Some suspect he was but no evidence links him to these cases. Alarmed, Weston went to get her husband, who called state police. In exchange, he agreed never to seek parole. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. A few months later, in 2013, the Linn County district attorney took Rachandas case to grand jurors. 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. Was it important to use it here? June 12, 2022 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 But what if the case turned on that clue? A grand jury would hear the case. But the work of discovery keeps you going as well as the realization (maybe anxiety) that you must make a fair and supportable case and do justice to the time involved, the expense and most of all, the material. But the rape allegation wasnt their priority that day. Some of the most important sources never appear in the print component of this project. Shed gone around town hanging missing posters but hadnt called police. In our meetings early on, I filled every square inch of the board with dates, victims, themes, etc. My footnotes for this passage: Oregonian interview with Byron Pickle: They had paddles. Was the use of such sickening details debated before the story ran? Rachandas brother, Byron, still sees her so clearly, her sweet features framed by brown hair. They looked for similarities how none of the victims had been buried, for example. 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. We encourage you to research and examine . Then a confession by a convicted murderer sidetracked detectives before they determined he was lying. The couple had since divorced and Pam had moved to California. It was the first time shed seen him since that summer morning. The deputy ran at a steady pace, the thrum of the truck approaching her from behind. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Then Rachanda Pickle went missing from the desolate highway compound where she lived, never to be seen again. Shes finally believed and theres satisfaction that comes with that. Harmon was more direct when he returned to the prison a second time. Why after two decades? The prime suspect all along, Ackroyd wasnt charged in the case. Then theres Ackroyds first known victim. Melissa and Sheila joined a list of girls last heard from or seen late at night in this coastal community. This scene has a cinematic quality cops gathering on an empty road days before Christmas reenacting an abduction using a woman deputy and then deciding to give the story their own happy ending. So here: Whos responsible for this carnage? This story is complicated and confusing. He claimed he invited her to join him on a drive to photograph deer on back roads near the junction. She was 20 at the time. Secondary trauma from reporting stories like this is real. He had diabetes and a bad heart. US Highway 20, 1976-1992. Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. Its not a transcript. Without the film, do you think you would use more voices? No evidence, physical or otherwise, ever linked Ackroyd to any of them, but their timing and proximity to Highway 20 prompted investigators to wonder if the mechanic had a hand in them. Why did you write it and place it here? On one of our reporting trips along Highway 20, I spent the ride focused on the road, what he would have seen from his truck. He sliced off her boots and her underwear and threw her to the ground. I dont think we talked about that because he died so early in my reporting. His voice came through the speaker. In the end, they identified four victims who investigators believe died by Ackroyds hands, and documented a history of police and prosecutorial incompetence that allowed Ackroyd to go on a killing spree for two decades. She gasped. There was no chance to give Rachanda a proper burial. Read Full Profile. Oh my God, her mother-in-law said, opening the door. In class, she counted down the minutes, a sense of dread rising as the end of the school day approached. Also, Ackroyd was a local guy whose mother worked at the police department as an office worker. Ackroyd stopped. How were you able to describe the dispatcher as bewildered? She understood how ambitious we were trying to be and was really supportive of that. Overseas, he was investigated for selling marijuana and going AWOL. After Rachandas disappearance, Ackroyd was transferred out of Santiam Junction, where his connection to the case and his behavior made women uncomfortable. Its also a testament to the human need to find answers and how these disappearances and Ackroyd himself affected people who knew there had to be a connection. One of the best investigative reporters in the state had written episodically about it, but nobody had put it all together. Karens case and the others from that era were all but forgotten. Was that a conscious decision? Their cases lingered in the communitys collective memory, and the local district attorney decided to reopen them in 2012, eager to identify potential suspects. I built this profile from those various sources. Kayes killing serves as the cliffhanger at the end of Day 1. In late December, as the case wrapped up, the investigators read the news: Ackroyd was dead. John Arthur. Faryion Wardrip born March 6, 1959, was an American murderer who raped and killed a total of five . Rachanda disappeared on July 10, 1990. Occasionally, Ackroyd would reach for one of the Fireball candies he carried in his pocket. She had been drinking and her husband was known to local cops in their small town. What followed likely altered the path of Ackroyds life, along with those of at least five young women and everyone who loved them. She handed police a brown paper bag with clothes Marlene wore on the night of the attack. The men spent hours talking to Ackroyd. It was produced by senior staff writer Noelle Crombie, videographer Dave Killen and photographer Beth Nakamura, who worked side-by-side for nearly two years an unusual arrangement given the buyouts and layoffs that have hollowed out Americas newsrooms, including those in Oregon. Hopefully for many of you, to bring back some fond memories and get your foot tapping. Victims of sexual assault often ask to remain anonymous. The restive pair quickly grew bored and wanted their boyfriends to pick them up. The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. Now he admitted hed not only stopped but also had spoken with her. They could prove only a single case Turners 1978 murder. It wasnt long before teenagers Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson disappeared from a camping trip to the coast. We felt and processed their profound grief. They werent expected back until afternoon. Killen had. Eliot, Charles Dickens, William Blake, Wilkie Collins, Thomas More and, most recently, Charlie Chaplin. A couple of weeks later, Marlene sat in the back of an unmarked police car as two officers drove her to the lie detector test. Your lead is a classic roundup that focuses on several people or events. You could win the lottery four or five times before something like that would happen, Salsbery said. The details throughout are extraordinarily vivid. Thats when it got broken, over her rear. Among the witnesses was a young woman who was running in Camp Sherman on the same day as Kaye. You should know. Her description provided a distinct sense of place. You shift now to the killer. They dont want the stigma and the shame associated with these crimes. It was the kind of menial task you might give a rookie detective. Karen Lee, 15, and Rodney Grissom, 14, were friends. He is most likely one of the Ghost of The Ghosts of Highway. They tracked down Marlene Gabrielsen, who easily could have been the killers first victim but managed to escape after Ackroyd brutally raped her in 1977. I was able to reconstruct this scene based on a detailed interview with Marvin Laront, Was the use of such sickening details debated before the story ran? The familys kittens were curled up on the girls lap, he said. They mingled with another set that belonged to what appeared to be a large man. Ackroyd, now 63, went over the timeline of the day Rachanda disappeared, spinning the same old lies. Later, they mentioned the bizarre encounter to a foreman, but the anecdote never made it past shop gossip. My goal all along was to limit reader confusion. Over the course of the investigation, he acted strangely. The beginning because you have to engage and explain but not overpromise, all the while getting the tone right. 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. Ackroyd, too, hung out there. Date of Interment 21/Jan/1929, Temuka Cemetery, Section B, Block 5, Plot 335 MI. john arthur ackroyd childhoodwho would you save on a sinking ship activity. 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. Even before hunters had stumbled upon the teens remains, Ackroyd told a friend: They are assuming its me.. 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. The extraordinary arrangement meant Ackroyd would die in prison. Kaye had been an avid runner with deep ties to Eugene, where she worked as a manager at a local public health agency. I also wanted to touch on the idea that this story served as a form of justice for Marlene. Both reports are attached to this post. I can hear her bafflement on the 911 audio, which Ive listened to over and over. We relied on each other for support. McAnulty, whod been promoted to detective just 10 days earlier, dutifully examined old newspaper articles and reports. She wore the buckskin boots her husband bought her even though the couple couldnt afford them. It was my way of saying the state felt they had enough to prove this case and thats as close as this case would get to justice. A father himself now, Byron gets a catch in his voice when he talks about it. When it snapped, he smacked her repeatedly with his open hand. Was he ready to talk? He worked overseas as a mechanic and was caught stealing equipment. Some suspect he was but no evidence links him to these cases. His false teeth had been knocked to the floor. Ackroyd was raised in the small logging town of Sweet Home, Oregon. I wanted the reader to feel rooted in that time and place. Just weeks later Ackroyd was arrested for the murder of Kaye Turner. It was earlier in the year, though he couldnt recall the date. This time you use a direct quote? And, most significantly, the teens friends confirmed what investigators had long suspected: Ackroyd had been sexually abusing the girl before she vanished. And then there was Ackroyds eerie talk of hunting. So you dont know where shes at, he asked. They were there because they were investigating the killing of Kaye Turner, the woman who is the subject of Day 2. There was stuff I wanted to say about them that didnt really fit in elsewhere so this seemed like a good spot for that. These are important stories to be told, he wrote. Great details, especially the belt. To some, she seemed lost, almost invisible. I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. She confided in two girls who were sisters. We bounced ideas off each other and checked facts. Interviews with Rachanda Pickles brother, Byron, and one of her childhood friends. McAnulty wondered if an ex-wife might see the events of the distant past in a different light. At first, shes just taking the info from Linda Ackroyd. Ackroyd heaved his body out of the chair. I had his work, schooling and military records. She asked if she could sleep over. 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. She spotted two young women she knew. I asked Marlene to describe what she saw and smelled when Ackroyd yanked her from the truck. Ages 3-5 Ages 6-8 Ages 9-12 See All. In 1973 he returned to England and worked as an editor for The Spectator. He worried hed become a burden for his family. There was nothing in the record that showed where this request came from or why it had been sought. I produced a separate online version of the story with more than 150 footnotes showing the interviews and records that supported crucial passages. (Getty Images) If you've been following the five-part story of John Ackroyd, its conclusion might leave you hanging. Margaret (Haberman) agreed and suggested that we pare them down to a manageable number for publication. This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub. He ripped off her jeans with such force, the pants split from the waist to the ankle along the inseam. A lone truck makes its way along Highway 20 at dusk. During his school years, he was a loner who was bullied. They matter because some of their stories have never been told. The nut graf is: One woman was raped, four others disappeared. I also was liberated by knowing the companion photos and video would fill in many of the details in a different way. On a personal level, after the project ran, the Northwest Film Center hosted a free screening of the documentary. The process compounded his grief. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. It was shocking. Actually, the beginning and the ending were the most rewritten parts of the series, as we knew they would be. Lucinda Williams The Ghosts of Highway 20, One of the victims, Terri Jentz, wrote a book. It moved around a bit until it landed here. 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. On Christmas Eve morning, Ackroyd showed up at the house. Dave, Beth and I spent a lot of time deep in the woods where these women were assaulted, killed and abandoned. He read about how Ackroyd had been with an old hunting buddy on the morning of Kayes killing. I wanted to show that at this point Ackroyd was a very sick man. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. She once showed up at Sheilas with bruises on her face and asked if she could stay. Were other approaches considered? At other times, friends saw her with a black eye and a wound from where hed ripped out a patch of her hair. You felt a tremendous obligation to the victims and their loved ones in telling this story. He claimed she turned down his invite . Her sneakers and socks were still on her feet. Sheila Swanson and Melissa Sanders were murdered in 1992, in Lincoln County, Oregon. At this point in the story, I didnt want to reveal too much about why the cops were taking another look at Marlenes rape. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. A spare style is my natural tendency. No one was ever charged. This week is the origins of Northern Soul and Disco. Ackroyd was jailed in 1993 for a 1978 . Biography . The friends shared a meal the night before, then sang carols. He knew it was Ackroyd who had eventually led police to her remains. The dialogue and scene-setting details how Ackroyd tapped his leg with his knife, for instance came from interviews with Marlene. We had multiple victims across a large swath of rural Oregon and crimes that covered a long period of time. Detectives moved on. Why did you write it and place it here? There were days when we were depleted after doing interviews or looking at these files and crime scene photos. 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. Within weeks, Melissa and Sheila were dead. Gillmore knew Ackroyd had abducted a runner near Highway 20. Hed planned to fix snowplows but decided to take the day off after learning parts hadnt arrived, a claim that baffled his supervisor, who said there was plenty of work to keep Ackroyd busy. [5] Or go back to the people left behind, particularly Marlene, who had lived to tell her story and felt heard for the first time. Structurally, why did you decide to break here for a biography of Ackroyd? In 1992 he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. Was it easy to get him to talk to you? John Arthur Ackroyd (died December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and may have been a serial killer. What was your reaction when you discovered it? Hunters had found the bodies of two young women who had vanished during a camping trip on the coast. When he got home, I explained the purpose of our visit, what the series would report and how it would include details about his wifes killing that would be upsetting. His wife, Pam, said the two men were around the trailer for most of the morning, which helped give Ackroyd an alibi. Our overarching purpose was to hold their rapist/killer accountable in public for the first time. He struggles to breathe and its clear he takes time to move around. A cinnamon candy? Investigators suspicions deepened as his story began to shift. He had raped a young woman, led detectives to a runners remains off an isolated road in central Oregon and was the last person to see his stepdaughter alive. I wanted the story to be easy on the reader. Unsatisfying because he pleaded no contest but his sentence was suspended as part of the plea so he was never formally convicted and his plea deal didnt require him to reveal what hed done with Rachanda. He listened quietly and wept. A sadistic killer goes around killing people, taking girls off somewhere? I never got a clear answer about why it was sealed or who made that request. Why did you choose to end the narrative with Marlene Gabrielson? Yes, youre right. I wanted to absorb all of the material I had collected and then tell the story with authority.

Moon'' Mullins Obituary, Fire In Montgomery County, Texas Today, How To Announce You're A Travel Agent, Tony Grant And Cheryl Pepsii Riley, Poshmark Delivered To Wrong Address, Articles J