This detail is so specific. Ackroyd disclosed yet another curious detail: He hadnt been alone on Christmas Eve morning. He even pretended to aid in the fruitless search for the girl. She fought back in every scene, but they all ended the same. A young deputy played Kaye. A thought skittered Organization, extensive footnoting and a decent system for records that involved seven three-ring binders helped me keep it all straight. Why did you open the series this way? You end this section by withholding what happened with the grand jury. What are the chances that two serial killers were active during the same time and place? [3] In 1978, along with an accomplice, Roger Dale Beck, abducted and murdered Kaye Turner. They were turned over to her husband and cremated. Earlier in the year, shed finished a marathon, run two half-marathons and climbed Mount Washington and Three Fingered Jack. How and why did you settle on that approach? He glanced skyward. 1946, in Atlanta, Georgia. Cops went to search a storage unit Ackroyd had rented the year before, only to find hed cleared it out days earlier. For years, only those in the room would know what had happened. His arrest was imminent. Annie was born on August 28 1876, in Ashfield Farnley Yorkshire. Hanna told police hed seen both the highway worker and the runner in Camp Sherman that morning. He pointed a handgun at her and ordered her to stop. Once in a while, Bart Swanson makes his way to the isolated logging road where Sheilas body was found just feet from her friend, Melissa Sanders. He said very little that day but thanked us for making the trip. How were you able to describe the dispatcher as bewildered? Cops did a thorough timeline of Kayes morning so that detail came from those records. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results John Arthur Ackroyd (1892 - 1953) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. How much was revision involved in accomplishing this? This story is complicated and confusing. 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. My editors, Therese Bottomly and Margaret Haberman, told me over and over to think about scenes and to identify cliffhangers. Another time, they snuck her into their bedroom closet. Then Linda tells her that Rachanda has been gone for 24 hours and the dispatcher stumbles a bit. A report from the trial in the Bend (OR) Bulletin. The district attorney said he was unable to talk about it something was prohibiting him. 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. He was responsible for clearing wrecks, helping people whose cars broke down on the highway, and maintenance. Kindle Edition. When I outlined each days story, I focused on cliffhangers, kickers and which scenes could propel the narrative. Her case remained unsolved. Her jeans appeared to have been cut. Did you tear off her bra? Kaye had been raped and shot, Beck told Pam. It was dark, around midnight. If you have experienced sexual violence and need support, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. One of the best investigative reporters in the state had written episodically about it, but nobody had put it all together. Ackroyd was later charged with Kaye's murder -- the only killing he was ever prosecuted for. Plus reading it aloud again and again and producing a condensed online timeline helped uncover themes and discrepancies. They ran away from home with plans to make it to California. This detail is so specific. They werent expected back until afternoon. It was Marlene Gabrielsens first night away from her baby girl. We coped with it in our own ways, but we relied on each other. If we said we really needed to go to California, she said yes. I kept approaching the local cops, detectives, some quite elderly, retired. Call the police, Marlene said. Their final call in the spring of 1977 came from a pay phone in Lebanon. It was scary. I did not have any models in mind. We talked all along about how graphic to be. Again, he didnt respond. I have the audio of this conversation. I wanted to pick up the watch detail again because we first saw Kaye wearing the watch as she heads on a run and now the watch is a detail in her killing. The day after Christmas, experienced trackers whod joined the search made a disturbing discovery in a clearing near the area where Ackroyd saw Kaye. Why was it important to do so? 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. across her mind as she drifted to sleep: The inside door handle was gone. But I had to keep it tight so I tried to convey the crime and its horror as succinctly as possible. 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. Most of what I came up with centered on Ackroyd. That beating she got was over, over the top. Janes heart raced as she crouched over her handlebars and sped toward the nearby country store, listening for the sound of the truck behind her. It was a real weight. I read the book while reporting this story and we made a trip to Cline Falls park during one of our trips to central Oregon. How did you reconstruct the details included in this long section about Marlenes rape and the aftermath? His shirtsleeves were rolled up. Was it important to use it here? How were you able to describe the dispatcher as bewildered? bridal shower wording sample for guests not invited to wedding; family life resurrection eggs story printable. So you dont know where shes at, he asked. This story is complicated and confusing. Be a good girl. Reporting on this series was emotionally grueling. John Ackroyd killed Kaye Turner, he replied. 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. Decades later, their cold case murders were tied to suspected serial killer John Ackroyd. Jane, then 24, was on her bicycle, headed home from a waitressing job when she noticed Ackroyd standing near his pickup parked along the side of the road in Camp Sherman. Great details, especially the belt. 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. 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. No one was ever charged. In 1992 he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. 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. In exchange, he agreed never to seek parole. Why did you write it and place it here? Those contradictions, discrepancies and outright lies had led him to this moment. Their clothes were spattered with so much blood that she got rid of Becks jeans and shirt. Biography Current Affairs & Politics General Nonfiction History Music, Film & Performing Arts Religion Social Sciences. The familys kittens were curled up on the girls lap, he said. I had to rely on their description of what he said. Their stories. The prosecutor, Bill Hanlon, and newspaper accounts. It is . Though they had grown apart in their marriage, he remembers Kaye with fondness. Bottomly teamed up Crombie with Killen and Nakamura to run the mystery to ground. He runs in Kayes memory every Christmas Eve. And narratively, the detectives and their work showed connections among all the cases. I was taken aback by how much emotion and support there was for Marlene in the room. John Arthur Ackroyd was a longtime state highway mechanic whose route along U.S. 20 wound through some of Oregon's . It was a sensational crime that remains unsolved. That may have also played a role in their response. Harmon wondered if time had softened the old highway worker. Now and then, like here, you use complex sentences. I lied like hell back then, she told McAnulty. I can hear her bafflement on the 911 audio, which Ive listened to over and over. But the story cant be fully appreciated without viewing Killens gripping documentary; so far its YouTube views top 847,000 hits and 22.6 million minutes of viewing time, Bottomly said. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and may have been a serial killer. Ackroyds grim speculation about the harm that had likely come to Rachanda echoed gory stories like the ones hed replay over and over in Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.. It was there that witnesses heard Ackroyd try to lure Melissa and Sheila to a party he said hed planned to host in Newport just down the road from where they would be camping. The story reaches its powerful chronological conclusion. Its also a newspaper story, not a book. It now appears their killer was the same man. Peter Ackroyd, (born October 5, 1949, London, England), British novelist, critic, biographer, and scholar whose technically innovative novels present an unconventional view of history. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. He claimed hed reached down to touch the slain womans arm and hair. I tried to give quick references to time to guide without distracting the reader. It was as close to a breakthrough as theyd get. 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. This is a messy story that jumps around in time. Pronunciation of John Arthur Ackroyd with 1 audio pronunciation and more for John Arthur Ackroyd. 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. Did you have any models in mind, any that you studied before or as you were writing? Do investigators believe Ackroyd was responsible for these unsolved deaths? He was drawn to Melissa and Sheila, making a point to chat them up. 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. But its worth noting that it took many years for this particular serendipity to play out. So instead of hundreds of footnotes, we ran about 150 in a separate version of the story that also links to original source material. The Turner case file filed a metal file cabinet and was a reporters dream as far as narrative details. 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. Beautiful scenery but what this man did was not beautiful in any sense. Though investigators were certain he was behind her disappearance, they couldnt prove it. Then Ackroyd died and I approached folks again. More than two years later, another set of investigators went looking for the police report detailing Marlenes account. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. Hed pored over Ackroyds police interviews from 1979 when the highway worker admitted he was the last person to see Kaye Turner. This is a woman who has suffered in silence, alone, for decades, and here she was getting this kind of delayed justice. katelyn akins disappearance. John was the youngest son of Henry II . Shes finally believed and theres satisfaction that comes with that. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. Span of crimes. And Bill Hanlon, the prosecutor who helped put Ackroyd away. Their stories have another connection: One man - John Arthur Ackroyd - is linked to all five crimes. Constant references make Highway 20 a character in its own right? A father himself now, Byron gets a catch in his voice when he talks about it. Bill Hanlon, the district attorney in Jefferson County, wasnt surprised when the call came from a prosecutor in Linn County, where Ackroyd lived. I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. She talked about how she thought he was a logger or someone who made a living in the woods. The men ate and left to poach deer, not returning until the next day, she said. This is the story of, Rachanda Pickle, Kaye Turner, Marlene Gabrielson, Melissa Sanders, Shiela Swan, and potentially many others. Ackroyd worked out of Corvallis and continued to roam the highway. 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. Why did you decide to tell it in the omniscient third person as you do so much of the story? His mother told a detective that shed peeked out the window that night and seen Marlene in the front seat of her sons truck. Why did you choose to end the narrative with Marlene Gabrielson? In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. 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. I am not going to gamble this guy getting away with it, Byron thought. It is a very convoluted story with a blizzard of facts, dates, people, incidents, etc. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. Beautiful scenery but what this man did was not beautiful in any sense. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in . You shift now to the killer. He stuffed his cell with food from the prison commissary dozens of packages of processed meats and cheese, candy bars and beans. This is a such a powerful, almost poetic detail. I was able to reconstruct this scene based on a detailed interview with Marvin Laront 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. Ackroyd graduated from Clare College, Cambridge (M.A., 1971), and then attended Yale University for two years. When I outlined each days story, I focused on cliffhangers, kickers and which scenes could propel the narrative. He listened quietly and wept. Melissas mother died, too. Ackroyds explanations of his encounter with her never added up, but detectives found no physical evidence directly tying him to the killing. Its got humanity and poignancy but it also lets readers know that ultimately some questions about the Turner murder were never answered. Shes an extremely meticulous editor who was always pushing me for the extra detail, to make the extra call. Theirs is a cold-case mystery that began with a tip about a possible serial killer. The extraordinary arrangement meant Ackroyd would die in prison. Marlene Gabrielsen was John Ackroyd's first known victim, and the one who survived. Some suspect he was but no evidence links him to these cases. Her case remained unsolved. When the couple pulled into the compound that evening, Rachanda wasnt hanging around outside like she had the day before. Was the passage longer and, if so, how did you revise it? Then Rachanda Pickle, Ackroyds 13-year-old stepdaughter, disappeared. Marlene, then 20, got up to leave. Why did you open the series this way? We had a lot of discussion about the ending. Marlene flew out of the pickup, a blur moving toward the house. One resembled the waffle soles of Kayes Nikes. How did you settle on this entry point to their story? Her breast had been punctured by a bullet, he said, and her throat was slashed. They were thin slats of wood. Narrative is not typically what Ive done. Both were present for almost every interview. 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. He was using a paddle at that time. And Harmon hadn't uncovered any physical evidence linking Ackroyd to Rachanda's disappearance. When the men turned them down, Melissa and Sheila said theyd hitchhike instead. Eventually, the investigation stalled. John Arthur Ackroyd (died December 30, 2016 at age 67) was an American murderer and a serial killer. He had an older and younger sister. One of the victims, Terri Jentz, wrote a book about what happened and her search for her assailant. June 12, 2022 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 There were 300 people there and Marlene Gabrielsen came. I had some of these details from my initial interviews with Marlene, but Kelley pressed me to go back for more, to really flesh out that evening in detail. Our partnership was the projects secret ingredient. The process compounded his grief. Sheila Swanson was 19 and from nearby Lebanon. Marlene and Ackroyd agreed to be polygraphed. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 - December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. So while I did the interviews, reporting and wrote the stories, their work helped elevate the project into something pretty special. Did you and your colleagues ever worry whether readers would care about cases that happened so many years before? Kids. I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. As investigators scoured the woods for clues, a state police trooper rested against a tree. 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. She recalled how Marlene had arrived at her house, sobbing, saying something terrible had happened. His excuse for his bloody arms and hands around the time Melissa and Sheila vanished was that hed just gutted a roadkill deer. Ackroyd's step-daughter Rachanda Pickle went missing in 1990. What was your source and why did you use it when so many other times you chose to paraphrase speech? Ran into a deer, Ackroyd said. What was your reaction when you discovered it? Sheila often slept away from home but stayed in touch with her mother. When parent conferences rolled around, no one showed up. How did you reconstruct the details included in this long section about Marlenes rape and the aftermath? Laront asked what Ackroyd had done with the carcass. What was your greatest writing challenge? A few days later, I received a handwritten letter from Noel. John Arthur Ackroyd was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. Why did you decide to use Benson and Snow as a vehicle to transmit all this background? By this point, it was time to flesh him out. Then, two decades later, in 2010, another detective picked up the file. Mommy loves you too much, she whispered to her daughter, asleep in a bassinet. What triggered the new investigation? And Ackroyd was molesting Rachanda. Faryion Wardrip. I would imagine there were several possible structures for the series. Investigators talked to Marlenes mother-in-law, too. At the hospital, an officer noted scratches on Marlenes back. Ackroyd had once speculated to police that his stepdaughter might not have been buried either. It took a lot of force to break them. I dont know that its the theme. 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. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 - December 30, 2016) . No deception detected, the polygraph examiner determined. 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. Yes, we saw Highway 20 as its own theme and character. Why do you suppose that was the case? He married Emma Richardson on 30 July 1927, in Clayton, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. It made sense to make Highway 20 a central theme and to tell the story chronologically, using the highway as a guide. Marlene started this series and it seemed fitting to end with her. She invited us in and we waited for Noel to return from running an errand. It took a lot of force to break them. I knew those important voices would have their say in the video so it liberated me to write with more authority. On Christmas Eve morning in 1978, she went out for a run in Camp Sherman, where she, her husband and friends planned to spend the holiday. His partner, Detective Will McAnulty, sat nearby. Why after two decades? Her body had never been found. Great details, especially the belt. My editors advised me at one point to look for ways to mix things up with more complex sentences and longer graphs. Sandy Turner, Noels wife, answered and greeted us warmly. Disgusted, Weston went to find her husband, but Ackroyd was gone by the time the couple returned to confront him. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. My goal all along was to limit reader confusion. Her calendar at work noted recent liaisons with the men. 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. Did you use an outline or timeline to keep things straight in this convoluted case? Who was this guy and what made him tick? He saw another highway worker driving through Camp Sherman that morning. Dave, Beth and I spent a lot of time deep in the woods where these women were assaulted, killed and abandoned. He lies down in the dirt and stares up: Is this what his sister saw before she died? Our ride is here, Karen told her friend. (Getty Images) If you've been following the five-part story of John Ackroyd, its conclusion might leave you hanging. At other times, friends saw her with a black eye and a wound from where hed ripped out a patch of her hair. Im not sure what the reader gains from reading a detailed description of a rape. A cinnamon candy? Even today parts of the road are so narrow and quiet the highway has the feel of a country lane.