Rachanda was last seen watching television at her family's residence on the Santiam Pass in Sweet Home, Oregon at 10:00 a.m. on July 10, 1990. "He said, 'I will give a plea but I want the case to stop at this point and it not be announced that I have entered the plea and in return I won't ever try to get out of prison.'". However, on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 - nearly 23 years after his stepdaughter's disappearance - John Arthur Ackroyd would be charged with her murder by Linn County prosecutors. Six Degrees of WTF | Kaye Turner, Rachanda Pickle, The Ashland Tragedy Due to the three decades that have passed since, however, there are fewer people left to ask those questions many of Rachanda's relatives have passed on, and the ones that live on only have faded memories and mementos to remember her by. The first time it was almost like he didnt want to be seen and the second time he was flamboyant, snapping pictures and waving, the coworker said. She confided in two girls who were sisters. He had his sisters image tattooed on his arm last year. However, following the disappearance of John's stepdaughter, investigators had begun looking into the dormant case of Kaye Turner. John would later pick up Linda from work, and when the two returned home, they discovered that Rachanda was not there waiting for them. On the morning of July 10, Rachanda was awake early to help her mother get ready for the day. At the time of his death in December of 2016, this case was still suspended, and the murder charges filed more than three years earlier (2013) were permanently dismissed. Beck and his wife lived in a trailer not far from Camp Sherman, where Kaye had disappeared. Foul play is suspected in Rachanda's disappearance due to the circumstances involved. Despite only being charged with one murder, they were being charged with five different counts; each symbolizing a different possible theory in the case. This is what had led to him leading police to the body of Kaye Turner eight months after her death because, as prosecutors noted, he wanted to try and obtain the reward money being offered at the time. This seemed to leave the case in an unusual spot moving forward since the victim's body had never been found, and now the only suspect had died without the case going to trial. There was Ackroyd, standing at the back of his Ford pickup. The men ate and left to poach deer, not returning until the next day, she said. That winter, Kaye and her husband, Noel, had decided to head up to a cabin in the Camp Sherman area. Police would begin to reach out to those close to Rachanda and learned that John had been abusive to Rachanda and her brother in the past. His Stepdaughter Vanished. What He Said Was Disturbing One time, she made a scene when it was time to go. She reportedly declined and when Ackroyd returned home about 12:45 p.m., she was gone. Rachanda nicknamed Chandy and her brother, Byron, had gone to live with their biological father, Steve Pickle, in Medford. These searches would continue over the next two weeks, but authorities were unable to uncover any trace of the missing 13-year-old. She French-braided her moms hair, then settled on the couch to watch cartoons in her pajamas. It was even discovered that Rachanda was sometimes afraid to go home after school, taking additional clothes with her every day in case she was able to stay the night at a friend's house. At the time, Ackroyd also was a suspect in a cold case killing - the 1978 death of Kaye Turner, 35, who disappeared while jogging in Camp Sherman on Christmas Eve morning. A dozen or so work crews called the junction home. Case Chandy's stepfather, John Ackroyd, was the last person to have seen her prior to her disappearance. Nieustpl. Approximately two months later, Rachanda's 14th birthday would pass by without any celebration or fanfare. Linda was getting ready to head to work at Black Butte - near Sisters, about thirty miles east - and asked for some help doing her hair. You were here with her.. During their digging into this case, they would uncover a plea deal agreed upon by both prosecutors and John Ackroyd, which had been agreed upon back in 2013, after charges had been filed in Rachanda's murder. He would be charged alongside his longtime friend, Roger Dale Beck, who was living in Porterville, California at the time. She would eventually remarry and move down to California, where she resides today. At the wrong place at the right time.. John Arthur Ackroyd was questioned extensively in the days and weeks after Rachanda's disappearance and would be asked to perform a polygraph test by authorities early on. Santiam murder suspect arrested - McKenzie River Reflections The first time he stared ahead as Corinna Strouse waved hello. After so many years, though, the edge of that threat had begun to grow dull, and these witnesses were no longer intimidated by a couple of doughy, middle-aged men. Thats what pulled our relationship together.. After Rachanda disappeared, he and her mother separated, and her mother moved to California and remarried. However, the information that he was able to recall - such as her weight and bra size, as well as when she had started getting periods - didn't paint him in the most flattering light. Lt. Darrel James, who had coordinated the search efforts, told reporters during a press briefing: "There's no reason to think she ran away, and no information that she just walked off playing around. For some reason, however, the agreement had been kept confidential for over three years, until after Ackroyd's death. He said he didnt know. Maybe it was the girls development, he told police, that drew a predator to the junction. You could tell they were both being physically abused, said Seiber, who now lives outside Houston. His partner, Detective Will McAnulty, sat nearby. Unfortunately, any additional evidence would be hard to come by in this case, and it would remain stagnant for more than a decade until it was revived years later, in the most unlikely of ways. Rachanda Pickle - The Charley Project Blog These many months later, John Arthur Ackroyd claimed to have discovered bone fragments while walking his dog in a wooded area nearby. Investigators were already familiar with John because of his history; in particular, his connection to the still-unsolved case of Kaye Turner, the jogger that had gone missing on Christmas Eve back in 1978. Where is she? Linda asked Ackroyd as darkness enveloped the highway compound. "I don't think this was out of bounds or anything. You know, he said, both of you sitting there pointing your fingers at me, and I didnt do nothing.. Such a move is typically reserved for a national security-related case or oneinvolving sexual assault victims. On 10 July 1990, 13-year-old Rachanda Pickle was last seen inside her mother and stepfather's home in Santiam Junction, Oregon. He wasn't required to provide the location of Rachanda's remains or anything like that; nor, it's believed, any specific details of the crime itself. This sighting would help kick up some interest in the case, nearly a decade later, but that excitement was relatively short-lived. Brown hair, brown eyes. (From this AMA with the Oregonian journalists who investigated the serial killings by Rachanda's stepfather . Ghosts of Highway 20 - Portland Mercury Doug Beloof, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, said it's unusual for the court to seal a plea agreement. McAnulty, whod been promoted to detective just 10 days earlier, dutifully examined old newspaper articles and reports. At times, the effort included more than 100 deputies and volunteers from Linn, Lane, Benton, Marion, Douglas, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. There's certainly the possibility that we've got a crime committed here. NKOTB shirt: Asha Degree & Rachanda Pickle Hed planned to fix snowplows but decided to take the day off after learning parts hadnt arrived, a claim that baffled his supervisor, who said there was plenty of work to keep Ackroyd busy. Linda and John Ackroyd left for work, she as a housekeeper at Black Butte Ranch, a resort community about 30 minutes away, and he as a highway mechanic. It was a 30-minute drive to the nearest store for milk. If she had run away, she had not done so with any of her clothing or makeup. Rachanda nicknamed Chandy and her brother, Byron, had gone to live with their biological father, Steve Pickle, in Medford earlier in the summer. This would usually lead to him being sentenced for the crime, but the attorneys involved agreed to suspend sentencing for an indefinite period meaning that he received no actual sentence for this crime. But they knew Ackroyd was a killer. When he returned to the house at approximately 12:45 p.m., Rachanda had vanished. She rode her bike in the lane just outside the door and took a bus to grade school in Sweet Home. Linda would last see Rachanda when she left for work just after 6:00 AM. Rachanda Leah Pickle. Detectives moved on. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Despite no information being published in the disappearance of Rachanda Pickle following the developments from early in 1991 (when the FBI was brought in to develop a suspect profile), the case was still being actively worked on by members of the Linn County Sheriff's Office. Photos of Ackroyd are posted with this case summary. John Arthur Ackroyd would remain one of investigators' top suspects in this case, and as a result, would be questioned several times alongside a friend of his (whom police considered a potential accomplice). 'Ghosts of Highway 20': Reader questions answered - oregonlive This team would be called in to not only help reinvigorate the investigation itself but work up a profile for a potential suspect in this unsolved disappearance. John Arthur Ackroyd is also implicated in several other similar crimes from the area, dating back to the mid-1970s. Her mother was at work at the time of her disappearance. You should know. The men spent hours talking to Ackroyd. Load the dishwasher. A police photo taken inside the Ackroyd home. Authorities stated current technology made it possible to test old evidence and come up with the information necessary to make a case against Ackroyd. I did not do nothing. But prosecutors argued that not only had John given contradictory statements to questions he fully understood, but he had also lied about certain details to deflect suspicion from himself. However, he would transfer away from the Santiam Junction location - where he had worked and lived for more than a decade - to a state highway shop near Corvallis. The highway worker had hurt Rachanda, stuffed her into a garbage bag and hauled her away, Linn County Sheriffs Detective Jim Salsbery said during one of their interviews. Its rough country and theres lots of brush.. Over the next several months, several court hearings would be adjourned to get rolling on the trial itself. Few kids lived there andthe ones who didwerent Rachandas age. Searches would also be conducted in the area on occasion but were primarily limited to recertification time that local officials needed to continue operating as part of the state's search-and-rescue apparatus. The prime suspect in the disappearance of a 13-year-old Linn County girl pleaded no contest to murder three years ago as part of an unusual agreement unsealed Wednesday by a Linn County Circuit Court judge. Missing Date: Tue, Jul 10 1990.
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