I wanted the reader to hear Ackroyds reaction when confronted with the detectives suspicions. And narratively, the detectives and their work showed connections among all the cases. In it, he thanked me for telling the stories of Ackroyds other victims. The area was about a half-hour drive from where Marlene was raped. He said he was with his friend and hunting companion, Roger Dale Beck. Once, when a clock fell off a shelf, he beat her with a homemade paddle. This detail is so specific. Sheila Swanson and Melissa Sanders were murdered in 1992, in Lincoln County, Oregon. She admitted it could have been her. Why was it important to do so? Ackroyd earned low grades in school; his high school diploma was marked special education. He was a loner, bullied and beaten by classmates. He was responsible for clearing wrecks, helping people whose cars broke down on the highway, and maintenance. It felt clunky to me to stop and quote a source. At one point, Kelley Benham French was a consultant on the series. ILMO Maria Beloved wife of John Edmund Ackroyd who died at "Milethorn . I knew I wanted to use this somewhere in this series. At the wrong place at the right time.. Detectives didnt dwell on the highway worker. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. It was a real weight. One of those visits stood out: Shed discovered him fondling himself while looking at Oui, an explicit mens magazine sold at the store. He was convicted in the 1978 murder of a woman who never returned from a holiday jog and the prime suspect in the 1990 disappearance . Burly and barrel-chested, Ackroyd favored jeans and blue work shirts from the local Sears. Be a good girl. Reporting on this series was emotionally grueling. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. Before she left, she had slipped into her fathers workshop in the garage, writing Hi Dad, I love you, Kaye in neat cursive on a yellow legal pad for him to find later. Ackroyd considered her for a long moment, then reached into the back of the truck and held out a dingy pair of plaid pants. The spring camping trip to Newport was supposed to mean time with family, but she and Sheila took off the first chance they got. Marlene slowly stood, wearing only her T-shirt and jacket. Melissa and Sheila joined a list of girls last heard from or seen late at night in coastal Lincoln County. They grew up in small towns about 90 minutes inland on Highway 20 and shared a history infused with drugs and alcohol. Of course they remembered. Narrative is not typically what Ive done. I had to gut him out.. 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. Polygraph "test" of Marlene K. Gabrielsen conducted by Sergeant Phil R. Ensminger of the Lane County Sheriff's Office . john arthur ackroyd childhood. Two more teens disappeared but their bodies never turned up. What was your source for this description of Ackroyds temper? Was the use of such sickening details debated before the story ran? Ackroyd, too, hung out there. The memory of an infamous crime, one year earlier, was still fresh in central Oregon. It was on one of them that hed raped Marlene Gabrielsen a year before Kaye Turner disappeared. They had to be named first it should be a shock to the conscience that women were vanishing like this and someone was getting away with it. Something bad happened to her. Marlene, then 20, got up to leave. On one reporting trip to the Oregon Coast, I walked the campground and stood in the area where the women made their final call. One resembled the waffle soles of Kayes Nikes. Their stories. Ackroyd was jailed in 1993 for a 1978 . Companies played included two seasons at the old Derby Playhouse, two seasons at the Lyceum Theatre, Crewe, The Swan Theatre, Worcester and notably three years with the EMMA Theatre Company based in Loughborough. Dave worked the drone and Beth wandered off alone to look for a way to capture what Marlene saw that early morning 40 years ago. A sadistic killer goes around killing people, taking girls off somewhere? Two of the victims brothers have quietly suffered for years. The report was a summary of what he told police. The Question and Answer section for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Over the course of the investigation, he acted strangely. The restive pair quickly grew bored and wanted their boyfriends to pick them up. 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. Her father waited a few more days before calling police, then the FBI. Its definitely hard to read but written, I hope its seen, with deliberation and circumspection. Ackroyd has three brothers and one sister. By his account, Rachanda was gone when he returned a couple of hours later. It provided readers with a sense of place but also helped propel the story along. But Ackroyd was already serving a life sentence. When you have one you really hang tight to them. What role did she play? John Ackroyd ended up dying in prison in 2016. State (s) Oregon. He talked his boss into letting him drive 750 miles to California to find out. I kept approaching the local cops, detectives, some quite elderly, retired. Ackroyd was raised in the small logging town of Sweet Home, Oregon. We had a lot of discussion about the ending. She talked about how she thought he was a logger or someone who made a living in the woods. I am not going to gamble this guy getting away with it, Byron thought. Ackroyd spun the same story from then on. John Arthur Ackroyd (October 3, 1949 - December 30, 2016) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. And to explain why this story has currency and impact today. Now and then, like here, you use complex sentences. At first, shes just taking the info from Linda Ackroyd. This let us quickly introduce the five women we write about but also put them first in the mind of the reader. I can hear him on the recording that the detective made. A few months later, in 2013, the Linn County district attorney took Rachanda's case to grand jurors. This section could perhaps have served as a nut graf, placed much higher in the story. The police detective who originally investigated the rape was long dead, so we couldnt ask him. Some suspect he was but no evidence links him to these cases. He ripped off her jeans with such force, the pants split from the waist to the ankle along the inseam. Kayes gold Timex watch with the vinyl band was there, too. She was married to one suspect and romantically involved with the other. I asked Marlene to describe what she saw and smelled when Ackroyd yanked her from the truck. Its 41 years too late, but finally she is believed. Who was this guy and what made him tick? She hadnt been out since her daughter was born three months earlier. He had already raped a young mother by the time he happened upon Kaye the day before Christmas in 1978. Some workers used them to keep cool in summer months. For a long time, the lead was a scene from his cell immediately after his death. They climbed back into the truck and continued west on Highway 20. She went on to work at a local bank. And this guy basically got away with it.. Extraordinary because the court sealed the plea and effectively silenced Rachandas brother. [1][2] They lived at Santiam Junction, a state highway division compound at Oregon 22 and U.S. Highway 20. Show All. Had Ackroyd left a note telling them where to find her? You felt a tremendous obligation to the victims and their loved ones in telling this story. Later, the men told her that theyd mistaken Kaye for a deer and fatally shot her. This is heartbreaking. 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 looked for ways to make that as seamless as possible. Most of the narrative was constructed looking back. I had his work, schooling and military records. What they didnt know: The teens likely were already dead. She wanted to make sure he knew what was coming. 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. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. I moved my desk next to Daves. It was the last time any cop talked to Ackroyd. He read about how Ackroyd had been with an old hunting buddy on the morning of Kayes killing. Would is a conditional verb indicating the consequence of an imagined event or situation. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian/OregonLive Great details, especially the belt. She rode her bike in the lane just outside the door and took a bus to grade school in Sweet Home. Also, Ackroyd was a local guy whose mother worked at the police department as an office worker. 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.. Rachanda disappeared on July 10, 1990. Why? What was your source for this description of Ackroyds temper? In fifth grade, something shifted. Its also a newspaper story, not a book. Most nights, the pair could be found at Sharis in Lebanon, where teens and adults gathered to talk on CB radios and drink coffee. The murder trial made headlines around the state. Its ugly to describe and imagine these killings. Then one finally offered: Try a woman who worked at the Sweet Home shop back then. 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. 1946, in Atlanta, Georgia. I knew from his coworkers that his truck likely didnt have AC. Its a testament to taking a second or third look with fresh eyes and newer forensic techniques at old crimes. He basked in attention from police. Marlene suspects it was rooted in their bias against Native Americans. Kindle Edition. The circumstantial case rested on a basic theory: It was unlikely that anyone but Ackroyd, now a convicted killer, had harmed the girl. Hopefully for many of you, to bring back some fond memories and get your foot tapping. When it snapped, he smacked her repeatedly with his open hand. Their childhoods had been nightmarish under Ackroyds roof. I moved my desk next to Daves. Dave Killen was the video editor and genius behind the documentary series that accompanied the stories and Beth Nakamura was the gifted photojournalist whose work captured the subjects and remote landscape where these crimes took place. It seemed like decent shorthand for conveying the remoteness of this area. She talked about how she thought he was a logger or someone who made a living in the woods. Her breast had been punctured by a bullet, he said, and her throat was slashed. Then Ackroyd died and I approached folks again. This is a dramatic scene Ackroyd walks into the Sweet Home shop spattered with blood and offers a strange explanation. I am totally innocent, he said, his breathing labored, and Ill say that until the day I die. They were still after him when Ackroyd died alone in his prison cell two years ago. Even with the verdict, investigators would never really know what unfolded the morning Kaye died. But, worried about the possibility of parole in the Turner case, they took their chances. In fact, when she didnt feel I was doing enough on the project, she made that clear. A few months later, in 2013, the Linn County district attorney took Rachandas case to grand jurors. But none of these seemed to work. 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. That may have also played a role in their response. Im not sure what the reader gains from reading a detailed description of a rape. The ending because you want to leave readers with a meaningful and hopefully memorable coda, the lasting impression. Then Ackroyds teenage stepdaughter disappeared and a new group of investigators reopened Kayes case. 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. Our overarching purpose was to hold their rapist/killer accountable in public for the first time. How do we create a person's profile? My editors advised me at one point to look for ways to mix things up with more complex sentences and longer graphs. I asked him for an interview. He was using a paddle at that time. They continued to live together, though, raising Lindas two kids, Rachanda and her older brother, Byron. Its not a transcript. Pretty much all the details of the attacks and deaths are sickening in the series. I also was liberated by knowing the companion photos and video would fill in many of the details in a different way. Shed gone around town hanging missing posters but hadnt called police. What was your reaction when you discovered it? All these years later, the Turner trial would be the first step in bringing the killer to justice. She woke to find his fingers squeezed tight around her legs as he dragged her out of the truck. Find a Digital Library with John Arthur Ackroyd, Serial Killer near you. Ackroyds name emerged early on. Why do these victims matter now? This is a kicker to the intro and sets up the only survivors story that immediately follows but it surely is the series emotional center of gravity: The dismissal of Marlenes account by police had tragic consequences. Oh, I think you do, Harmon said softly. Over time, the story took on even darker tones. Secondary trauma from reporting stories like this is real. Son: Donald Ackroyd was born on 06/25/1971. He took off a couple days the week Melissa and Sheila had gone camping. Kayes final hours remained a mystery. The Turner case file filed a metal file cabinet and was a reporters dream as far as narrative details. 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. Detectives wondered if he took a chance to kill again before his arrest. Extraordinary because the court sealed the plea and effectively silenced Rachandas brother. This is another of the few times when we read extended dialogue, a hallmark of classic narrative. The larger person had dragged the smaller person away. 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. Beck left Oregon. There were 300 people there and Marlene Gabrielsen came. Marlene Gabrielsen was raped by John Ackroyd in 1978. Hunters had found the bodies of two young women who had vanished during a camping trip on the coast. Sheila Swanson was 19 and from nearby Lebanon. He runs in Kayes memory every Christmas Eve. I knew from the time Id spent with her that shes a strong person, and Day 1 of this series didnt capture that. We chose to go with the legacy of the investigation. Ackroyd graduated from Clare College, Cambridge (M.A., 1971), and then attended Yale University for two years. Kayes remains sat forgotten in the Jefferson County Courthouse until three years ago when court staff came across them. He was willing to talk. Kaye had been an avid runner with deep ties to Eugene, where she worked as a manager at a local public health agency. He is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction bestsellers London- The Biography and Thames- Sacred River as well as biographies of Ezra Pound, T.S. To promote and elevate the standards of journalism, An old logging road just off Highway 20 on the Oregon coast near where Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson's bodies were discovered in 1992 by local hunters. I wanted the story to be easy on the reader. Her description provided a distinct sense of place. She talked about how it was late spring. Sheila often slept away from home but stayed in touch with her mother. I found her through Nexis, I think. It moved around a bit until it landed here. This detail is so specific. I also was liberated by knowing the companion photos and video would fill in many of the details in a different way. I made paper copies of everything. Word that Ackroyds stepdaughter had vanished spread quickly to neighboring Jefferson County, where Kaye Turner had been killed more than a decade earlier. "This . He stuffed his cell with food from the prison commissary dozens of packages of processed meats and cheese, candy bars and beans. Peter Ackroyd is an award-winning historian, biographer, novelist, poet and broadcaster. 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. At the same time, a dozen investigators working the Turner case seized on Ackroyds shifting accounts. He worked overseas as a mechanic and was caught stealing equipment. 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. Again, he didnt respond. At a time when journalists credibility is under assault, extensive footnotes seemed like a compelling way to show our work. It made sense to strip it down. I did not do nothing. We bounced ideas off each other and checked facts. I was punching way above my weight from the start.
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