What happened?. Why? Yes, we saw Highway 20 as its own theme and character. The prosecution is going to progress in this.. The beginning because you have to engage and explain but not overpromise, all the while getting the tone right. If you have experienced sexual violence and need support, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. I dont think we talked about that because he died so early in my reporting. She stepped into the sunshine, the frosty air heavy with the scent of ponderosa pine. Covering thought leadership in journalism, 2023 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, It was pure serendipity. We talked to grieving loved ones. The teenagers had met six months earlier. A father himself now, Byron gets a catch in his voice when he talks about it. Actually, the beginning and the ending were the most rewritten parts of the series, as we knew they would be. The ending because you want to leave readers with a meaningful and hopefully memorable coda, the lasting impression. 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. Mystery still shrouds much of what happened during Ackroyds final encounters with his victims, and thats not likely to change. The dispatcher asked: Who was the last person that saw her, do you know?. This day, prosecutor Bill Hanlon told jurors, has been long in coming.. Ackroyd stopped. Melissas mother died, too. 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. Yes and it was something I struggled with. It was late spring. Ghosts of Highway 20, Episode 5 - ACKROYD. He drove another 12 miles down the road and stopped in front of her mother-in-laws house in Lebanon, where shed asked him to drop her off. He showed signs of a disturbed mind. Eventually, the investigation stalled. 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. I would imagine there were several possible structures for the series. In fifth grade, something shifted. How did you track down Laront? In class, she counted down the minutes, a sense of dread rising as the end of the school day approached. I sought to write a driving narrative that relied on detail, dialogue and description with a bedrock of reporting and research. Ackroyd was abusive to both Byron and Rachanda. I never got a clear answer about why it was sealed or who made that request. They began walking along U.S. 101, covering more than six miles to the turnoff to Highway 20, then headed east. 1977-1992. At 17, Melissa was tough-talking and independent. He was using a paddle at that time. They noted in their report how the original officers had failed to pursue the rape case even though physical evidence corroborated Marlenes account. The aging killer headed to the door and returned to his cell. Where did it and the other information about Kayes run come from? It was my way of acknowledging to the reader that this has been an epic tale that wont have a Hollywood ending. There were no somber words from the bench about justice served, no deathbed confessions. We chose to go with the legacy of the investigation. 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. The details throughout are extraordinarily vivid. This was looking forward. Most of the narrative was constructed looking back. Few kids lived there and the ones who did werent Rachandas age. 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. She told them how Ackroyd had once offered the young women a ride. She was calm as she told the dispatcher that her daughter, a homebody, had gone missing. She had tried to warn police about Ackroyd. Ackroyd wasnt sure. What was your reaction when you discovered it? . By this point, it was time to flesh him out. He had already raped a young mother by the time he happened upon Kaye the day before Christmas in 1978. Some suspect he was but no evidence links him to these cases. He mentioned it only after a pair of state police troopers approached him a couple of weeks later. At this point in the story, I didnt want to reveal too much about why the cops were taking another look at Marlenes rape. Kayes remains sat forgotten in the Jefferson County Courthouse until three years ago when court staff came across them. Those footnotes helped me sleep at night. For a long time, the lead was a scene from his cell immediately after his death. For instance, Ackroyd told police he drove to his mothers house after raping Marlene. 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. Marlene Gabrielsen was raped by John Ackroyd in 1978. From the outside, Ackroyd seemed to lead an ordinary life: Raised in small-town Oregon, he hunted and fished, held a steady job and married a woman with a couple of young kids. He worked overseas as a mechanic and was caught stealing equipment. How could they forget? 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. 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. This is the story of, Rachanda Pickle, Kaye Turner, Marlene Gabrielson, Melissa Sanders, Shiela Swan, and potentially many others. She wrote it down on a pack of cigarettes. I asked her about his clothing. Then 29, Ackroyd had worked for the highway department for nearly a year. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped on the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. It now appears their killer was the same man. This is the area where Marlene Gabrielsen was raped off Highway 20 by John Ackroyd. By his account, Rachanda was gone when he returned a couple of hours later. Like Mark Foster, one of the cops who worked on the Kaye Turner investigation. It seems remarkable in hindsight that he managed to elude police despite such compelling circumstantial evidence and his rape a year earlier of another woman off Highway 20. Ackroyd was in no mood to talk this time. Were other approaches considered? Besides the journalism awards, what was the reaction? We talked about this stuff pretty much nonstop at work and when we hung out together outside of work. We spent countless hours together on this project. Plus, in an era of smartphones, a Timex wrist watch gives readers the sense that this crime happened in another era. She talked about her plans to run in Camp Sherman, inviting a friend to join her that morning. You know, he said, both of you sitting there pointing your fingers at me, and I didnt do nothing.. He told Linda to wait until the next day to call police. Hello, Sign in. Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian/OregonLive. 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 Thats when it got broken, over her rear. She returned to the campground, where a stranger said his buddy, John Ackroyd, could give her a lift. Ackroyd was charged with Rachanda's murder in 2013, and pleaded no contest. John Arthur. I like how direct, clean and certain Hanlons quote is here. 25 November 2021. Hanna was returning to his place in Camp Sherman after working the night shift. Her head slammed into the door frame. Vacuum the house. You shift now to the killer. Her hair was matted with sticks and dirt. This time Ackroyds lawyer responded. Why the shift? This is heartbreaking. He sliced off her boots and her underwear and threw her to the ground. I had to rely on their description of what he said. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped off the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. I knew from the time Id spent with her that shes a strong person, and Day 1 of this series didnt capture that. And it had not been told, said Bottomly, now the Oregonians editor. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. Overseas, he was investigated for selling marijuana and going AWOL. Burly and barrel-chested, Ackroyd favored jeans and blue work shirts from the local Sears. I put them in binders and then entered them in a spreadsheet. Ackroyd had offered his hunting buddy, Roger Dale Beck, as his alibi, but another jury found Beck guilty of murder in the Turner case, too. She seemed withdrawn and tired. A spare style is my natural tendency. We encourage you to research and examine these . Seemed like the most hopeful note on which to end a series that didnt offer much light. This detail is so specific. Melissa and Sheila joined a list of girls last heard from or seen late at night in this coastal community. They were scrappy and streetwise high school dropouts. During the course of my reporting, I heard several references to this infamous Cline Falls attack, which took place around the time of Marlenes rape and Kayes murder. These are important stories to be told, he wrote. What followed likely altered the path of Ackroyds life, along with those of at least five young women and everyone who loved them. Hunters had found the bodies of two young women who had vanished during a camping trip on the coast. 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. 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. 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. 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 said he gave her a pair of pants because she had torn hers while taking them off. They climbed back into the truck and continued west on Highway 20. They looked for similarities how none of the victims had been buried, for example. Biography. Maybe we can see each other again, Ackroyd said. Karens case and the others from that era were all but forgotten. Structurally, why did you decide to break here for a biography of Ackroyd? Though they had grown apart in their marriage, he remembers Kaye with fondness. The subject matter is horrific. john arthur ackroyd childhood. Hed stopped by a half-dozen times since Kaye had gone missing. 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. Cops did a thorough timeline of Kayes morning so that detail came from those records. Its not a transcript. The story reaches its powerful chronological conclusion. The last time the two saw each other, Rachanda was in the backseat of a Chevy Blazer headed home. bridal shower wording sample for guests not invited to wedding; family life resurrection eggs story printable. They grew up in small towns about 90 minutes inland on Highway 20 and shared a history infused with drugs and alcohol. Each of the multimedia elements in powerful in its own right. At the same time, a dozen investigators working the Turner case seized on Ackroyds shifting accounts. I wanted the story to be easy on the reader. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. The beginning because you have to engage and explain but not overpromise, all the while getting the tone right. It was great, Ackroyd would later tell detectives. To do that in a way that was going to keep a readers interest through five installments was herculean. 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. Highway worker after highway worker said they werent there that night, they couldnt vouch that it had happened. She went missing in 1990 12 years after Kayes killing and just down the highway. Eliot, Charles Dickens, William Blake, Wilkie Collins, Thomas More and, most recently, Charlie Chaplin. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and may have been a serial killer. The district attorney delivered his decision on whether to prosecute. I hired a high school student to come in and Bates stamp them. Kaye headed out alone, her feet pounding a two-lane camp road tinged red from volcanic ash. She was married to one suspect and romantically involved with the other. I made paper copies of everything. [4] Ackroyd's step-daughter Rachanda Pickle went missing in 1990. Marlene Gabrielsen was John Ackroyd's first known victim, and the one who survived. Now we knew that he was definitively linked to this little girls case. They led her into a small room with a desk. Linda Ackroyd, who now goes by the last name Monville, says she doesnt know if Ackroyd molested her daughter. 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. This let us quickly introduce the five women we write about but also put them first in the mind of the reader. The rest haunted investigators who had pursued him through the years. Laront and a coworker sat on seats salvaged from old vans, talking about the night ahead. . That beating she got was over, over the top. In other scenes, Beck grabbed her as Ackroyd looked on. So I went back to Marlene and slow-walked her through her preparations for going out that night. 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. Show All. Kaye Turner was killed in 1978, followed by Ackroyds stepdaughter, Rachanda, in 1990. Why did you choose to end the narrative with Marlene Gabrielson? Ackroyd graduated from Clare College, Cambridge (M.A., 1971), and then attended Yale University for two years. And narratively, the detectives and their work showed connections among all the cases. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 - December 30, 2016) . I asked him for an interview. They continued to live together, though, raising Lindas two kids, Rachanda and her older brother, Byron. So while I did the interviews, reporting and wrote the stories, their work helped elevate the project into something pretty special. Why? There was so much information to move through. 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. And Harmon hadn't uncovered any physical evidence linking Ackroyd to Rachanda's disappearance. The television was on. We had multiple victims across a large swath of rural Oregon and crimes that covered a long period of time. Then a confession by a convicted murderer sidetracked detectives before they determined he was lying. She saw it as a way of letting readers know how much work went into this series. During the course of my reporting, I heard several references to this infamous Cline Falls attack, which took place around the time of Marlenes rape and Kayes murder. The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. The three of us had a favorite restaurant on the road. A cop once mentioned to me that Ackroyd always had a bunch of these candies in his pocket and would pop them into his mouth during interrogations. The family lived at the state highway division compound at Santiam Junction, where U.S. 20 and Oregon 22 meet. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. Its dramatic and I wanted to draw it out for the reader. Police photos showed her watch in the woods near where her partial remains were found. For decades, investigators wanted peace for Rachanda, the lonely girl who was unhappy and out of place at the highway compound. Both were present for almost every interview. You should know. We encourage you to research and examine . The state had continued to pay out Ackroyds $3,624 monthly public employee pension even while he was in prison. Marlene, dizzy from alcohol, watched as he reached through the open window to unlatch the door from the outside. . The breadth of his crimes has never been revealed until now. Did you have to listen to them to be able to write that sentence? Hopefully for many of you, to bring back some fond memories and get your foot tapping. The couple drove about 90 miles from their home in Lebanon and set up camp near the rodeo grounds. Her body had never been found. Ackroyd, going to Newport for work that day, encountered the teenagers somewhere along the highway and offered them a lift, just as he had in the past. Beck and his wife lived in a trailer not far from Camp Sherman, where Kaye had disappeared. Read "John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer" by Ruth Canton available from Rakuten Kobo. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian/OregonLive I lied like hell back then, she told McAnulty. The investigators sifted through the evidence collected from the woods where hunters came across Melissa and Sheilas bodies. The Oregonian has prepared a complete dossier on the crimes of John ACKROYD. The series linked Melissa and Sheilas disappearances to Ackroyd for the first time. At one point before the trials, investigators had returned to Camp Sherman to re-enact theories of what had happened. Did you have to listen to them to be able to write that sentence? She said he threatened to do to me exactly what they did to Kaye Turner.. Over time, Ackroyd added incriminating details to his account. Again, he didnt respond. Showing : Public Libraries K-12 Schools Library Name Distance. They met once a week in Bensons office to dive into thousands of pages of old files, spending hours devouring details about the case. Is this the theme of the story? How did you locate her? If you had to characterize the way the system worked in the Rachanda Pickle case, what words would you use? It was the first time shed seen him since that summer morning. What the heck happened to you? Laront asked. Harmon tried to nudge Ackroyd. I built this profile from those various sources. The cause: heart disease. Rachandas brother struggled to cope with the loss of his sister. Then he left for home. Reporting on this series was emotionally grueling. Why? John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. It was the last time any cop talked to Ackroyd. He has won the Whitbread Biography Award, the Royal . Raised in southern Oregon, she was an only child who remained close to her parents and had recently returned from a visit. After one year, the couple divorced, but they continued to live together with Linda's children. Our ride is here, Karen told her friend. The watch played a key role in helping to pin down when she was killed. So instead of hundreds of footnotes, we ran about 150 in a separate version of the story that also links to original source material. He claimed he invited her to join him on a drive to photograph deer on back roads near the junction. In late December, as the case wrapped up, the investigators read the news: Ackroyd was dead. Alarmed, Weston went to get her husband, who called state police. I wasnt sure what to call it. What was your source and why did you use it when so many other times you chose to paraphrase speech? The story also features an annotated version using footnotes identifying all your sources? Shed hung onto the damaged boots and showed them to the men. They found her lower jawbone and yellow shorts. 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. The reason for concealing the documents and who insisted on secrecy have been lost to time. He married a local woman named Linda and they lived with her young kids, Byron and Rachanda. Shes finally believed and theres satisfaction that comes with that. We talked to grieving loved ones. His story about inviting the girl to photograph wildlife that morning never made sense to Rachandas family and friends. You dont describe the rape, instead skipping over graphic details. Bottomly teamed up Crombie with Killen and Nakamura to run the mystery to ground. Her mother noticed the girls hairbrush, makeup and earrings were still there. Trauma had seared these details into her memory. Peter Ackroyd CBE, FRSL (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. Then he started swinging at her with his hand.. The time and date stood still: 9:27 a.m. on Dec. 24. Did you assume readers would know what a Fireball is? She often wore a black leather jacket that her parents paid for on installments. The couple had since divorced and Pam had moved to California. She talked about how she thought he was a logger or someone who made a living in the woods. In prison that day with Ackroyd, the detective took one last shot. We encourage you to research and examine . He was responsible for clearing wrecks, helping people whose cars broke down on the highway, and maintenance. My sister was denying it. 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. What sources did you rely on to reconstruct the events of your trial? We needed to say that. It wasnt long before teenagers Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson disappeared from a camping trip to the coast. Beautiful scenery but what this man did was not beautiful in any sense. I spoke with his coworkers and friends. A few months later, in 2013, the Linn County district attorney took Rachandas case to grand jurors. 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. Killen had. He wouldnt admit to killing the girl, but he wouldnt deny it either. When cops went back to her years later, she apparently felt more at ease talking about what really happened. Ackroyd was one of many leads they pursued. They simply felt they had enough. 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. The other man in the truck told police that Ackroyd wasnt the violent type and the woman was drunk. Then Linda tells her that Rachanda has been gone for 24 hours and the dispatcher stumbles a bit. I also was liberated by knowing the companion photos and video would fill in many of the details in a different way. Now he admitted hed not only stopped but also had spoken with her. Why? I read. How do you know how long it took? Marlene found a friend to care for her baby, pumped breast milk and wrote out a napping schedule. He listened quietly and wept. She handed police a brown paper bag with clothes Marlene wore on the night of the attack. Talking about some other people that are dead up in that area., Oh, said Ackroyd, now youre trying to lay some others on me?, No, Im just asking you, the detective said. After the rape, Ackroyd slapped the knife against his grimy jeans held up by orange suspenders. Faryion Wardrip born March 6, 1959, was an American murderer who raped and killed a total of five . And Bill Hanlon, the prosecutor who helped put Ackroyd away. They were still after him when Ackroyd died alone in his prison cell two years ago. Dave listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen. Prosecutors said she also had been raped. Shes finally believed and theres satisfaction that comes with that. John Arthur Ackroyd was a longtime state highway mechanic whose route along U.S. 20 wound through some of Oregons most spectacular scenery from the Cascade foothills to the coast. Again, he didnt respond. These are important stories to be told, he wrote. Beth Nakamura/ The Oregonian/OregonLive. Ackroyds name emerged early on. (Getty Images) If you've been following the five-part story of John Ackroyd, its conclusion might leave you hanging. The interview sputtered to a halt. It made sense to strip it down. There was the rivet found near Sheila and a beaded seat cushion used at the time in cars and trucks. John was the youngest son of Henry II . And to explain why this story has currency and impact today. A grand jury would hear the case. Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. 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.
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