'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
John Arthur Ackroyd, the cold-blooded murderer of four women including his own stepdaughter, had been arrested and sentenced to five life terms in prison for the only crime that could be proven - the abduction and murder of Kaye Turner. While it has been seven years since Ackroyd's passing, the intensity of his crimes and their effective cover-ups made women at Santiam Junction uneasy for years to come.
The Ghosts of Highway 20, a narrative series by Oregonian Live, included five prominent victims among others: Jane Does - Marlene Gabrielsen (20), Kaye Turner (35), Rachanda Pickle (13), Melissa Sanders (17), and Sheila Swanson (19).
The suspected serial killer had been assumed to have carried out all of the mentioned killings through witness statements only. The court of justice had Ackroyd tried for Kaye Turner's murder. The official synopsis of the Investigation Discovery specially aired show, Lost Women of Highway 20, allows viewers a peek into the episodes as it reads,
"Explores the crimes that occurred along Highway 20 between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, where several young women and girls vanished, were sexually assaulted, or were killed."
John Arthur Ackroyd was incarcerated at Oregon State Penitentiary and he passed away on December 30, 2016, at the age of 67.
Who is John Arthur Ackroyd and where is he now?
The three-part crime drama series from the Academy Award-winning executive producer Octavia Spencer, Lost Women of Highway 20, chronicles the life and alleged death of 13-year-old Rachanda Pickle. Rachanda was the daughter of Linda Pickle who was living with her divorced husband, John Arthur Ackroyd, and son, Byron Pickle at the state highway division compound at Santiam Junction.
John Ackroyd was a highway mechanic at a state maintenance shop in Bend. He was known for his temper and often beat up Rachanda and Byron. One time Ackroyd beat Rachanda with a homemade paddle till it broke and then he continued hitting her with an open hand. Rachanda would often turn up to her school with bruises, a blackened eye, or a tuft of hair missing.
However, things got darker when she entered fifth grade and got terrified of being home. Rachanda confessed to her friends that she was molested by John Arthur Ackroyd regularly. Ackroyd had an absurd interest in his stepdaughter where he could recall her bra size but not her birthday.
Ackroyd was already in the books of the local police owing to his links to crimes that had occurred in the past - the r*pe of Marlene Gabrielsen in 1977 and the murder of Kaye Turner in 1978.
Where is Ackroyd now?
In 1992, John Arthur Ackroyd was sentenced to five life terms in prison for the abduction and 1978 murder of Kaye Turner. Ackroyd was arrested soon after the murders of Sheila Swanson and Melissa Sanders in 1992 in Lincoln County, Oregon.
In 1990, his stepdaughter, Rachanda, went missing. He was charged with Rachanda's murder in 2013 to which he pleaded no contest in exchange for non-eligibility for parole.
On December 30, 2016, Ackroyd passed away due to heart disease and was incarcerated in Oregon State Penitentiary.
Why was John Arthur Ackroyd arrested?
Ackroyd could be linked to the 1978 murder of Kaye Turner in Jefferson County. As Bill Hanlon, the district attorney in Jefferson County, lent a hand in the investigation, he was quick in recognizing Ackroyd and his involvement in Turner's case as well.
In a different trial, Roger Dale Beck was also found guilty of killing Kaye Turner. Further inputs from the arrested Roger's ex-wife, Pam, consolidated police's belief that Ackroyd was behind the killings along Highway 20.
