The Circleville Letter Writer

Summary

True Crime All The Time Unsolved – “The Circleville Letter Writer”

Episode 406 | Released March 17, 2025 | Hosts: Mike Ferguson & Mike Gibson

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Overview

In this episode, Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson (aka Gibby) delve into the decades-long mystery of The Circleville Letter Writer—a case that terrorized Circleville, Ohio, for nearly two decades. Beginning in 1977, anonymous, threatening letters targeted local residents, primarily Mary Gillespie, a school bus driver, and her family. The identity of the writer remains unconfirmed, and the case involves a suspicious death, a booby trap, fractured relationships, and a town gripped by paranoia. The hosts unpack key suspects, theories, and the enduring intrigue of one of America’s most notorious unsolved harassment cases.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins of the Circleville Letters

• [02:41] The letter campaign began in March 1977, though some reports suggest as early as 1976. Over the next eighteen years, hundreds of residents received menacing letters.
• The primary target was Mary Gillespie, a local bus driver, accused by the writer of having an affair with school superintendent Gordon Massie.

“That's a long time to be receiving mysterious, threatening letters. Absolutely. I think one's enough. But, you know, when you're getting them for 15 years or more, that's going to be tough.”
— Mike Ferguson ([03:09])

2. Escalating Threats and Early Victims

• [04:09] The letters detailed personal aspects of Mary’s life, threatening her, her family, and her daughter, Tracy.
• Ronald Gillespie, Mary’s husband, also received letters, accused of being complicit and told to confront and even kill those involved in the alleged affair.
• The letter writer took a threatening, commanding tone:

“You have been watched. Failure to comply, and you shall suffer. No one can help. ...Obey. Obey.”
— Excerpt read by Mike Ferguson ([06:03])

• The threats spread to others: signs on bus routes, calls, and eventually the whole town.

3. Psychological Impact and Community Paranoia

• [11:12] The hosts discuss the mounting stress on the Gillespie family, as daily life became overwhelmed by the harassment.
• Attempts to identify the writer included involving police, tapping phones, and working with the USPS—all unsuccessful.
• Mass hysteria took hold; the implications echoed classic fear-mongering tactics, reminiscent of the Zodiac Killer.

“I mean, this has got to be dominating your entire life. … What else are you talking about at dinner other than all of this stuff that's going on?”
— Mike Ferguson ([11:15])

4. The Death of Ronald Gillespie

• [13:01] Ronald receives a mysterious phone call and leaves home with a revolver, intending to confront the writer. He crashes his truck and is found dead, the gun discharged once.
• The coroner rules the death an accident (blood alcohol almost twice legal limit), but many—citing his typical sobriety—suspect foul play. Theories include staged murder and confrontation turned deadly.

“We already have like this unbelievable mystery going on. ...Ronald says, I know who it is and I'm going to go out and take care of him. And he gets involved in a traffic accident and dies on the way there. Allegedly.”
— Mike Ferguson ([14:51])

5. Aftermath: Accusations and Expanding Harassment

• Despite Ronald’s death, letters and threats continue, shifting focus and making even more outrageous claims against other townsfolk—allegations of affairs, violence, and more.
• Some felt Mary’s subsequent romantic relationship with Massie substantiated earlier claims, raising suspicion.

“It makes it seem as though more likely than not, maybe they were seeing each other on the side. ...I can't imagine that your husband dies and you just happen to start seeing the person you were accused of having an affair with.”
— Mike Ferguson ([17:25])

6. New Victims and a Murder

• [20:50] In 1980, local teacher Vicki Koch is murdered. Her disappearance and remains intrigue the hosts—wondering if the crime is related or simply hunted for notoriety by the letter writer, who incorporated her into subsequent threats.

“You just wonder how much of these letters were personal information known by the writer or information that was gleaned from newspaper articles or, you know, television reports or gossip or whatever.”
— Mike Ferguson ([21:30])

7. Attempted Murder: The Booby Trap

• [24:09] In 1983, Mary discovers a sign about her daughter wired to a box; inside is a loaded booby-trapped gun aimed at face level. Miraculously, she isn’t harmed.
• Investigators trace the gun to Paul Freshour, Mary’s ex-brother-in-law.
• Paul’s estranged wife, Karen Sue, fuels suspicion against him, citing previous abuse and alleged discoveries of torn-up letters.

“If Mary had forcefully removed the sign, she could have been shot. But by an act of God...the gun did not discharge.”
— Mike Ferguson quoting the sheriff ([24:49])

8. Investigation and Trial of Paul Freshour

• [28:53] Paul is arrested and charged with attempted murder, not with the writing of the Circleville Letters, though handwriting analysis and other circumstantial evidence feature heavily.
• Key details:
  • No fingerprints on the gun or box.
  • Handwriting experts tie him to the letters, but questions linger about the quality of those examinations and sample collections.
  • Defense points at estranged wife Karen Sue as having both motive and opportunity.

“It was difficult for the prosecution to prove that Paul made the booby trap because his prints were not found on the gun or the box. However, they told the jury that Paul took the day off work on February 7, 1983.”
— Mike Ferguson ([42:54])

• Despite his alibi, Paul is convicted and sentenced to 7–25 years (served 10).

9. The Letters Continue

• [45:25] Even as Paul sits in prison (often in solitary, with no pen or paper, all correspondence monitored), the letters—postmarked from Columbus—continue.
• The phenomenon suggests either an accomplice or a different perpetrator.

“After the Pickaway county sheriff complained, Paul was put in solitary confinement and denied access to pen and paper. But the letters kept coming.”
— Mike Ferguson ([45:47])

• Paul himself receives a taunting letter reinforcing the sense of a setup:

“Fresh Hour. Now, when are you going to believe you aren't getting out of there?...The joke is on you. Ha ha.”
— Letter quoted by Ferguson ([46:18])

10. Alternate Suspects and Ongoing Theories

• [48:34] “Unsolved Mysteries” investigates. Paul is paroled in 1994. Journalist Martin Yant uncovers leads pointing to Karen Sue’s boyfriend, who matched a witness description near the booby trap site (large, sandy-haired, El Camino car).
• Paul’s children split over belief in his innocence or guilt; Paul suspects his own son may have stolen his gun for the booby trap but never voices this (out of protection).

“You know, you start to think, well, it could possibly be this person. And then you get a little piece of information that makes you think...maybe it's the ex-wife's boyfriend. And then you think, well, maybe it's the son.”
— Mike Ferguson ([52:24])

11. Expert Analyses and Modern Reviews

• Recent document examiners, such as Beverly East and researcher Mary Mayhew, conclude Paul’s handwriting matches hundreds of the letters—including those sent while he was in prison. Explanations include possible pre-written letters mailed by an accomplice.
• A former FBI profiler, Mary Ellen O’Toole, believes a single person wrote all the letters, likely a woman, and took the secret to their grave.

“She said that the writer was most likely not highly educated based on how they wrote. O'Toole noted that Paul Fresh Hour had a master's degree and was in a managerial position at his job.”
— Mike Ferguson ([54:01])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the bizarre nature of the threats:

  “You want me to kill her and her lover?”
  — Mike Gibson ([10:14])

• On Paul’s predicament:

  “So you know you're either in prison for something you did or you're in there for something you didn't do. And now you're being doubly crucified by this letter writer.”
  — Mike Ferguson ([47:20])

• Expert’s final thoughts:

  “She said the writer enjoyed hurting people and possibly had a personality disorder.”
  — Mike Ferguson, paraphrasing former FBI profiler ([54:01])

• Reflecting on unsolved status:

  “You can see why people find this case so mysterious... Paul's convicted. ...But there's almost two separate things, because he's only convicted of the attempted murder... He's never convicted of the threatening letter.”
  — Mike Ferguson ([57:37])

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 02:41 – Introduction to Circleville Letter mystery.
• 03:19 – Focus on Mary Gillespie and timeline of letter campaign.
• 04:09 – First threats and escalation.
• 13:01 – Death of Ronald Gillespie.
• 17:23 – Aftermath: continued harassment and rumors.
• 24:09 – Discovery of booby-trapped gun; police implicate Paul Freshour.
• 28:53 – Investigation and trial of Paul Freshour.
• 45:25 – Letters continue after Paul’s imprisonment.
• 48:34 – “Unsolved Mysteries” involvement; alternate suspects.
• 54:01 – Modern analyses and expert conclusions.
• 57:37 – Final reflections on the enduring mystery.

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Tone and Style

• The hosts take the case seriously but interweave the conversation with dry humor and friendly banter, making the intricate details accessible and engaging.
• They often pose hypothetical scenarios and ask each other probing questions, enhancing the sense of a true-life whodunit.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of the Circleville Letters, breaking down a labyrinthine case that spans over fifteen years and continues to mystify experts and true crime fans alike. Mike and Gibby analyze the available evidence, challenge each other's theories, and highlight both investigative gaps and remarkable perseverance on the part of the victims and community. Whether Paul Freshour was the real letter writer or merely the perfect scapegoat remains one of the great true crime enigmas—one sure to keep listeners' “own time ticking.”

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For further investigation:

• [Unsolved Mysteries, S2E11: “Circleville Letters”]
• [48 Hours: “The Circleville Writer”]
• Additional contemporary court and forensic documents (referenced by hosts at various intervals).

Transcript

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Listener]

Sam.

[Mike Ferguson]

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 406 of the True Crime all the Time Unsolved podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me, as always, is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you?

[Mike Gibson]

Hey. I'm doing good. How about you?

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm doing great.

[Mike Gibson]

Awesome.

[Mike Ferguson]

You and I just got done recording an episode that's out right now on True Crime all the Time. It's about this 16 year old named William Leslie Arnold. He shot both of his parents over a dispute involving the usage of the the family car.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Went to prison, escaped and was on the run for like 40 years. Yeah. So it's a fascinating story about how it all played out.

[Mike Gibson]

So think about the next time your kid wants the keys to the car.

[Mike Ferguson]

Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Melody, King. Wyatt.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, King Wyatt.

[Mike Ferguson]

Drew Wright.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on, Drew?

[Mike Ferguson]

Eric Hunsacker.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Eric.

[Mike Ferguson]

Debbie Cox.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on, Cox?

[Mike Ferguson]

W.G.

[Mike Gibson]

What'S going on?

[Mike Ferguson]

W. Raul Duke.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, thanks, Raul.

[Mike Ferguson]

Annie Coorth. Annie Kurth.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Annie.

[Mike Ferguson]

Lil. Caitlin.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, appreciate that.

[Mike Ferguson]

Little Kelly Clark jumped out at our highest level.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, Kelly, you're awesome.

[Mike Ferguson]

Kimberly Hudspeth.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, Kimberly.

[Mike Ferguson]

Tammy.

[Mike Gibson]

Thanks, Tammy.

[Mike Ferguson]

Connie.

[Mike Gibson]

Connie.

[Mike Ferguson]

And last but not least, Monique.

[Mike Gibson]

There's Monique.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then if we go back into the vault. This week, we selected Jennifer.

[Mike Gibson]

Jennifer with a J.

[Mike Ferguson]

So we appreciate the new support, the continued support. It's all amazing.

[Mike Gibson]

It is.

[Mike Ferguson]

All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime all the Time Unsolved?

[Mike Gibson]

I am ready.

[Mike Ferguson]

We're talking about the mysterious Circleville Letters. In March 1977, residents of Circleville, Ohio, began receiving mysterious threatening letters. Over 40 years later, the identity of the writer is still unconfirmed, but there was one primary suspect who was a family member of the main letter recipients. So some mystery, some intrigue. We'll get into it all.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. And it's just a city. What? Up the road to the left a little bit. You like my directions to the left.

[Mike Ferguson]

It'S a little over an hour away from us. The primary target of the letters was Mary Gillespie, a school bus driver. She was married to Ronald Gillespie. Mary, Ronald and her daughter Tracy lived in Circleville. Some sources report that Mary and other residents of Circleville began receiving letters in 1976, while others say the letters started in early 1977. The letters were sent out for well over a decade, finally stopping in 1994. That's a long time to be receiving mysterious, threatening letters. Absolutely. I think one's enough. But, you know, when you're getting them for 15 years or more, that's going to be tough.

[Mike Gibson]

It is.

[Mike Ferguson]

One of the first letters Mary received in March 1977 accused her of having an affair with married school superintendent Gordon Massie. The writer informed her they were aware of the affair and she needed to stop. According to 48 Hours, this first letter said, stay away from Massie. Don't lie when questioned about knowing him. I know where you live. I've been observing your house and know you have children. This is no joke. Please take it serious. Everyone concerned has been notified and everything will be over soon. Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

That would be shocking, getting that.

[Mike Ferguson]

I would say for sure. Especially if you are having an affair with this person, then you know you have a lot to lose by the affair becoming public. But also, anytime somebody says, I know where you live, I know you have children. Okay, well, now it goes even further.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it really got personal now.

[Mike Ferguson]

Of course, this is 1977, right? There's no email today. I'm sure everybody listening is getting all kinds of hoax things through their email. I get at least one a day.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh.

[Mike Ferguson]

Some of them say they're from the Best Buy geek squad. Some are a little darker than that.

[Mike Gibson]

They are, yes.

[Mike Ferguson]

Which I've shared before, some of them. But there's no shortage of people out there trying to scam people out of money. I got a text the other day that said, I owed a toll.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, that's a big one going on right now.

[Mike Ferguson]

Do you know anywhere near us where there's a toll road? No, not even close.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, the FBI actually put a warning out about that one.

[Mike Ferguson]

Within eight days, Mary received another letter with similar threats. One letter warned, mary, you have been watched. Failure to comply, and you shall suffer. No one can help. No one can protect you. Obey. Obey. Get Mr. Massie elected to some type of office, or you will surely pay, and the town of Circleville shall, too. It is on you.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay. Pretty firm letter again.

[Mike Ferguson]

You're being watched. You'll suffer. You'll pay.

[Mike Gibson]

Obey. Obey.

[Mike Ferguson]

The town will pay. So there's a lot of different threats in here. Now, Mary didn't tell her husband Ronald about the letters, but eventually he received one, too. According to Unsolved Mysteries, the letter to Ronald said, your wife is having an affair. Your wife is a housebreaking pig. Notify the school. Your life is in danger if you continue. You are a pig, too.

[Mike Gibson]

I'm sure there was a lot of conversation that night when she got home about this letter.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I don't think this is the type of thing that you just read and throw in the trash. Right. You're going to have to have a conversation with your spouse about it. And ended up that Mary was forced to tell Ronald that she had received two threatening letters.

[Mike Gibson]

And why wouldn't you have told him prior to this? Because you actually were having an affair.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, what other reason would there be? Mary soon received a third letter about the alleged affair. It read, lady, this is your last chance to report him. I know you are a pig and will prove it and shame you out of Ohio. A pig sneaks around and meets other women's husbands behind their backs. Causes families and homes and marriages to suffer. The use of this word pig is really striking me. And I don't know about you, Gibbs, but, you know, when you read this third letter, the use of the word lady, pig, shame. For some reason, in my mind, it strikes me as though this might have been written by a woman.

[Mike Gibson]

That's my initial thought as well.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, these letters were all handwritten, but they were written in all caps. Most of the letters were postmarked from Columbus, Ohio, which is just about 30 miles north of Circleville. As time passed, the letters became increasingly threatening, and the writer targeted Mary's daughter, tracy. According to 48 Hours, one letter said, in part, it's your daughter's turn to pay for what you've done. I shall come out there and put a bullet in that little girl's head.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay. It's like really crossing the line when you bring the kids into it.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I'm sure you would agree with this. It's one thing for you to threaten me. You know that that's a situation we can deal with, right? It may not go in your favor, but it's a situation that we can deal with. It's something completely different to threaten a person's family. You said crossing the line. It's all crossing the line. But that's like crossing a different line.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, that's going to have me Go reach her on your ass.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes. Ronald Gillespie continued receiving threatening letters. 48 Hours published the following excerpts. Mr. Gillespie, your wife is seeing Gordon Massie. You should catch them together and kill them both. He doesn't deserve to live. We know what kind of car you drive. We know where your kids go to school. Kill them both. I know where you live. You're pushing your luck. So now it's like, not only are we telling you that your wife is having an affair. The writer, or writers, however many people are involved in this thing, is basically saying, if you don't kill these two people, yeah, one of whom is your wife, but we're coming after you, which is so strange.

[Mike Gibson]

You are not happy with what my wife is doing, and you want me to kill her and her lover.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, you know, we said, okay. Could this be a woman? It kind of slants that way a little bit. It almost makes it seem like the first obvious person you would have to look at would be Gordon's wife, if he has one. Unsolved Mysteries published, part of a letter that warned Ronald Gillespie, you have had two weeks and done nothing. Make or admit the truth and inform the school board. If not, I will broadcast it on CBs, posters, signs and billboards until the truth comes out. Mary received phone calls, the details of which were not published in sources. And she found offensive signs about her and her daughter along her bus route. Ronald drove around town picking up these signs.

[Mike Gibson]

I would think you'd be a total mess at this point.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, this has got to be dominating your entire life. I mean, what else are you talking about at dinner other than all of this stuff that's going on?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, honey, we got to get all those signs off the. Off the road. People are going to start talking more.

[Mike Ferguson]

Also, are you having an affair with this guy or not exactly. Marion. Ronald confided in three family members about what was going on. Ronald's sister, Karen Sue. Karen's husband, Paul. Fresh Hour. And Paul's sister. According to Paul, Mary had a few theories about who was writing the letters, and she wanted to confront him. The family wrote and sent four or five letters informing the writer they knew who they were and what they were doing. The Gillespies also brought their letters to the Pickaway County Sheriff's Office. Officers tapped their phones, watched their home, and tried to work with the USPS to identify the letter writer.

[Mike Gibson]

You would think it'd be easy to try to identify this person, but then again, I mean, unless you're watching the different post offices to see who's Dropping off letters at certain times, maybe not.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, like. Like we say a lot of times. Would it be easier today? Yeah. Yeah, but I don't know. If people would write letters today, it'd be some email, maybe from Untra. An untraceable email account behind a firewall pinged off of 18 different servers. Can you tell? I don't know much about computers, but it'd be something like that. It's untraceable somehow.

[Mike Gibson]

You just seen enough movies where it shows.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

The red line bouncing off of different places and around the world.

[Mike Ferguson]

Exactly. There was a short respite from the harassment until the evening of August 19, 1977. Ronald Gillespie received a mysterious phone call. The identity of the caller is still unknown, but many believe it was the letter writer. Ronald told Tracy he was going to confront the writer and. And took his gun with him. Well, okay. I think if you are going to confront this person.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Who has been very threatening, you might want to be armed or healed, as they would say in back in the old west movies. Oh, yeah, go. Healed.

[Mike Gibson]

Healed. I mean, this person has threatened your wife, your kids, even yourself.

[Mike Ferguson]

Mary was going on a trip to Florida with her sister in law at this time. According to 48 Hours, Ronald told Mary he knew who the writer was and was going to take care of the problem while she was in Florida. And to me, take care of the problem is a euphemism for I'm going to kill this sob.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. He's ready to head out and take care of this person.

[Mike Ferguson]

Around 10:30pm, Ronald got into an accident at an intersection on Five Points pike, an area he knew well. He died of massive internal injuries at the scene. He was just 35 years old. Wow. So we already have like this unbelievable mystery going on. Right. Who is this letter writer, this person that is threatening people? Ronald says, I know who it is and I'm going to go out and take care of him. And he gets involved in a traffic accident and dies on the way there. Allegedly.

[Mike Gibson]

Presumably mysterious.

[Mike Ferguson]

Very. It was said that Ronald lost control of his truck and hit a tree. His.22 caliber revolver was found under his body. The gun had been fired once, which raised the question of whether he shot at someone before the crash.

[Mike Gibson]

Maybe he felt threatened and had to pull the trigger. Maybe somebody was coming at him.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe he was chasing the person he thought was the letter writer.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Fired a shot out the window, lost control of the truck. We don't know. Mary learned about her husband's death while she was on the way to Florida. Ronald's blood alcohol content was almost twice the legal limit. The coroner ruled his death an accident, but some people believe he was murdered. When journalist Martin Yant looked into the case, most of the people he spoke to said Ronald wasn't a heavy drinker, and they were surprised by the coroner's findings.

[Mike Gibson]

That's interesting.

[Mike Ferguson]

It is, but, you know, he was going through a lot. Could somebody who's not normally a heavy drinker drink more than normal because of the stress level? It's possible, yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

You're nervous about confronting this person or thinking you're going to kill this person. And if you've never done that, you're thinking, I better drink to get myself to a level like liquid.

[Mike Ferguson]

Liquid courage. You said if you've never done that, as if most people have.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, I'm just saying.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay, let's just get it on record. Most people have not killed someone.

[Mike Gibson]

That would be correct.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. According to Unsolved Mysteries, Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe investigated and eliminated at least one suspect. Ronald's brother in law, Paul Fresh Hour told Unsolved Mysteries that the sheriff initially agreed there could be foul play. But when Paul contacted him again, he said it was an accident and the suspect passed a polygraph. After the accident, several residents of Circleville received letters claiming the sheriff was perpetrating a cover up.

[Mike Gibson]

More mystery.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, this is a case full of mystery. No doubt about that. Now, we've talked a lot about Mary being accused of having this affair, Right, with Gordon Massie. She always denied it as these letters were coming out and all that. But after Ronald died, they started seeing each other.

[Mike Gibson]

Now that seems strange.

[Mike Ferguson]

It does. It makes it seem as though more likely than not, maybe they were seeing each other on the side. Maybe there was some validity to that. I can't imagine that your husband dies and you just happen to start seeing the person you were accused of having an affair with.

[Mike Gibson]

Or maybe you say, you know what, we're always being accused. Let's just go ahead and do this thing. They're going to accuse us. Let's do this thing. Then they can't accuse us anymore.

[Mike Ferguson]

So there was no attraction whatsoever. The. The common bond was that Mary was accused of it. So that's how it started.

[Mike Gibson]

We're going to. We're going to show them.

[Mike Ferguson]

But the threats continued after Ronald died. One letter said, Per 48 hours, everyone knows what you've done. If you don't believe us, just make them mad and find out for yourself. According to some sources, residents of Circleville would receive over a thousand letters throughout the 1980s.

[Mike Gibson]

That is crazy. I mean, seriously, that is a lot of letters going to the community.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, you're talking about assuming the. All these letters are written by one person. You're talking about somebody putting in a lot of time and effort to. Into writing a thousand different letters.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, at this point, it seems like this letter writer is getting some form of enjoyment.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, yeah. Why? Why else do it? Either this person has a problem with so many different people in Circleville, or they're getting a thrill from the terror that they're causing with the letter. Which is probably more likely the case. Almost everyone in town received a letter, or at least knew someone who did. The letters contained personal information about the recipient and accused them of all kinds of things. Affairs, domestic violence, embezzlement, and even murder. Letters were sent to businesses, government offices, schools and individuals in Circleville. I just talked about maybe the person getting kind of a thrill out of writing the letters. It reminds me a little bit of the zodiac. You know, there, there were the murders, but then there was all the letter writing. And it was almost like, you know, I think he got just as much of a thrill, perhaps by scaring the public. You think about the one where he talked about, you know, picking off kids as they come off the school bus. Everybody was in terror. Oh, yeah, about that. And he's probably just sitting back, you know, as happy as can be that he's the one who made all of that happen.

[Mike Gibson]

And I'm sure we have the same thing here. Right. It's feeding their ego. They probably love hearing all the buzz.

[Mike Ferguson]

Sure.

[Mike Gibson]

About these letters. And maybe they're interacting with other people. Like, yeah, I got one of those letters, too. You know, and just playing along with it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Papers such as the Columbus Dispatch also received letters. And the harassment spread into Galia and Jackson counties. At one point, people were turning letters into the sheriff's office daily. Okay. Not a great time to be the Sheriff.

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

In 1980, a resident of Circville was murdered. 25 year old teacher Vicki Koch was reported missing on August 14, 1980, after she failed to show up for a family visit in Sandusky, Ohio. She was last seen on August 10th at a concert with friends in Ross County, Ohio. On August 15, her family and friends entered her apartment, but didn't find any evidence leading to her whereabouts. That same day, her car was found parked five blocks from her apartment. There were no signs of a struggle or altercation. Another mystery, Gibbs.

[Mike Gibson]

It is.

[Mike Ferguson]

After Vicki disappeared, some of the Circleville letters focused on her. But sources didn't report on the contents of those letters. And you just wonder how much of these letters were personal information known by the writer or information that was gleaned from newspaper articles or, you know, television reports or gossip or whatever.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Where did it all come from? Because that makes a difference, right?

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, sure. You know, if, if you put something in a letter that was already public knowledge, again, some of that came up in the zodiac.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Then, you know, it's a little less credible than the Zodiac sending a piece of Paul Stine's shirt. Okay, that hits home, that, that hits home, that, that proves, right, that this is the person who killed him. On September 17, 1980, nearly skeletal remains were found in a rural area of Madison County, Ohio. The remains were identified as Vicki Koch. Vicki was found 33 miles from her apartment and was wearing the clothes she wore to the concert. And this was, you know, interesting to me from the standpoint of where Circleville is in relation to Sandusky. Right. Sandusky is at the northern part of the state. Sure. That's where her family was. That's where she was headed. But it seems like she never made it. She went to this concert and then was most likely killed just after it because she's found wearing the same clothes. There were a few unidentified persons of interest, but Vicky's case has been unsolved for decades. In 2019, ABC6 reported that physical evidence was being re examined due to advancements in DNA technology. According to Circleville Deputy Chief Bob Chapman, a known serial killer was in the area around the time Vicki disappeared.

[Mike Gibson]

So maybe it could have been that. Maybe it could have been another stranger that happened to be at the concert, took a fancy tour and things happened.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean, this could be unrelated to the Circleville letter writer as far as the murder of Vicki Koch.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

And like I said, the writer could have just kind of globbed on to it and used it as fodder for some of the letters.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, because it's good fodder.

[Mike Ferguson]

Hello, Mother. Hello, Father. The next incident involving Mary Gillespie occurred on February 7, 1983, around 3:30pm Mary was driving her empty school bus on the way to pick up kids when she found an obscene sign about her daughter Tracy at an intersection. While pulling the sign off a fence, she saw that it was rigged with twine in a box. Mary took the box home and discovered a loaded gun inside rigged to the twine. The police confirmed it was a booby trap intended for her.

[Mike Gibson]

Wow. Now that's scary.

[Mike Ferguson]

That's very scary. The pickaway County Sheriff would later say, as quoted by the Chillicothe Gazette. Inside the box in Styrofoam was a pistol which was aimed right at face level. Blazer twine was interfaced out through the back of the box with a metal wire affixed to the trigger. It was apparently designed with the idea that someone would jerk the sign off the post. The pistol was cocked with a bullet in the chamber and one in the clip. If Mary had forcefully removed the sign, she could have been shot. But by an act of God. In the manner in which she removed the box, the gun did not discharge. Investigators with Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation traced the partially filed off serial number to a co worker of Paul Fresh Hour, Mary's former brother in law.

[Mike Gibson]

So now we're kind of getting into some things here. But if the, the intended targets Mary, what if it's not Mary? What if it's the daughter that tears down the sign and something goes off or, or anybody besides your intended target?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of people in Circleville who knew about the signs, knew about everything that had gone on. Could it be inconceivable that somebody drives by and, and sees one of these signs and says, oh, I can't believe they're doing this to her again. I'm going to, you know, jump out and get it. So I think you're right on the money with that. But if you're a person willing to kill, I get it, you might want to kill Mary. But are you going to lose any sleep at night if somebody else gets hurt to a stone cold killer? Yeah, maybe not. Probably not. Yeah. But back to this gun. The coworker said he sold the gun to Paul. Okay, so Paul's coming into the picture. He's going very quickly from kind of the brother in law as he was at the time originally when all this was going on, to now somebody who could conceivably be involved in this thing. In 1983, Paul Freshhour was a manager at the Anheuser Busch facility in Columbus. He lived outside Circleville. Paul had no criminal record. Investigators spoke to Paul's estranged wife, Karen sue, who we said earlier, right, was Ronald Gillespie's sister. At this time, they were in the midst of a contentious divorce. According to the Chillicothe Gazette, records in the divorce suit accused Paul of having a violent temper and beating his wife. However, Paul filed for divorce in October 1982, alleging extreme cruelty and. And neglect. Karen sue countersued and accused him of beating her. On October 5, 1982. She claimed she suffered a black eye and required four stitches.

[Mike Gibson]

So it definitely sounds like it's not a very friendly divorce whatsoever.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, no. I mean, you could call a lot of divorces contentious. This maybe is a little bit more than that.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, punches are being thrown here. Allegedly. Literally. Karen told the police she suspected Paul was the letter writer. She said he was infuriated with Mary over the Massey deal. Per 48 Hours, she claimed she found one letter torn up in the toilet and found a couple more hidden in the house. Now, does it make it a little less credible that these two people are going through such a contentious divorce?

[Mike Gibson]

I think it kind of hurts a little bit. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right. It doesn't mean the police aren't going to check it out. But if they were still married, happily married, and she comes forward and says, hey, I think my husband's the Circleville letter writer. Well, maybe you put a little more stock into that right out the gate.

[Mike Gibson]

I think it helps the credibility.

[Mike Ferguson]

Mary Gillespie said she didn't Suspect Paul until August 1982, when Karen sue came to see her and indicated he could be the letter writer. Paul was cooperative when investigators came to speak to him. He didn't demand a lawyer and answered all their questions. He also admitted the gun belonged to him. But when asked how it ended up in the booby trap, he said, I don't know. According to Unsolved Mysteries, Paul said he hadn't seen the gun for a long time, he had no idea when it went missing and. And assumed it was stolen.

[Mike Gibson]

Could be true.

[Mike Ferguson]

Could be true. Paul denied being the letter writer and said he didn't set the booby trap, but he failed the polygraph.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that's never good. I mean, I know how we feel about polygraphs, but.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, again, as far as using them in court, I don't feel good about them at all. And over time, a lot of people don't either. It's why they're. They're. They're not admissible for the most part. But in trying to kind of, you know, figure out who's telling the truth and who's not, can they be useful tools? And I would say, yes, they can be.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's just, you know, how much stock are you going to put in it?

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, obviously, if he would have passed it, it would have been a different story.

[Mike Ferguson]

But see, that scares me as well, because I always worry that someone could pass a polygraph who is actually guilty and therefore the police take them off their radar and don't look at them.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I mean, we know like, I.

[Mike Ferguson]

Can pass a polygraph and have.

[Mike Gibson]

And have.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I asked you questions that I knew the answers to and you did not answer them correctly. Yeah, I mean, they were very incriminating. I understand why you didn't want to answer them on Patreon on camera, but.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, yeah, that opens up a whole nother problem.

[Mike Ferguson]

Paul was arrested on February 25, 1983, and charged with attempted murder. That day, the sheriff called him in for questioning and asked him to do a handwriting test. At the time, Paul was still under the impression he was trying to protect a family member. According to Unsolved Mysteries, the sheriff only told him the missing gun was somehow linked to the Circleville letters. According to Paul, the sheriff gave him a letter and asked him to copy it as closely as he could. The sheriff then dictated letters and asked Paul to write what he said. Paul agreed to the handwriting test because he insisted he was not behind the letters.

[Mike Gibson]

If I thought somebody thought I was the guy writing the letters and they said, I'm going to ask you to write some things down just to make sure that it's not you that wrote those letters. And if I really was the person, I'm going to write totally different.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes.

[Mike Gibson]

You know. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But some people say even if you try, it's hard to write different.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I'm going to make an effort.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, what I thought was very strange is the sheriff asking him to copy the letters as closely as he could.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, this is according to Paul, obviously, but if it's true, well, that then you're trying to replicate the handwriting.

[Mike Gibson]

It kind of takes away from the validity of the.

[Mike Ferguson]

The handwriting sample. Right. Or the test. Homes.com knows that when it comes to home shopping, it's never just about the house or condo. It's about the home. And what makes a home is more than just the house or property, its location and the neighborhood. If you have kids, it's also schools, nearby, parks and transportation options. That's why homes.com goes above and beyond to bring home shoppers the in depth information they need to find the right home. And when I say in depth, I'm talking deep. Each listing features comprehensive information about the neighborhood, complete with a video guide. They also have details about local schools with test scores, state rankings and student to teacher ratio. They even have an agent directory with the sales history of each agent. So when it comes to finding a home, not just a house, this is everything you need to know, all in1place.homes.com We've done your homework. True Crime all the Time Unsolved is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. After the handwriting test, Paul took the sheriff to his garage to show him where he kept his gun and before it went missing. Afterwards, they went to the courthouse where the sheriff told the prosecutor that it was Paul's writing on the booby trap. He was placed under arrest. My other thought was it's a little strange that the sheriff is the handwriting expert.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

As opposed to having a real handwriting expert.

[Mike Gibson]

Small town sheriff, maybe they do everything.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe. And in a smaller town, not that Circleville's a small town, but in a smaller town, would it be unusual back in the day for a prosecutor to say, well, the sheriff's telling me it's this, so we're moving forward. Yeah. You know what I'm saying. Paul's charges were not announced until March 4, 1983, when a grand jury indicted him for attempted murder. It should be noted that Paul was never charged with sending the Circleville letters. He was only charged in connection to the February 7, 1983 incident.

[Mike Gibson]

And they could be separate things. I mean, maybe if Paul was found guilty with this, maybe he did it because he was pissed off at Mary for backing his ex wife and just wanted her out of the picture.

[Mike Ferguson]

I guess so. I don't know what that gets him though. Wouldn't it be better to set a booby trap for the ex wife? And maybe that's too close to home. I don't know. It just seems strange that the person is doing it using the same type of signs that probably the Circleville letter writer used. True. March 4, 1983 was also the day that Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe revealed his arrest was the result of a seven year probe into a letter writing campaign. According to the Chillicothe Gazette, Radcliffe said in 1976 there were letters being distributed throughout Westfall School District making certain accusations concerning some bus drivers and the superintendent of the Westfall Schools, Mr. Gordon Massey. They started out intimating irregularities at school and so forth. And between certain female bus drivers and the superintendent, Radcliffe revealed that Ron Gillespie died while following the suspected letter writer.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay, there we go.

[Mike Ferguson]

So kind of clears up that part of the mystery a little bit.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Radcliffe said he found no irregularities of any kind among Westfall school personnel. School officials were cooperative, but the investigation was hampered by a lack of help from the usps. The letters continued. And I thought this was very interesting because the story starts out kind of focused on Mary Gillespie. And now you have this guy coming out and saying no. The letters were stating that it was a number of female school bus drivers who were having some type of inappropriate relations with the superintendent.

[Mike Gibson]

Wonder how Mary felt about that.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't know. It's like a big web.

[Mike Gibson]

It really is.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right? She's accused, she denies, but then starts a relationship with this guy after her husband dies. Now you find out that. Okay, were there other female school bus drivers who were also having something going on with this guy? I mean, it's all alleged, right?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Don't know for sure. Sheriff Radcliff said about Paul Freshhauer, he admitted writing 50. He denies writing anymore. Or any signs. The handwriting people tied him to all of them. And who was the handwriting people? The sheriff. The sheriff or real handwriting experts?

[Mike Gibson]

But to admit to 50 of them?

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean. Well, he says he admitted to him.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Paul hasn't said he admitted to him. Yeah, but I mean, it would be strange for the sheriff to come out and lie about it. But would it be unprecedented? No, I would say no. People in law enforcement have done stuff like that before. Radcliffe also revealed he found no clear motive for the attempted murder or the letters. And I think that's what's kind of throwing me, you know, here's this guy, Paul Freshhour. What is his motive for number one, writing the letters about Mary, his sister in law. I have a sister in law?

[Mike Gibson]

Yes, you do.

[Mike Ferguson]

Would I want her to have an affair? No. If I found out about it, would I go on a letter writing stalking campaign? No.

[Mike Gibson]

No. You would just tell your wife and it would be taken care of.

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm not gonna put that much into it. You know what I'm saying? I don't want to sound callous or anything, but not gonna sit around writing thousands of letters about it. And then why try to kill her? I get it. You offered up that. Well, maybe he was mad at her. She was his ex sister in law. Obviously she was on the side of his. His estranged wife. But what's he going to get out of killing her?

[Mike Gibson]

Not going to help his case.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, it's really not. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen. It's just. You don't see the motive there. At a bond reduction hearing on March 16, 1983, Sheriff Radcliffe testified that handwriting analysis indicated that 103 postcards and 391 letters, including three letters containing arsenic, were written by Paul freshout. The letters that contained arsenic were mailed two years earlier to the sheriff, the Pickaway County Children's Services board, and the Williamsport Village Council. Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, that's more than the alleged 50.

[Mike Ferguson]

Way more.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes.

[Mike Ferguson]

And now we have arsenic being sent. It was also said that handwriting experts determined that Paul wrote on the booby trap side. Paul initially pleaded not guilty, then pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He withdrew that plea in September 1983 after psychiatric testing.

[Mike Gibson]

He's all over the place.

[Mike Ferguson]

Paul Fresh Hour went to trial on October 24, 1983. County Prosecutor Richard Klein told the jury that Mary Gillespie received a Christmas card on December 17, 1982, saying there were going to be signs about her daughter put up in the district. Six days later, she received a note indicating what some of the signs were going to say. Mary testified that the booby trap sign was virtually identical to the letter. She also spoke about previous letters, which the defense objected to, arguing there was no direct threat to Mary's life and the letters weren't relevant to the case. Although Paul was not charged with writing the Circleville letters, The judge allowed 39 letters into evidence because the prosecution argued that the writing on the booby trap was similar to the letters. At trial, handwriting expert Stephen Green testified that when he did his analysis, he did not use the handwriting samples Paul did when he visually copied a letter. Instead, the expert used the samples Paul wrote when a letter was dictated to him. And those are big differences, truly, between copying a letter and just writing down what someone is telling you to write.

[Mike Gibson]

More natural that way, you would think, yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Green told the court, as quoted by Unsolved Mysteries. It is my opinion that the handwriting on the envelopes, documents, and postcards were. Were printed by the same person, it being the known handwriting or hand printing of Paul Fresh Hour. A second expert, who was originally a defense witness, agreed with him. Now, that stings that that hurts. Yes. If you're the defense and you've got this expert lined up and they switch sides and they say, you know what? I got to agree.

[Mike Gibson]

Probably not going to be used by that attorney ever again.

[Mike Ferguson]

It was difficult for the prosecution to prove that Paul made the booby trap because his prints were not found on the gun or the box. However, they told the jury that Paul took the day off work on February 7, 1983. Additionally, the same type of industrial sized chalkbox that held the gun was found at Paul's workplace. All right, so there's a number of things here not looking good for Paul. Freshout.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, Some connections.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, I think if you're the jury, you know it's going to come down, I think, in large part to how much validity weight you put on the testimony of these handwriting experts. The defense told the jury that Paul had an alibi for most of the afternoon when the booby trap would have been set up. Multiple witnesses testified that they saw Paul at home because he was having work done on his house. This is why he took the day off. Wesley Wells, an employee at Anheuser Busch, testified that he previously owned the gun used in the booby trap and sold it to Paul Freshauer. All right. I mean, a lot of it's circumstantial, but it keeps piling up.

[Mike Gibson]

It does.

[Mike Ferguson]

In closing arguments at trial, the defense suggested that Paul's ex wife, Karen sue, was responsible. According to 48 Hours, an attorney asked the jury, who hated Paul enough to try to get him into trouble, if you read the divorce decree, who stands to profit financially if Paul is convicted and goes to prison?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, but is it worth risking the murder of your sister?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, that's tough, right? Not to say that maybe somebody wouldn't do it, but you have to know if you're Karen sue, that the two people most likely to pull down that sign is going to be either your sister or your niece.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And you're risking killing one of them. It seems like there would have been a better way maybe to get Paul.

[Mike Gibson]

In trouble, I would think.

[Mike Ferguson]

During the divorce process, Karen lost her home, custody of their kids, and was living in a trailer on Mary's property. And I'm sure that's something the defense hammered home. She lost everything. She hated him so much, she was willing to do anything, including taking the chance that possibly her sister would be killed.

[Mike Gibson]

Or maybe deep down, she hated her sister, too. I don't know. Maybe there was some resentment there.

[Mike Ferguson]

Paul Freshauer was found guilty of attempted murder on October 28, 1983. On October 31, Paul was sentenced to seven to 25 years in prison. He would serve 10 years, but somehow the letters continued.

[Mike Gibson]

So the mystery continues.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Hundreds of letters were mailed out after Paul went to prison. The letters were still postmarked from Columbus, even though Paul was incarcerated in Lima, which is about 200 miles away. After the Pickaway county sheriff complained Paul was put in solitary confinement and denied access to pen and paper. But the letters kept coming.

[Mike Gibson]

All right, so it's either somebody doing it with him or just another person.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and most likely, as we've seen in other cases, this person is going to be very angry that he or she is not getting credit for the letters. Paul Fresh Hour is getting credit for the letters. So hey, I'm going to start sending them out like crazy. I'm going to show you.

[Listener]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

That you're not going to take my credit away from me. Paul was first eligible for parole in late 1990. In the weeks preceding his hearing, the volumes of letters increased dramatically. But this worked against Paul somehow and he was denied parole. A few days after the decision, Paul himself received a letter. One letter to Paul said, fresh Hour. Now, when are you going to believe you aren't getting out of there? I told you two years ago when we set him up. They say set up? Don't you listen at all? No one wants you out. No one. The joke is on you. Ha ha. Tell no one of this letter. I saw the paper. Great news. Great. The sheriff loved it. Haha. Do you believe it now? Do you? So you know you're either in prison for something you did or you're in there for something you didn't do. And now you're being doubly crucified by this letter writer.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, you're being taunted.

[Mike Ferguson]

The prison warden conducted an investigation and determined it was impossible for Paul to be the letter writer. In addition to having no pen and paper, he was strip searched and his incoming and outgoing mail was inspected. Okay. Pretty hard to be the letter writer.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. If you don't have something to write with and you're not keistering it because they're checking you.

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm sure there was a lot of.

[Mike Gibson]

Bending and coughing and coughing and bending.

[Mike Ferguson]

I know. You've explained to me how tired you got of that, and I can imagine it gets old. It's invasive, it's embarrassing.

[Mike Gibson]

Do you know how hard it is to grab your ankles that many times?

[Mike Ferguson]

No, I do not. And believe me, I do not ever want to find out. Paul continually maintained his innocence. Unsolved Mysteries started looking into the case in 1993. Before filming started in December of that year, producers received a threatening postcard that said, forget Circleville, Ohio. Do nothing to hurt Sheriff Radcliffe. If you come to Ohio, UL sickos will pay. Sign the Circleville Writer. All right, now you're messing with Unsolved Mysteries.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Crossing the line there that might be.

[Mike Ferguson]

Picking a fight you don't want. The letters finally stopped after May 1994, when Paul was granted priority parole. Unsolved Mysteries chose to go to Circleville to produce the episode. Paul was able to do an interview after he was granted parole in May 1994. He told the show he wanted the case reopened to figure out who wrote the letters. Journalist Martin Yant started looking into the case in the early 90s. He found police reports about an alternate suspect who was not brought up at Paul's trial. On February 7, 1983, another bus driver in Circleville saw a suspicious activity at the intersection where the booby trap was found. She drove past 20 minutes before Mary Gillespie found it. She saw a man standing beside an El Camino. He turned away from her and acted like he was urinating on the side of the rip. So she didn't get a good look at him. And however, her description didn't match Paul Freshhauer at all. She described the man as large with sandy hair. Paul was not a large man, and he had dark hair. And according to Martin Yant, Paul's ex wife, Karen sue, was dating a large man with sandy hair. At the time, Yant said there was no evidence that inquiries were made into who owned an El Camino in the area. But he was told Karen Sue's brother owned an El Camino.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay, interesting.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, let's go back to one of your theories. Right. Karen sue loses everything in the divorce. She's so upset with Paul, but she's dating a new guy. Yeah. And she's able to get this guy to maybe break into his house, steal his gun, make the sign, plant the booby trap. It's a theory.

[Mike Gibson]

Use her brother's car.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Paul and Karen's children were divided over who they believed. Their daughter supported Paul, but their son Mark sided with Karen and stopped visiting Paul. According to Martin Yant, Paul suspected that Mark stole his gun before the booby trap was set up. Yant told 48 Hours, I didn't interview one man that said he specifically told him that he thought it was Mark, the son.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay.

[Mike Ferguson]

A lot of we got a lot of possible suspects, but Paul kept his suspicions to himself because he didn't want his son to get in trouble. And I think we have to go back to the trial. Some of this stuff was known at the time of the trial, but it never was brought up. Now, whether the defense knew about it, that part I don't know. But if they did know about it and didn't bring it up. That'd be a real travesty. Yeah. Paul later asked the FBI to get involved in the Circleville Letters case, but they never responded.

[Mike Gibson]

And I'm surprised, because being male related, that it's not some type of federal crime to threaten people through.

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm sure it is. Yeah, I'm sure it is. I don't know if that's something the FBI would get involved in. There's also the.

[Mike Gibson]

The mail police.

[Mike Ferguson]

The mail police? Yeah. I'm drawing a blank on what you call them. On September 11, 2002, a man's body was found floating in the Scioto river in Portsmouth, Ohio. The victim was identified as Mark Fresh Hour. It was determined that he shot himself. His mother told the police he suffered from depression for years. I mean, it's just one thing after another in this case.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure is.

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, you start to think, well, it could possibly be this person. And then you get a little piece of information that makes you think, well, maybe it's the ex wife's boyfriend. And then you think, well, maybe it's the son. Maybe he was so racked with guilt that he took his own life.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, maybe.

[Mike Ferguson]

Paul Fresh hour died on June 28, 2012. He was 70 years old. Before he died, he told writer Robin Yocum, when I'm dead and in my grave, people are going to believe I'm sending those letters. This year, 48 Hours spoke to former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O', Toole, who believes one person wrote every single letter and took the secret to their grave. She thinks the writer is a woman because in some of the early letters, the writer referred to themselves as a boyfriend. They wanted to make the reader think they were the opposite sex.

[Mike Gibson]

Good point.

[Mike Ferguson]

And you and I kind of had the same theory. Not for the same reason, but for some reason. Some of the early letters, they just came out, at least to me, as though they most likely were written by a woman. Yeah. She said that the writer was most likely not highly educated based on how they wrote. O' Toole noted that Paul Fresh Hour had a master's degree and was in a managerial position at his job. Finally, she said the writer enjoyed hurting people and possibly had a personality disorder.

[Mike Gibson]

No doubt the writer like hurting people.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I'm with you on that. 100%. Forensic document expert Beverly east was brought in to do a new analysis. She compared 49 circleville letters to Paul Freshhour's writing samples. And said she's confident she knows the identity of the writer. She noted that Paul wrote his G's unusually They looked like the number six. This unusual G appeared in several Circleville letters, including one sent while Paul was in prison. She also found that when Paul wrote a zip code, his 3 was ambiguous and could look like a 2. The same mistake was present in the anonymous letters. East did say there are patterns in the letters that don't look like Paul's handwriting, but she believes one person was responsible for the letters, and that person is Paul. FreshHour.

[Mike Gibson]

Wow.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, additionally, researcher Mary Mayhew studied thousands of pages of the case file and learned that investigators found Paul's prints on about a dozen letters that were postmarked while he was incarcerated. She thinks Paul wrote the letters as well.

[Mike Gibson]

So basically saying he found a way to get the letters out of prison.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Well, there's one theory that has Paul kind of mass producing the letters ahead of time and then someone else sending them out while he was in prison. I mean, there's no doubt that he would have had to have had an accomplice, at least at some point, that point being after he was in prison. And it was said for certain that there was no way he could have been writing and sending the letters.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, it's a good plan, right? As you're going into prison, write all these letters and tell your buddy, okay, mail these from this post office on this day.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then maybe they'll have to let me out because they're going.

[Mike Gibson]

To know it wasn't me.

[Mike Ferguson]

It wasn't me. It's actually kind of an ingenious plan if you think about it. And that didn't work.

[Mike Gibson]

No, it actually worked against him.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, it actually worked against him. But then let's talk about that one letter that Paul received afterwards. How could he have written that one? How could he have known that he was going to be rejected by the parole board so many years down the road? Yeah, okay, I understand there's thinking out things, but that's next level stuff to be thinking that many years down the road. Now, I don't know if that was part of the sample that was confirmed to be his handwriting.

[Mike Gibson]

I wonder if they looked at Mark's handwriting, because sometimes your kids can write similar to how you write based on.

[Mike Ferguson]

What scientific knowledge you have of that gibbiology. Okay. Yeah, it's possible. I don't know.

[Mike Gibson]

Maybe Mark had similar formations of letters and numbers.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe. I didn't know that was something that was handed down.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I teach that in kibiology. That's in 22201.

[Mike Ferguson]

Is it just 201 or is it 222.

[Mike Gibson]

I had to remember if it was in 101 or 201, but not 301. We're more advanced at that point.

[Mike Ferguson]

But that, you know, that is one of the theories in the case. I mean, I don't know, man. You can see why people find this case so mysterious.

[Mike Gibson]

It really is.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, Paul's convicted. Right. He does his time, but there's all. There's almost two separate things, because he's only convicted of the attempted murder, which is the box, the sign with the gun in it. He's never convicted of the threatening letter. Yeah. Now, why is that? Why didn't they go after that? Maybe they thought that would muddy the waters.

[Mike Gibson]

Maybe.

[Mike Ferguson]

And they just wanted to stick with the attempted murder, because that's a bigger charge. Now, you have a number of experts who have said his handwriting matches the. The letter.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But I'm fascinated by this theory that he had so much foresight that he mass produced a bunch of letters. I understand. Maybe in the first year or so.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

But, you know, once you're in prison for so many years, how do you know what those letters should say? That's true. I don't know.

[Mike Gibson]

Real Nostradamus or whatever.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, no, you got it right.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

The guy that supposedly predicted all the.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes.

[Mike Ferguson]

All the stuff. But, you know, that. That's it for our episode on the Circleville Ladders. It's a. It's a real mysterious case.

[Mike Gibson]

Really is.

[Mike Ferguson]

There's no doubt about it. We got some voicemails. Gibbs, you want to check those out?

[Mike Gibson]

Let's hear them.

[Listener]

Hi, Mike and Gibby. This is Lenora calling from Port Townsend again. I called a couple weeks ago with a case suggestion. I just wanted to let you guys know that I can't always listen to you when I'm traveling, because when you're on two wheels, you're not allowed to do that. Not safe. But I've realized that you guys are with me all the time because I. I have adopted the catchphrase, keep your own time kicking. Ticking. Sorry. While I'm dealing with all the crazy drivers out there on my two wheels. So thank you for helping me. Keeping me company even when I can't listen to you. Appreciate it. Keep your own time ticking. Stay safe out there. Thanks.

[Mike Ferguson]

Awesome. Thanks for the voicemail. Now, Gibbs, when I had my Harley, I had a helmet that had Bluetooth in it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And it had speakers inside the helmet.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So it would connect to my phone. My phone would be in my leather jacket.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But I could listen to podcasts through the thing. Now I get it. She's saying it's not safe. And maybe it's not. She can't hear as well. But is it.

[Mike Gibson]

But it's not illegal.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's not illegal here. It might be where she is. I don't know.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, I'll be at an intersection and somebody on their motorcycle will pull up with their stereo blaring.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, yeah, yeah. If you've got like a Gold Wing or you've got a Harley Street Glide or whatever, it's got the radio and the fairing and all that. I didn't have that. So I had to go with, like, a helmet that had the speakers in it.

[Mike Gibson]

And it always cracks me up because it's like, you know, some big, burly motorcycle guy, but it's like Britney. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Miley Cyrus.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes. Wrecking Ball. You got it, buddy.

[Listener]

Hi, Mike and Giddy. My name is Lynn. I'm from North Dakota. I started listening to True Crime all the time about a year ago, and I finally just caught up. And now I'm starting True Crime all the Time Unsolved, and I'm starting from the beginning. I'm one of those that I have to start from oldest to newest. So as I am starting True Crime all the Time Unsolved, resolved. It's so funny to hear, like, how far you guys have come with the podcast. Like, you started out kind of not as, let's see, what's the word I'm thinking of as funny? Your kind of guys are still a little uptight and stuff like that. So me just finishing all. I'm all caught up on regular True Crime all the Time. And now going back in time to Unsolved and you guys are back to that kind of a little stiff sounding. And I just gotta say, you guys have come such a long way. You guys are hilarious. I love you both. I am Team Mike. And you guys can argue over which Mike I'm talking about. You guys have a great day and keep your head on the swivel and keep your own time ticking.

[Mike Gibson]

She sounded like from Fargo, North Dakota, when she said, I'm from North Dakota.

[Mike Ferguson]

I didn't hear that.

[Mike Gibson]

That's how I heard it.

[Mike Ferguson]

That's how you wanted to hear it. I didn't hear that accent at all. You see, not to the degree that you just.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you. So she did see how stiff you were in the beginning. Yes. You're so stiff, man.

[Mike Ferguson]

But, you know, we've talked about it before. You and I had no background in any type of entertainment production. Nothing like that. So it did take a while to get our footing and like how does, how does this thing go? How, how do we go back and forth, forth and you know, after a while you start to get the hang of it. I'm not saying we're the best or the greatest, but I think we have come a long way. Obviously if you go back and listen to the. The first ones, they're a lot different. Yeah, yeah, but well.

[Mike Gibson]

And you've also become the master editor.

[Mike Ferguson]

I am much better at editing.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes, you are.

[Mike Ferguson]

Than I. Than I used to be.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes, you are.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, when you edit a thousand plus episodes, you start to get the hang of it. Yeah, that's true.

[Mike Gibson]

That's true.

[Mike Ferguson]

All right, buddy, that is it for another episode of True Crime. All the time unsolved. So for Mike and Gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking. Sam.