When John Ackroyd was a young man his family placed an ad in the local newspaper
for some Labrador puppies they had for sale
In a police interview years later an acquaintance who showed up to look at them described a horrifying scene
he said he walked in to find puppy body parts scattered across the yard
Ackroyd had hacked the entire litter to death with a machete saying
these are my dogs and nobody's going to get them
The only thing between more innocent people being murdered
and him running free
was us
Who knows what he would have gotten away with
how many other people would have died at his hands
That's where I had issues about you know the not knowing
He went to the grave of a lot of secrets
Where's the justice in all this?
We don't get to know where she's at
How is this right?
Was he an evil guy? Hell yeah he was
Did he deserved to die in prison? Yeah he did
and hopefully he's enjoying this time in hell
[Lucinda Williams singing "The Ghosts of Highway 20"]
♪ I know this road like the back of my hand ♪
♪ Same with the stations on the FM band ♪
♪ Farms and truck stops, firework stands ♪
♪ I know this road like the back of my hand ♪
By June of 1992 the task force investigating John Ackroyd had pivoted
from the case of Ackroyd's missing stepdaughter 13 year old Richanda Pickle
to the 1978 murder of Kaye Turner for which he had long been the prime suspect
Two young women who were recent acquaintances of Ackroyd's
Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson had also recently disappeared
The walls were closing in on Ackroyd
Well we're really just getting started, this is a first step got a lot of work ahead of us
it's just an accumulation and at this point of a lot of hard detective work
that's been done by a lot of different agencies to get it to this point
Aykroyd and another man Roger Beck are charged with kidnapping raping and killing Kaye Turner
That June 14th John Ackroyd was finally arrested
along with his friend Roger Dale Beck
Beck had been with Aykroyd the day kay Turner disappeared
but was largely ignored in the original investigation
More than a decade had passed since Kaye's killing and there wasn't much new physical evidence to uncover
But in Beck the task force saw a potential suspect
They took a fresh look at him and found a goldmine of new information
Beck, initially, he was an alibi witness
He was a friend of John's they were guys that spent a lot of time together
We didn't think he was really one of the main players you know
we thought Ackroyd killed her maybe on the way down, went to Beck's house and they went out and
they established this alibi thing
Investigators interviewed Beck's family members
and began hearing variations of the same story
That Beck had spoken many times over the years about taking part in Kaye's murder
sometimes even bragging about it
They interviewed his sister
She had picked up Beck once or twice when he got drunk in a bar and couldn't drive home and
picked him up and he was crying, made some statements about how they killed this girl
There was a guy there, I don't know if it was Pam's brother or brother-in-law something
He had some statements that Beck made
They were leaving, he said, we got to go up on the mountain see John get our story straight
Pam was Beck's ex-wife Pam Ramirez
She had originally provided an alibi for both Beck and Ackroyd for the morning Kaye was killed
but had divorced him and moved to California in the years since
It became obvious we needed to interview Beck's wife, ex-wife
so we planned a meeting to California
that's when it really opened up
the famous quote was like, I lied like hell
when Beck and him returned the day that she disappeared they had blood all over them
he had her burn his clothes and his brand-new boots
both had blood on them and they didn't have a deer like they were supposed to have
it became very clear that Beck was a part of it that day
and that she actually knew that he was a part of it and covered it up
but she was very afraid of him and for good reason
With no way to know exactly what had happened the morning of Kaye's murder
investigators came up with a novel idea
they decided to recreate and videotape
different scenarios based on the little information they did have
they asked deputies and detectives to play Kaye, Ackroyd and Beck
Found a truck like the one Ackroyd drove in 1978 and met at Camp Sherman in the winter of 1992
They couldn't use the videos as evidence but the exercise helped investigators test theories
on how Kaye's abduction might have happened
and humanized a woman none of them had ever known
I was basically the same physical height and build and looked a lot like
what Kaye looked like at the time she was killed
they just had me jogging down the road filming
and they would have Ackroyd's vehicle approach me
only difference is I knew what was coming and she didn't
it was just basically two days of repeating a scenario over and over until we got it right or
adding a new little twist to it where they had gained control over her a different way
Will MacAnulty was lead detective on this case and he's a bear of a man with a heart of a teddy bear
he said to me let's film this one more time and this time I want Kaye to win
and in the last scenario I was able to take the gun away and I shot him
it was empowering to be able to pull it away from him and and put him down
I wish Kaye woulda had the chance to do that
Ackroyd's trial began in August of 1993
prosecutors had plenty of circumstantial evidence but physical evidence was scarce
they had little more than what was found in 1979
a few bones, what was left of Kaye's clothes and her Timex watch
She wound her watch and timed every single run that she ever ran for years
the watch wouldn't have just run down when she was running
Kaye's watch offered a chance to prove the date and time she was killed
establishing that she had died the same morning she disappeared when Aykroyd
admitted to stopping and talking to her would further tie him to the scene of the crime
Timex, you know, they take a lickin' and keep keep on tickin'
I mean that was a perfect example of that
The Timex guy, he was a designer of this thing
he was R&D on this watch they had a stem that pulled out you know
you could and you wound it and he testified basically that the only two
only three ways that the watch could have stopped where it ran down
and we pretty much eliminated that
were the stem gets pulled out, so you can pull it out and you can wind it up
without changing the time or it can it can if it has a
really substantial blow that exceeds the shock limits of the watch it will stop
so basically I mean our pitch was yeah either by grabbing her or pulling off
her shirt that stem got pulled out somehow
so we were actually able to prove that the watch would still run
and it was on am so it it was exactly the time she would have been there
and it had the 24 on it as well so it was the right date
With the time of her death established by the watch investigators
sought to determine the cause of Kaye's death to what little they had of her remains
but not much had ever actually been found
much of what Ackroyd claimed to have discovered in 1979 turned out to be animal bones
The only two bones that were identified as human were the only
two bones that could identify her
the mandible and the skull which were separate
those are the only two that were found
Prosecutors took what they did have as well as what was left of Kaye's clothes
to a US Fish and Wildlife lab in Southern Oregon for analysis
We never really had a definitive idea how Kaye had died
there were no bullet casings found, there were no bullet fragments recovered or anything like this
Fish and wildlife the US Fish and Wildlife had just built that really sophisticated lab in Ashland
and it just opened and they were happy to get something to work on
with their techniques they could show that this fabric was cut rather than torn
there are panties and shorts had been cut off of her rather than just getting
ripped up by a coyote or something
the evidence of cut clothing bore a striking
similarity to both Marlene Gabrielsen's rape and Karen Lee's disappearance
but the analysis revealed even more
There were knife stabs through her shirt
and they found some lead fragments on her shirt where she'd been shot
so now we have an idea how Kaye was killed all the sudden it's like the lightbulb went on
Both Ackroyd and Beck had made some statements I think at least Beck had
about being stabbed and shot so that corroborated those statements that he had made
it was an enlightening experience when all of a sudden we got
wait a minute we've been looking at these things as tears all this time
but in reality they're not
these are wounds and that was a big piece of the puzzle was always missing
[music]
Assistant Attorney General Doug Dawson used graphic discussion about Turner's
fatal wounds to try and prove that the only way Ackroyd could know how she died
as he said he did in previous police interviews was because Aykroyd was
indeed the killer
Ackroyd's defense hinged on the idea that he was simple-minded
and had become confused by police during his various interactions with them
His lawyer offered a theory that it wasn't Kaye Turner
but a different runner he had encountered that morning
and that he had conflated the two as a result of the extensive news coverage
that had followed Kaye's disappearance
There were two runners so there was some confusion
but that was basically his thing was it was the wrong runner
That's when I was avidly running and
and I just got up whenever I got up and put my clothes on and go for my run
and that afternoon I had to go to the store for something so I went to the store and that's when we
saw a search and rescue people were
and so I remember asking what's going on and
I said oh you know somebody was out running today and she hasn't returned
and I remember just thinking oh man you know and then just went home
For me they really really connected it wasn't tell during the trial
when I had to go and just say yes I was the other person running because a lot of you know
they'd either described her or me
If Morris saw Kaye or Ackroyd on her run that Christmas Eve morning
neither registered with her as anything unusual
and there's no way of knowing if Ackroyd saw her
But a few months earlier in August
Morris experienced a frightening encounter with a man on a different camp Sherman Road
I was working as a waitress at Black Butte Lodge for that summer
and we'd often ride our bikes there was several of us that lived in the Camp Sherman area
So I was just riding back by myself and I
was off the highway so I was on the road to Camp Sherman and I was good enough at
that time to bike ride without the handlebars so and I remember I still had my
waitress dress on I remember that and there was a pickup truck car kind of
just off the road and there was a person the guy you know kind of moving around and stuff
and as I got closer he went to the back of his pickup
comes out of the back of the pickup with a gun and he and he points it at me following me
and I was just about opposite at that point and he was yelling something
like stop or come hear something I can't remember exactly and my mind just went
I'm going for it so I just dropped down on my handles and pedaled like crazy and
then I weaved because I know it's harder to hit a moving target and I remember
just listening for the you know listening for the motor to start but he
didn't shoot didn't follow and when I got to the Camp Sherman homes
I went went past and went to the store to report it
a guy pulled a gun on me
It wasn't until years later when she was called to testify at John Ackroyd's trial
that she would see the man again
I just remember looking at him and just went that was the guy with the gun
yeah that was him
That's when it really hit me
that could have been me, that could have been me
There never was any physical evidence to prove Ackroyd's guilt
but the jury heard the tapes of voluntary interviews he'd given to police after Rachanda's disappearance
which contained numerous lies and contradictions
This not only contradicted his statements in earlier interviews but was simply impossible
In reality Kaye's remains had been scattered by scavengers
and her skull wasn't among what Ackroyd claimed to have found in 1979
Kaye's skull wasn't discovered until 1980
when a hunter stumbled across it about a half mile away
To the jury when taken as a whole the taped interviews were almost as good as a confession
The verdict is in after just four hours of deliberations
a jury tonight has reached its decision in the trial of John Arthur Ackroyd
the jury found Ackroyd guilty on all counts
two counts of aggravated murder and three counts of murder
Ackroyd was convicted this evening of killing Kaye Jean Turner
as Turner was jogging on Christmas Eve in Camp Sherman almost 15 years ago
You know I feel like justice has been served
but it's not like the total weight's off your back I mean maybe it's just gonna be there
I think it you know the good guys won and
kind of restored my faith in the system
[clears throat] that it does work
You know you you do what you can
but it was a very important, maybe one of the most important things I've ever done in my life
is helping get him off the streets
you just don't know how many lives might have been saved
It saved women's lives
if he had stayed out if he had never been convicted
he and maybe Beck would've done more crimes and killed more women for sure
you know he managed to get through that whole thing without ever getting caught
that was the only time he's ever been arrested or charged anything in his life
not because he was all that smart but he managed to do it
How did Ackroyd manage to do it?
He was an opportunistic killer who preyed on women who were vulnerable and exposed
a runner on an empty road, a child who feared him, two teens adrift in the world
There were no witnesses and no physical evidence
but there had been an unmistakable warning sign
Before he was ever suspected of being a killer
Ackroyd had raped Marlene Gabrielsen in the woods outside of Sisters
she went to police and they dismissed her as a liar
Ackroyd knew he'd gotten away with rape, he even laughed about it
he used the cover of Highway 20 to stalk women who were alone and counted on society's
blind eye to marginalize people to avoid prosecution for decades
Killing the right kind of people in the right kind of place during the right kind of time
was all it really took
[music]
By 2010 Ackroyd had been imprisoned for almost 20 years
the potential for him to become eligible for parole was on the horizon
Kaye Turner's murder was the only one Ackroyd had been tried for
and Rachanda Pickle's case was still technically open
Detective Mike Harmon began to pursue its resolution
They used to say in cold cases time was your friend because
relationships change but at a certain point time is no longer your friend
If we don't find her body we're not going to have any additional evidence
so is this case prosecutable now - one of the things that that kind of influenced the prosecution was
that that John was eligible to put in for parole
and one of the things we did not want is John Arthur Ackroyd to be released from prison
Mike told me he's like you know I don't want to sound cold but I don't want that son of a bitch out
and if I got to use your sister as a tool to keep him in there I'm going to
I don't want this guy out and I agreed with him yeah
absolutely this guy cannot get out
the ultimate goal was especially for Byron Rachanda's brother was to get Rachanda back
I knew it was gonna be a long hard road because Mike was very open going that he's not admitting to this
he's like you know I'm hoping with you being there through this process that you know
maybe as a last living testament that he has that you know where he could
actually feel good about himself that you know where is she
The DA's office had to decide whether to bring Ackroyd to trial after all this time
or negotiate a plea deal
While the 2010 investigation had turned up new information
like the fact that Rachanda had disclosed her sexual abuse by Ackroyd to friends
there was still no smoking gun
officials consulted with Byron and tried to involve his mother Linda
but she declined to make the trip from California
Byron had to make the decision alone
I asked him, I'm like, what's the new evidence because I was convinced there had to been a new evidence
because we went to a grand jury indictment we were moving forward
wow there's got to be a smoking gun
and when they revealed to me that there was no smoking gun that's when I called for a break and
my wife and I was out there in the hall
I lost it oh my gosh dang where's my dad and my mom was here
this is a big decision do we take the deal or do we push it and go to trial
and have the chance of losing it all
I'm like I'm gonna take the deal
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna gamble this guy getting away with it
John Ackroyd sitting there he's looking forward we did not make any eye contact
When I opened the door he made a quick brief and when he seen it was me
I'm the only one there connected to this
no support pissed off
but at the same time
I felt good at the same time knowing that I actually seeing, seeing this through for Rachanda
giving her a voice in all of it
The no contest plea meant that Ackroyd wasn't admitting guilt but also wasn't denying it
it guaranteed he would die behind bars
The location of Rachanda's body remained a mystery and the plea was immediately sealed
the details remain secret until early 2017 when the Oregonian asked a judge to unseal them
I was under a gag order that I couldn't go to the media
Where's the justice in all this that? You know we don't get to know where she's at
I can't tell anybody about what's going
How is this right?
it definitely felt being victimized again it was like this
this fucking prick has more right than what we do
[music]
The Kaye Turner and Rachanda Pickle cases had now been resolved
and Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson's murders were eventually closed as well
investigators Linda Snow and Ron Benson had uncovered new information
like the witness accounts of Ackroyd coming to the Sweet Home shop with bloody hands
They also confirmed that some items found near the teens remains
like a used rivet and a beaded car seat cover were commonly used by highway workers on the job
The investigators and the Lincoln County DA were satisfied that they had enough to prosecute Ackroyd
but taking the case to grand jury didn't seem worth the expense
Ackroyd was already locked up for good
I've talked to the DA
and she believes that this is something we could have put in front of a grand jury if need be
The costs of prosecuting our case would have been huge with no additional outcome
So he was going to die in prison one way or the other
So just being able to say that we could if we needed to
That was our end goal was to get it to that point
In December of 2016 John Ackroyd died in prison
with him die the answers to many questions
leaving the unknowns to haunt his victims, the survivors and investigators alike
When you first hear the guys dead you're thinking okay
a monsters gone but then you kind of have that sad emotional moment
where you know for Byron she's she's not around and he doesn't have that closure
he has that closure to John's dead but he doesn't have that closure to where his sister is
at least I got something
the families of these other victims
no closure
my heart goes out to 'em
I had asked if, can I, any way that I can go and talk to this man?
and they said no
Do you remember her
and I just wanted to look him in the eye and ask him if he did it
did it did he remember it did he you know
then when I found out that he died I go
that's a rotten thing to do, I was just so
figured I would be, maybe at the end of this, that's what I wanted was
to have something
but I'm not now so
Sheila Swanson's brother Bart occasionally takes Highway 20 to visit
the spot off Hayes Creek Road where his sister's body was found
I go up there you know - pretty much to
Remind myself that I still haven't let it go
let her know that I haven't let it go
Byron keeps photos of his sister from childhood and thinks of her often
telling his own children that they had an aunt Rachanda who they'll never know
Actually got a tattoo of it
I do
Last summer
It's just didn't have any way to put it to rest and
it's very big part of my life and I just wanted to be able to have a celebration and stuff
you know it's not a tattoo of hurt and shame but it is of love
just try to get some closure somehow
Mark Foster has returned to volunteer police duty after interviews for this story
rekindled a desire to protect his small rural community
You know these things, you can't go through these kind of things without it having some impact on you too
so I just spent a lot of time out on this road patrolling
and and just keeping an eye on the community
so maybe this year I can just be out there and
and if possible prevent such a thing from ever occurring again
Bill Hanlon stayed in touch with Kaye Turner's mother after the trial
and knows how much it meant to her that her daughter's killer was finally brought to justice
something that never would have happened without his perseverance
To this day he keeps Kaye in his thoughts every Christmas Eve
I do a run every Christmas Eve morning, Kaye Turner yeah
I ultimately told wrote her mother a Christmas card and told her I did that
she's said that's the best memorial she could have
After the trial the woman who was the presiding grant of the presiding juror
her mother went out there and found her and said I just want to tell you the
first time I saw you you I knew you were the woman who would say my daughter's soul
the day before we went for the Beck sentencing we had the whole task force here
her mother was here she sat here and told stories about Kaye Turner, her daughter
and it was very satisfying, everybody was listening you know it was great
Marlene Gabrielsen grew up as a member of the Inupiat people in Alaska
and she moved back there for a time after her rape no longer feeling safe in Oregon
She eventually returned but still struggles not just with the aftermath of the attack
but the knowledge that had she been believed much of what followed might never have happened
I figured it was because I was nothing
I wasn't going to amount to anything
I was brown
and I was ugly
So you know you're not gonna amount to anything
Don't think you are you know
I think that's why I cowered so much back then
You're the first person and you know what my first thought was
when I read that message
why would she care
cuz that's the mindset I had with this whole thing from the gate
that's what made me come
because there's someone that actually cared
Ya know which is a miracle
ya know I mean this makes me feel really good because there is a reason why I'm here
and I guess I am not that ugly you know
and I'm not worthless
My name? Yeah
Marlene K Gabrielsen
I'm Inupiat
I'm a strong woman
[Lucinda Williams singing "The Ghosts of Highway 20"]
♪ Every question and every breath ♪
♪ Every exit leaves a little death ♪
♪ In its wake a memory ♪
♪ That will wander with the ghosts of highway 20 ♪
♪ Ya I know this road like the back of my hand ♪
♪ Same with the stations on the FM band ♪
♪ Farms and truck stops and firework stands ♪
♪ I know this road like the back of my hand ♪
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