1 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: Early one chilly morning in March of nineteen seventy seven, 2 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: the sun was just starting to rise over the town 3 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: of Circleville, Ohio. Most windows were still dark, the suburban 4 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: streets empty of traffic. But despite the early hour, Mary 5 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: Gillespie was wide awake. She was used to getting up 6 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: before dawn. She'd been doing it for years, ever since 7 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,279 Speaker 1: she started working as a school bus driver, and had 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: grown to appreciate the time she had to herself first 9 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: thing in the morning, before anybody else was awake. That morning, 10 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: she closed the front door quietly behind her as she 11 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: left the house, not wanting to wake her family. As 12 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: she headed down the driveway towards her part car, she 13 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: took a sudden detour to check the mailbox. Inside was 14 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 1: one single envelope and addressed to Mary. Curious, she picked 15 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: it up and briskly tore it open, finding a single 16 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: sheet of lined paper inside. She pulled it out and 17 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: unfolded it and immediately felt unnerved. It was a note 18 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: written to her in large menacing block capitals, the letters 19 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: so tall and narrow they looked distorted. It read stay 20 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: away from Gordon Massey, don't lie when questioned about meeting him. 21 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: I know where you live. Mary stared down at the letter, 22 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: the blocky writing swimming before her eyes. Gordon had been 23 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: her colleague for years. He was the superintendent at the 24 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: school whose she drove, and just like her to the 25 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: outside world, at least, he was happily married. And yet 26 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 1: whoever had written this letter was clearly accusing Mary of adultery. 27 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: And it didn't stop there. The letter went on, I've 28 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: been observing your house and I know you have children. 29 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: This is no joke. Please take it serious. Everyone concerned 30 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: has been notified. It will be over soon. Mary felt 31 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: a chill run down her back. She glanced up and 32 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: looked furtively about, but the street was empty and silent. 33 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: She blinked, half expecting the scene to fade away like 34 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: a bad dream. But the cold breeze against her face, 35 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: the rustling of the paper in her hands told her otherwise. 36 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: Mary read the letter back one more time, then she 37 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: folded it up, put it in her pocket, and continued 38 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:08,399 Speaker 1: on to her car. You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm 39 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:19,679 Speaker 1: Richard mclin smith. Circleville is the definition of an all 40 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: American small town. It's in the heart of the Midwest, 41 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: surrounded by farmland on all sides, but just a short 42 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: drive from the major city of Columbus. Its biggest claim 43 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: to fame is its annual pumpkin show, which draws thousands 44 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: of tourists every year. It's a quaint, sleepy kind of place, 45 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: a safe place to raise a family. Mary and Ron 46 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: Gillespie were high school sweethearts, and after getting married and 47 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: having two children, they settled in Circleville. For years, they 48 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: led a peaceful and happy life there. They were well 49 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: liked in the community, friendly with their neighbors, and as 50 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: the school bus driver, Mary was on first name terms 51 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: with many of the local kids. They had no enemies, 52 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: or so they thought, But the arrival of that shocking 53 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: poison pen letter made it clear that somebody had a 54 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: grudge against Mary, and that letter was just the beginning. 55 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: Over the next few months, the letters kept coming, the 56 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: subject never changed. The writer seemingly fixated on a supposed 57 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:42,159 Speaker 1: love affair between Mary and Gordon Massey, the local school superintendent, 58 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: and with each letter the tone grew ever more menacing. Lady, 59 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: They wrote, this is your last chance to report him. 60 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,359 Speaker 1: I know you're a pig and will prove it and 61 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: shame you out of Ohio before the author began writing 62 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: to Mary's husband Ron as well, mister Gillespie, your wife 63 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 1: is seeing Gordon Massey read one especially vicious letter. You 64 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: should catch them together and kill them both. He doesn't 65 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: deserve to live. Then one morning, as she drove her 66 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: usual bus route, Mary noticed a sign on the side 67 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: of the road with mounting horror she recognized her own 68 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: name written on it. It was an obscene message, calling 69 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: her a word she would never dream of saying out loud. 70 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: When she told Ron about it, he got straight into 71 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: his car and troed the local roads on a grim 72 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: scavenger hunt, searching for any more signs. Much to his horror, 73 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: there were others which he promptly tore down, but it 74 00:05:55,279 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: was too late. The damage was already done. Mary and 75 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: Ron hadn't told anybody about the letters. They were too 76 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 1: embarrassed for one thing, and they also hoped that if 77 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: they ignored them for long enough, whoever was responsible would 78 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: get bored. Not only did they not stop, but with 79 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: the addition of the signs propping up all over the town, 80 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: the cat was well and truly out of the bag. 81 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: Word travels fast in a place like Circleville and by 82 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: that evening, half of the town knew what Mary was 83 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: being accused of. Humiliated and scared, the Gillespies knew they 84 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: couldn't bury their heads in the sand any longer. They 85 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: gathered up the stack of letters they'd reluctantly held onto 86 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: and went straight to the sheriff's office. The police promptly 87 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: launched an investigation to determine at least where the letters 88 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: had come from. All had been postmarked in Columbus, about 89 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: thirty miles north of Circleville, but given the size of 90 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: the city, that wasn't much to go on. Both Ron 91 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: and Mary, as well as a number of their friends 92 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: and neighbors, were interviewed in the hope of trying to 93 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: narrow down who on earth would want to publicly hound 94 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: them like this. They tapped phones, surveiled houses, and worked 95 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: with the postal service to try and track down the sender, 96 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: all to no avail, and through it all, the letters 97 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: just kept on coming. By the summer of nineteen seventy seven, 98 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: Mary was at breaking point. She needed a break from 99 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: the relentless abuse, the stairs, from neighbors, the whispers at 100 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: the grocery store. So when her sister in law Karen 101 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: Sue suggested they'd take a road trip to Florida. She didn't. 102 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: Despite the hurtful accusation, Ron stood by his wife and 103 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: supposedly believed her when she insisted that there was nothing 104 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: to the rumor about her and Gordon Massey. On the 105 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: morning she left for Florida, the couple asserted their love 106 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: for each other and kissed each other goodbye. That evening, 107 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: in the family home, alone with his children, Ron got 108 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: a mysterious phone call. He told his children he was 109 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: going out and left the house. A couple of days 110 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: into their trip, on August nineteenth, Mary received an urgent 111 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: call from the Circleville Sheriff's office. She picked up the 112 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: receiver eagerly. Surely they wouldn't be calling her unless they'd 113 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: finally cracked the case, she thought, But the Sheriff's voice 114 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,959 Speaker 1: was solemn. He asked Mary if she was sitting down, 115 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: and then he told her that her husband, Ron was dead. 116 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: Doctor Ray Carroll was no stranger to grisly sights. He'd 117 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: been the Pickaway County coroner for long enough that not 118 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: much phazed him. But as he pulled up to the 119 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: scene just off Route three that evening, he had to 120 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: take a moment to steal himself. The pickup truck was 121 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:40,079 Speaker 1: almost unrecognizable, twisted and warped and upside down, its remnants 122 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: wrapped around a tree on the side of the freeway. 123 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: He could just barely make out the silhouette of the driver, 124 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 1: crumpled on the ground a few feet from the truck. 125 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: He'd been ejected through the windshield as the vehicle flipped over, 126 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,839 Speaker 1: and the ground surrounding him was covered in shattered glass. 127 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: The paramedics at the scene had done all they could. 128 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: Everybody there knew it was a lost cause, but it 129 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: was doctor Carroll's job to confirm the ugly truth. It 130 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: didn't take him long. After checking for a heartbeat, respiration, 131 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: and corneal reflex, he pronounced Ron Gillespie, husband and father 132 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: of two, dead at the age of thirty five. During 133 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: the full autopsy, doctor Carroll established that Ron had suffered 134 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: massive internal injuries in the crash, so severe that he'd 135 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: likely died within minutes. He also found that Ron's blood 136 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: alcohol level was almost twice the legal limit. So there 137 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: was the explanation he thought tragic, entirely preventable, but easy 138 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: to understand. When he filled out his official report, doctor 139 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: Carroll marked the cause of death as an accident caused 140 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 1: by driving under the influence. As far as the authorities 141 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: were concerned, that was the end of it. Perhaps Ron 142 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: didn't believe his wife after all when she said there 143 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: was no truth to the rumors of her affair and 144 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: it had all been too much for him. To Ron's 145 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: loved ones, however, this version of events made no sense whatsoever. 146 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: In the aftermath of Ron's death, Mary leaned on her 147 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: in laws for support. Karen Sue, Ron's sister, had been 148 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:45,319 Speaker 1: with her in Florida when the terrible news came in. Meanwhile, 149 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 1: Karen Sue's husband, Paul fresh Hour, was becoming increasingly suspicious 150 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 1: about the official narrative. The two couples socialized often, and 151 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: Paul knew that Ron was not a heavy drinker. Getting 152 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: behind the wheel of a truck intoxicated. It just didn't 153 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: add up, and that wasn't the only thing driving Paul's doubts. 154 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: At the scene of Ron Gillespie's crash, underneath his body, 155 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: police found a point twenty two caliber revolver. Analysis later 156 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: showed that the gun had been fired. To Paul. This 157 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: was a literal smoking gun. He was adamant that Ron's 158 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: death was no accident and that it was somehow related 159 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,240 Speaker 1: to the vicious letter campaign. He went to the sheriff 160 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: and begged him to re examine the case, insisting that 161 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 1: he knew what had really happened. Clearly, Ron had fired 162 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 1: that revolver in a last desperate attempt to defend himself 163 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: seconds before he was murdered. Though the Pickaway County sheriff 164 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: had been investigating the poison pen letters for months, he 165 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: saw no connection between that mystery and Ron's tragic death. 166 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: He certainly didn't buy the idea that he'd been murdered. 167 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:19,320 Speaker 1: To him, Paul fresh Hour seemed like a loon, but 168 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: he did feel terrible for poor Mary Gillespie, who'd been 169 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 1: through more trauma in a year than anyone should suffer 170 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: in a lifetime. And it wasn't over yet. Despite Ron's death, 171 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: the letters kept on coming. Clearly the author didn't care 172 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: that they were tormenting a newly widowed mother of two. 173 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,479 Speaker 1: As far as they were concerned, Mary was an adulterer 174 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: and deserved to be punished. And there was only one 175 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: person alive who really understood what Mary was going through. 176 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: Local school superintendent Gordon Massey. Although Gordon hadn't received any 177 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: letters himself, he'd been openly named as Mary's alleged lover, 178 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: and just like Mary, he'd had to deal with the 179 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: relentless small town gossip the way conversations seemed to mysteriously 180 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,520 Speaker 1: stop as soon as he walked into a room, not 181 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: to mention having to explain himself to his own partner. 182 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: Up to that point, both Mary and Gordon always denied 183 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: that they'd ever had an affair. It'll never be known 184 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: if that was true, but what is known is that 185 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: after Mary's husband, Ron's death, things changed. The Circleville letters 186 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: had seemingly become a self fulfilling prophecy, as Mary and 187 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: Gordon did then start to see each other. Unsurprisingly, this 188 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: only added fuel to the fire. When this salacious revelation 189 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: started doing the rounds, more and more venomous letters were 190 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: sent to Mary's friends and family, to local businesses, even 191 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: to her children's school. Some letters even included direct threats 192 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: to Mary's children. It's your daughter's turn to pay for 193 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: what you've done, said one, while in another the writer 194 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: openly threatened to put a bullet in the child's head. 195 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: The police investigation into the letters had petered out by 196 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: this point with no solid leads at all, so Mary 197 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: had little option but to do her best to ignore 198 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: them and try and get on with her life. But 199 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: as it soon turned out, the author of the letters 200 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: didn't take kindly to being ignored. By February of nineteen 201 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:03,000 Speaker 1: eighty three were looking up for Mary. It had been 202 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: almost six years since the first of what would come 203 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: to be known as the Circleville letters were sent to her, 204 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 1: and five and a half since she'd lost ron Through 205 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: it all, she'd somehow managed to remain sane now. Whenever 206 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: an envelope showed up in her mailbox with that familiar 207 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: blocky scrawl, she didn't entertain it at all. She simply 208 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: threw it away without reading its contents, and over time 209 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: their power over her dwindled. She could go entire days 210 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: without thinking about the letters at all, and so it 211 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: was when in the afternoon of February seventh, Mary climbed 212 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: into her empty school bus and set out to do 213 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: her usual afternoon pickups. She'd been serving the same local 214 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: schools for so many years now that she could probably 215 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: drive this route blindfolded. But just as she was approaching 216 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: a left turn, something caught her eye, a flash of 217 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:12,640 Speaker 1: white in her peripheral vision, an object that shouldn't be there. 218 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 1: A cold knot of dread formed in her stomach as 219 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: her body reacted fiscerally to a sickeningly familiar sight. It 220 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 1: was another sign written in that unmistakable aggressive handwriting, pinned 221 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: onto a nearby fence. The message was obscene, violent, and 222 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: this time it wasn't about Mary. It was about her 223 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: thirteen year old daughter. Gripping the steering wheel hard to 224 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,400 Speaker 1: keep her hands from shaking, Mary pulled the bus over 225 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: to the side of the road and switched off the engine. 226 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: She clambered out onto the sidewalk, looking nervously about to 227 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:58,679 Speaker 1: see if anyone else was there. As her mind raised, 228 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,479 Speaker 1: she walked brit over to the sign and was just 229 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: about to wrench it down when she felt the weight 230 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: of something solid behind it. After a confused moment, she 231 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: realized that there was a wooden box behind the sign, 232 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: attached to it with twine. When she finally got the 233 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: contraption off the fence, she tried to pry it open, 234 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: but the twine was heavy duty and wound too tightly 235 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 1: around the box. As Mary wrestled with it, she heard 236 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: the sound of a car approaching. Terrified at the thought 237 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: of being seen next to the sign, she quickly hid 238 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 1: the box under her coat and hurried back into the bus. 239 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: When Mary made it home later that evening, she was 240 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: finally able to get into the mysterious box. With her 241 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:02,200 Speaker 1: heart pounding, she grabbed a pair of scissors and cut 242 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 1: through the twine, then yanked open the lid. Looking down, 243 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,959 Speaker 1: her eyes widened in terror at the sight of a 244 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,400 Speaker 1: loaded pistol primed to go off. There was no denying 245 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,480 Speaker 1: what she was looking at. The box was a booby 246 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: trap designed to kill her. When she took the box 247 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,919 Speaker 1: to the Sheriff's office, the officers there confirmed it. The 248 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: gun had been clumsily rigged up to a spring mechanism 249 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: seemingly designed to make it fire as soon as the 250 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: sign was pulled down from the fence. Fortunately for Mary, 251 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:46,199 Speaker 1: the trap had failed. Though the Circleville Letter's investigation had 252 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 1: lain dormant for years, this dramatic new piece of evidence 253 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: revived it instantly. The sheriff sent the trap to Ohio's 254 00:19:55,640 --> 00:20:01,399 Speaker 1: Bureau of Criminal Investigation for expert analysis. The serial number 255 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: on the gun had been partially filed off to prevent 256 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: it from being traced, but it was a shoddy job, 257 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,919 Speaker 1: so investigators were able to restore it, and when they 258 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: ran it through their system, the name of the owner 259 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: came up right away. The gun belonged to none other 260 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 1: than Mary's beloved brother in law, Paul fresh Hour, husband 261 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:33,880 Speaker 1: to Karen Sue. Mary was flabbergasted at first when police 262 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: told her the gun belonged to Paul. She refused to 263 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 1: believe it. There must have been a mistake. She insisted. 264 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: Paul and his wife, Karen Sue, had been her rocks 265 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: after she'd lost Ron, karen Sue's brother, and though she 266 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: hadn't seen as much of them lately, she still considered 267 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: them family. The idea that he could have set such 268 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: a cruel trap for her, never mind that he might 269 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:05,959 Speaker 1: have been behind the letters all along, was unthinkable, but 270 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: the authorities confirmed it with the seller of the gun, 271 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: Paul fresh Hour was undoubtedly its owner. As it turned out, 272 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,959 Speaker 1: the fresh Hours were in the middle of an acrimonious 273 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: divorce at the time. This was a stroke of luck 274 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: for the police investigation. If the couple did have something 275 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 1: to hide, maybe they'd be more inclined to turn on 276 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: each other now that their marriage was over, and when 277 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: the police went to interview Karen Sue, she was more 278 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: than willing to talk. According to Karen Sue, she and 279 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: Paul had been very close with the Gillespies when they 280 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: were first married, but back in nineteen seventy seven, Paul 281 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: became convinced that Mary was having an affair with Goaudon 282 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,919 Speaker 1: and Massey and was furious at her for it. Incredibly, 283 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: according to Karen Sue, Paul had been the writer of 284 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: the letters all along. She told investigators that she first 285 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: knew it was him after finding one of the letters 286 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,120 Speaker 1: torn up in their bathroom. Soon after that, she said, 287 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: she searched the house and found two more letters among 288 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 1: Paul's things. But when investigators spoke to Paul, he denied 289 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: any wrongdoing. Yes, the gun was his, he said, but 290 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:38,800 Speaker 1: according to him, it had been stolen weeks before Mary 291 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: found it. He had nothing to do with the letters, 292 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: he insisted, and would never dream of trying to harm Mary. 293 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,159 Speaker 1: Paul allowed the police to conduct a thorough search of 294 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 1: his house and his car, and gave them samples of 295 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: its handwriting to prove that he hadn't written the letters. 296 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: He also agreed to take a polygraph test, but he failed. 297 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: Though such tests have been widely discredited as a means 298 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: of establishing guilt. On top of owning the gun and 299 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: Karen Sue's testimony, this proved to be the final nail 300 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: in his coffin for the police. Shortly after he failed 301 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: the polygraph test, Paul fresh Hour was arrested for the 302 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: attempted murder of Mary Gillespie. Although Paul fresh Hour was 303 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: never charged with writing any of the Circleville letters, they 304 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:44,680 Speaker 1: played a central role in his trial. The prosecution clearly 305 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: figured that in order to convince a jury that Paul 306 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: had tried to kill Mary, they first had to establish 307 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 1: that he was the one who'd been tormenting her for years. 308 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,919 Speaker 1: Paul's lawyers tried to exclude the letters from the trial, 309 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 1: arguing that because they didn't contain any explicit threats to 310 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 1: Mary's life, they were irrelevant to the charge at hand. 311 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: The judge agreed in part, but still allowed more than 312 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:15,919 Speaker 1: thirty of the letters to be admitted as evidence. A 313 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 1: handwriting expert for the prosecution testified about three different pieces 314 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: of evidence the letters, the sign attached to the booby 315 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: trap and a sample of Paul's handwriting. He stated that 316 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: there were significant similarities between them all and that in 317 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 1: his expert opinion, Paul was the sole writer. Paul's fingerprints 318 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,919 Speaker 1: weren't found anywhere on the gun or the box, and 319 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: he had a decent alibi for most of the day 320 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: that Mary had found the trap. But in the end, 321 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: these glaring holes in the prosecution's case weren't enough. The 322 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,639 Speaker 1: jury found him guilty of attempted murder, and he was 323 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,439 Speaker 1: given the maximum sentence of seven to twenty five years 324 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: behind bars. Mary testified against Paul at the trial, and 325 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: as painful as the whole process had been, she no 326 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,199 Speaker 1: doubt felt a sense of relief when the verdict was 327 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:21,920 Speaker 1: read out. At last, She thought the nightmare was finally over. 328 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,880 Speaker 1: But after Paul went to prison, the letters didn't stop, 329 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:32,119 Speaker 1: not even close. In fact, during the decade that Paul 330 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: spent behind bars, hundreds more anonymous creeds were sent. Journalists 331 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:44,879 Speaker 1: who'd covered Paul's trial received letters, as did Paul. Fresh hour, Now, 332 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: when are you going to believe you aren't getting out 333 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: of there? The taunting letter read, no one wants you out. 334 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: The joke is on you. Some have suggested that Paul 335 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 1: could have simply sent a letter to himself as a 336 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:04,160 Speaker 1: way to cover his tracks, but according to the prison warden, 337 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: it would have been physically impossible for him to send 338 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 1: any letters from prison. All of his communications were closely monitored, 339 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: and he had no access to pens or paper. Some 340 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: reports indicate that he was even kept in isolation for 341 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:26,920 Speaker 1: large stretches of his sentence. So there are three logical possibilities. 342 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 1: Either Paul was the writer of the letters and somehow 343 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: found a way to post them from prison, or somebody 344 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:37,160 Speaker 1: else to cup the mantle after he was sent away, 345 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: or he was entirely innocent. Incredibly, since the Circleville letters 346 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 1: were not part of Paul's conviction, the fact that they 347 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: continued after his arrest had no bearing on his case. 348 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,879 Speaker 1: After serving ten and a half years in prison for 349 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: attempted murder, he was finally released in nineteen ninety four. 350 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 1: In one final bizarre twist, the letters abruptly stopped for 351 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 1: good as soon as Paul was free. For his part, 352 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: Paul maintained his innocence and accused Karen Sue of framing him. 353 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: His defense lawyer even raised this possibility at the trial 354 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: arguing that she was the only person who had something 355 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: to gain by Paul going to prison, but she was 356 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 1: never considered an official suspect. Paul spent the rest of 357 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,400 Speaker 1: his life trying in vain to clear his name, writing 358 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: multiple times to the FBI about his conviction, the letters, 359 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: and the mysterious circumstances of Bron Gillespie's death in twenty 360 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: twelve at the age of seventy, he died, taking with 361 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 1: him any hope of a genuine, concrete answer to the mystery. 362 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: As compelling evidence both for and against Paul. The fact 363 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: that the letters continued while he was in prison strongly 364 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,160 Speaker 1: suggests to many that he couldn't possibly have been the author. 365 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:23,159 Speaker 1: But recently, the American CBS program forty eight Hours conducted 366 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: a new independent analysis of the letters. Forensic document expert 367 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 1: Beverly East examined forty nine of them alongside samples of 368 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: Paul's handwriting, looking for distinctive traits that they had in common. 369 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: She concluded that he was beyond any shadow of a 370 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 1: doubt the writer of the letters, but to this day, 371 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: the true culprit behind them has never been conclusively identify it. 372 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Emma Dibden and produced by 373 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 1: Richard mc clain Smith. Unexplained is an AV Club Productions 374 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: podcast created by Richard mc lain Smith. All other elements 375 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,200 Speaker 1: of the podcast, including the music, are also produced by 376 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:22,680 Speaker 1: me Richard mc clan smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, 377 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: with stories never before featured on the show, is now 378 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: available to buy world wide. You can purchase from Amazon, 379 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to 380 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 1: and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts, and 381 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 382 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 383 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 384 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: You can find out more at Unexplained podcast dot com 385 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: and reach us online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and 386 00:29:54,920 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast