john arthur ackroyd childhoodwho would you save on a sinking ship activity. Was that a conscious decision? Sheila Swanson was 19 and from nearby Lebanon. Linda and John Ackroyd left for work, she as a housekeeper at Black Butte Ranch, a resort community about 30 minutes away, and he as a highway mechanic. Biography Edit. The men at first said theyd hunted coyotes but later changed their stories to say they were poaching deer. The next day, Hanlon hopped in a car with a Jefferson County deputy for a briefing on the search for Rachanda. Did you have a knife in your hand when you had sex? Ghosts of Highway 20: How we reported the series - oregonlive So while I did the interviews, reporting and wrote the stories, their work helped elevate the project into something pretty special. He steadfastly maintained his innocence, admitting only that he had seen Kaye that morning and found her remains. It was the day before Christmas. We talked to grieving loved ones. I knew all along I wanted to make a passing reference to this crime because it was such a horrible act that touched on some of the same themes as Ackroyds crimes. She read some drafts early on. Some of the most important sources never appear in the print component of this project. Those footnotes helped me sleep at night. I wanted the reader to feel rooted in that time and place. 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. It also won best special section in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Associations annual awards. I would describe it as unsatisfying and extraordinary. Each of the multimedia elements in powerful in its own right. This day, prosecutor Bill Hanlon told jurors, has been long in coming.. This scene has a cinematic quality cops gathering on an empty road days before Christmas reenacting an abduction using a woman deputy and then deciding to give the story their own happy ending. I listened to them all, some multiple times. Noelle Crombie knows that. An acquaintance told a detective how he once watched in horror as Ackroyd, then a young man, hacked up puppies using a machete, saying the dogs were his and nobody else could have them. There was a tremendous amount of secrecy. Peter Ackroyd is an award-winning historian, biographer, novelist, poet and broadcaster. Its dramatic and I wanted to draw it out for the reader. It was a great detail that I needed to work into the story. Decades later, their cold case murders were tied to suspected serial killer John Ackroyd. He showed signs of a disturbed mind. Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. A sergeants conclusion went into a typed report, which was placed in a file: Marlene was lying. Even before hunters had stumbled upon the teens remains, Ackroyd told a friend: They are assuming its me.. It was the kind of menial task you might give a rookie detective. The DA knew Ackroyd had changed his story and admitted he had talked to Kaye the morning he encountered her on a run. It seemed like decent shorthand for conveying the remoteness of this area. 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. We felt and processed their profound grief. The friends shared a meal the night before, then sang carols. In 1992 he was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. He said he gave her a pair of pants because she had torn hers while taking them off. The home showed no signs of foul play. This is a crucial moment where Ackroyd is confronted with one of these crimes, in this case Rachandas disappearance. Raised in southern Oregon, she was an only child who remained close to her parents and had recently returned from a visit. Kayes mother attended, but her father, shattered by the loss of his only child, didnt live long enough to see the case come to a close. I wanted to show that at this point Ackroyd was a very sick man. Kindle Edition. It lets the reader know that this could be an important turning point in the story. This time, the DA and the cops who believed Ackroyd had gotten away with Kaye Turners killing were determined to get the highway worker off the street for good. She wanted to make sure he knew what was coming. This is a woman who has suffered in silence, alone, for decades, and here she was getting this kind of delayed justice. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer | Ruth Canton Book | Buy Now | at Dave listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen. The answer was no. As the truck motored west, the man in the passenger seat wanted out. The subject matter is horrific. Our overarching purpose was to hold their rapist/killer accountable in public for the first time. Why did you decide to tell it in the omniscient third person as you do so much of the story? She denies that he beat her kids. Im in real trouble, he confided. Ackroyd wasnt sure. John was the youngest son of Henry II . who said that they had a rocky childhood, and their father abused their mother to the point that she left the family. No, the bewildered dispatcher said, thats not true, not with children. On one of our many reporting trips along Highway 20, the three of us tracked down the approximate location of the attack based on Marlenes account and police reports. United States. They located the woman who had introduced Melissa and Sheila to Ackroyd. He seemed almost relieved to be able to talk about what hed seen. She went missing in 1990 12 years after Kayes killing and just down the highway. Marlene had hitchhiked plenty and didnt think twice as she squeezed into the front seat between the men. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian/OregonLive. He had already raped a young mother by the time he happened upon Kaye the day before Christmas in 1978. By then, The Oregonian/OregonLive also was investigating Ackroyd. Why the shift? The trial came to a close and Ackroyd, dressed in cowboy boots, jeans and a studded belt with John in silver letters, Yet neither man confessed to police. Is this the theme of the story? We talked about this stuff pretty much nonstop at work and when we hung out together outside of work. He claimed he invited her to join him on a drive to photograph deer on back roads near the junction. Byron recalled regular beatings. This is also the story of John Ackroyd, also know as The Highway 20 Killer. He said he returned home to find his stepdaughter under a blanket on the couch. John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer by Ruth Canton - Ebook | Scribd It was my way of acknowledging to the reader that this has been an epic tale that wont have a Hollywood ending. We encourage you to research and examine these . Burly and barrel-chested, Ackroyd favored jeans and blue work shirts from the local Sears. During his school years, he was a loner who was bullied. The district attorney said they had enough to take the case to a grand jury. John Arthur Ackroyd was a longtime state highway mechanic whose route along U.S. 20 wound through some of Oregon's most spectacular scenery from the Cascade foothills to the coast. He told police he was poaching when Kaye was killed. This spectral photograph opens Ghosts of Highway 20, a stunning multimedia narrative series published last December by The Oregonian/OregonianLive. 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. Why did choose to organize by chronologically, by victim? It moved around a bit until it landed here. Shed be back in an hour, in time for breakfast. My sister was denying it. They began walking along U.S. 101, covering more than six miles to the turnoff to Highway 20, then headed east. They raised three kids. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 - December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. The extraordinary arrangement meant Ackroyd would die in prison. 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. They continued to live together, though, raising Lindas two kids, Rachanda and her older brother, Byron. Its a testament to taking a second or third look with fresh eyes and newer forensic techniques at old crimes. Even with the verdict, investigators would never really know what unfolded the morning Kaye died. What they didnt know: The teens likely were already dead. Thats when it got broken, over her rear. Why did you go to this trouble? What was your reaction when you discovered it? Theirs is a cold-case mystery that began with a tip about a possible serial killer. As investigators scoured the woods for clues, a state police trooper rested against a tree. Kelley Benham French read one of those footnoted drafts and suggested that we publish them all. How did you locate her? It provided readers with a sense of place but also helped propel the story along. Seemed like the most hopeful note on which to end a series that didnt offer much light. Beautiful scenery but what this man did was not beautiful in any sense. Their childhoods had been nightmarish under Ackroyds roof. We spent countless hours together on this project. Beck left Oregon. carteret county, nc arrests But they knew Ackroyd was a killer. It was late spring. I found her through Nexis, I think. Months later, I wrote him another letter. He glanced skyward. Mike Harmon, a longtime investigator with the Linn County Sheriffs Office, worried Ackroyd had a shot at parole. Did you have to listen to them to be able to write that sentence? Pretty bleak. Then Rachanda Pickle, Ackroyds 13-year-old stepdaughter, disappeared. Kayes husband Noel remarried. When parent conferences rolled around, no one showed up. Why? 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. 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. Rachandas brother, Byron, still sees her so clearly, her sweet features framed by brown hair. Two more young women disappeared about a month before Ackroyd was arrested and charged in Kayes death. Rachandas brother struggled to cope with the loss of his sister. Ackroyd obviously is the catalyst of destruction. On one reporting trip to the Oregon Coast, I walked the campground and stood in the area where the women made their final call. No deception detected, the polygraph examiner determined. It wasnt far from where the teens remains were found. That friend was Roger Dale Beck. She was 13. How did it affect you? I used a massive spreadsheet for reference. The others: Did you force her to have sex at knifepoint? One of those visits stood out: Shed discovered him fondling himself while looking at Oui, an explicit mens magazine sold at the store. He took off a couple days the week Melissa and Sheila had gone camping. I did not do nothing. But I had to keep it tight so I tried to convey the crime and its horror as succinctly as possible. Trigger warning: This story includes details of a rape. His father worked as a truck driver and his mother was a homemaker. This section could perhaps have served as a nut graf, placed much higher in the story. He said very little that day but thanked us for making the trip. Kaye Turners killing became a faded memory. US Highway 20, 1976-1992. These particular details are important as circumstantial evidence. Published March 23, 2020. You mentioned the watch earlier. The larger person had dragged the smaller person away. Ending with her in this way allowed me to highlight her resilience. 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. What was your greatest writing challenge?