INFAMOUS: Highway 20

Summary

Crime Junkie Episode Summary: "INFAMOUS: Highway 20"

Release Date: January 13, 2025

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Introduction

In the captivating episode titled "INFAMOUS: Highway 20," hosts Ashley Flowers and Britt delve deep into the chilling series of disappearances and murders linked to Highway 20 in Oregon. This episode meticulously unravels the unsettling pattern of tragedies that unfolded over several decades, centering around the enigmatic figure of John Aykroyd.

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Kaye Turner's Disappearance

The narrative begins on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1978, in the remote area of Camp Sherman, Oregon, adjacent to Highway 20. At approximately 10 AM, Noel Turner becomes alarmed when his wife, 35-year-old Kay Turner, fails to return from her morning run. Kay, an avid runner accustomed to the area's unfamiliar terrain, had planned a short jog but never made it back.

Ashley Flowers [02:04]: "But what should have been Kay's time to recharge and clear her head is quickly becoming now her family and friends' nightmare."

Despite extensive search efforts by sheriff deputies and local volunteers, Kay remains missing by Christmas Day, with no signs of her surviving the ordeal.

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Early Investigation and Suspicious Evidence

The investigation takes a pivotal turn on December 26, 1978, when trackers discover two sets of frozen footprints near the woods. One set matches Kay's Nike running shoes, while the larger set suggests the presence of another individual. The trackers infer a potential struggle, indicating that Kay might have been forcibly taken.

Britt [04:56]: "And there's something else that they didn't dig deeper into either. This one, to me, is far more baffling."

Despite these alarming clues, the deputy in charge either dismisses or overlooks the significance, leaving the case unresolved for years.

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Emergence of John Aykroyd as a Suspect

The plot thickens when John Aykroyd, one of the initial highway worker witnesses, becomes a person of interest. In August 1979, a local general store owner encounters John claiming to have found clothes he believes belong to Kay. His story raises red flags, especially when he admits to being the last person to see Kay alive.

Ashley Flowers [9:08]: "There is some clarity as to who the killer is, but it leaves us with more questions than answers."

Further incriminating evidence surfaces when John later confesses to discovering Kay's remains, albeit with inconsistent details that deepen suspicions about his involvement.

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Rachanda Pickle's Disappearance

Fast forward to July 11, 1990, another tragic event unfolds. Linda, a concerned mother, reports her 13-year-old daughter, Rachanda Pickle, missing. Shockingly, Rachanda's stepfather is none other than John Aykroyd, linking him once again to a disappearance along Highway 20.

Ashley Flowers [23:19]: "So where was he? He was supposed to be at work."

John's suspicious behavior includes having blood-stained hands and a rope with Rachanda's hair found in his truck—evidence he dismissively attributes to innocent explanations, further casting doubt on his innocence.

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Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson's Murders

The saga intensifies in 1992 with the disappearance of two best friends, 17-year-old Melissa Sanders and 19-year-old Sheila Swanson. Both had been seen last at Sherry's Diner, a known haunt of John Aykroyd, who earned the ominous nickname "the Pervert" from regular patrons.

Britt [35:06]: "He even mentioned to the girls that he might be in the same area."

Their bodies were discovered months later, bearing signs of foul play that eerily mirrored the injuries Kay Turner sustained, including stab wounds and possible strangulation.

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Arrest and Conviction of John Aykroyd

In October 1992, mounting evidence and testimonies, including those from John's acquaintances and victims' families, lead to his arrest. Despite lacking direct physical evidence linking him to the murders, the circumstantial evidence and his disturbing history make a compelling case.

Ashley Flowers [37:00]: "And it lines up with what Pam said."

In September 1993, John stands trial for Kay Turner's murder. Testimonies reveal his violent tendencies, including previous sexual assault allegations by Marlene Gabrielson, which were initially dismissed by law enforcement.

On October 6, 1993, John Aykroyd is convicted of Kay Turner's murder and sentenced to Life with a 20-year minimum. Shortly after, Roger Beck, his accomplice, receives a similar life sentence.

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Aftermath and Unresolved Cases

Despite John's conviction, numerous other disappearances and murders remain officially unsolved but are strongly suspected to be connected to him. The discovery of additional victims' remains near Highway 20, dating back to the mid-1970s, raises unsettling questions about the full extent of John's crimes.

Ashley Flowers [48:09]: "While some of his victims' families can take some solace in the fact that this man will never harm anyone again, it's heartbreaking to think that there could still be other families who don't have or may not get the same answers."

John's death in prison in 1992 leaves several cases lingering without closure, including the tragic disappearance of Rachanda Pickle, whose body has yet to be found.

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Continuing the Search for Truth

The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners who may have information about these cases. Despite John's incarceration, the mystery surrounding Rachanda Pickle remains unsolved, and the possibility of other victims continues to haunt investigators and the community.

Ashley Flowers [51:30]: "If anyone out there knows anything about these cases or about John Aykroyd and his life and his movements, please call the Linn County Sheriff's Office tip line at 866-557-9988."

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Conclusion

"INFAMOUS: Highway 20" is a harrowing exploration of a serial offender whose actions have left an indelible mark on Oregon's history. Ashley and Britt's thorough examination highlights the systemic failures in law enforcement and the enduring quest for justice faced by the victims' families. This episode not only sheds light on the dark corridors of Highway 20 but also serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing need for vigilance and advocacy in unresolved cases.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ashley Flowers [02:04]: "But what should have been Kay's time to recharge and clear her head is quickly becoming now her family and friends' nightmare."

• Britt [04:56]: "And there's something else that they didn't dig deeper into either. This one, to me, is far more baffling."

• Ashley Flowers [23:19]: "So where was he? He was supposed to be at work."

• Britt [35:06]: "He even mentioned to the girls that he might be in the same area."

• Ashley Flowers [37:00]: "And it lines up with what Pam said."

• Ashley Flowers [51:30]: "If anyone out there knows anything about these cases or about John Aykroyd and his life and his movements, please call the Linn County Sheriff's Office tip line at 866-557-9988."

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Source Material: All details and timestamps are based on the provided transcript of the "INFAMOUS: Highway 20" episode from the Crime Junkie podcast.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

There are some cases so infamous that we have all heard about them. But some of the coldest cases, the most mysterious, are the ones that you've never heard of before. I'm Ashley Flowers, and every Wednesday on my show the Deck, I dive into the coldest of cold cases. Many of these victims didn't get the press coverage they deserved during the initial investigations, but I'm sharing what our reporting team has found on these stories in hopes that some someone listening may have the information needed to bring answers to light. And that listener could be you. Listen to the Deck now, wherever you get your podcasts brought to you by the Capital One Quicksilver card earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase everywhere. Plus, there's no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn, and rewards don't expire for the life of the account. It's that simple. The Capital One Quicksilver Card what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com for details. There's a lot to say when buying a new home or car, but only one thing to say that can help you protect them. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. And just like that, a State Farm agent will be there to help you choose the coverage you need. No matter where you are in life. When you need coverage options, your State Farm agent is there to help on the phone or in person. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. As you set resolutions for 2025, consider how learning a new language can enrich your life, whether through travel, career advancement, or cultural appreciation. Rosetta Stone's immersive lessons guide you to think a new language from day one. Today, Crime Junkie listeners can take advantage of Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for for 50% off, visit RosettaStone.com CrimeJunkie that's 50% off. Unlimited lifetime access to 25 language courses@Rosetta Stone.com CrimeJunkie hi Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.

[Britt]

And I'm Britt.

[Ashley Flowers]

And the story I have for you today is about the women and girls whose lives were cut short after encountering a monster whose full reign of terror might not even be fully known. He hunted in his own backyard, the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. And there could be victims out there that have yet to be discovered. This is the story of the mysteries of Highway 20. It's around 10am when Noel Turner realizes his 35 year old wife, Kay hasn't returned from her run. Now, she had left around 8am and planned to be gone for about an hour. But to make it home for breakfast, well, that's now come and gone times two. And Noel is getting a little worried, so he hops in his truck to see if he can go find her. Probably just hoping that she maybe sprained an ankle or got lost or something. Cause though she's an avid runner, she is kind of an unfamiliar terrain right now. Because this is Sunday, Christmas eve, actually, of 1978. And Noel and Kay are vacationing in this remote area of Oregon called Camp Sherman, which is right off of this big main road known as Highway 20. And they took this little trip as a holiday getaway with some friends, exchanging gifts, sitting by the fire, like singing carols. It was supposed to be this magical time, like doing all the Christmasy things. But that wouldn't stop K from getting her workout in again. Avid runner. And what should have been Kay's time to recharge and clear her head is quickly becoming now her family and friends nightmare. Because there is no sign of K. As her husband is driving around everywhere. And by 1:30, Noel is thoroughly panicked enough that now he needs to call police. So Noel and others are eager to get searching right away, but they're told by police to wait, which is just at this point, burning precious daylight hours in their mind. So eventually, sheriff deputies arrive, and they, along with the locals and the Turner's friends, finally do start searching for Kay. Even when it gets dark, they search through the night, but there isn't a single sign of her, not even on Christmas Day or the day after, despite the searches getting bigger and bigger. Like, these are extensive land searches.

[Britt]

And I assume they've talked to all the friends and stuff, and we're sure she actually even made it on the run, like nothing happened to her. Wherever it is, they're all staying.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. According to Noelle Crombie, who wrote extensively about this for the Oregonian, Kay even asked one of their friends to go jogging with her, but they declined. And they do eventually find a couple of witnesses, this pair of highway workers who, like, they talked to separately, they were like, said they saw her again separately, like, running solo in the morning that she vanished. So she went on the run. Everything seemed fine. And they must not have seemed all that suspicious or suspicious at all, because police didn't seem to dig deeper into either of these, like, highway worker guys. And there's something else that they didn't dig deeper into either. This one, to me, is far more baffling. So on day three, this is December 26, the deputy in charge of the search gets a Radio call from a couple of trackers who had been helping helping authorities out. And they tell the deputy that they've discovered two sets of frozen footprints in this clearing over by the woods, like.

[Britt]

Near where she was seen running.

[Ashley Flowers]

I don't know. It sounds like it was close. I'm not totally clear on exactly where this was. But according to these trackers, one set of prints could have been from Kay's running shoes. They knew that she'd been wearing this specific type of Nike shoe, ones with, like, the old school waffle sole that we know. But the other set of prints appeared to be from a larger shoe. And so right away, it's clear that these are not the prints of two people out for a stroll in the woods. More alarmingly, the trackers say it seems like there was some kind of struggle and that the larger person dragged away the smaller person.

[Britt]

Did they follow these prints?

[Ashley Flowers]

They did, but then it got dark and they couldn't go any further, which is something that, to me, like, you follow up on after. But it seems like this deputy didn't believe them or he didn't seem as interested because that appears to be as far as this went.

[Britt]

How does it even happen? This is, like, the best and kind of the only lead that they have.

[Ashley Flowers]

I don't know. I mean, maybe authorities did look further into it, and there's just no record or reporting of it. And maybe there wasn't anything more to learn or they decided they weren't, like, from the people or k. Whatever. But I don't know. I feel like we should have at least closed the loop on that, like, yeah, especially if they're not related at all. That doesn't happen. So we're here, left guessing. And as more days pass without any sign of Kay, police start looking inward a little more, examining Kay's life to see if there would be any reason for her to leave on her own. According to the limited docuseries, lost women of Highway 20, when investigators look at her and her husband's life back in Eugene, Oregon, where they live, they discover this calendar that belonged to Kay at her office. And in it, there is evidence to suggest that she had actually been seeing people outside of her marriage. And at the time that police are learning this, this is news to Noel, who they obviously, like, ask about this, and they know or, like, believe that he's not lying about not knowing, because they do end up asking him to take a polygraph about this, and he ends up passing. But he does admit that he knew Kay wasn't happy in Their marriage. And we can assume police looked more into any possible affairs that Kay was having. But there's nothing in the source material to suggest that Kay did take off with someone. And again, they have witnesses, like, putting her out running. So logistically, like, that might not even make sense. Right? Like, you're not gonna be, like, putting on your running shoes while you're on.

[Britt]

Vacation with your husband to, like, and.

[Ashley Flowers]

Then decide mid run, Right?

[Britt]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

So before they knew it, it was spring and then summer. And it takes a full eight months before the first sign of K pops up. And in a really chilling way. So one day in August, the owner of this little general store in Camp Sherman is just, like, going about their usual day when this local guy rolls in. Now, the guy is known to her, the owner, but not in the best way. He had been in a couple of times and really skeeved her out when she caught him touching himself in the store while looking at some adult magazines. So, like, the second she sees him walk in, she's like, oh, hell no. And she goes into the back and gets her husband. When he comes out, the guy tells him he found some clothes while he was out rabbit hunting that he thinks might belong to that missing jogger from back at Christmas. And so he asked the shop owner if there is some kind of reward, which there was, like a thousand dollar reward at the time. But the shop owner is all kinds of suspicious of his story because he knows at the time there are no rabbits in the area. But before this guy can wise up, the shop owner phones police and is like, hey, you probably should get here. And, like, don't waste any time. Get here now. And if police aren't tripping over themselves to get to the general store already, they are when the store owner calls them back, because since he'd hung up with them, the guy has said something else. He admits that he might have been the last person to see Kaye Turner alive. Now, it's unclear exactly when authorities put two and two together, but they soon realized that this local, this stranger who might have stumbled across Kay's clothes isn't some random guy. They already knew him. They had interviewed him early in the investigation. His name is John Aykroyd, and he was one of the highway workers who admitted to seeing Kay running the day she disappeared.

[Britt]

I mean, they're suspicious.

[Ashley Flowers]

And then there's this.

[Britt]

There's this, right?

[Ashley Flowers]

So they go meet John, and he leads police out into the woods about a mile and a half from Camp Sherman, where they find several pieces of clothing There is a yellow pair of shorts, underwear, a broken watch, Nike running shoes. And then there, among the clothing, they find a lower jawbone with teeth still intact.

[Britt]

Oh, my God.

[Ashley Flowers]

And sure enough, a medical examiner will later confirm those teeth belonged to K.

[Britt]

Do they find the rest of her?

[Ashley Flowers]

Mm. Mm. Not at the time. So, I mean, it has been in this area, her body, I mean, in the elements, for, like, some eight months now. Like, you've got critters to deal with. I mean, a perfect example is one of the officers actually who's on the scene. They notice a piece of Kay's blonde hair, like, tangled up in a bird's nest.

[Britt]

So evidence is literally flying away, scattered everywhere.

[Ashley Flowers]

But even though they won't be able to determine how she died just based on the little that they have and the way that her remains were left, they do find clues as to when. So Kay's broken watch reads 9:27, December 24th. It's a mechanical watch, not digital, just to be clear. And the stem had been knocked out. So, like, it stopped the time, though there's, like, some conflicting reporting that maybe it read 9:05. But either way, if it was AM that means that it would have broken about an hour or so into her jog that morning, right around the time Noel was expecting her to be home. So now that they know Kay's fate, they bring their first and only person of interest in for questioning. And John tells police, much like he did the store owners, that he was just hunting rabbits with his dog when he stumbled across the remains, the clothes, whatever. And police are also suspicious of this because, again, there wasn't a lot of rabbits in this area. So they asked John if he's willing to take a polygraph, which he agrees to. He ends up failing, but he still denies any involvement in Kay's death. But here's the thing. His story does begin to shift. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. And maybe your year is going to be brought to you by BetterHelp as well. Every January, it brings you 365 blank pages waiting to be filled in 2025. Maybe you're ready for a plot twist. Or maybe there's a part of your story that you've been wanting to revise. Life isn't about resolutions that fade by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your own life. Think of therapy as your editorial partner, helping you write new chapters and create the meaningful story you deserve to live. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide access a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties, and you can easily switch therapists at any time at no extra cost. Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com crimejunkie to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp H-E-L-P.com crimejunkie.

[Britt]

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[Ashley Flowers]

So initially when John told police he saw Kay running on the day she disappeared, there had been nothing else to that story. Well now all this time later, he says, actually I stopped and talked to Kay. Now it's nothing wild. He just like we exchanged holiday pleasantries or whatever. But it's significant enough, like enough of a change to make everybody be on high alert. So police ask him if he ever touched Kay because that was one of the polygraph questions he failed. And yet again, all of a sudden, the story shifts. He says, well yeah, no, I did touch K. But he says bizarrely that.

[Britt]

He touched her in February, two months after her disappearance.

[Ashley Flowers]

She goes missing in December, right? And take a seat, buckle up cause the ride is shifting again. Now he tells police that he actually found her body first in February, so not in August. And he says he didn't report discovering her remains because he was afraid that he might get accused of killing her. And when he found her In February, he, like, touched her arm or something.

[Britt]

And what exactly does he think is going to happen now, Brit?

[Ashley Flowers]

The red flags on this guy are, like, piled so high, you can't see over them. Yeah, and it doesn't get any better. John claims that when he found Kay's body in February, she was nude and partially covered in snow. And he said it looked like her throat had been cut and that she was also shot in the chest.

[Britt]

So he's giving pretty precise details that, I don't know, maybe only the killer would know.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah, specific. But still, even though this is super weird, police can't prove that John is the killer, because even though he's giving this weird, specific story, they can't prove that that is a right story or a wrong story, either way because they have no physical evidence to work with.

[Britt]

Right.

[Ashley Flowers]

And to complicate things, John sort of has an alibi. He says that he spent most of Christmas Eve with a buddy named Roger Dale Beck.

[Britt]

Was this the other highway worker witness?

[Ashley Flowers]

No, these are two totally different guys. Again, John and that other guy weren't even together when they saw Kay. I don't even know if they, like, worked together, like, two separate things. Anyways, so this Roger guy confirms that he was with John, but it's unclear if he was with him before or after John would have seen K. We just know that he says he went hunting with John at some point that afternoon, and then nothing weird stood out to him. Certainly nothing that would suggest to him that, like, his hunting buddy had killed a woman or was planning to kill a woman. And Roger's wife, this woman named Pam, she kind of chimes in at some point, giving both of these guys alibis, saying that they were at their house most of the morning.

[Britt]

But Jon can't be there or with them. Right. When he sees Kay, which he's already admitted to, like, a couple of times. That feels like the only window that really matters here.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes, and I'd love to drill in on that. But by this point, John has wised up and he now gets a lawyer. So no more talking, and the police have to let him walk. That doesn't mean that they stop digging into him. They learn that in 1977, the year before Kay disappeared, a woman named Marlene Gabrielson told police that John had sexually assaulted her after he picked her up when she was hitchhiking along Highway 20. And her story is horrifying. She said that she fell asleep in the car on the way home, and she woke up to John dragging her out of his truck. By her legs. And she said that he ripped off her pants, Even cut her underwear and boots off with a knife, and then sexually assaulted her. At some point later, she said, John seemed to contemplate what to do next with her. Like, it sounds like he was concerned about letting her go, but she pleaded with him, pointing out that she had a new baby. John relented, gave her a pair of his pants to wear, and they just, like, resumed their drive. And despite everything that she had just gone through Before John finally dropped her off, Marlene convinced him to give her his phone number by, like, pretending that she liked him.

[Britt]

Marlene's a smart cookie.

[Ashley Flowers]

Very not and not. She's not doing this just so he, like, thinks everything's fine. She's doing it so she can identify him later. Yeah, like, she wanted to see John punished for what he did to her. And I can only assume police use that number to trigger. Tracked John down after she'd gone to the hospital and had done a sexual assault kit. So they had brought John in for questioning at that time. But this is where Marlene's tragic story got even more tragic and infuriating. John told police that Marlene came on to him. And despite the bruises and the scratches that Marlene suffered and everything else she did to prove her story, to basically hand them the evidence they need on a silver platter because he said it wasn't a sexual assault, they believed him, and he was never prosecuted.

[Britt]

Unbelievable.

[Ashley Flowers]

Even worse, the police seem to suggest that maybe it was Marlene's fault. They question her drug use, her drinking, if she was being flirty with John, maybe coming onto him sexually. In Lost women of Highway 20, Marlene talks about how police made her feel like a liar.

[Britt]

Was there ever a polygraph for John then? Because I feel like we would have learned he was a liar, like, a year earlier.

[Ashley Flowers]

But they did, and somehow he passed, which probably just helped fuel the police's belief that Marlene was lying. And it also points to the thing we've said so many times, like, there are flaws. There are problems with this kind of testing, and there are problems with not believing. Victims like that has very big, very real life threatening consequences. And the police are learning that. But even if they see that incident in a whole new light now, it doesn't change the fact that they still don't have anything to tie him to Kay's murder. And so her case starts to go cold. According to the Oregon Journal, in October, they end up finding Kay's skull about three quarters of a mile from where her clothes and her lower jawbone were. Found. But again it doesn't give them much of anything. The investigators don't glean anything new from this. So all Kay's husband and her friends can do is wait. And that wait becomes excruciatingly long. I mean over a decade passes. And in that time letting John Aykroyd slip through their fingers has dire consequences once again. This time it's mid morning on July 11, 1990 when a 911 dispatcher with the Linn County Sheriff's office gets a call from a concerned mother named Linda. She tells them that her 13 year old daughter Rachanda Pickle is missing, has been since the day before. And she is worried sick, is sure something is wrong. And it's now been 24 hours so she's calling to make the report. Linda says that she thought she needed to wait the 24 hours to report her daughter missing. And it has to break her heart when the dispatcher corrects her and tells her that like in the cases of children, that's not true, they're here now. So the dispatcher starts asking questions. Who was the last to see her daughter? Linda tells them that it was her stepfather and of course Britt. Do you want to take a wild guess at who her stepfather was?

[Britt]

It's fucking John Aykroyd, isn't it?

[Ashley Flowers]

It is fucking John Aykroyd. For the second time, John is about to become the main suspect in a disappearance. Now John had married linda in the mid-80s but divorced soon after. Despite this though, it sounds like they stayed together anyway. And according to Noel's piece in the Oregonian, they are living together in 1990 and raising Linda's children from her previous relationship, Rachanda and her brother Byron. Now home for them was this remote community known as Santiam Junction, which is where Highway 20, Oregon Route 126 and Oregon Route 22 like all intersect because all these big highways. John worked as a highway mechanic so it made sense for the family to live in this, what essentially was like a compound where other highway workers lived as well.

[Britt]

And how far was this from camp Sherman?

[Ashley Flowers]

About 30 minutes. So police descend on this area, they bring in massive like search resources to find Rachanda. And it's clear that police early on think that she didn't just run away, like nothing in her room was missing, none of her close friends had any idea where she was. And Rachanda wasn't known to just wander off into the woods. In the Lost women of Highway 20 Doc, her brother Byron points to the fact that she was Actually scared to go into the woods alone. And Linda tells police that the last time she saw her daughter was the morning of the 10th. So the day before, Rachanda was up early, even helped Linda do her hair. And before Linda left for work, she gave her daughter a list of chores to do that day. But then when Linda got home, no chores had been done and Rachanda wasn't there. And if she went somewhere, she would usually leave a note that's not there either.

[Britt]

So what's John's story through all this?

[Ashley Flowers]

Well, he said that he dropped Linda off at work that morning and then he went to go work in Bend, Oregon. John is still a mechanic for the state at that point, but he says that when he got there, he found that some parts that he was waiting for, like, didn't come in, so he ended up just taking the day off.

[Britt]

So he's off of work the day she disappears?

[Ashley Flowers]

Correct. Even more than that, supervisors of his would later say that there was no reason for him to take off, like, just because whatever parts weren't there. Like, there's plenty of other work that he could have been doing that day.

[Britt]

So he was off, but he was supposed to be at work?

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes.

[Britt]

Then where was he?

[Ashley Flowers]

Home. He tells police that when he got home, Rachanda was there. He saw her on the couch watching cartoons. He asked her if she wanted to take pictures of deer on some, like, back roads or something, but she didn't want to go with him because she's a teenage girl and that sounds awful.

[Britt]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

So he says he left to go take pictures on his own. Noticed Rachanda wasn't home by the time he got back. He said when he noticed she wasn't there, he, like, looked around a little bit. Then he left to go pick Linda up from work. And then when they got home together, Rando still wasn't home. Now, in a moment that would eventually feel like deja vu for some, John is adamant that he's got nothing to do with Rachanda's disappearance. While John does help search for his stepdaughter, I mean, he kind of leads the charge, actually. He's also saying things right and left that are just big, like, WTF moments. Like, at one point, John tells police that on the night that Rachanda disappeared, he and Linda had sex despite, you know, like, her daughter being missing. He even tells police it was great sex. Like, he makes sure to say that. And he said it was notable because John has, he tells them, a low libido. So it's unusual that they even have sex.

[Britt]

Listen, I don't want to take an especially deep dive into the mind of sexual predators, but I have to wonder, like, if he did do something to Rachanda, he could have kind of gotten off on it. Like the knowledge of what he did would kind of carry through and arouse him later, which would be f ed.

[Ashley Flowers]

Like in so many words. Like they kind of point to that in the doc. Like how messed up it would be for you to have like a libido in this situation when you normally don't. And then to want to have sex with this woman whose young daughter is newly missing. Like that day. Like, I don't know.

[Britt]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

So John's interview with the police. And like a lot of things with John, it only gets more troubling from there. At one point, John theorizes how someone could have done something to Rachanda. He talks about how someone could have knocked her out with a punch, could have tied her up or used a knife to threaten her, and that her size and weight would have made it easy for someone to carry her away. And police soon find evidence that could suggest that these aren't just theories. I've been trying to cut back on coffee, so I've been looking for substitutions that I can work in throughout the day and I give myself one cup of joe in the morning. And then for the afternoon I've been trying Rise Mushroom Coffee, which sounds wild at least to like my Midwest self. It did, but it's been a great find. And for my like I hate mushroom people. It doesn't taste like mushroom soup or anything. They have a bunch of different products, even hot chocolate. The benefits are awesome. Rise Mushroom Coffee is a custom powerhouse blend of six functional mushrooms crafted to fuel your body and mind all day long. It helps with all day energy, sharper focus, healthy digestion and immune support. It's been a nice little boost for me in the afternoo when I get to that like post lunch 2pm crash and with over 150,000 5 star reviews, you likely won't be disappointed. Try Rise mushroom coffee with 15% off your first order at risesuperfoods.com crimejunkie that's R Y Z E superfoods.com crimejunkIe don't just wake up. Awaken with Rise.

[Britt]

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[Ashley Flowers]

In the back of John's truck, police find a rope with Rachanda's hair and blood. Some blood is also found on the doorstep of his truck. And I don't think these are massive amounts of blood, just like tiny drops, but blood nonetheless.

[Britt]

I mean at least they have some physical evidence this time.

[Ashley Flowers]

Not so fast. John claims that Rachanda used the rope to play with like some kittens or something. So he is like, maybe that's how her hair got on it. He doesn't know how the blood would have gotten there. But you know, kids be kids basically. Like, he's like, you know how they are and he kind of just like throws up her hands. No explanation is a good explanation to him. Like, and it might not be a good explanation, but it isn't proof again of anything to these police officers. Obviously John is front and center. But there is a brief period where police do look at Rachanda's biological father Steve as a possible suspect too. You see, Rachanda had just returned from visiting him. In fact, her brother Byron was still visiting him when she went missing. And without going into too much detail, Steve didn't sound like Father of the Year by any means. But the problem is Steve lived five hours away, so police are confident that he wasn't in the area that the time she disappeared. So even though they kind of go down this other path, they pretty quickly are right back looking at John.

[Britt]

And are they bringing Kay up at all when he's in the hop seat for Rachanda.

[Ashley Flowers]

I don't know how much they actually grill him on Kay, but I think they're at least aware of it, even though there's probably been a ton of turnover in. I mean, it's been like a decade. And even though K disappeared in another county, it sounds like the DA of that county was monitoring the search for Rachanda. I think there's, like, maybe some hope that if they can't get him on K, that they'll get him on Rachanda. So, I mean, they're definitely connecting the dots. But outside of law enforcement, there were others who were less quick to judge. John Byron talks about how his mom would get upset when he would ask about John's possible involvement. In a Statesman Journal article published not long after Rachanda goes missing, Linda publicly talks about how she is concerned about. About the focus on John. Now. Why she's responding this way, I don't know. According to the Lost women of Highway 20, Doc Rachanda showed signs apparently of physical abuse and according to her friend's sexual abuse at the hands of John. Like, I guess Rachanda and her friends would talk about it sometimes, like some of them were dealing with similar things at home. And according to her friends, she did tell another adult, but when she did, nothing happened. And then she was scared that, like, she was gonna get in trouble or something was gonna happen because she told someone.

[Britt]

That feels like it could be a motive for John to do something, though, like if he knew that she talked and hadn't been listened to the first time, or he was afraid that maybe she would again.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. Which makes it very convenient timing for Rachanda to just disappear. And despite one of the most extensive searches in Linn county history, police do not find her. So now authorities have two cold cases tied to John Ackroyd. But in the fall of 1991, an investigator looking back into Kaye's case has an idea. He discovers that Roger Dale Beck. So the guy that was supposedly with John on Christmas Eve, he found out that he had gotten divorced from his wife Pam. And this detective, he is willing to place a bet that now that maybe alliances have changed, stories might change as well. So he tracks down Pam, who is now living in California. He shows up at her house, knocks on her door, and when she answers and finds out who this guy is, it takes almost no convincing at all for Pam to come clean. All those years ago, she had straight up lied about Roger and John. Pam tells the detective that Roger and John went out to poach deer on Christmas Eve morning. But they didn't return to the house until the next day. And when they did, they had blood on them. And it wasn't just like a little drop or stain here and there. Pam literally had to dispose of Roger's jeans and shirt. It was so bad. And they didn't even try to pass it off as deer blood. They had told Pam that they had accidentally mistaken Kay for a deer and shot her. And they were going to need Pam to basically be their alibi. If police ever came around asking questions. She needed to tell them that they got home around noon. Eventually, Roger even admits to her that even that, like, bullshit hunting accident story wasn't real. He told her that Kay had been sexually assaulted and shot, and Roger had threatened to do the same to Pam, which is probably why she lied for him. I mean, she was terrified. But with Pam's new information, Kay's case starts ramping back up. But the police are in a race against time at this point. They know John is still out there and could strike again, though. According to the Oregonian, at this time, John's basically been booted out of Santiam Junction. The people weren't comfortable with him being there. So he got moved, I assume by his supervisors, or maybe, like, he chose to leave, I don't know. But he is still at the same job working as a mechanic for the state highway department. So, like your tax dollars, hard at work, folks. So he's apparently not living with Linda anymore and is staying with his mother in Sweet Home where he grew up. But he's working out of a town called Corvallis. And Corvallis, unfortunately, is a. Well, unfortunately for the people there at the time is a thriving little college town. And while it sounds like authorities plan to keep tabs on him, I'm not sure that's as easy as it sounds. John's like a roving mechanic. That means that he is constantly moving up and down Highway 20. But in all of that moving, John does have some usual haunts. He becomes this, like, known commodity at this one particular place called Sherry's diner along Highway 20 in Lebanon, Oregon. And there, this is wild to me. All the regulars there knew him by his CB radio handle, the Pervert.

[Britt]

I'm sorry? His handle was the Pervert.

[Ashley Flowers]

I know. And this guy is either the unluckiest man alive or every girl and every woman who crosses his path is the unlucky one. Because in 1992, John finds himself right in the center of another missing person's case. Actually, this time, the case of two young women. It's a pair of best friends, 17 year old Melissa Sanders and 19 year old Sheila Swanson.

[Britt]

Wait, wait, those names sound really familiar.

[Ashley Flowers]

Because we talked about them before in.

[Britt]

The Kelly Disney episode.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right.

[Britt]

Like it's been a while.

[Ashley Flowers]

It is. I'll link to that episode in the show notes for people to have a little bit of a refresher. But here we can actually dive even deeper into the details of their cases. So according to the lost women of Highway 20, both girls hung out at Sherry's Diner and they knew the pervert, he would buy food for Melissa and he was there one of the last days the girls were ever seen when they had come in and told everyone that they were going to go on a camping trip in Newport, which is like along the Oregon coast.

[Britt]

So John knew where they were going to be.

[Ashley Flowers]

He did. And he even mentioned to the girls that he might be in the same area. Now the girls tent ends up being found over that way, empty. But the girls are never seen alive again. I don't know how much authorities looking into Kay's case really know about this new case yet. Part of giving him the boot out of town meant that it was harder to keep tabs on what was happening in the communities that he was living in, ones that he was working and socializing in. And it being the 90s, information wasn't exactly super accessible between jurisdictions. So while investigators in one part of the state are looking for their two teens, investigators in another are running a parallel path, trying to reignite the Kaye Turner investigation. According to The DOC, the U.S. fish and Wildlife had a new high tech lab, basically. So K's clothes are sent off for forensic testing and soon enough the results come back with some very interesting finds. The first is that the waistband of Kay's shorts appeared to have been cut or sliced. Some sources say that her underwear were cut off too.

[Britt]

Which is like the sexual assault that they let John go on on Marlene. Marlene, yes.

[Ashley Flowers]

Also, tears in Kay's shirt appear to be from stab wounds and lead fragments on the shirt indicate that she was shot. So that lines up at least somewhat closely with what John had told investigators about like the appearance of Kay's body when he claimed to have found her in February.

[Britt]

And it lines up with what Pam said.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes. So if John couldn't feel the net kind of slowly closing in on him, he is about to. On May 31, 1992, police actually arrest not John, but his friend Roger for the murder of Kay Turner.

[Britt]

Why Roger and not John, Good question.

[Ashley Flowers]

There is no clear answer that I have seen reported on. So I'm not sure if it was just because they had Pam really pinning Roger for it.

[Britt]

That was like, a stronger connection.

[Ashley Flowers]

Maybe they were also hoping that Roger would flip on John so they wanted him in custody first. I don't know. But not arresting John first or at least at the same time could have caused valuable evidence to be lost, because a little over a week later, police discover that a storage unit that John had rented was completely cleared out the evening of the 31st. So the exact day that Roger was arrested.

[Britt]

No, that's not suspicious at all. Ashley, what are you talking about?

[Ashley Flowers]

I know they do.

[Britt]

They know what was in the unit at all?

[Ashley Flowers]

They don't. And unfortunately for them, the unit's been, like. I mean, it's been, like, swept up. Someone else had moved in right after. I know they tried to, like, send someone into the crime lab to check the unit out, but there's, like, there's nothing in the source material about what, if anything, they find. So I'm assuming it was nothing. Either way, again, they lost their opportunity for that. But it's game over for John almost two weeks after Roger's arrest. So on June 12, that's when John is finally arrested. And this means that Kay's family might finally see some justice all these years later. And two other families might not have to wait nearly as long, because almost four months after his arrest. So now we're in October. This is October 10th. Some hunters come across the bodies of Melissa and Sheila a few miles off of Highway 20.

[Britt]

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[Ashley Flowers]

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[Britt]

Did he go to police with the story?

[Ashley Flowers]

If he did, it wasn't until later. Like certainly not then. It sounds like he maybe mentioned the story to his boss. But then it just kind of like stayed work gossip at the time. And then after the news about Melissa and Sheila's bodies being found, like, I think this guy began to wonder if there was a connection to this story, but again, a little unclear about like when he went to the police or the press or whatever. So In September of 1993, John goes on trial for Kay's murder. And according to the Statesman Journal, people like Roger's wife Pam testify against him. They also find more witnesses to corroborate what a predator the quote, pervert is. A woman named Jane Morris testifies that one day in 1978, like months before Kay's disappearance, she encountered John while she was riding a bike along a road in Camp Sherman. And she says that John pointed a gun at her, attempted to get her to stop, but thankfully she didn't. And then one of the more critical testimonies comes from a forensic anthropologist who tells the jury that the only way John could have seen wounds like the type of wounds he described seeing on Kay was if he saw them in the first few days after Kay died. So him saying even that he saw her in February, not August, even that.

[Britt]

Separation wasn't enough to actually make sense.

[Ashley Flowers]

It doesn't make sense. They're like, there is no way he could describe the cuts, the, like, the shot, whatever, unless it happened within like days.

[Britt]

So goodbye, John.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yep, on October 6, 1993, just a few days shy of the one year anniversary of Melissa and Sheila's bodies being discovered. Over three years after his stepdaughter Rachanda vanished, and over 14 years after police are pointed to Kay's remains. That is when John Aykroyd is found guilty of Kaye Turner's murder. According to an article in the Oregonian, he is sentenced to Life with a 20 year minimum, which is the maximum under the law. When that crime was committed over a month later, Roger Beck is also found guilty and he receives the same sentence. Authorities seem to believe that Roger was only involved in Kay's murder. And so they really focused their sole attention on John for answers in those cases for Melissa and Sheila and of course Rachanda, whose case has continued to make headlines occasionally during this time. But even though it's making headlines, police aren't much further along on that case. But they do keep coming back to her file year after year. They even get desperate enough to ask John to help. In the fall of 2012, an investigator with the Linn County Sheriff's Office visits John in prison, hoping maybe he's finally Ready to talk or open up and provide some kind of answers to the questions that have surely haunted the people that he once called family. But despite the investigators best efforts, John is not giving up his ghost. According to the Oregonian, he continues to spill the same lies he did in the beginning. And it sounds like this is the last time any investigator speaks with John by 2013. There is some concern that John could eventually get out on parole. So despite only having circumstantial evidence and as we've mentioned, like zero body, prosecutors do bring Rachanda's case to a grand jury as sort of like a Hail Mary. And the prosecution does have a solid pitch to throw. Like, logic dictates that John is probably the one who could have done this. He was the last one to have seen her alive.

[Britt]

Opportunity.

[Ashley Flowers]

There was accusations of him sexually abusing.

[Britt]

Her, which gives motive.

[Ashley Flowers]

Oh, and by the way, he has now been convicted of Kate Turner's murder. So like we've got this history here and look, I'm all for due process, but we, we could kind of like probably know who did this. And apparently the grand jury feels the same way because they indict John on a single count of murder. But indicting is different than prosecuting and convicting like, and can be a lot easier, right? So the prosecution, what they decide to do is they go to Rachanda's family specifically because they want to offer him a plea deal. They're like, listen, if we go to trial and he's acquitted, like that's it.

[Britt]

Like it's over and he could go on to get parole, right?

[Ashley Flowers]

So in their minds it's better to focus on, like they want to use this to focus on keeping him behind bars. And the family agrees. And John ends up entering a no contest plea. So he's not admitting fault, but he's not denying it either. And this outcome means that he can never be paroled. And while he receives some punishment for Rachanda, but sadly her body still hasn't been found. Like that wasn't ever part of the deal that they made with him.

[Britt]

What about Melissa and Sheila's cases? Did they ever bring anything against him there?

[Ashley Flowers]

Ultimately they decide not to. At this point, they say they're confident it is John who killed them. But John at this point is already serving a life sentence. Like he's never getting out. So prosecutors decide not to proceed with that. Like knowing he can never see the light of day has to be justice enough because that same year John actually dies in prison. So they can never Prosecute him even in the future. And while some might think that that would bring this story to a close, there are still so many questions that remain unanswered, including if these are the only murders John committed.

[Britt]

That's honestly what's been in the back of my mind this whole time. Has he ever been linked to any other cases?

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. So the Oregonian flag to date, five other people that have either gone missing from or their remains have been found discovered in the general area off or around Highway 20 where John was known to operate. The first is a skull of a Jane Doe that they found in July of 1976, which predates Kay by like two years. It even predates, yeah, Marlene's sexual assault. The Oregonian calls this Jane Doe, I think they call her Swamp Mountain Doe. And they report that her skull was found a mile off Highway 20. She was believed to be, they think younger than 35. And authorities found a leather coat, a belt, blue jeans and a sandal with like a white leather strap nearby that could have belonged to her. And then In May of 1977, 15 year old Karen Lee and 14 year old Rodney Grissom went missing from the town of Lebanon. We know that John would have passed through there regularly. I mean that's the same town where Sherry's Diner was located, where John would hang out in the 90s where he encountered Melissa and Sheila. Karen and Rodney were never found, but clothing and items of theirs were eventually found in the woods. And Karen's jeans appeared to be cut similarly to how John cut clothing off of Marlene and Kay. Now what we learn about Karen and Rodney is that the two wanted to run away to California. And one of the teen's last phone calls to a friend indicated that they had found a ride. But who they were getting this ride from is unknown. Maybe John, maybe not. Then In August of 1977, 22 year old Elizabeth Mussler went missing, also from Lebanon. Her father was the last to see her downtown. In February of 1978, her body ended up being found in a shallow grave in the Thistle Creek area of Green Peter Reservoir. And also in 1978, another skull of a Jane Doe was found by a logging crew in the woods near Snow Creek, which is like, like a quarter mile south of Highway 20.

[Britt]

Did they ever ask John about these other cases?

[Ashley Flowers]

Sort of. I don't think he was asked in like great detail about these cases, but he was asked more broadly like, hey John, what about some of these, like, other cases in the area? He claimed he didn't know what they were talking about and he had nothing to do with anything. So at the end of the day, no other cases have been directly linked to John. It's all speculative at this point, but it shows that maybe this story isn't totally over. While some of his victims families can take some solace in the fact that this man will never harm anyone again, it's heartbreaking to think that there could still be other families who don't have or may not get the same answers. But it's never too late and that's why we do this show. So if anyone out there knows anything about these cases or about John Aykroyd and his life and his movements, please call the Linn County Sheriff's Office tip line at 866-557-9988. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website crimejunkiepodcast.com.

[Britt]

And you can follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast.

[Ashley Flowers]

We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?

[Chuck]

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