Late in the investigation, they heard the strange tale from a few of the old highway workers about Ackroyd’s bloody arms. The story was secondhand and not in any of the police reports.

Too good to be true, Snow thought. But what if the case turned on that clue?

Benson and Snow set out to find the men who had the strange encounter with Ackroyd. Highway worker after highway worker said they weren’t there that night, they couldn’t vouch that it had happened.

Then one finally offered: Try a woman who worked at the Sweet Home shop back then.

It took weeks -- the woman had changed her name since the early 1990s -- but she remembered the men and their names.

The investigators called Marvin Laront. His voice came through the speaker. He recalled the blood, Ackroyd’s unlikely story and the odd timing. In a separate call, his old coworker told the same story.

Of course they remembered. How could they forget?

The investigators glanced at each other, stunned by the damning account all these years later.

It was as close to a breakthrough as they’d get.

Four years after they started, Benson and Snow had strung together enough evidence to take the double murder to a grand jury.

Their theory:

Melissa and Sheila had waited until dawn to leave the family’s campsite. They began walking along U.S. 101, covering more than six miles to the turnoff to Highway 20, then headed east. 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. This time, he drove them up a logging road and into the woods.

The body count tied to Ackroyd was now up to four.

Clockwise from top left: Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson. Clockwise from top left: Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson.

NEXT: Who was John Ackroyd?









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The Oregonian/OregonLive’s five-part series on John Ackroyd details crimes that include sexual abuse, rape and murder. If you have experienced sexual violence and need support, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. The Oregon Department of Justice has additional information and resources for survivors of sexual violence.











