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These are key characters in this story. We encourage you to research and examine . The Highway 20 Serial Killer Unexplained Oregon. I knew those important voices would have their say in the video so it liberated me to write with more authority. 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. Plus, in an era of smartphones, a Timex wrist watch gives readers the sense that this crime happened in another era. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. Despite all the tantalizing coincidences and Ackroyds apparent eagerness to place himself at the scene of the crime, investigators could find no physical evidence definitively linking him to the killing. Did she feel shed been raped? It felt clunky to me to stop and quote a source. Police at one point speculated that Melissas alleged theft of glassware from a local meth cook might have gotten them killed. Its damning circumstantial evidence linking Ackroyd to the deaths of these two women, Melissa and Sheila. Like Mark Foster, one of the cops who worked on the Kaye Turner investigation. And narratively, the detectives and their work showed connections among all the cases. Why do you suppose that was the case? Armed with an ax or hatchet, he attacked the women, both students at Yale University. I like how direct, clean and certain Hanlons quote is here. His shirtsleeves were rolled up. 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. Ackroyd was later charged with Kaye's murder -- the only killing he was ever prosecuted for. There was a tremendous amount of secrecy. This time you use a direct quote? In 1973 he returned to England and worked as an editor for The Spectator. Something, likely a struggle, had knocked out the stem, stopping the watch. It doesnt conclude with a dramatic trial in a packed courtroom. The memory of an infamous crime, one year earlier, was still fresh in central Oregon. 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. Detectives didnt dwell on the highway worker. Ackroyd shuffled into the courtroom, where Byron sat in the gallery clutching a photograph of his sister. Structurally, why did you decide to break here for a biography of Ackroyd? There was stuff I wanted to say about them that didnt really fit in elsewhere so this seemed like a good spot for that. She lives in Hillsboro with her husband. By then, Ackroyd was a suspected killer who had frustrated police for more than a decade. Too good to be true, Snow thought. That friend was Roger Dale Beck. I was working with a massive amount of information, a long span of years and a huge slice of Oregon geography. Why did choose to organize by chronologically, by victim? Kaye Turner was killed in 1978, followed by Ackroyds stepdaughter, Rachanda, in 1990. He was raised in Sweet Home, a modest logging town along Highway 20. I think I just ran him through one of our databases. Some workers used them to keep cool in summer months. But Ackroyd was already serving a life sentence. Earlier in the year, shed finished a marathon, run two half-marathons and climbed Mount Washington and Three Fingered Jack. Kayes gold Timex watch with the vinyl band was there, too. The focus seemed wrong. US Highway 20, 1976-1992. The three of us had a favorite restaurant on the road. He struggles to breathe and its clear he takes time to move around. The process compounded his grief. 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. Hes a grandfather now. I dont think we talked about that because he died so early in my reporting. Burly and barrel-chested, Ackroyd favored jeans and blue work shirts from the local Sears. Why? The story also features an annotated version using footnotes identifying all your sources? The details surrounding the assault are terrifying enough. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for John Arthur Ackroyd . Going West: True Crime: Highway 20 Killer // 117 on Apple Podcasts 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. Why did Pam Ramirez lie when first interviewed by the cops? Please take me home.. The other man in the truck told police that Ackroyd wasnt the violent type and the woman was drunk. She recounted the attack in detail, how the man cut off her underwear and boots. This time Ackroyds lawyer responded. You could win the lottery four or five times before something like that would happen, Salsbery said. I dont know that its the theme. 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. Both were present for almost every interview. And then there was Ackroyds eerie talk of hunting. 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. Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian/OregonLive. Marlene found a friend to care for her baby, pumped breast milk and wrote out a napping schedule. The case went cold. The couple had since divorced and Pam had moved to California. If you would like to . Kayes remains sat forgotten in the Jefferson County Courthouse until three years ago when court staff came across them. Ackroyd wasnt sure. Who was this guy and what made him tick? John Ackroyd - People Directory - 192.com 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. Some of these details were included in police reports. 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. Faryion Wardrip. And to explain why this story has currency and impact today. Investigators talked to Marlenes mother-in-law, too. Its amazing how much serendipity plays a role in this story, isnt it? Secondary trauma from reporting stories like this is real. It lets the reader know that this could be an important turning point in the story. Did you assume readers would know what a Fireball is? 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. Now the district attorney could use his sisters death to keep Ackroyd from hurting anyone else. His relationship with Linda ended and he moved in with his mother in Sweet Home. When I outlined each days story, I focused on cliffhangers, kickers and which scenes could propel the narrative. Why did you open the series this way? Account & Lists Returns & Orders. Its dramatic and I wanted to draw it out for the reader. His Stepdaughter Vanished. What He Said Was Disturbing He didnt respond. Kayes killing serves as the cliffhanger at the end of Day 1. PDF Ghosts of Highway 20 - oregonlive In that way, the story feels unresolved. A sergeants conclusion went into a typed report, which was placed in a file: Marlene was lying. Our overarching purpose was to hold their rapist/killer accountable in public for the first time. They led her into a small room with a desk. It was shocking. But as time went on and fresh eyes viewed the case files, investigators finally pursued justice for numerous victims. The Oregon Department of Justice has additional information and resources for survivors of sexual violence. Harmon thought back to the handful of cases from the 1970s that remained unsolved: the bodies or clothes of women and one young man found in the isolated wilderness of Linn County, not far from Highway 20, the route Ackroyd spent years traveling for the state. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer by Ruth Canton is available in these The medical examiner speculated that the young women had been strangled, but the condition of their remains made it difficult to determine a cause of death for either. Why did you write it and place it here? The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie Comic Strip Bruno Lachard How did it affect you? Prosecutors didn't have a body. Also, Ackroyd was a local guy whose mother worked at the police department as an office worker. 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. The district attorney delivered his decision on whether to prosecute. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped off the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. She vanished on July 10, while Linda was at work; Ackroyd took the day off, and was the last person to see the teen alive. So you dont know where shes at, he asked. The focus seemed wrong. But these are long stories and I didnt want to lose readers, so it was a question of using scenes and descriptions that were most telling. A stranger had driven his pickup over two young women as they slept at Cline Falls State Park, less than an hour southeast of Camp Sherman. Its damning circumstantial evidence linking Ackroyd to the deaths of these two women, Melissa and Sheila. The next day, Hanlon hopped in a car with a Jefferson County deputy for a briefing on the search for Rachanda. So we had to make clear to the reader why we were telling these stories. I looked for ways to make that as seamless as possible. Ackroyd was a prime suspect and he knew it. How were you able to describe the dispatcher as bewildered? Mystery still shrouds much of what happened during Ackroyds final encounters with his victims, and thats not likely to change. 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. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer on Apple Books I relied on hundreds of pages of transcripts from police interviews with Ackroyd for some of these details. What was your reaction when you discovered it? Mother Rachanda Pickle [1G5FJL] Rachanda Lea Pickle - The Charley Project Shed need evidence so police could find him later. Mommy loves you too much, she whispered to her daughter, asleep in a bassinet. A few months later, in 2013, the Linn County district attorney took Rachandas case to grand jurors. There was stuff I wanted to say about them that didnt really fit in elsewhere so this seemed like a good spot for that. Then Linda tells her that Rachanda has been gone for 24 hours and the dispatcher stumbles a bit. They simply felt they had enough. This is a dramatic scene Ackroyd walks into the Sweet Home shop spattered with blood and offers a strange explanation. Why was it important to do so? You know, he said, both of you sitting there pointing your fingers at me, and I didnt do nothing.. 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? Within months, without a body or physical evidence implicating Ackroyd, so did the investigation.