Beautiful scenery but what this man did was not beautiful in any sense. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. But those relationships shifted over time. Prosecutors didn't have a body. 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. I produced a separate online version of the story with more than 150 footnotes showing the interviews and records that supported crucial passages. The detectives who handled her disappearance retired. Due to his connection with Rachanda's disappearance, many women at Santiam Junction were uncomfortable with his behavior and he began to work out of Corvallis.[2]. Marlene K. Gabrielsen wants you to remember her name. She also knew he was from Sweet Home, not far from where Karen had used the pay phone to call a friend in the Midwest, just one year before Kaye Turner died. Investigators suspicions deepened as his story began to shift. Ackroyd had indeed come across Kaye but didnt go to police, even though he saw posters with her picture at the nearby Santiam Junction highway compound, where he lived. Ackroyd was a prime suspect and he knew it. Why did you decide to use Benson and Snow as a vehicle to transmit all this background? In it, he thanked me for telling the stories of Ackroyds other victims. I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. A hunter would likely overlook the bits of cloth and bone as nothing more than trash and animal carcasses. Plus, in an era of smartphones, a Timex wrist watch gives readers the sense that this crime happened in another era. The investigators glanced at each other, stunned by the damning account all these years later. My editors, Therese Bottomly and Margaret Haberman, told me over and over to think about scenes and to identify cliffhangers. I built this profile from those various sources. 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. A lawyer from central Oregon heard the cases had been reopened and called with a suggestion: Take a look at an old highway worker named John Ackroyd. Over the course of hours of interviews with The Oregonian/OregonLive, she unburdened herself of every ugly detail. So I went back to Marlene and slow-walked her through her preparations for going out that night. Ackroyd was raised in the small logging town of Sweet Home, Oregon. Just weeks later Ackroyd was arrested for the murder of Kaye Turner. This is a messy story that jumps around in time. We had a lot of discussion about the ending. 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 killer was dead. He read about how Ackroyd had been with an old hunting buddy on the morning of Kayes killing. Why did you include a trigger warning at the top of the story? How did you settle on this entry point to their story? Investigators talked to Marlenes mother-in-law, too. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215). The language of the story is spare and lean. John Arthur Ackroyd was a longtime state highway mechanic whose route along U.S. 20 wound through some of Oregon's . Published March 23, 2020. Police at one point speculated that Melissas alleged theft of glassware from a local meth cook might have gotten them killed. The reports dont shed light on why they doubted her. The focus seemed wrong. I also wanted to touch on the idea that this story served as a form of justice for Marlene. Were other approaches considered? In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in . She wanted to make sure he knew what was coming. Constant references make Highway 20 a character in its own right? 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. The details throughout are extraordinarily vivid. Thats when Ackroyd picked up a woman from the side of the road, dragged her into the woods and raped her. He had diabetes and a bad heart. Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. 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. Beautiful scenery but what this man did was not beautiful in any sense. Most of the narrative was constructed looking back. Court and police files contained several references to Jane. Hed stopped by a half-dozen times since Kaye had gone missing. No deception detected, the polygraph examiner determined. I asked her about his clothing. Ackroyd would recycle the same stories. She recalled how Marlene had arrived at her house, sobbing, saying something terrible had happened. Why did you decide to tell it in the omniscient third person as you do so much of the story? He made a brief stop at the house he shared with his mother in Sweet Home, his hometown. His stretch of it twisted through Bend, logging towns, Corvallis and on to the coast. It was scary. She invited us in and we waited for Noel to return from running an errand. Those footnotes helped me sleep at night. Her description provided a distinct sense of place. She always made the project a priority and didnt make me feel like, Oh, God, Im not contributing or my colleagues are having to pick up the slack. A report from the trial in the Bend (OR) Bulletin. Its dramatic and I wanted to draw it out for the reader. . The two friends had gone camping with Melissas family at Beverly Beach State Park, a windswept strand of sand and headlands on the central Oregon coast. I have the audio of this conversation. Within months, without a body or physical evidence implicating Ackroyd, so did the investigation. Ghosts of Highway 20, Episode 5 - ACKROYD. Beck left Oregon. She denies that he beat her kids. She was at turns enraged and guilt-stricken. Ackroyd told police that Marlene had seduced him in the front seat of his dirty truck. There was no chance to give Rachanda a proper burial. Be sure to examine it, as it makes for compelling and highly instructive reading. At the end, we took questions from the audience and I introduced Marlene. His shirtsleeves were rolled up. I did not have any models in mind. This spectral photograph opens Ghosts of Highway 20, a stunning multimedia narrative series published last December by The Oregonian/OregonianLive. Eliot, Charles Dickens, William Blake, Wilkie Collins, Thomas More and, most recently, Charlie Chaplin. Our overarching purpose was to hold their rapist/killer accountable in public for the first time. Shes finally believed and theres satisfaction that comes with that. The police didnt believe Gabrielsens accusation at the time and her case, which bookends the series, is an example of justice long overdue in the #MeToo era. We sought ways to simplify and streamline. Over two decades, four women disappeared and one was raped along the same stretch of road in rural Oregon. State (s) Oregon. He was drawn to Melissa and Sheila, making a point to chat them up. Yes and it was something I struggled with. Ackroyd was charged with Rachanda's murder in 2013, and pleaded no contest. But its worth noting that it took many years for this particular serendipity to play out. 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. She was married to one suspect and romantically involved with the other. This detail is so specific. So we had to make clear to the reader why we were telling these stories. They dont want the stigma and the shame associated with these crimes. She answered right away and was willing to tell me about her experience so the three of us headed to Salem to interview her. He drew an orange grid, each column dedicated to a victim assaulted or killed, likely by Ackroyd. He was the main suspect, but the case had vanished from local news reports even though her disappearance triggered one of the largest search efforts in the countys history. Libby; Sora; Kanopy; Help . Just like with Kaye, detectives would never know what had happened to Ackroyds stepdaughter, Rachanda Pickle. As the truck motored west, the man in the passenger seat wanted out. Also, Ackroyd was a local guy whose mother worked at the police department as an office worker. Police photos showed her watch in the woods near where her partial remains were found. Its dramatic and I wanted to draw it out for the reader. Of course they remembered. Some of the most important sources never appear in the print component of this project. This is a crucial moment where Ackroyd is confronted with one of these crimes, in this case Rachandas disappearance. 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? putter loft and lie adjustment; you my baby daddy i want child support; apartments for rent in gander nl; Search Shes finally believed and theres satisfaction that comes with that. Now and then, like here, you use complex sentences. On a personal level, after the project ran, the Northwest Film Center hosted a free screening of the documentary. It was the kind of menial task you might give a rookie detective. 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. We encountered a lot of resistance from sources in the county that investigated the disappearance of Ackroyds stepdaughter. He got creative: What if cops and prison officials arranged for Ackroyd to share a Christmas or Thanksgiving meal with his family on the outside? When it snapped, he smacked her repeatedly with his open hand. The three of us had a favorite restaurant on the road. Why? 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. Now he admitted hed not only stopped but also had spoken with her. We gobbled up newsroom resources and space online and in the paper, but theres a limit and thats the reality of the job and format. Why was it important to do so? He said he gave her a pair of pants because she had torn hers while taking them off. It is available in multimedia format. Margaret (Haberman) agreed and suggested that we pare them down to a manageable number for publication. She talked about how she thought he was a logger or someone who made a living in the woods. 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. My mom was yelling at John to stop. The couple married in the mid-1980s but divorced after a year. He knew it was Ackroyd who had eventually led police to her remains. Alarmed, Weston went to get her husband, who called state police. How and why did you settle on that approach? At the wrong place at the right time.. The project was a true collaboration. By then, Ackroyd was a suspected killer who had frustrated police for more than a decade. The annotated version that ran online was a much shorter version of my own footnoted drafts of this story. "This . He is most likely one of the Ghost of The Ghosts of Highway. His high school diploma indicated that he had been a "special education" student. 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. I wanted to show that at this point Ackroyd was a very sick man. Ackroyd shuffled into the courtroom, where Byron sat in the gallery clutching a photograph of his sister. The television was on. In 1992, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. When he returned to the house at approximately 12:45 p.m., Rachanda had vanished. Later that morning, the door to the house opened unexpectedly. It was one of those details I tucked away knowing Id use it somewhere. The two spent evenings at a Sharis restaurant along Highway 20, where they hung around with other teens and locals, including a state mechanic named John Ackroyd. Ackroyd graduated from Clare College, Cambridge (M.A., 1971), and then attended Yale University for two years. In a 7,000-word series, its important at the start to clearly establish who and what readers will encounter as they stay with an unfolding narrative. Its ugly to describe and imagine these killings. He struggles to breathe and its clear he takes time to move around. Marlene had hitchhiked plenty and didnt think twice as she squeezed into the front seat between the men. He struggles to breathe and its clear he takes time to move around. Yes! I looked for ways to make that as seamless as possible. Sheila Swanson was 19 and from nearby Lebanon. Would is a conditional verb indicating the consequence of an imagined event or situation. Beck left Oregon. Ackroyd had once speculated to police that his stepdaughter might not have been buried either. Again, he didnt respond. Explore genealogy for John Ackroyd born 1839 Halifax, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom died 1921 Temuka, South Canterbury, New Zealand including father + descendants + more in the free family tree community. In prison that day with Ackroyd, the detective took one last shot. This time you use a direct quote? Trauma had seared these details into her memory. We spent time with Marlene, the lone survivor. The clue bore a chilling similarity to two of Ackroyds earlier assaults: Rape victim Marlene Gabrielsens boots and underwear were sliced and so was the waistband on Kaye Turners yellow jogging shorts. Later, Ackroyd would drive back roads, shooting squirrels and cutting off their tails. In your Emmy acceptance speech, you singled out your editor, Margaret Haberman. John Arthur Ackroyd - Wikipedia 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1927 The Big Four 1928 The Mystery . Reporting on this series was emotionally grueling. Kayes killing serves as the cliffhanger at the end of Day 1. . Actually, the beginning and the ending were the most rewritten parts of the series, as we knew they would be. Its damning circumstantial evidence linking Ackroyd to the deaths of these two women, Melissa and Sheila. She fought back in every scene, but they all ended the same. I wanted the reader to grasp the precarious position these women were at the time they disappeared. We talked all along about how graphic to be. He rolled up the window and slammed the door. I burned through so many leads before landing on this one. I t was the last time any cop talked to Ackroyd. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. John Arthur Ackroyd (died December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and may have been a serial killer. 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? 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 the exterior, his personality hid the predator that raged within. Dave, Beth and I spent a lot of time deep in the woods where these women were assaulted, killed and abandoned. Show All. 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. She thought of how Kaye must have felt, the air so cold she could see her breath. 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. So here: Whos responsible for this carnage? Rachanda was a good kid, helping around the house and taking care not to stray far. A sergeants conclusion went into a typed report, which was placed in a file: Marlene was lying. Wasnt it strange that he was the last person to see Kaye and Rachanda alive? How did you find out she tied her hair back and that the couple couldnt afford the buckskin boots she wore, and what she told her daughter? The Life Summary of John Arthur. Im not sure what the reader gains from reading a detailed description of a rape. What was the justification to go ahead and use them in a family newspaper? The two camps on the ending: Stop at Ackroyds death with a scene of a cop looking around the killers cell for a confession but finding nothing. Narrative is not typically what Ive done. Sense of smell is so evocative, yet writers rarely take advantage of its power. A report from the trial in the Bend (OR) Bulletin. He claimed hed reached down to touch the slain womans arm and hair. It made sense to strip it down. Her mother noticed the girls hairbrush, makeup and earrings were still there. Melissa had a turbulent life, too. Christmas presents Noel bought for his wife were wrapped and in the car. This section could perhaps have served as a nut graf, placed much higher in the story. Polygraph "test" of Marlene K. Gabrielsen conducted by Sergeant Phil R. Ensminger of the Lane County Sheriff's Office . 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.
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