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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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preferred platform [Music] on the afternoon of Monday March 21 1977 33-year-old Mary Gillespie walked
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out of her house and down the long dirt path to the mailbox the Gillespie Farmhouse was the
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only residence visible on this area of road on the outskirts of Circleville Ohio across the street Acres of flat
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crop land extended as far as the eye could see the cool air was quiet and still after retrieving the mail Mary
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absent-mindedly flicked through it while walking back to the front door then an envelope caught her
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eye her name and address were written on it in thick black ink with stocky Square
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lettering Mary turned it over there was no return address Mary opened the envelope
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inside was a single sheet of lined paper written in the same blocky handwriting one line of the letter
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immediately caught Mary's eye it read I know where you live I've been observing your house and know you have
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children this is no joke please take it serious and everything will be over soon
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[Music] [Music] once Mary Gillespie was back indoors she studied the letter more
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closely it's very first line read stay away from Massie don't lie when questioned about knowing
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him Mary knew who the writer was referring to 44-year-old Gordon Massie was the district's school superintendent and
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Mary did know him she and Gordon worked in close quarters because Mary was a school bus
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driver recently rumors had circulated throughout the tight-nit community of Circleville that Gordon and Mar were
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having an affair whoever had sent the letter was imploring Mary to break off her alleged
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relationship with the married superintendent and report him to the school board the letter had no identifying
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features it had been postmarked from the state capital of Columbus which was approximately 30 m
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away Mary was concerned by the letter but decided not to do anything about it she stashed it away in a safe place
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where her husband and two children wouldn't find it a week later Mary found another
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envelope in the mailbox with the same distinctive blocky writing in thick black ink once again it was postmarked from
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Columbus with no return address inside was another sheet of lined paper this time the message was more
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aggressive lady this is your last chance to report him I know you are a pig and will prove it and shame you out of
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Ohio a pig sneaks around and meets other women's husbands behind their backs and
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causes families and homes and marriages to suffer on this occasion the mysterious
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author referenced Mary's 8-year-old daughter Tracy quote how is your little girl will she
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grow up to be like you Mary tucked the disturbing letter away with the previous one and tried to
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put it out of her mind almost one week later Mary Gillespie's husband Ron was at the glass
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plate Factory where he worked when he received a letter that was addressed to him in thick blocky
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writing postmarked from Columbus with no return address the informed Ron that his
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wife was having an affair with superintendent Gordon Massie its author urged Ron to expose
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them concluding with the suggestion you should catch them together and kill them
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both when Ron got home from work he confronted his wife with the letter Mary told him the accusation wasn't true and
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revealed that she had also received two letters she took them out from where she' stashed them and the couple
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compared them there were definite similarities between the three letters aside from the handwriting they were all
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riddled with spelling and grammatical errors the writer also had the unique habit of using colons in place of full
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stops Ron was concerned but agreed with Mary to keep the letters under waps Circleville was already rough with
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gossip and speculation as it was a fortnite later on Thursday April 14 Ron received another note from his
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wife's unidentified harasser it read Gillespie you have had two weeks and done nothing you are a pig Defender
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you are also a pig make her admit the truth and inform the school board if not I will broadcast it on posters signs
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Billboards until the truth comes out good hunting in your red and white truck on your way to
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work let her read this it is no lie I followed Gordon Massie for weeks and have seen her meet him several times he
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knows what I want when he quits I'll go away your life is in [Music] danger this letter featured one notable
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difference to its predecessors there was a return address printed on the back of the envelope
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listing a house in Circleville Ron and Mary looked it up only to find it was the home of
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superintendent Gordon Massie it appeared the rider was mocking them Ron was unnerved by the riter's
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threats the mention of his red and white pickup truck indicated that he was being
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watched this led to Ron and Mary reporting the letters to the County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe looked
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over the letters they featured absolutely no clues as to the writer's identity Sheriff Radcliffe reached out
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to the district's school officials and the US Postal Service in the hopes they could help establish a
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lead while the school officials cooperated the Postal Service did not meanwhile Mary Gillespie continued
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to receive letters worryingly the author began directing their anger at Mary's 8-year-old daughter Tracy
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writing I shall come out there and put a bullet in that little girl's head unbeknown to Ron and Mary Gillespie
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they weren't the only people in town to receive mail from the Circleville letter
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writer although the writer seemed to have Mary Gillespie firmly in their s other residents began reporting similar
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letters to the sheriff most were regarded as a nuisance and nothing more but then superintendent Gordon
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Massie came [Music] forward two weeks before Mary Gillespie received her first letter Gordon Massie
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had found a note in his mail had featured the same block handwriting as the others with errors in spelling and
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grammar no return address and the Columbus Post Mark as detailed in the podcast to
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whatever Remains the letter accused Gordon Massie of harassing numerous female bus
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drivers an excerpt read to pray on another man's girl is Untouchable especially when they're out
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trying to make a living I suggest you find yourself a pimple-faced and start up with her and leave my girls
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alone Gordon had initially decided to keep the note to himself but eventually brought it to the attention of
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authorities they soon found that shortly after this letter was sent the writer had also sent letters to the local Board
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of Education and the superintendent of another school district all of these letters demanded
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that Gordon Massie step down from his superintendent position and leave the bus drivers
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alone the content of the letters implied that the author was close to the bus drivers but there were no other Clues as
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to their identity law enforcement had no evidence that Gordon Massie was acting inappropriately towards the female bus
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drivers and he retained his job signs then started cropping up along the sides of roads on Mary Gillespie's
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bus route they featured crude messages accusing Mary and Gordon Massie of having an affair they also claimed that
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Mary's underage daughter Tracy was having sexual relations with the superintendent Rong Gillespie woke up
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early each morning so he could drive around town looking for new signs whenever he found one he promptly
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tore it down and destroyed it the constant harassment was taking a toll on him and Mary they became tired
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fearful and were constantly on the lookout for the next accusation despite Ron Gillespie's vigilance the
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letters and signs increased in frequency it seemed as though the Sheriff's Office had a little interest
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in identifying the culprit desperate for help Ron and Mary reached out to Ron's sister Karen fres
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hour and her husband Paul although they couldn't be certain the Gillespies had a hunch as to who was
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behind the letters they believed it was another bus driver named David longberry before the letters arrived
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David had made advances towards Mary despite knowing she was married after Mary rejected David he
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began to act cooly towards her it appeared as though he held a grudge one day in mid
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1977 Ron and Mary hatched a plan with help from Karen and Paul fresh hour Paul was a former prison guard and so
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was used to dealing with threatening behavior 9 years earlier he'd been working at the Ohio State Penitentiary
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when a riot broke out Paul was held hostage for 30 hours alongside eight other guards although he escaped the ordeal
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physically unharmed Paul subsequently quit his job almost a decade later he still
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remembered the tactics he' used trying trying to deescalate the situation and suggested they employ them against the
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letter writer Paul fresh drafted a letter to David longberry with assistance from Ron
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Mary and his wife Karen Paul later said that the letter wasn't violent in nature but it ordered
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David to stop writing the letters and posting signs around town Paul mailed the letter to David he
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later followed it up with three or four more the letters stopped immediately after this but the Gillespie's relief
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was shortlived on Friday august 19 1977 5 months after the first letter arrived in her mailbox Mary Gillespie
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and her sister-in-law Karen fresh hour boarded a plane for a much needed vacation in
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Florida Mary's husband Ron remained in Circleville to look after the couple children that evening Ron and his kids
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spent a quiet night at home then just after 10:00 the phone rang Ron answered it he spent a few
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moments on the line before slamming the phone down angrily Ron retrieved his 22 caliber
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revolver he told his daughter Tracy that he had just received a call from the letter writer now it seemed that the
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riter had escalated to phone calls Ron planned to go and confront him he kissed Tracy on the top of her
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head and said he'd be back soon then Ron hopped into his red and white pickup truck and sped off down the
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rural Circleville Road at 10:30 :0 p.m. about half an hour after Ron Gillespie received a call from
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the Circleville letter writer the phone rang at the County Sheriff's Office a frantic sounding caller on the
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other end explained that he had just driven past a terrible accident on a road called Five Points
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Pike police rushed to the scene which was 7 miles from the Gillespie home there they found Rong Gillespie's
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truck it had collided front first into a tree at high speed Ron hadn't been wearing a seat
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belt and was ejected from the driver's seat into the windshield he was rushed to hospital but
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was pronounced Dead on Arrival from massive head trauma and internal injuries Ron's death appeared to be an
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accident he returned a blood alcohol level of1 16% which at the time was 1 and a half times the legal limmit in
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Ohio the area had no street lights and it appeared as though Ron had missed the curve of the road instead driving
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straight ahead and deing off course the coroner concluded no autopsy was necessary Ron's devastated family was
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left with unanswered questions the revolver Ron had taken with him was discovered under his body
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one of its bullets had been fired but it was never located it Ron's family wondered if he had been in some sort of
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altercation then gotten into a highspeed Chase although he'd been driving in the
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dark Ron knew the area like the back of his hand he drove a long Five Points Pare almost a
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daily his loved ones couldn't accept that he would crash on a road he knew so well those who knew Ron were also
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confused by the blood alcohol report Ron Ron was not a heavy drinker his children
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said he did not seem intoxicated when he left the house some members of his family also
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believed that one side of his pickup truck was peppered with bullet holes though this was not mentioned in
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official police reports former prison guard Paul fresh hour was especially close to his
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brother-in-law he told Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe that he believed F play was involved
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Sheriff Radcliffe initially took Paul's concerns seriously he tracked down one potential
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suspect and questioned him extensively but he was ruled out of the investigation following that lead the
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sheriff reiterated the assumption that Ron's death was nothing more than a tragic
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accident Paul fresh hour believed Sheriff Radcliffe knew more than he was letting on and accused him of covering
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ing up Ron's murder Paul explained that the sheriff planned to run for the national
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Sheriff's Association presidency because of this he couldn't afford to have a potential crime of such
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magnitude go unsolved in his County what exactly happened to Ron Gillespie in the final moments of his
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life would remain unknown but the crash appeared to unnerve the Circleville letter writer
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after news of Ron's death spread through Circleville the letters abruptly stopped Ron Gillespie's death also
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affected the personal relationships of those closest to him in October 1982 Ron's sister Karen divorced her husband
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Paul fres hour after 20 years of marriage superintendent Gordon Massie and his wife ALS also divorced after she
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filed papers citing extreme cruelty and gross negligence of Duty following his divorce Gordon Massie
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began officially seeing Ron's Widow Mary gaspie despite the long roomed Affair between the two Mary was adamant their
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relationship did not start until this time in the years that followed Mary continued to work as a bus driver for
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the local school District yet life didn't return to any semblance of normality in time the Circleville letter
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writer began intermittently displaying signs around the town again other residents also continued
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receiving nuisance mail but the matter was not investigated further by December 1982 5 years had
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passed since the death of Ron Gillespie and Mary had received more than than 30 letters and postcards from her
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unidentified harasser days before Christmas she received yet another this card contained an unusual
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threat the writer wanted Mary to marry Gordon Massie within 3 months they added that if the couple
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wasn't married by March 1 1983 Mary would have to visit all of the stops along her route to remove messages that
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would involve her now 13-year-old daughter [Music] Tracy 2 months later on Monday February
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7 Mary was driving her bus near fivepoint Pike close to where her late husband Ron had
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crashed Mary was running late to collect her first busload of students that afternoon when she noticed a sign on a
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fence post written on a plank of 2x4 plywood the sign featured a derogatory remark
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about her daughter Tracy and Gordon Massie Mary stopped the bus and lifted the sign
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off the post she put it on the seat beside her and continued on her way after Mary arrived home that day she
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studied the sign more closely behind it was a black box made from corrugated cardboard Mary tore open the top of the
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box inside she saw a replica handgun held upright by styrofoam home Mary deliberated whether to bother
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the sheriff's office with her Discovery they were already well aware of the letters and signs she had been dealing
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with for years however given the implied threat that the replica gun represented
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Mary decided to hand it over to authorities they established that the handgun wasn't a
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replica it was a live 25 caliber pistol in a crudely designed booby trap there was one bullet in the gun's
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chamber and another in the clip a trip wire had been tied around the handle and Trigger of the
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gun it was designed to go off when the sign was torn from the box when attached to the post the gun
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was positioned just over 5 ft from the ground had Mary ripped the sign down instead of lifting the entire
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Contraption off off the fence post she could have been [Music] killed whoever set up the Trap had
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attempted to cover their tracks by filing the serial number off the gun the pistol was sent to the Bureau of
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Criminal analysis and through microscopic examination investigators were able to piece together the serial
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number it was traced back to a man from Columbus named named Wesley Wells the next morning Sheriff Dwight
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Radcliffe went to Wesley's residential address where he was met by his wife she advised that Wesley had left for his job
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at a local Brewery the sheriff contacted Wesley's workplace and spoke to him over the
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phone Wesley told the sheriff he had sold the gun to his work supervisor 3 months
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earlier the super visor had wanted a gun for protection as his family was constantly being
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harassed while Wesley chatted with the sheriff his supervisor stood nearby listening in on the
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call when the sheriff asked to speak with him Wesley held out the phone but his supervisor hastily walked
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away Sheriff Radcliffe then asked for the supervisor's name the man who owned the pistol that
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almost killed killed Mary Gillespie was her brother-in-law Paul fresh hour Wesley was confused by Paul's
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strange Behavior after his phone call with the sheriff he confronted Paul and asked
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what had happened to the gun he had sold him Paul appeared nervous as he told Wesley it had gone
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missing in the days that followed Paul repeatedly approached Wesley to ask if he'd had any further cont with the
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sheriff about the gun meanwhile investigators checked Paul fresh hour's employment
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records they showed that Paul had requested a day off on the day that Mary Gillespie found the booby
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trap a search of the brewery where Paul worked uncovered materials that matched those used to make the booby trap
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including a chalk box made of corrugated cardboard twine wire and styrofoam when Paul was questioned he admitted to
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owning the gun but said it had been stolen from his garage some time before the Trap was
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set he had never reported it missing because the lettering on the booby trap sign was so similar to that
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of the circle Ville letter writer the sheriff hoped that identifying whoever set the Trap would weed out the riter
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once and for all on Friday February 25 1983 Paul fresh hour was taken to the county
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sheriff's office for a series of handwriting tests he willingly complied and also
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submitted to a polygraph test in an attempt to clear his name although polygraphs are not a
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reliable indicator of guilt The Examiner concluded that Paul failed the test indicating that he had set the booby
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trap his handwriting also bore incredible similarities to that of the Circleville letter
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writer Paul was reinterviewed after this and according to sheriff Dwight Radcliffe he admitted to writing about
00:26:08
50 of the circle Ville letters the sheriff could not ascertain Paul's motive on Thursday March 3 1983 Paul
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fres hour was arrested for the attempted murder of Mary Gillespie he pleaded not guilty and was
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released on bond to await trial Paul was ordered not to send any more letters soon Sheriff Radcliffe and
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others reported receiving empty envelopes with writing scrolled over them these were not
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investigated in early May 1983 Paul freshh hour voluntarily admitted himself to a mental health facility and entered
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a plea of innocent by reason of insanity he claimed he was only insane when the booby trap was set at all other times he
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was of sound mind a court ordered evaluation found that Paul was fit to stand trial and one
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month before the trial began he withdrew his earlier Insanity plea Paul publicly denied the sheriff's
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claim that he had admitted to writing 50 of the letters saying it was completely
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untrue he also said that if he were to set a booby trap to harm someone he was smart enough to use a gun that couldn't
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be traced back to him Paul fresh hour's trial began in October 1983 because he had not been charged
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with being the circle Ville letter writer he was on trial solely for the attempted murder of Mary
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gaspie however 39 letters were ruled as admissible to give context and background to the
00:28:02
crime because no fingerprints or other physical evidence were ever found on the booby trap the trial was purely based on
00:28:09
circumstantial evidence it was revealed that rather than take a sample of Paul fresh hour's
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natural handwriting Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe had given him a letter from the Circleville letter writer and asked
00:28:24
him to copy it as closely as possible but the sheriff said he'd also dictated excerpts for Paul to write down and
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these were the samples that were analized a handwriting expert compared paperwork from Paul's workplace to the
00:28:41
circle Ville letters and believed they were a match even a handwriting expert hired by
00:28:48
the defense agreed that Paul fresh hour was the Circleville letter writer and the author of the sign on the booby
00:28:56
trap Mary Gillespie testified that she'd never suspected Paul fresh hour could be
00:29:02
the Circleville letter writer after all Paul had tried to help Mary from receiving
00:29:08
letters he was also close to Rong gaspie and pushed police to view his brother-in-law's death as a
00:29:16
murder but Mary recalled a conversation she had with Paul's ex-wife Karen in August
00:29:24
1982 Karen had seen letters floating in their toilet with handwriting that bore a strong resemblance to the circle Ville
00:29:34
writer Paul Fresa's defense team painted him as a rational and innocent man with
00:29:41
a master's degree in industrial management Paul's writing style was nothing like the misspelled and
00:29:47
grammatically incorrect Circleville letters he had no prior criminal record and had a well-paying job which he
00:29:55
wouldn't risk by trying to kill his former sister-in-law while the materials used
00:30:02
to make the booby trap were found at Paul's workplace his lawyers argued that these were common and found in every
00:30:09
home Paul said he had taken time off work on the day the Trap was found because he was getting work done on his
00:30:16
home and needed to be present multiple people testified to seeing Paul at his house the trial lasted 4
00:30:28
days after 2 and 1/2 hours of deliberation the jury returned with a verdict for the attempted murder of Mary
00:30:37
gaspie Paul fresh hour was found guilty as he listened to the judge sentenced him to between 7 and 25 years
00:30:46
in prison the look on Paul's face was one of utter [Music] shock after Paul fresh hour was sent to
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prison everyone assumed that the circle Ville letters would stop however soon after he was
00:31:04
incarcerated the town's residents began reporting that they were receiving letters in the all too familiar blocky
00:31:12
writing Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe was certain Paul was somehow smuggling the letters out of prison he ordered Paul to
00:31:20
be sent to solitary confinement his mail was censored and he was strip searched before before and
00:31:27
after visits Sheriff Radcliffe was certain this would stop the letters as there was
00:31:33
absolutely no way Paul could send them in these conditions however letters continued to
00:31:40
trickle in to Circleville residents they were postmarked from Columbus Paul was incarcerated in Limer
00:31:50
a city 200 M away an internal investigation was held but couldn't explain how Paul was
00:31:58
smuggling the Letters Out Sheriff Radcliffe thought a copycat could be responsible but the
00:32:05
similarities between the latest letters and the original ones were startling in 1990 Paul fresh hour became
00:32:15
eligible for parole after serving 7 years prior to his hearing the writer up to their game sending more letters than
00:32:23
ever before despite Paul being a model prisoner his paral was denied due to the board believing he was behind the
00:32:35
letters a few days after his hearing Paul fresh hour received his own letter postmarked from Columbus it
00:32:45
contained all the Hallmarks of the Circleville letter writer it read fresh hour now when are you going
00:32:55
to believe you aren't getting getting out of there I told you 2 years ago when we set them up they stay set up don't
00:33:04
you listen at all no one wants you out no one The Joke is on You [Music] haa in December 1986 poor fr shower
00:33:27
spoke to a reporter from The Columbus Dispatch from jail he said I'm not a criminal and I'm not
00:33:35
crazy but I'm a convict now and I don't have much credibility people tend not to believe
00:33:44
convicts Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe was quoted in the same article as saying I think we got the right man I know what
00:33:53
fresh hour wants he's trying to say look I'm in prison but the letters have never
00:33:58
stopped all he wants is publicity in 1993 producers of the popular television program Unsolved
00:34:08
Mysteries announced their intention to cover the circle Ville letter writer as production was about to begin
00:34:16
a postcard made from Manila cardboard arrived at the show's officers in familiar blocky black
00:34:23
lettering were the words forget Circleville Ohio forget Sheriff Radcliffe if you come to Ohio
00:34:33
you sickos will pay the circle Ville Rider the producers ignored the postcard and continued filming as
00:34:45
planned Paul fresh hour was eventually paroled from prison after 10 years and appeared on the
00:34:51
segment he staunchly maintained his innocence and urged investigators to look f further into the
00:34:58
case Mary gaspie and Karen fresh hour declined to appear on the program if Paul fres hour was innocent
00:35:08
as he had claimed then the question remained who else could have been the circle Ville letter
00:35:15
riter the situation had unfolded from allegations of infidelity between Mary Gillespie and Gordon
00:35:22
Massie Gordon's son William was 19 years old when the letters began and some were
00:35:28
even signed with his name if William was aware of the alleged Affair between his father and Mary this
00:35:36
might have given him a motive however investigators concluded he was most likely Being Framed by the
00:35:44
real culprit some have speculated that it was Paul fres hour who was framed 4 months before Mary Gillespie
00:35:54
discovered the booby trap Karen and Paul fresh hour divorced Paul was granted custody of
00:36:01
their daughter as well as the family home Karen moved into a trailer on Mary's property had Karen sought revenge
00:36:11
against her ex-husband for losing out in their divorce settlement when Paul was incarcerated
00:36:18
Karen received parental custody and moved back into the home journalist and author Martin y an
00:36:27
covered the case extensively and appeared on the unsolved mystery segment he said that when he reviewed
00:36:33
the case files he found some unreleased information 20 minutes before Mary Gillespie noticed the sign with the Trap
00:36:43
another bus driver had driven by the same area she noticed a yellow El Camino parked in the spot where the sign would
00:36:52
be placed standing next to the car was a man who turned away way as the bus driver
00:36:58
passed he was tall with a heavy build and Sandy colored hair in stark contrast to Paul fresh hour who was short with
00:37:08
black hair it was later revealed that Karen fresh hour had a boyfriend who matched
00:37:14
this description and drove an El Camino whoever the Circleville rider was they wanted attention brought to Karen
00:37:24
fresh hour a letter The elusive writer addressed to sheriff Dwight Radcliffe in 1983
00:37:32
said I set Paul up I can't hardly live with it it was signed with the name Karen
00:37:40
fresh hour following his release from prison Paul fres hour wrote to the FBI attaching more than 150 pages of
00:37:54
evidence that he believed pointed to his innoc Ence whoever they were it was clear that
00:38:00
the Circleville Rider had inside knowledge about the town's residents in one letter the writer
00:38:07
accused the County coroner Dr Ray Caroll of molesting children later in December
00:38:14
1983 Dr Carol was charged with a range of offenses including Corruption of a minor and indecent
00:38:23
exposure in August of 1980 three years after the Circleville letters started a 25-year-old Circleville Elementary
00:38:31
School teacher named Vicky KO was reported missing by her family there were no signs of forced
00:38:38
entry or assault in Vicki's apartment and her car was found a half a mile away unlocked a month later a Township worker
00:38:48
was mowing an area among cornfields 35 Mi North from Vicki's home they soon stumbled across VI Big's
00:38:56
body wearing the same clothing she was last seen alive in although investigators concluded her
00:39:05
death was the result of homicide they failed to identify a suspect and the case went
00:39:11
cold soon after Vicki's body was discovered the Circleville letter writer began sending letters about the
00:39:19
case they claimed that Vicky Koke had been having an affair with a local prosecutor and was pregnant with his
00:39:25
baby the riter accused the prosecutor of killing Vicki to keep the matter quiet the riter threatened to dig up a
00:39:35
deceased baby's bones and mail them to random people if a thorough investigation into Vicki's murder wasn't
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completed the theft of an infant's remains from a local graveyard was reported soon
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after afterwards letters were delivered to sheriff Dwight Radcliffe with fine white powder
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inside the Circleville Rider claimed the powder was the baby's Ground Up Bones but testing revealed it was
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actually arsenic online rumors abound that the circle Ville letter writer was correct
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in his assertion that Vicky Koke was carrying the prosecutor's child despite there being no evidence that she was
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pregnant at all others have considered the possibility that Vicky crossed bars with
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a serial killer that was active in the area at the time the murder of Vicky Koke remains
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circleville's only unsolved homicide Paul fresh hour died in June 2012 at the age of 70 maintaining his
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innocence to the very end many who knew Paul could not believe he was the Circleville letter writer
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describing him as a kind softly spoken man [Music] more than a thousand letters were
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received by Circleville residents during the writer's 16-year campaign the final one ever sent was the
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one directed at the Unsolved Mysteries producers 103 postcards and 391 letters were found to match to Paul fresh hour's
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writing handwriting experts also linked Paul to the sign on the booby trap yet while some experts believe in the
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strength of handwriting analysis others dismiss it as junk science according to the television
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series 48 Hours a dozen letters written while Paul was incarcerated were revealed to have his fingerprints on
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them investigators never solved how he could have smuggled these letters out of [Music]
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prison [Music] [Music]