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. And to explain why this story has currency and impact today. Alarmed, Weston went to get her husband, who called state police. Now the district attorney could use his sisters death to keep Ackroyd from hurting anyone else. Noel Turner drove through Camp Sherman to look for his wife. 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. I knew I wanted to use this somewhere in this series. Why? She admitted it could have been her. How did it affect you? Finding no sign of her, he panicked and called police. I moved my desk next to Daves. How did you decide which characters to include in the epilogue? Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. I moved my desk next to Daves. But the rape allegation wasnt their priority that day. Or go back to the people left behind, particularly Marlene, who had lived to tell her story and felt heard for the first time. Its 41 years too late, but finally she is believed. Hes a grandfather now. The conference room where we met to discuss this story features a wall-sized whiteboard. That morning, the detective looked around the disheveled cell and surveyed what was left: Ackroyds stash of food, a cane and his prison-issued clothes. The detectives who handled her disappearance retired. This is heartbreaking. Over time, the two made painstaking progress. In late December, as the case wrapped up, the investigators read the news: Ackroyd was dead. Peter Ackroyd is an award-winning historian, biographer, novelist, poet and broadcaster. There was nothing in the record that showed where this request came from or why it had been sought. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison John Arthur Ackroyd - Episode podcast teratas How can you say with certainty that he would have heard the river? (en) dbo:birthDate: 1949-10-03 (xsd:date) dbo:birthPlace: dbr:Sweet_Home,_Oregon; dbr:Oregon; This story is complicated and confusing. Without the film, do you think you would use more voices? It seemed like decent shorthand for conveying the remoteness of this area. I used a massive spreadsheet for reference. He recalled the blood, Ackroyds unlikely story and the odd timing. These are key characters in this story. Marlene put them on, holding tight to the waist to keep them from slipping off. I knew this would be an essential scene. Marlene Gabrielsen was raped by John Ackroyd in 1978. The anecdote revealed that Ackroyd knew Melissa and Sheila and that the young women were comfortable enough with him to climb into his truck. Why do these victims matter now? I wanted to show that at this point Ackroyd was a very sick man. The nut graf is: One woman was raped, four others disappeared. For now, I just want the reader to know something triggered their interest in what happened to Marlene and leave it at that. An examiner asked a series of questions: Did she tell the truth about being raped? What was your reaction when you discovered it? Decades later, their cold case murders were tied to suspected serial killer John Ackroyd. His story about inviting the girl to photograph wildlife that morning never made sense to Rachandas family and friends. She thought of how Kaye must have felt, the air so cold she could see her breath. Then he started swinging at her with his hand.. Sheila often slept away from home but stayed in touch with her mother. Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian/OregonLive. The cold case investigation was current and provided real-time detective work that was an aspect of the story that we hadnt yet explored. Son: Donald Ackroyd was born on 06/25/1971. In 1992 he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. In passing, the piece mentioned that the killer might have been involved in other murders. There were 300 people there and Marlene Gabrielsen came. Hello, Sign in. He worried hed become a burden for his family. Its a combination of rhythm the variety is more interesting and simply finding ways to weave in the necessary details of who, what, when, where and why without overwhelming readers. Detectives wondered if he took a chance to kill again before his arrest. Thats when it got broken, over her rear. Pretty bleak. He seemed to relish gruesome speculation about what harm had come to her. He died in prison in 2016.[6][7]. Secondary trauma from reporting stories like this is real. 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 went inside to get a soda and use the bathroom. He worked overseas as a mechanic and was caught stealing equipment. Yes and it was something I struggled with. Months later, I wrote him another letter. The project was a true collaboration. A dozen or so work crews called the junction home. He knew it was Ackroyd who had eventually led police to her remains. Then Rachanda Pickle went missing from the desolate highway compound where she lived, never to be seen again. They led her into a small room with a desk. Police scoured his work truck. 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. Two years later, at age 14, she married Beck. Thats when Ackroyd picked up a woman from the side of the road, dragged her into the woods and raped her. Their clothes were spattered with so much blood that she got rid of Becks jeans and shirt. I knew all along I wanted to make a passing reference to this crime because it was such a horrible act that touched on some of the same themes as Ackroyds crimes. Two were Jane Does. Our partnership was the projects secret ingredient. It ended with a gripping five-part, 7,000 word narrative, a gallery of haunting photos and a heartbreaking documentary that leave no doubt about the guilt of a serial killer, but precious little solace for his victims. She was looking for a ride and wandered out of the campground onto Highway 20, the route that leads through the heart of Sisters, back then little more than a dusty outpost amid pine forests in central Oregon. You end this section by withholding what happened with the grand jury. Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian/OregonLive. The spring camping trip to Newport was supposed to mean time with family, but she and Sheila took off the first chance they got. I wanted him to know that the reporting was continuing and that a story would likely appear sometime in the coming months. 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. He enlisted in the Army after having been accused of felony theft. The freelancers anniversary story, she realized, opened the door to more; he agreed to take a substantial kill fee so The Oregonian could pursue that more complicated piece. Sandy Turner, Noels wife, answered and greeted us warmly. She was calm as she told the dispatcher that her daughter, a homebody, had gone missing. Was he ready to talk? 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. 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. Beck and his wife lived in a trailer not far from Camp Sherman, where Kaye had disappeared. She was married to one suspect and romantically involved with the other. 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. It is a very convoluted story with a blizzard of facts, dates, people, incidents, etc. She went on to work at a local bank. 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. There was stuff I wanted to say about them that didnt really fit in elsewhere so this seemed like a good spot for that. Later, they mentioned the bizarre encounter to a foreman, but the anecdote never made it past shop gossip. Sense of smell is so evocative, yet writers rarely take advantage of its power. Did you discover Jane Morris in the trial transcript? In it, he thanked me for telling the stories of Ackroyds other victims. She didnt talk much about what had happened. The men at first said theyd hunted coyotes but later changed their stories to say they were poaching deer. It meant losing me in the rotation. This week is the origins of Northern Soul and Disco. It was a sensational crime that remains unsolved. I would imagine there were several possible structures for the series. Local cops tracked down Sheilas mother. Kids. Country. His confidants were a pair of child molesters serving long prison sentences. After one year, the couple divorced, but they continued to live together with Linda's children. Their stories have another connection: John. He said very little that day but thanked us for making the trip. Lucinda Williams The Ghosts of Highway 20, One of the victims, Terri Jentz, wrote a book. Marlene and Ackroyd agreed to be polygraphed. When she was 12, Ackroyd tattooed his initials on her arm. His name was John Arthur Ackroyd, who would join the ranks of Ted Bundy, Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, and other notorious predators who have trolled the Pacific Northwest for vulnerable and marginalized women. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped on the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. Read the story. Something bad happened to her. It was my way of acknowledging to the reader that this has been an epic tale that wont have a Hollywood ending. By now, investigators knew who they were dealing with. I sought to write a driving narrative that relied on detail, dialogue and description with a bedrock of reporting and research. He showed signs of a disturbed mind. The Highway 20 Serial Killer Unexplained Oregon. The process compounded his grief. At one point, Kelley Benham French was a consultant on the series. Melissa and Sheila joined a list of girls last heard from or seen late at night in coastal Lincoln County. Main Menu They didnt hear from Ackroyd, who had decided not to testify. She always made the project a priority and didnt make me feel like, Oh, God, Im not contributing or my colleagues are having to pick up the slack. He took off a couple days the week Melissa and Sheila had gone camping. We sought ways to simplify and streamline. But as time went on and fresh eyes viewed the case files, investigators finally pursued justice for numerous victims. The two camps on the ending: Stop at Ackroyds death with a scene of a cop looking around the killers cell for a confession but finding nothing. Several thousand when all was said and done. Its also a newspaper story, not a book. Beth Nakamura/ The Oregonian/OregonLive. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. He said hed gone to photograph wildlife when Rachanda went missing. Among the files were details from grand jury testimony, which included precise accounts of Kayes state of mind and the days and hours before and after her disappearance. The killer was dead. More than two years later, another set of investigators went looking for the police report detailing Marlenes account. She encountered Ackroyd and his hunting partner on a deserted road. Faryion Wardrip. We had a lot of discussion about the ending. US Highway 20, 1976-1992. She was married to one suspect and romantically involved with the other. We talked to grieving loved ones. Four years after they started, Benson and Snow had strung together enough evidence to take the double murder to a grand jury. Melissa Sanders was 17 and from Sweet Home. They were thin slats of wood. Google says its about a half-hour to Sisters, the nearest town where the family would have bought groceries. She spotted two young women she knew. They raised three kids. Then he started swinging at her with his hand.. And Harmon hadn't uncovered any physical evidence linking Ackroyd to Rachanda's disappearance. How do we create a person's profile? 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. Ackroyd obviously is the catalyst of destruction. I have the audio of this conversation. John Arthur Ackroyd (died December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and may have been a serial killer. The subject matter is horrific. This time, the DA says come on down and I met with him and his chief deputy and they basically walked me through the grand jury presentation. We encourage you to research and examine . I used a massive spreadsheet for reference. Biography . Marlene K. Gabrielsen wants you to remember her name. John Arthur Ackroyd was a longtime state highway mechanic whose route along U.S. 20 wound through some of Oregon's most spectacular scenery from the Cascade foothills to the coast. How did you reconstruct the details included in this long section about Marlenes rape and the aftermath? She once showed up at Sheilas with bruises on her face and asked if she could stay. Structurally, what was your intention? And, most significantly, the teens friends confirmed what investigators had long suspected: Ackroyd had been sexually abusing the girl before she vanished. Earlier in the year, shed finished a marathon, run two half-marathons and climbed Mount Washington and Three Fingered Jack. Another, a young woman from Lebanon named Elizabeth Mussler who disappeared when she was 22, was discovered in a shallow grave. They complemented each other: Benson, a veteran cop whod had a hand in investigating some of Lincoln Countys most memorable and notorious crimes, and Snow, a quick study with an impressive memory and a knack for spinning a mountain of clues into theories. He struggles to breathe and its clear he takes time to move around. Ackroyd was jailed in 1993 for a 1978 . Anyone who is reporter, you said, knows that a good editor is hard to come by. I work for Channy, he told Ackroyd. Why after two decades? It was so essential to the chronology that the cash-strapped county that tried Ackroyd years later flew in a Timex exec from the East Coast to testify about the watch and its timekeeping. They were restless and broke, living an itinerant existence, drinking too much and keeping dangerous company. We will go through the lives and deaths of Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, Melissa . Maybe they just walked in, seen an opportunity and grasped at it.. We coped with it in our own ways, but we relied on each other. She saw it as a way of letting readers know how much work went into this series. The couple drove about 90 miles from their home in Lebanon and set up camp near the rodeo grounds. She felt the cool blade of Ackroyds hunting knife against her neck. That beating she got was over, over the top. Buy John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer by Ruth Canton at Mighty Ape Australia. So we had to make clear to the reader why we were telling these stories. Their stories have another connection: One man is linked to all five crimes. Those contradictions, discrepancies and outright lies had led him to this moment. A few months later, in 2013, the Linn County district attorney took Rachanda's case to grand jurors. He had an older and younger sister. Police and court records. Im in real trouble, he confided. I like how direct, clean and certain Hanlons quote is here. Its not a transcript. But its worth noting that it took many years for this particular serendipity to play out. Its dramatic and I wanted to draw it out for the reader. She answered right away and was willing to tell me about her experience so the three of us headed to Salem to interview her. Why did Pam Ramirez lie when first interviewed by the cops? Melissa and Sheila had waited until dawn to leave the familys campsite. [4] Ackroyd's step-daughter Rachanda Pickle went missing in 1990. But those relationships shifted over time. Her sneakers and socks were still on her feet. On Christmas Eve morning, Ackroyd showed up at the house. 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. This is a kicker to the intro and sets up the only survivors story that immediately follows but it surely is the series emotional center of gravity: The dismissal of Marlenes account by police had tragic consequences. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. Where did it and the other information about Kayes run come from? It was one of those details I tucked away knowing Id use it somewhere. The men drove by Santiam Junction, slowing as they passed the eastern edge of the highway compound where Ackroyds manufactured home backed up to the woods. A few days later, I received a handwritten letter from Noel. How do we create a person's profile? It was the kind of menial task you might give a rookie detective. Kayes remains sat forgotten in the Jefferson County Courthouse until three years ago when court staff came across them. Why did Pam Ramirez lie when first interviewed by the cops? Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. After the rape, Ackroyd slapped the knife against his grimy jeans held up by orange suspenders. I knew this would be an essential scene. Harmon kept the tone conversational as he directed Ackroyd back to Rachanda. During his school years, he was a loner who was bullied. There was a tremendous amount of secrecy. Its amazing how much serendipity plays a role in this story, isnt it? Source? Then Rachanda Pickle, Ackroyd's 13-year-old stepdaughter, disappeared. Why the shift? At the hospital, an officer noted scratches on Marlenes back. Oh my God, her mother-in-law said, opening the door. Then one finally offered: Try a woman who worked at the Sweet Home shop back then. Ackroyds name emerged early on. Its damning circumstantial evidence linking Ackroyd to the deaths of these two women, Melissa and Sheila. [5] Why did you include a trigger warning at the top of the story? If you would like to . Their cases lingered in the communitys collective memory, and the local district attorney decided to reopen them in 2012, eager to identify potential suspects. Ackroyd returned to the periphery. The lead prosecutor has a formidable memory and kept meticulous notes that were part of the case file. Find books like John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer: A collection of True Crime from the world's largest community of readers. Kaye Turner's killing became a faded memory. Christmas presents Noel bought for his wife were wrapped and in the car. Kelley Benham French read one of those footnoted drafts and suggested that we publish them all. I listened to them all, some multiple times. The language of the story is spare and lean. This post is a long one, everyone. At the same time, a dozen investigators working the Turner case seized on Ackroyds shifting accounts. Rachanda was so uneasy living at Santiam Junction that she routinely brought a change of clothes to school hoping to stay with friends. Google says its about a half-hour to Sisters, the nearest town where the family would have bought groceries. Her hair was matted with sticks and dirt. Acclaimed biographer Peter Ackroyd vibrantly resurrects the legendary epic of Camelot in this modern adaptation The names of Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, Galahad, the sword of Excalibur, and the court of Camelot are as recognizable as any from the world of myth. The annotation: Storyboards questions are in red; Crombies responses in blue. It seems clear that for many of those involved, including most importantly the victims and their families, the system (and to a larger extent society) failed them. My mom was yelling at John to stop. The two camps on the ending: Stop at Ackroyds death with a scene of a cop looking around the killers cell for a confession but finding nothing. The idea of two young women standing in the dark in a woodsy campground steps from the Pacific Ocean heightened their vulnerability. 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]. Karens case and the others from that era were all but forgotten. It took weeks the woman had changed her name since the early 1990s but she remembered the men and their names. What was your source for this description of Ackroyds temper? Kayes husband Noel remarried. But I had to keep it tight so I tried to convey the crime and its horror as succinctly as possible. The murder trial made headlines around the state. His false teeth had been knocked to the floor. How did it affect you and your colleagues? I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. Do you or any of the detectives have any suspicions why it was sealed? Did you use an outline or timeline to keep things straight in this convoluted case? What was your source and why did you use it when so many other times you chose to paraphrase speech? How did you locate her? How did you locate her? The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. They wrote down his habit of taking time off around the disappearances, as hed done with Kaye and Rachanda. It was the day before Christmas. Police photos showed her watch in the woods near where her partial remains were found. To read the story without annotations, click the Hide all annotations button, which youll find just below the social media buttons in the top right-hand menu, or at the top of your mobile screen. Wasnt it strange that he was the last person to see Kaye and Rachanda alive? He was based in Santiam Junction, about 25 miles from Camp Sherman, and said hed gotten off work at 6:30 a.m. A while later, he drove through the camp, planning to hunt coyotes. The investigators glanced at each other, stunned by the damning account all these years later. This time you use a direct quote? Showing : Public Libraries K-12 Schools Library Name Distance. I knew from the time Id spent with her that shes a strong person, and Day 1 of this series didnt capture that. In the courtroom, she turned to face Ackroyd. Who was this guy and what made him tick? Still, police seemed skeptical. Was that a conscious decision? Eventually, the investigation stalled. Plus reading it aloud again and again and producing a condensed online timeline helped uncover themes and discrepancies.