knew of their troubles. Due to his connection with Rachanda's disappearance, many women at Santiam Junction were uncomfortable with his behavior and he began to work out of Corvallis.[2]. I also wanted to touch on the idea that this story served as a form of justice for Marlene. Marlene slowly stood, wearing only her T-shirt and jacket. United States. John Arthur Ackroyd (1902-1997) FamilySearch He hadnt told his wife the full story of Rachandas life and how he remained tormented that he hadnt hugged his kid sister the last time he saw her. What was your reaction when you discovered it? Pronunciation of John Arthur Ackroyd with 1 audio pronunciation and more for John Arthur Ackroyd. You should know. Christine and Kim discuss the excellent documenatry--"Ghosts of Highway 20" regarding John Arthur Ackroyd, a state highway worker who had access to roam the state. Sense of smell is so evocative, yet writers rarely take advantage of its power. The ending because you want to leave readers with a meaningful and hopefully memorable coda, the lasting impression. Ackroyd disclosed yet another curious detail: He hadnt been alone on Christmas Eve morning. There was Ackroyd, standing at the back of his Ford pickup. Maybe thats why these are the cases that stuck with investigators. The home showed no signs of foul play. Police and court records. It was scary. She recounted the attack in detail, how the man cut off her underwear and boots. Their deaths exposed Ackroyd as a serial killer and raised the possibility of other killings. That was something that kept me up at night, having to describe this landscape, these small towns, how to breathe life into people who died a long time ago, these investigations that were very old. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. We spent countless hours together on this project. Was that a conscious decision? We were smacked by paddles and a lot of people who are are like, Oh big deal, a paddle. No, there was paddles that were designed with holes drilled in them and stuff and they would brag about it helps cuts through the air and you get a harder spanking. Ackroyd was very predominant in discipline. Kelley Benham French read one of those footnoted drafts and suggested that we publish them all. The three of us had a favorite restaurant on the road. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. I wanted the reader to grasp the precarious position these women were at the time they disappeared. Suspected Serial Killer John Arthur Ackroyd Beat the Polygraph While The editing and revisions were often focused on fleshing out an idea and switching up styles so it wasnt all spare and lean if that makes sense. Highway workers told them the rivet was a common part they carried on the job. He appeared to become sexually aroused when shown a pair of pants that police had found in the woods and initially suspected belonged to Rachanda. Marlene started this series and it seemed fitting to end with her. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for John Arthur Ackroyd . The next day, Hanlon hopped in a car with a Jefferson County deputy for a briefing on the search for Rachanda. Sense of smell is so evocative, yet writers rarely take advantage of its power. Was there a question she was afraid to answer? The details throughout are extraordinarily vivid. Rachandas green nightgown was on her bedroom floor. If you would like to . Yes, we saw Highway 20 as its own theme and character. His stretch of it twisted through Bend, logging towns, Corvallis and on to the coast. Both reports are attached to this post. He was convicted of a sex crime in Minnesota, served seven months in prison, and moved to California. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. [5] This is the area where Marlene Gabrielsen was raped off Highway 20 by John Ackroyd. Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. Its 41 years too late, but finally she is believed. She wanted to make sure he knew what was coming. Was there ever a concern about libeling Ackroyd before he died and rendered the question moot? If police had believed her, she might have been his last. Victims of sexual assault often ask to remain anonymous. When you have one you really hang tight to them. What role did she play? This is another of the few times when we read extended dialogue, a hallmark of classic narrative. Find a Digital Library with John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer near you. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. Marlene put them on, holding tight to the waist to keep them from slipping off. In 1986 he became the . One detective took time to sketch Ackroyds loose connections to Melissa and Sheila how he and the teenagers knew some of the same people in Sweet Home, his hometown. He said he gave her a pair of pants because she had torn hers while taking them off. Noel Turner drove through Camp Sherman to look for his wife. These are important stories to be told, he wrote. The circumstantial case rested on a basic theory: It was unlikely that anyone but Ackroyd, now a convicted killer, had harmed the girl. Mother Rachanda Pickle [1G5FJL] Extraordinary because the court sealed the plea and effectively silenced Rachandas brother. So while I did the interviews, reporting and wrote the stories, their work helped elevate the project into something pretty special. It felt clunky to me to stop and quote a source. Detectives wondered if he took a chance to kill again before his arrest. We worried about this constantly. A dozen or so work crews called the junction home. They assumed the two had gotten a ride from friends. We needed to say that. The process compounded his grief. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results John Ackroyd (1850 - 1913) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Those footnotes helped me sleep at night. His wife sat by his side. Kelley Benham French read one of those footnoted drafts and suggested that we publish them all. The Question and Answer section for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Weeks after the teens disappeared, Ackroyd was finally arrested for Kayes murder and booked into the Jefferson County jail in Madras. I made paper copies of everything. June 12, 2022 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 . Sandy Turner, Noels wife, answered and greeted us warmly. He told police he was poaching when Kaye was killed. In 1977, Ackroyd raped Marlene Gabrielsen. Plus reading it aloud again and again and producing a condensed online timeline helped uncover themes and discrepancies. They matter because some of their stories have never been told. His confidants were a pair of child molesters serving long prison sentences. How much was revision involved in accomplishing this? Or go back to the people left behind, particularly Marlene, who had lived to tell her story and felt heard for the first time. Then Ackroyds teenage stepdaughter disappeared and a new group of investigators reopened Kayes case. I wanted to pick up the watch detail again because we first saw Kaye wearing the watch as she heads on a run and now the watch is a detail in her killing. It was the first time shed seen him since that summer morning. You could, I assume, have used sources to describe this scene. She introduced the women to him and they climbed in. I put them in binders and then entered them in a spreadsheet. How did it affect you and your colleagues? Some of the most important sources never appear in the print component of this project. Some of the most important sources never appear in the print component of this project. I was taken aback by how much emotion and support there was for Marlene in the room. She had been drinking and her husband was known to local cops in their small town. The family lived at the state highway division compound at Santiam Junction, where U.S. 20 and Oregon 22 meet. I tell new reporters not to do what I did; its a ridiculously inefficient way of amassing documents for a big project like this. My editors, Therese Bottomly and Margaret Haberman, told me over and over to think about scenes and to identify cliffhangers. How do we create a person's profile? They sat around the fire drinking beer. I work for Channy, he told Ackroyd. So here: Whos responsible for this carnage? It was as close to a breakthrough as theyd get. The reports dont shed light on why they doubted her. He glanced skyward. The interview sputtered to a halt. Once, when a clock fell off a shelf, he beat her with a homemade paddle. Yes, youre right. These are key characters in this story. Melissas parents awoke to find the young women gone, their tent empty. Didnt do anything to Channy? the cop pressed. He was drawn to Melissa and Sheila, making a point to chat them up. Serial Killer John Arthur Ackroyd was a true monster. What happened?. Kayes mother attended, but her father, shattered by the loss of his only child, didnt live long enough to see the case come to a close. If we said we really needed to go to California, she said yes. Thats when it got broken, over her rear. Dave worked the drone and Beth wandered off alone to look for a way to capture what Marlene saw that early morning 40 years ago. She was 20 at the time. They ran away from home with plans to make it to California. A scrap from her blue pullover, her underwear and a remnant of the heel from one of her Nikes. In fifth grade, something shifted. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results John Arthur Ackroyd (1892 - 1953) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. My sister was denying it. john arthur ackroyd childhood john arthur ackroyd childhood. John Arthur Ackroyd 1892-1953 - Ancestry Even with the verdict, investigators would never really know what unfolded the morning Kaye died. Source? This story is complicated and confusing. Rachanda Lea Pickle - The Charley Project Why the shift? So we had to make clear to the reader why we were telling these stories.
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