This week is the origins of Northern Soul and Disco. Who was this guy and what made him tick? Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. The last time the two saw each other, Rachanda was in the backseat of a Chevy Blazer headed home. For decades, investigators wanted peace for Rachanda, the lonely girl who was unhappy and out of place at the highway compound. 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. In 1973 he returned to England and worked as an editor for The Spectator. 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. Find a Digital Library with John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer near you. McAnulty, whod been promoted to detective just 10 days earlier, dutifully examined old newspaper articles and reports. Just like with Kaye, detectives would never know what had happened to Ackroyds stepdaughter, Rachanda Pickle. 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. What was your source for this description of Ackroyds temper? He rolled up the window and slammed the door. This detail is so specific. I dont know that its the theme. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. Beck had bragged to family members about killing Kaye. The friends shared a meal the night before, then sang carols. John Ackroyd's Instagram, Twitter & Facebook on IDCrawl In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. 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. Oh, I think you do, Harmon said softly. But as time went on and fresh eyes viewed the case files, investigators finally pursued justice for numerous victims. She said no and he left. We will go through the lives and deaths of Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, Melissa . Why did you choose to end the narrative with Marlene Gabrielson? She spotted two young women she knew. She had tried to warn police about Ackroyd. Why did choose to organize by chronologically, by victim? This post is a long one, everyone. When he returned to the house at approximately 12:45 p.m., Rachanda had vanished. Ackroyd was raised in the small logging town of Sweet Home, Oregon. There were 300 people there and Marlene Gabrielsen came. This was looking forward. Why did you open the series this way? The day after Christmas, experienced trackers whod joined the search made a disturbing discovery in a clearing near the area where Ackroyd saw Kaye. I found her through Nexis, I think. 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. [4] Ackroyd's step-daughter Rachanda Pickle went missing in 1990. The district attorney delivered his decision on whether to prosecute. Yes, youre right. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian/OregonLive. Like Mark Foster, one of the cops who worked on the Kaye Turner investigation. Polygraph "test" of Marlene K. Gabrielsen conducted by Sergeant Phil R. Ensminger of the Lane County Sheriff's Office . But, worried about the possibility of parole in the Turner case, they took their chances. It made sense to strip it down. We encourage you to research and examine . 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? A report from the trial in the Bend (OR) Bulletin. These are key characters in this story. Why did you include a trigger warning at the top of the story? John Ackroyd - Address & Phone Number | Whitepages They were critically wounded but survived. He had diabetes and a bad heart. She thinks those factors played a role in their handling of the investigation. The breadth of his crimes has never been revealed until now. The reports dont shed light on why they doubted her. I lied like hell back then, she told McAnulty. Ackroyds low libido was the source of such open conflict that Lindas teenage son, Byron, knew of their troubles. Melissa and Sheila had waited until dawn to leave the familys campsite. Prosecutors didnt have a body. My sister was denying it. We had multiple victims across a large swath of rural Oregon and crimes that covered a long period of time. Kaye Turners killing became a faded memory. A dozen or so work crews called the junction home. His confidants were a pair of child molesters serving long prison sentences. Finding no sign of her, he panicked and called police. I was so bewildered by this I was unclear where this was going and then he said, And when he entered his plea. You can hear me echo him on my recorder, When he entered his plea? I was so stunned that (Ackroyd) had done that, a no contest plea, and that there was no record of that in the court system. Shed gone around town hanging missing posters but hadnt called police. 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. Ackroyd had once speculated to police that his stepdaughter might not have been buried either. There were days when we were depleted after doing interviews or looking at these files and crime scene photos. Bewildered by the explanation, the men watched as Ackroyd washed up. John Arthur Ackroyd was a state highway mechanic whose route took him along Route 20 from the Cascade Foothills to the Pacific Ocean's coast. This detail is so specific. Didnt do anything to Channy? the cop pressed. It is available in multimedia format. It was the day before Christmas. Then one finally offered: Try a woman who worked at the Sweet Home shop back then. 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 drove off as she banged frantically on the door. We worried about this constantly. Why did you decide to tell it in the omniscient third person as you do so much of the story? Do you or any of the detectives have any suspicions why it was sealed? Organization, extensive footnoting and a decent system for records that involved seven three-ring binders helped me keep it all straight. 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. Click here to find personal data about John Ackroyd including phone numbers, addresses, directorships, electoral roll information, related property prices and other useful information. 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. Reporting on this series was emotionally grueling. This day, prosecutor Bill Hanlon told jurors, has been long in coming.. Recently read an excellent series by the Oregonian, "Ghosts of Highway 20" on suspected serial killer John Arthur Ackroyd, who was active in Oregon from the late 1970s, operating on a remote stretch of US Highway 20 between Bend and Newport, where he was employed by the State Highway Department. 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. A few days later, I received a handwritten letter from Noel. Most of what I came up with centered on Ackroyd. Marlene started this series and it seemed fitting to end with her. janne. The lead prosecutor has a formidable memory and kept meticulous notes that were part of the case file. Two more teens disappeared but their bodies never turned up. It is a very convoluted story with a blizzard of facts, dates, people, incidents, etc. List of serial killers in the United States, "Ghosts of Highway 20: Marlene Gabrielsen", "Inmate convicted in notorious Christmas jogger murder found dead in cell", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Arthur_Ackroyd&oldid=1131847328, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 01:20. She hadnt been out long when a state highway worker named Thomas Hanna spotted her, running south, alone. She was patient as I drilled down into the particulars of what she wore, her hairstyle and what it was like to leave her baby girl behind for the night. She admitted it could have been her. What lay behind this approach? And, most significantly, the teens friends confirmed what investigators had long suspected: Ackroyd had been sexually abusing the girl before she vanished. 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. 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. Then, two decades later, in 2010, another detective picked up the file. Also, Ackroyd was a local guy whose mother worked at the police department as an office worker. Later, Ackroyd would drive back roads, shooting squirrels and cutting off their tails. At 17, Melissa was tough-talking and independent. I would imagine there were several possible structures for the series. I t was the last time any cop talked to Ackroyd. What was your reaction when you discovered it? He knew how to navigate the hills and hairpin turns during winter, when fierce storms swept through the Cascades. By now, investigators knew who they were dealing with. Ackroyd was raised in the small logging town of Sweet Home, Oregon. They were there because they were investigating the killing of Kaye Turner, the woman who is the subject of Day 2. A detective reached out to request an interview. 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. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. We sought ways to simplify and streamline. Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian/OregonLive. Structurally, what was your intention? 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. I had to gut him out.. You were able, one wrote, to give voice to so many people who have largely gone unheard (until now). He took out an envelope of old photos of Ackroyd, his pickups and Santiam Junction all from the original police file. We needed to say that. I knew I wanted to use this somewhere in this series. I built this profile from those various sources. Linda Monville left Oregon twenty-six years ago and now lives in San Bernardino, California, where she remarried and built a new life after her daughter, Rachanda Pickle, disappeared from the Department of Transportation compound where they lived together with Linda's third husband, John Ackroyd. . And Ackroyd was molesting Rachanda. Great details, especially the belt. So I shifted to the women he encountered. 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. Two more young women disappeared about a month before Ackroyd was arrested and charged in Kayes death. Why was it important to do so? That day, she tied her hair back and pulled on her green Levis. It provided readers with a sense of place but also helped propel the story along. His false teeth had been knocked to the floor. No, the bewildered dispatcher said, thats not true, not with children. The series linked Melissa and Sheilas disappearances to Ackroyd for the first time. And it had not been told, said Bottomly, now the Oregonians editor. The area was about a half-hour drive from where Marlene was raped. Would is a conditional verb indicating the consequence of an imagined event or situation. Other highway workers lived there, but there were few children. Its also a newspaper story, not a book. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. The home showed no signs of foul play. 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. Was the passage longer and, if so, how did you revise it? I asked him for an interview. We relied on each other for support. I can hear her bafflement on the 911 audio, which Ive listened to over and over. And then there was Ackroyds eerie talk of hunting. 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. 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 was 13. The language of the story is spare and lean. I work for Channy, he told Ackroyd. Her body had never been found. Ackroyd graduated from Clare College, Cambridge (M.A., 1971), and then attended Yale University for two years. These are key characters in this story. Sheilas parents had died, leaving her younger brother to carry on alone with his grief. Forensic experts and search-and-rescue workers spent nearly a week looking for her remains. Hed pored over Ackroyds police interviews from 1979 when the highway worker admitted he was the last person to see Kaye Turner. Besides the journalism awards, what was the reaction? John Arthur - IMDb US Highway 20, 1976-1992. Time had fogged her memory, but on one point she was clear: The men ordered her to lie if police asked where they were that morning. Why? Its also a newspaper story, not a book. 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. View John Ackroyd results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. She planned an 8-mile run. Marlene K. Gabrielsen wants you to remember her name. You could, I assume, have used sources to describe this scene. So we had to make clear to the reader why we were telling these stories. There was nothing in the record that showed where this request came from or why it had been sought. The details surrounding the assault are terrifying enough. The interview sputtered to a halt. John Arthur Ackroyd part 1 - True Crime But That's None of My Business Did you and your colleagues ever worry whether readers would care about cases that happened so many years before? 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. Rachanda and Byron Pickle in an undated photograph. Ackroyd has three brothers and one sister. Parts of Melissas body were gone, probably dragged away by animals. I asked my colleagues if they thought readers would know about Fireballs and the consensus was yes. Sheilas ankles were bound with leggings. But those relationships shifted over time. Structurally, why did you decide to break here for a biography of Ackroyd? She once showed up at Sheilas with bruises on her face and asked if she could stay. Ackroyd led investigators into the brush, about a half-mile off the road where Kaye had gone running the previous winter. 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. He claimed she turned down his invite . Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results John Arthur Ackroyd (1903 - 1914) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. John Arthur. Then he started swinging at her with his hand.. When you have one you really hang tight to them. What role did she play? Their stories. Dried blood covered his arms and hands. He is most likely one of the Ghost of The Ghosts of Highway. Maybe we can see each other again, Ackroyd said. The family lived at the state highway division compound at Santiam Junction, where U.S. 20 and Oregon 22 meet. Margaret runs a very busy team that does all breaking news, all crime and justice coverage and enterprise.