This time Ackroyds lawyer responded. Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. 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. A few days later, I received a handwritten letter from Noel. The state police detective assigned to investigate the killers death found Ackroyd on the floor of his cell, his sleep apnea machine still whirring and the breathing tube stuck in his throat, left over from last-ditch efforts to save him. Why was it important to do so? Was there ever a concern about libeling Ackroyd before he died and rendered the question moot? My sister was denying it. What sources did you rely on to reconstruct the events of your trial? Ackroyd graduated from Clare College, Cambridge (M.A., 1971), and then attended Yale University for two years. We were in the car a lot, a lot of very long road trips. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. When cops went back to her years later, she apparently felt more at ease talking about what really happened. Detectives moved on. A young deputy played Kaye. 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. So while I did the interviews, reporting and wrote the stories, their work helped elevate the project into something pretty special. He pointed a handgun at her and ordered her to stop. There was something really hinky about it. Though investigators were certain he was behind her disappearance, they couldnt prove it. This detail is so specific. I know from watching Dave Killens powerful documentary that much of what you summarize in the story, especially peoples voices, appears there instead of the print narrative. What was the justification to go ahead and use them in a family newspaper? She hadnt been out since her daughter was born three months earlier. A report from the trial in the Bend (OR) Bulletin. Gary had a troubled childhood. I also was liberated by knowing the companion photos and video would fill in many of the details in a different way. Did you have a knife in your hand when you had sex? The dispatcher asked: Who was the last person that saw her, do you know?. Again, the investigator playing Ackroyd tried to grab the woman, only this time she wrestled the gun from his grip and pretended to fire a single fatal shot to his heart. Later that morning, the door to the house opened unexpectedly. A Forest Service rangers account of seeing Ackroyd that day in a sno-park near Santiam Junction hours later than Ackroyd claimed blew a hole in the highway workers alibi. So I went back to Marlene and slow-walked her through her preparations for going out that night. Now, a woman had gone missing, triggering a massive search that made headlines clear to Portland: Husband fears kidnap: Turner searchers losing hope, one read in The Oregonian four days later. Ackroyds name emerged early on. I had his work, schooling and military records. I spoke with his coworkers and friends. He runs in Kayes memory every Christmas Eve. I also wanted to touch on the idea that this story served as a form of justice for Marlene. She talked about how it was late spring. She saw it as a way of letting readers know how much work went into this series. Plows stood ready to rumble onto the mountain pass during winter storms. He said he was with his friend and hunting companion, Roger Dale Beck. This section could perhaps have served as a nut graf, placed much higher in 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. I moved my desk next to Daves. Two were Jane Does. And Harmon hadnt uncovered any physical evidence linking Ackroyd to Rachandas disappearance. What the heck happened to you? Laront asked. Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. Vulnerable and adrift, Melissa and Sheila knew nothing of Ackroyds sinister background when he entered their lives. The series linked Melissa and Sheilas disappearances to Ackroyd for the first time. The prosecutor, Bill Hanlon, and newspaper accounts. The couple drove about 90 miles from their home in Lebanon and set up camp near the rodeo grounds. Theyd noticed that Ackroyds truck was still parked outside and his work rig wasnt there. At the same time, a dozen investigators working the Turner case seized on Ackroyds shifting accounts. Rachanda was a good kid, helping around the house and taking care not to stray far. I was riding in another car with a couple of investigators. [1], In 1977, he began working for the state highway department along U.S. Route 20 that ran east to west across Oregon. Ackroyd was born on October 3, 1949, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His partner, Detective Will McAnulty, sat nearby. By then, Becks ex-wife had lost touch with Ackroyd but remained fond of him. Her jeans appeared to have been cut. For now, I just want the reader to know something triggered their interest in what happened to Marlene and leave it at that. For instance, Ackroyd told police he drove to his mothers house after raping Marlene. Once, he invited neighbors over to watch horror movies, becoming so animated over scenes of women being chopped up that hed hit rewind again and again. For more than a month in late 1993, Ackroyd sat impassively in a courtroom at the historic Jefferson County Courthouse in downtown Madras, about an hours drive across the high desert from where Kaye had disappeared. Rachanda disappeared on July 10, 1990. Rachandas brother struggled to cope with the loss of his sister. I wanted the reader to grasp the precarious position these women were at the time they disappeared. Annie was born on August 28 1876, in Ashfield Farnley Yorkshire. She asked if she could sleep over. It was scary. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. Local cops tracked down Sheilas mother. In our meetings early on, I filled every square inch of the board with dates, victims, themes, etc. This is heartbreaking. Sense of smell is so evocative, yet writers rarely take advantage of its power. That may have also played a role in their response. He stuffed his cell with food from the prison commissary dozens of packages of processed meats and cheese, candy bars and beans. I also wanted to touch on the idea that this story served as a form of justice for Marlene. They were scrappy and streetwise high school dropouts. Why did choose to organize by chronologically, by victim? His mother told a detective that shed peeked out the window that night and seen Marlene in the front seat of her sons truck. The friends shared a meal the night before, then sang carols. Investigators suspected the rivet a quick fix used in field repairs had fallen out of the pocket of her attacker. His parents worked as a maintenance man . This story is complicated and confusing. Sense of smell is so evocative, yet writers rarely take advantage of its power. I checked that with Byron, Rachandas brother. United States. She had tried to warn police about Ackroyd. john arthur ackroyd childhood. For instance, Ackroyd told police he drove to his mothers house after raping Marlene. Armed with an ax or hatchet, he attacked the women, both students at Yale University. Kaye and husband, Noel, had joined friends on a holiday getaway at Camp Sherman, a vacation and fly-fishing retreat along the pristine Metolius River off Highway 20 with a two-room school, country store and 200 year-round residents. 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. But Ackroyd was already serving a life sentence. Wasnt it strange that he was the last person to see Kaye and Rachanda alive? It took 14 years to . She wanted to go home to her baby. In one stunning development, he revealed that hed seen Kayes decomposing remains two months after her disappearance but never thought to call police. [5] The unglamorous task fell to Ron Benson, an investigator for the district attorney, and Linda Snow, a retired legal assistant. For a moment, she considered how lucky she had been to escape unharmed. Its a testament to taking a second or third look with fresh eyes and newer forensic techniques at old crimes. McAnulty wondered if an ex-wife might see the events of the distant past in a different light. When the couple pulled into the compound that evening, Rachanda wasnt hanging around outside like she had the day before. The reporting team pored over thousands of police reports and court records, interviewed dozens of witnesses, survivors and investigators and traveled out of state to confront a critical source who hadnt responded to their requests for information. June 12, 2022 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 She rode her bike in the lane just outside the door and took a bus to grade school in Sweet Home. Beck had bragged to family members about killing Kaye. On a personal level, after the project ran, the Northwest Film Center hosted a free screening of the documentary. They were turned over to her husband and cremated. He struggles to breathe and its clear he takes time to move around. Book details & editions Marlene waited in the truck, afraid to move. I relied on hundreds of pages of transcripts from police interviews with Ackroyd for some of these details. It was late spring. We chose to go with the legacy of the investigation. Her case remained unsolved. Cart We sought ways to simplify and streamline. So Dave and I drove a couple hours south to the Turner home Noel had remarried in the years after Kayes death and knocked on the door. 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? [4] Ackroyd's step-daughter Rachanda Pickle went missing in 1990. Then Linda tells her that Rachanda has been gone for 24 hours and the dispatcher stumbles a bit. He had done all his talking to investigators during hours of interrogations after Kaye vanished. A lawyer from central Oregon heard the cases had been reopened and called with a suggestion: Take a look at an old highway worker named John Ackroyd. Marlene started this series and it seemed fitting to end with her. Then Rachanda Pickle, Ackroyds 13-year-old stepdaughter, disappeared. In class, she counted down the minutes, a sense of dread rising as the end of the school day approached. John Arthur Ackroyd was a longtime state highway mechanic whose route along U.S. 20 wound through some of Oregon's . She admitted it could have been her. She had been drinking and her husband was known to local cops in their small town. Guilty. The Turner case file filed a metal file cabinet and was a reporters dream as far as narrative details. Dave, Beth and I spent a lot of time deep in the woods where these women were assaulted, killed and abandoned. It was a 30-minute drive to the nearest store for milk. [3] In 1978, along with an accomplice, Roger Dale Beck, abducted and murdered Kaye Turner. How did you track down Laront? Ackroyd was charged with Rachanda's murder in 2013, and pleaded no contest. Ackroyd considered her for a long moment, then reached into the back of the truck and held out a dingy pair of plaid pants. Hed stopped by a half-dozen times since Kaye had gone missing. Ackroyd earned low grades in school; his high school diploma was marked special education. He was a loner, bullied and beaten by classmates. The general store in Camp Sherman, Oregon, where John Ackroyd showed up to report he had discovered some clothing in the woods that might've belonged to Kaye Turner, whose disappearance in 1978 caused a stir that lingered for years in this small vacation community just off Highway 20. In 1986 he became the . One of the victims, Terri Jentz, wrote a book about what happened and her search for her assailant. These are key characters in this story. I found her through Nexis, I think. Killen had. For decades, investigators wanted peace for Rachanda, the lonely girl who was unhappy and out of place at the highway compound. By this point, it was time to flesh him out. I did not do nothing. John Arthur Ackroyd - Wikipedia 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1927 The Big Four 1928 The Mystery . Why do you suppose that was the case? I wanted the reader to feel rooted in that time and place. Why did you choose to end the narrative with Marlene Gabrielson? Pretty bleak. You shift now to the killer. I found her through Nexis, I think. Ackroyd was spotted there at least three times after they went missing. Theirs is a cold-case mystery that began with a tip about a possible serial killer. You use just 67 words to effectively condense the details of a crime that must have been full of detail. Why did you go to this trouble? Why did you open the series this way? How were you able to describe his breathing? Both were present for almost every interview. The dialogue and scene-setting details how Ackroyd tapped his leg with his knife, for instance came from interviews with Marlene. Police scoured his work truck. How and why did you settle on that approach? You dont describe the rape, instead skipping over graphic details. 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. Then one finally offered: Try a woman who worked at the Sweet Home shop back then. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. Marlene Gabrielsen was John Ackroyd's first known victim, and the one who survived. There was a tremendous amount of secrecy. How do we create a person's profile? The two had history that extended to childhood. At the beginning of my reporting, I wrote a letter to Noel Turner, the husband of Kaye Turner who had disappeared on the Christmastime run. The restive pair quickly grew bored and wanted their boyfriends to pick them up. Ackroyd worked out of Corvallis and continued to roam the highway. Ackroyd, an opportunist who preyed on women, had worked for more than a decade as a state mechanic along the last 170 miles of Highway 20 from the Cascade foothills to the coast. Yes and it was something I struggled with. Investigators believe he killed an unknown number of other victims whose remains are scattered off Highway 20, a two-lane road that crosses central Oregon west-to-east, often disappearing into the shadowy maw of dense evergreen forests. They were restless and broke, living an itinerant existence, drinking too much and keeping dangerous company. He took off a couple days the week Melissa and Sheila had gone camping. The dishes werent in the dishwasher and the floor wasnt vacuumed. Most of what I came up with centered on Ackroyd. "I remember it was beautiful because it was all green and little flowers blooming, little tiny ones. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. Kaye Turner was killed in 1978, followed by Ackroyds stepdaughter, Rachanda, in 1990. I asked my colleagues if they thought readers would know about Fireballs and the consensus was yes. At this point in the story, I didnt want to reveal too much about why the cops were taking another look at Marlenes rape. This section could perhaps have served as a nut graf, placed much higher in the story. Marlene started this series and it seemed fitting to end with her. At . In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. No, what do you think I am? Ackroyd said, his voice rising in rare agitation. That day, she tied her hair back and pulled on her green Levis. I used a massive spreadsheet for reference. She was alone with Ackroyd, a big man who reeked of sweat and freshly cut wood. His parents worked as a maintenance man and as an office worker at the police department. A sadistic killer goes around killing people, taking girls off somewhere? But the rape allegation wasnt their priority that day. Ackroyd was raised in the small logging town of Sweet Home, Oregon. She also knew he was from Sweet Home, not far from where Karen had used the pay phone to call a friend in the Midwest, just one year before Kaye Turner died. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped on the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. This story is complicated and confusing. This time, he drove them up a logging road and into the woods. And narratively, the detectives and their work showed connections among all the cases. They climbed back into the truck and continued west on Highway 20. Finding no sign of her, he panicked and called police. This time you dramatize the action instead of summarizing it. adrian ackroyd - 28 wellington road burton joyce, nottingham adrian ackroyd - 8 bowmans way sedgebrook, grantham adrian arthur ackroyd - 15 old mill court upton, chester adrian arthur ackroyd - 15 old mill court upton, chester adrian arthur ackroyd - 15 old mill court upton, chester alan ackroyd - 8 holmfield, ossett What followed likely altered the path of Ackroyds life, along with those of at least five young women and everyone who loved them. After the rape, Ackroyd slapped the knife against his grimy jeans held up by orange suspenders. They sat around the fire drinking beer. Hello, Sign in. It provided readers with a sense of place but also helped propel the story along. Where did it and the other information about Kayes run come from? Detectives didnt dwell on the highway worker. Was the passage longer and, if so, how did you revise it? We went back in our clips. To some, she seemed lost, almost invisible. The breadth of his crimes has never been revealed until now. They were still after him when Ackroyd died alone in his prison cell two years ago. Kaye Turner's killing became a faded memory. Within months, without a body or physical evidence implicating Ackroyd, so did the investigation. If we said we really needed to go to California, she said yes. Its not a transcript. She listened to pop stars Debbie Gibson and Wilson Phillips in her bedroom and teased her brother, who was her protector and playground companion. When John Arthur Ackroyd was born on 18 March 1902, in Bradford St James, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, George Ackroyd, was 26 and his mother, Annie Sharp, was 25. In our meetings early on, I filled every square inch of the board with dates, victims, themes, etc. Somebody could have just come in, he said, knocked her over the head, throw her over the shoulders and just walk out without anybody seeing her. I knew from his coworkers that his truck likely didnt have AC. katelyn akins disappearance. Its damning circumstantial evidence linking Ackroyd to the deaths of these two women, Melissa and Sheila. Marlene had hitchhiked plenty and didnt think twice as she squeezed into the front seat between the men. I asked him for an interview. If I put 50 dollars on a gamble that there wasnt punishment in a week I would lose that 50 dollars. When John snapped, it was scary. Its amazing how much serendipity plays a role in this story, isnt it? [1] He married Linda Pickle in the mid-1980s. You could, I assume, have used sources to describe this scene. He seemed almost relieved to be able to talk about what hed seen. The larger person had dragged the smaller person away. I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. He seemed to relish gruesome speculation about what harm had come to her. Published March 23, 2020. Benson made a four-hour trek to a courthouse three counties away, where a metal filing cabinet held Kaye Turners case. I remember him spanking her over one of those old school windup alarm clocks and it got broke and he was trying to fix it in and stuff and him and mom were talking about it and they were both getting heatedmom said to line them up and spank them until (one confesses) They were getting ready to line us up. She cried as she told one of them that she was terrified of returning to the junction alone. I listened to them all, some multiple times. He said very little that day but thanked us for making the trip. Trauma had seared these details into her memory. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. He was the main suspect, but the case had vanished from local news reports even though her disappearance triggered one of the largest search efforts in the countys history. She handed police a brown paper bag with clothes Marlene wore on the night of the attack. Later, Karens jeans, pages of her journal and the blouse shed sewn for a school project were found off a logging road. Why did Pam Ramirez lie when first interviewed by the cops? My footnotes for this passage: Oregonian interview with Byron Pickle: They had paddles. Read John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer by Ruth Canton with a free trial. At the hospital, an officer noted scratches on Marlenes back. Hes a grandfather now. The lead prosecutor has a formidable memory and kept meticulous notes that were part of the case file. Their stories have another connection: John Arthur Ackroyd.A highway mechanic who targeted women on the long stretch of highway that he know so well from endless trips.Calm and collected on the exterior, his personality hid the predator that raged within. Ackroyd dodged the accusations at the time, but police revived Kayes case in 1990 amid an unsuccessful investigation to solve the disappearance of Rachanda Pickle, Ackroyds 13-year-old stepdaughter. The prime suspect all along, Ackroyd wasnt charged in the case. She carried her baby book as a reminder of a time when she was happy. The Life Summary of John Arthur. For Kaye. During his school years, he was a loner who was bullied. John Ackroyd had an unusual arrangement with Rachandas mother, Linda. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. John Arthur Ackroyd was born on month day 1902, at birth place, to George Ackroyd and Annie Ackroyd (born Sharp). The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. He was willing to talk. He drove off as she banged frantically on the door. These are heartbreaking stories of isolation., We asked Crombie to tell us about the process of producing the project, and the emotional toll it took, and then to help us annotate the reporting and writing of Ghosts of Highway 20.. Do investigators believe Ackroyd was responsible for these unsolved deaths? The district attorney said he was unable to talk about it something was prohibiting him. She said her son was shy around women. The project won the integrated storytelling award from the national Society of Features Journalism, while The National Womens Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation awarded it the National Journalism Impact Award. He dropped off Linda at the resort and continued east on Highway 20 to the state maintenance shop in Bend. She was calm as she told the dispatcher that her daughter, a homebody, had gone missing. Do investigators believe Ackroyd was responsible for these unsolved deaths? Yes, youre right. So I shifted to the women he encountered. Did she feel shed been raped? When I outlined each days story, I focused on cliffhangers, kickers and which scenes could propel the narrative. He said very little that day but thanked us for making the trip. There were days when we were depleted after doing interviews or looking at these files and crime scene photos. Buy John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer by Ruth Canton at Mighty Ape Australia. Laront and a coworker sat on seats salvaged from old vans, talking about the night ahead. bridal shower wording sample for guests not invited to wedding; family life resurrection eggs story printable. They ran away from home with plans to make it to California. Ackroyd's step-daughter Rachanda Pickle went missing in 1990. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. We interviewed key witnesses and reviewed thousands of pages of police and court records, some of them previously secret, to hold Ackroyd accountable and give some measure of justice to the women he attacked. This took months of work. By now, investigators knew who they were dealing with. How and why did you settle on that approach? He offered no explanation. Another, a young woman from Lebanon named Elizabeth Mussler who disappeared when she was 22, was discovered in a shallow grave. Was there a question she was afraid to answer? Search by city, ZIP code, or library name Search Learn more about precise location detection. It was scary. One of those visits stood out: Shed discovered him fondling himself while looking at Oui, an explicit mens magazine sold at the store. I moved my desk next to Daves. They show similarities with the other attacks off the highway in the woods, restraints or some sort of overpowering, abuse and then stashing the womens bodies out of the way, leaving them for the elements and animals to destroy. An acquaintance told a detective how he once watched in horror as Ackroyd, then a young man, hacked up puppies using a machete, saying the dogs were his and nobody else could have them. 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. Sometime after he moved, Ackroyd was in his truck with the daughter of an old friend. He wondered aloud if Rachanda had been dumped and buried in the woods or threatened with a knife, tied up and gagged, her body rolled in plastic. On one of our many reporting trips along Highway 20, the three of us tracked down the approximate location of the attack based on Marlenes account and police reports. The annotated version that ran online was a much shorter version of my own footnoted drafts of this story. She said he threatened to do to me exactly what they did to Kaye Turner.. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in . She cleared the way for me to be able to do this on a day-to-day basis. Do you or any of the detectives have any suspicions why it was sealed? The teenagers had met six months earlier. There was so much information to move through. How did it affect you and your colleagues? He died in prison in 2016.[6][7]. Melissas mother died, too. Ackroyd was abusive to both Byron and Rachanda. Those contradictions, discrepancies and outright lies had led him to this moment. Was it difficult to have to summarize so much of the story when your reporting had turned up more than enough details to dramatize the action? That beating she got was over, over the top. They had to be named first it should be a shock to the conscience that women were vanishing like this and someone was getting away with it. You dont describe the rape, instead skipping over graphic details. The two spent evenings at a Sharis restaurant along Highway 20, where they hung around with other teens and locals, including a state mechanic named John Ackroyd. The three of us had a favorite restaurant on the road. Ackroyd obviously is the catalyst of destruction. We will go through the lives and deaths of Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, Melissa . His shirtsleeves were rolled up. Did you tear off her bra? Mike Harmon, a longtime investigator with the Linn County Sheriffs Office, worried Ackroyd had a shot at parole. Why? Be a good girl. The DA knew Ackroyd had changed his story and admitted he had talked to Kaye the morning he encountered her on a run. She clearly is trying to process why a mother would wait so long to report that her child has disappeared from a remote highway compound. It was my way of acknowledging to the reader that this has been an epic tale that wont have a Hollywood ending.
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