August 25, 2024 • 26 mins
Welcome to "Death, Lies, and Alibis," where your host Christy delves deep into the murky waters of local cold cases. In this episode, we revisit Circleville, Ohio, a seemingly idyllic town that was shaken by a series of anonymous letters beginning in 1976. These letters, targeting local school bus driver Mary Gillespie, accused her of having an affair and turned the community against itself.
As we explore the chilling events that unfolded, including a booby-trapped sign meant to harm Mary, we uncover the investigation that led to the arrest and trial of her brother-in-law, Paul Freshour. Despite Freshour’s conviction, the letters continued, suggesting a deeper, more complex mystery. We scrutinize theories, suspects, and new insights, leaving you to ponder if true justice was ever served.
Join us as we sift through evidence, testimonies, and the unsettling continuation of the Circleville letters, aiming to shed light on one of Ohio's most haunting unsolved mysteries.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to Death, Lies, and Alibis. I'm your host, Christy, and this is the
podcast that dives deep into the dark and eerie world of local cold cases.
We're in Circleville, a small, lovely town nestled in the heart of Ohio.
It's busting with tight-knit neighborhoods, friendly faces, and a sense of security
that you'd expect from any small town.
(00:31):
But beneath the idyllic surface lies a hidden darkness, a collection of unanswered
questions that have lingered over the years.
So grab your headphones, lock your doors, and be prepared to enter a world where
the truth has invaded justice.
Hi folks, welcome to the podcast. If you're a returning listener, I'm glad you're here.
(00:52):
And if you're new, I hope you stick around till the end.
All right, now before we dive back into the chilling tale, let's quickly recap
what we've uncovered in our first episode.
We took a trip back into the small town of Circleville, Ohio,
a place that, while on the surface, seemed like the perfect American town.
But in 1976, this close-knit community was shaken to its core by a series of anonymous letters.
(01:19):
The main target? Mary Gillespie, a local school bus driver.
The letters accused her of having an affair with the Superintendent Gordon Massey,
and the accusations didn't stop there.
In the first episode, we explored the fear that gripped the town and how the
letters turned neighbor against neighbor, leading a community drowning in suspicion and dread.
(01:42):
We also looked into the early stages of the investigation, which struggled to
uncover who was behind these terrifying letters.
So, with the stage set and the town on edge, we're now ready to pick up where we left off.
Today, we'll explore the breakthrough in the case that led to a trial,
and we'll look into the theories and suspects that continue to shroud this mystery
(02:04):
in darkness, and we'll discuss new insights that have come to light over the years.
So, let's dive back in and see if we can unravel more of this haunting case.
The breakthrough in the Circleville letter case came on February 7,
1983, seven long years after they first began.
That afternoon, Mary, a school bus driver for West Falls School District in
(02:28):
Circleville, had just dropped off one group of children and was headed to pick
up another at Monroe Elementary School when she saw the sign.
It had been placed along her bus route at the intersection of Scioto-Darby Road
and Five Points Parkway.
The sign made vulgar and nasty comments about her young daughter.
(02:49):
Now, these were so gross and vulgar that they would be disturbing to anyone, let alone a child.
Determined to protect her family, Mary attempted to remove the sign.
She grabbed it and pulled it hard off the post it was hooked to,
and that's when she discovered it was a booby trap.
The contraption was designed to discharge a gun when the sign was tampered with,
(03:11):
but fortunately, the mechanism failed to fire.
Now, this was a clear message. The letter writer had set a trap to kill Mary.
She took the sign with her, and she finished her bus route.
Now, surprisingly, she didn't take it to the authorities until later on that day.
Well, upon closer examination, the investigators found that the gun's serial
(03:32):
number had been partially filed off.
Now, this was usually an attempt to hide its identity. However,
the forensic experts were able to recover enough of the serial number to trace
the weapon back to Paul Freshour.
That's Mary's brother-in-law.
Remember, Freshour was the same person who had been helping the Gillespie's
(03:54):
write letters to another bus driver who they all thought might have also been
the letter writer, and he'd been targeted also. He had made a hit on Mary.
Remember, he flirted with her and she turned him down and they thought maybe that was a reason.
He had previously, this fresh hour, had previously assisted Gillespie's in dealing with the harassment.
(04:16):
Well, they were all in shock. The discovery of the booby trap marked a significant
turning point in the investigation.
Authorities, already under pressure to solve the mystery, intensified their focus on Paul Freshour.
The trap, which was meant to kill Mary, provided the first solid piece of evidence
that could be directly linked to someone.
(04:38):
As suspicion grew, so did the efforts to connect Freshour to the letters.
Investigators began to dig deeper into his background. Now, they were searching
for any connection to the threatening correspondence.
Respondents because the focus was no longer just on the letters themselves,
but on uncovering the person behind them, and most importantly,
(05:00):
who tried to murder Mary Gillespie.
By 1983, the case against Paul Freshour gained enough momentum to arrest him.
The prosecution's argument was the claim that Freshour was the anonymous author
of the Circle Bell letters.
Their evidence for this? Well, his handwriting was subjected to testing,
(05:20):
looked at under a microscope, and compared to letters received by the residents of Circleville.
The outcome of this analysis would play an important role in the trial,
as the town watched and held its breath, hoping for closure in a case that had
plagued them for many years.
So, after being released on a $50,000 bond, Freshower voluntarily checked himself
(05:43):
into the mental health center at Riverside Hospital.
Now, this possibly could be to help him with the plea of not guilty by reason
of sanity, but that plea was later dropped.
So, by October of 1983, Sheriff Radcliffe felt he had enough evidence to go to trial.
(06:03):
And during the trial, the state brought in a BCI handwriting analysis who compared
the writing on the booby trap to the letters sent to Mary and then to the samples
of Paul Freshour's handwriting.
The handwriting analysis indicated that the letters could have been written
by Paul Freshour. A second expert, and this expert was originally a defense
(06:26):
witness, well, they agreed.
And even more compelling was the fact that the handwriting samples taken from
Fresh Hour's employment file,
well, they matched 391 of the letters and 103 postcards sent to the Gillespie's
and other local residents.
Now, this was according to the handwriting experts.
(06:48):
So remember, there were over a thousand letters sent to the citizens of Circleville in total.
And despite Freshour's claims that the gun had been stolen and his denials of
any involvement, well, the evidence just seemed damning.
And later on, a co-worker at Enheiser Bush, that's where Paul worked,
this guy was named Wesley Wells,
(07:09):
well, he testified that Freshour had purchased just a gun from him for $35,
and that was only several months before the incident.
And this is something I can't get over. Personnel records show that Fresh Howard
had taken off work on February 7th. That was this very same day that Mary discovered the booby trap.
But the trial wasn't about the letters, folks, but the people thought about
(07:32):
them and about the fear and the mistrust that had been sown throughout the community.
So would this trial finally bring an end to the mystery, or would it raise even more questions?
The defense claimed that Fresh Howard had an ally. He was working with two of
his friends on his property that day, and a neighbor had also stopped by,
and he stuck around most of the day, but it just didn't seem to matter.
(07:57):
Paul always argued that he had been
framed, and he pointed to several inconsistencies in the case against him.
Fresh Howard claimed that the gun had been stolen from his garage,
and they had no involvement in the letters or the booby trap discovered by Mary.
During his trial and in interviews afterward, Freshour suggested that his ex-wife,
(08:19):
Karen Sue Freshour, who was also Mary Gillespie's sister, might have had a motive to frame him.
Paul and Karen Freshour were divorcing, and Mary allowed Karen to move into
a trailer on Mary's property.
The couple's divorce had been raw and a real fight, and Mary had testified against Paul.
(08:39):
Karen said that throughout their marriage, Paul was very abusive to her and the children.
She described him as being very manipulative and smart.
In October of 1982, a year before the trial, Karen Sue claimed that Paul had
beat her up and threatened to cut her face with a pop bottle.
So, in court, Karen showed pictures of her injuries. She had a black eye with four stitches.
(09:02):
It seems Powell somewhat admitted to this because in a letter Karen provided,
dated around that time, he did apologize.
And he mentioned being in treatment and counseling.
And she did report this to the police. And shortly after, that's when she filed for divorce.
But Freshour and some supporters believe that Karen, bitter about the divorce,
(09:24):
could have orchestrated the
letter-writing campaign to get back at him and ensure his imprisonment.
Karen's testimony and the letters she found surely played a significant role
in this case, and Paul Freshour's lawyer raised that very possibility during his closing argument.
If you read the divorce decree, who stands to profit financially if Paul is
(09:45):
convicted and goes During the divorce battle, Karen Sue lost her home,
custody of their daughters, and remembers she was living in a trailer on her sister's property.
So if Paul was out of the picture, she got everything.
And Karen Sue was one of the first to link Paul to the anonymous letters.
She claimed to have found letters hidden in their home, including one in the
(10:09):
commode, which she turned over to the authorities as evidence against Paul.
However, Paul and his defenders argued that Karen had both the motive and the
opportunity to plant the letters and fabricate evidence against him.
So, allegedly, Paul failed three or even four polygraphs. His fingerprints were
(10:30):
on the letters, but not on the booby trap or the gun.
Also, the way Sheriff Radcliffe conducted the handwriting analysis has been highly scrutinized.
He told Paul to copy the mystery letters exactly, which is not how it's typically done.
According to the lineup website, to perform an analysis accurately.
(10:52):
It's important to recreate the environment as closely as possible.
Now, this means like the same tools, such as like a pen, specifically a ballpoint,
blue or black ink, writing in all caps, using the same words or phrases found
in the original evidence.
However, it's important not to provide the suspect with the actual evidence to copy.
(11:15):
Copy instead they say that they are instructed to reproduce
it without having to see it and
without having in front of them because that's just direct mimicking and that's
exactly what paul was doing was mimicking the letters but fresh hire was indicted
by a grand jury in march of 1983 and suffered trial in october that year the
(11:36):
trial lasted one week he wasn't charged with anything related to the letters,
only with the attempted murder of Merrick.
The jury needed just two and a half hours to return a verdict of guilty on the
charge of attempted murder using
a firearm that was either in Freshower's possession or under his control.
Judge William Amher sentenced him to seven to 25 years. Now he ended up serving 10 years.
(12:01):
So Freshower's maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and his
entire incarceration and up until his death in 2012.
But listen up, folks. Listen to this. Despite Paul's conviction,
the mystery deepened because the letters continued to arrive even while he was incarcerated.
(12:23):
This unsettling development left both the authorities and the community wondering
if they had truly captured the right person.
The letters, not stopping, seemed to suggest that someone else was still out
there, continuing the campaign of fear.
As if to further confuse matters, Freshower himself received letters while behind bars.
(12:45):
Now, this was just a grim reminder that the terror was far from over.
These letters seem almost taunting, as if the real mastermind was toying with
him, letting him know that he was in control.
One letter said, Now when are you going to believe you aren't getting out of
there? I told you two years ago when we set them up, they stay set up.
(13:06):
Don't you listen at all. No one wants you out. No one.
Now that he was in prison, the authorities closely monitored Breschauer's mail
and all of his activities. activities, but the letters continued and were postmarked from Columbus.
A full-scale investigation was conducted, I think there was two or three actually,
during which Creshour was put into isolation.
(13:29):
The warden of the prison wrote a letter to Paul's wife saying that as far as
he was concerned, it was impossible for Paul to be writing these letters and
sending them from prison.
Okay, Hey, we're going to take a quick break right here. Take a stretch,
get a drink, but hurry back.
Music.
(14:17):
Okay, I'm glad you're back. Let's dive back in. This shocking development of
the letters still being sent, but absolutely, no doubt, not from Fresh Hour,
well, this fueled theories that the real letter writer was still out there.
And some people pointed fingers back at Karen Sue, suggesting that she might
have continued the campaign to show Paul's guilt and keep him behind bars.
(14:39):
The case gained national attention and was featured on an episode of Unsolved
Mysteries in 1994. The segment explored the mystery letters,
the impact on the community, and the investigation that followed.
The episode dived into various theories and included various interviews with
key figures that were involved in the case.
That brought widespread attention to the unsolved aspects of the Circleville letter mystery.
(15:04):
So during the investigation of the Circleville letters featured on the television
show, the show itself received an anonymous letter.
Yes, this letter was particularly chilling because it was sent directly to the
producers of the show, warning them against diving into the case.
Here's the letter. It read, Forget Circleville, Ohio.
(15:26):
If you come to Ohio, UL Sickos will pay.
And it was signed, The Circleville Letter Writer.
This indicated that the anonymous sender was still active and watching those
who were probing into the mystery.
The letter demonstrated that the person behind the Circleville letters was still
trying to exert control and intimidation, even reaching out to a national television
(15:50):
program that's investigating the story. That's pretty ballsy.
I found this most interesting right here, too. Paul's older daughter,
Selena, she thinks her dad is guilty.
And she says her and her mother suffer from PTSD from the sheer terror of living
through and being wrapped up in this nightmare.
They both believe Paul was guilty and that he had help.
(16:13):
Now, Paul wrote himself a 167-page report on his view of the case.
And I have read that everywhere, but all 167 pages. And it's pretty fascinating.
And we do have that on our files section in our Facebook group.
And a tidbit I found during my research about Kreschhauer is that he worked
(16:34):
as a prison guard at the notorious Ohio State Penitentiary.
This is interesting because it might speak on his mental health and state of mind.
Because listen, in a 1978 article in the Dayton Daily News marking the 10th
anniversary of the 1968 Ohio State Penitentiary Riots,
Paul Freshour was asked if he had any lingering emotional scars from the experiencing
(16:58):
of being held hostage and almost dying.
He claimed he didn't, although people often ask if he had turned to alcohol,
saw any mental health help, or experienced any lasting effects.
According to Freshour, there was nothing wrong with him, nothing he could pinpoint.
He was quoted saying, I still have nightmares every now and then,
(17:18):
a dream about what might have been and what was.
But considering everything, I feel fortunate to be as well adjusted as I am,
especially given how close I came to death.
The ongoing debate about his guilt or innocence, the role of his ex-wife,
and the continuation of the letters after his imprisonment all contribute to
(17:39):
the ongoing intrigue surrounding this case.
Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe and his team faced criticism from their handling of
the case, as the continuation of the letters suggested that possibly a larger
conspiracy or even maybe an organization could be behind this.
Okay, so a little tidbit here.
(17:59):
According to a report from the Scioto Valley Guardian in July of 2020.
Ratcliffe held the record of being the nation's longest serving elected sheriff
after being elected in Pickaway County to serve from 1966 until his retirement in 2013.
As the 37th Sheriff of Pickaway County, he served 12 consecutive terms. That's 48 years.
(18:27):
He is the second-generation sheriff, having served as a deputy sheriff for his
father for nearly eight years.
So his career totaled 55 and a half years in law enforcement.
That's quite an accomplishment. His son, Robert B.
Radcliffe, succeeded him as
sheriff, marking the third-generation Radcliffe to hold the top cop job.
(18:50):
Okay, so in 2021, the CBS program 48 Hours asked former FBI profiler Mary Ellen
O'Toole and forensic document expert Beverly East to examine the letters.
O'Toole said she didn't think Freshour was the culprit based on the impression
she got of a controlling, vindictive letter writer.
(19:12):
Traits that Freshour's relatives insist don't fit him.
But East pointed to the letter G, which resembled the number 6 in many of the
Circle Bill letters, as well as Freshour's own handwriting.
East believes 100% that Freshour wrote those letters.
The Circleville Letters mysteriously stopped in 1994. Now, that was the same
(19:35):
year Paul Freshour was released from prison.
The case took an unexpected turn in the 1990s when a new suspect emerged.
In 1993, a prison inmate named Thomas Lee Dillon sent a letter to the Columbus
Dispatch claiming responsibility for the Circleville Letters.
Now, Dillon had a history of violent behavior and was already serving a life sentence for murder.
(19:59):
Authorities investigated Dillon's claim and found several similarities between
his writing style and that of the Circleville letters.
However, they could not conclusively link him to the crimes and he was never charged.
And in 2006, the case took yet another turn when a former police officer named
James Renner began investigating the case.
(20:22):
Renner had grown up in Circleville and had always he's been fascinated by the mystery.
He began to uncover new evidence and interviewed several individuals who planned
to have knowledge of the case.
Renner's investigation led him
to a new suspect, a former school superintendent named Dwight L. Bowman.
According to Renner, Bowman had a motive for sending the letters because he
(20:45):
had been fired from his position as superintendent and had a grudge against
several of the individuals who received the letters.
However, Bowman died in 2009, and authorities were unable to question him about the case.
And then, just before dawn on September 11, 2002, in Portsmouth,
(21:06):
Ohio, a man's body was found floating in the Scioto River.
It was 39-year-old Mark Freshour.
He had shot himself. so. His mother, Karen Sue, told the police that Mark had
suffered from years of depression.
This bit of information is intriguing because Paul Freshour himself,
he believed his son might have been involved in the Circle Go Letters case.
(21:27):
Paul thought that his son, who he claimed hated him, could have been working
with his wife to orchestrate the letter-writing campaign together.
And also, another suspect, remember the other bus driver that Mary,
Ron, and the Freshours ours thought might be involved?
The one that was hitting on Mary, flirting with her?
Well, listen to this. An 11-year-old girl eagerly anticipated her visit to her
(21:51):
grandparents in Orient, Ohio, and that's a small rural town.
But her visit took a nightmarish turn when another house guest,
David Longberry, led her into the living room and assaulted her while her grandparents were home.
The terrified girl immediately told her grandfather, who confronted Longberry.
Longberry fled the house without his belongings and vanished.
(22:15):
So Longberry was charged with the forcible rape of a child, but despite years
of relentless searching, he remained on the run.
In June of 2005, police received a tip suggesting that Longenberry may be working
as an over-the-road truck driver, living out of his truck and frequenting truck stops.
(22:35):
They also believe he rode a motorcycle.
Police did lose track of him, and he did live as a fugitive trucker.
And in November of 2006, America's Most Wanted aired his case,
hoping for a breakthrough. through.
Yes, Americans Most Wanted aired his case, too.
Longland Berry's family grew increasingly concerned due to the lack of contact,
(22:58):
and in the spring of 2006, Ohio police finally discovered his fate.
Upon arriving in El Paso in 1999, Longland Berger had taken his own life behind a truck stop.
His body was discovered hanging, bringing it into the long and painful search.
There was no note or a reason why that was left behind.
(23:20):
So, Lillie is literally a dead one. Despite ongoing questions,
the identity of the true Circleville letter writer remains an enduring mystery,
leaving the residents of Circleville with lingering doubts and unanswered questions.
So, as we leave Circleville tonight, remember that the real answer might still
be out there, hiding in plain sight.
(23:42):
Who's to say they aren't still watching the truth
as elusive as it has been may
yet surface but until then the circle
of letters will remain one of ohio's most haunting unsolved mysteries imagine
folks receiving a letter that reveals personal secrets only a close friend or
(24:04):
family would know how would you handle that and what would you do if you suspected
someone close to you, was behind it.
Would you tell? Would you go snitch?
Do you believe that justice was truly served in this case with the letters continuing
even after Freshour was in prison?
Is it possible that someone else could have been pulling the strings,
(24:25):
manipulating the situation from behind the scenes?
The Circleville letters sowed seeds of fear and doubt in a small community.
So what do you think would drive Paul to create such terror?
Would it be power, revenge, or something deeper and more personal?
Okay, well, as we close this case, we've dove deep into the evidence,
(24:46):
the testimonies, and the theories that have kept this mystery alive for decades.
We've explored the suspects, examined the leads, some that went nowhere,
and others, they're still leaving us questioning.
Though this case is considered solved, the search for answers continues in the
hearts and the minds of those who refuse to let it fade into the past.
(25:06):
And really, if any of you have information, theories, or personal stories about
the Circle of Letters, we'd love to hear from you.
We'll have many news articles on the case. I have photos, copies of the letters.
I have trial documents. I have some medical reports.
This will all be on our Facebook group.
And that's That's it for this episode of Death, Lies, and Alibis.
(25:28):
We hope that by shining a light on the local crimes, we spark something within you, our listeners.
Because the truth is, solving these cases will take more than just our words.
It's going to require the dedication and collective efforts of the entire community.
Don't forget to hit the follow button on the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.
(25:48):
To learn more about how to get your case featured on the show,
or to get instant access to case files and reports, plus documents and many
free resources, go to our Facebook group, Death, Lies, and Alibis, and join today.
Or email us at deathliesandalibis at gmail.com.
As always, be safe, stay alert, and never stop seeking justice.
(26:14):
Music.
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to Death, Lies, and Alibis. I'm your host, Christy, and this is the
podcast that dives deep into the dark and eerie world of local cold cases.
We're in Circleville, a small, lovely town nestled in the heart of Ohio.
It's busting with tight-knit neighborhoods, friendly faces, and a sense of security
that you'd expect from any small town.
(00:31):
But beneath the idyllic surface lies a hidden darkness, a collection of unanswered
questions that have lingered over the years.
So grab your headphones, lock your doors, and be prepared to enter a world where
the truth has invaded justice.
Hi folks, welcome to the podcast. If you're a returning listener, I'm glad you're here.
(00:52):
And if you're new, I hope you stick around till the end.
All right, now before we dive back into the chilling tale, let's quickly recap
what we've uncovered in our first episode.
We took a trip back into the small town of Circleville, Ohio,
a place that, while on the surface, seemed like the perfect American town.
But in 1976, this close-knit community was shaken to its core by a series of anonymous letters.
(01:19):
The main target? Mary Gillespie, a local school bus driver.
The letters accused her of having an affair with the Superintendent Gordon Massey,
and the accusations didn't stop there.
In the first episode, we explored the fear that gripped the town and how the
letters turned neighbor against neighbor, leading a community drowning in suspicion and dread.
(01:42):
We also looked into the early stages of the investigation, which struggled to
uncover who was behind these terrifying letters.
So, with the stage set and the town on edge, we're now ready to pick up where we left off.
Today, we'll explore the breakthrough in the case that led to a trial,
and we'll look into the theories and suspects that continue to shroud this mystery
(02:04):
in darkness, and we'll discuss new insights that have come to light over the years.
So, let's dive back in and see if we can unravel more of this haunting case.
The breakthrough in the Circleville letter case came on February 7,
1983, seven long years after they first began.
That afternoon, Mary, a school bus driver for West Falls School District in
(02:28):
Circleville, had just dropped off one group of children and was headed to pick
up another at Monroe Elementary School when she saw the sign.
It had been placed along her bus route at the intersection of Scioto-Darby Road
and Five Points Parkway.
The sign made vulgar and nasty comments about her young daughter.
(02:49):
Now, these were so gross and vulgar that they would be disturbing to anyone, let alone a child.
Determined to protect her family, Mary attempted to remove the sign.
She grabbed it and pulled it hard off the post it was hooked to,
and that's when she discovered it was a booby trap.
The contraption was designed to discharge a gun when the sign was tampered with,
(03:11):
but fortunately, the mechanism failed to fire.
Now, this was a clear message. The letter writer had set a trap to kill Mary.
She took the sign with her, and she finished her bus route.
Now, surprisingly, she didn't take it to the authorities until later on that day.
Well, upon closer examination, the investigators found that the gun's serial
(03:32):
number had been partially filed off.
Now, this was usually an attempt to hide its identity. However,
the forensic experts were able to recover enough of the serial number to trace
the weapon back to Paul Freshour.
That's Mary's brother-in-law.
Remember, Freshour was the same person who had been helping the Gillespie's
(03:54):
write letters to another bus driver who they all thought might have also been
the letter writer, and he'd been targeted also. He had made a hit on Mary.
Remember, he flirted with her and she turned him down and they thought maybe that was a reason.
He had previously, this fresh hour, had previously assisted Gillespie's in dealing with the harassment.
(04:16):
Well, they were all in shock. The discovery of the booby trap marked a significant
turning point in the investigation.
Authorities, already under pressure to solve the mystery, intensified their focus on Paul Freshour.
The trap, which was meant to kill Mary, provided the first solid piece of evidence
that could be directly linked to someone.
(04:38):
As suspicion grew, so did the efforts to connect Freshour to the letters.
Investigators began to dig deeper into his background. Now, they were searching
for any connection to the threatening correspondence.
Respondents because the focus was no longer just on the letters themselves,
but on uncovering the person behind them, and most importantly,
(05:00):
who tried to murder Mary Gillespie.
By 1983, the case against Paul Freshour gained enough momentum to arrest him.
The prosecution's argument was the claim that Freshour was the anonymous author
of the Circle Bell letters.
Their evidence for this? Well, his handwriting was subjected to testing,
(05:20):
looked at under a microscope, and compared to letters received by the residents of Circleville.
The outcome of this analysis would play an important role in the trial,
as the town watched and held its breath, hoping for closure in a case that had
plagued them for many years.
So, after being released on a $50,000 bond, Freshower voluntarily checked himself
(05:43):
into the mental health center at Riverside Hospital.
Now, this possibly could be to help him with the plea of not guilty by reason
of sanity, but that plea was later dropped.
So, by October of 1983, Sheriff Radcliffe felt he had enough evidence to go to trial.
(06:03):
And during the trial, the state brought in a BCI handwriting analysis who compared
the writing on the booby trap to the letters sent to Mary and then to the samples
of Paul Freshour's handwriting.
The handwriting analysis indicated that the letters could have been written
by Paul Freshour. A second expert, and this expert was originally a defense
(06:26):
witness, well, they agreed.
And even more compelling was the fact that the handwriting samples taken from
Fresh Hour's employment file,
well, they matched 391 of the letters and 103 postcards sent to the Gillespie's
and other local residents.
Now, this was according to the handwriting experts.
(06:48):
So remember, there were over a thousand letters sent to the citizens of Circleville in total.
And despite Freshour's claims that the gun had been stolen and his denials of
any involvement, well, the evidence just seemed damning.
And later on, a co-worker at Enheiser Bush, that's where Paul worked,
this guy was named Wesley Wells,
(07:09):
well, he testified that Freshour had purchased just a gun from him for $35,
and that was only several months before the incident.
And this is something I can't get over. Personnel records show that Fresh Howard
had taken off work on February 7th. That was this very same day that Mary discovered the booby trap.
But the trial wasn't about the letters, folks, but the people thought about
(07:32):
them and about the fear and the mistrust that had been sown throughout the community.
So would this trial finally bring an end to the mystery, or would it raise even more questions?
The defense claimed that Fresh Howard had an ally. He was working with two of
his friends on his property that day, and a neighbor had also stopped by,
and he stuck around most of the day, but it just didn't seem to matter.
(07:57):
Paul always argued that he had been
framed, and he pointed to several inconsistencies in the case against him.
Fresh Howard claimed that the gun had been stolen from his garage,
and they had no involvement in the letters or the booby trap discovered by Mary.
During his trial and in interviews afterward, Freshour suggested that his ex-wife,
(08:19):
Karen Sue Freshour, who was also Mary Gillespie's sister, might have had a motive to frame him.
Paul and Karen Freshour were divorcing, and Mary allowed Karen to move into
a trailer on Mary's property.
The couple's divorce had been raw and a real fight, and Mary had testified against Paul.
(08:39):
Karen said that throughout their marriage, Paul was very abusive to her and the children.
She described him as being very manipulative and smart.
In October of 1982, a year before the trial, Karen Sue claimed that Paul had
beat her up and threatened to cut her face with a pop bottle.
So, in court, Karen showed pictures of her injuries. She had a black eye with four stitches.
(09:02):
It seems Powell somewhat admitted to this because in a letter Karen provided,
dated around that time, he did apologize.
And he mentioned being in treatment and counseling.
And she did report this to the police. And shortly after, that's when she filed for divorce.
But Freshour and some supporters believe that Karen, bitter about the divorce,
(09:24):
could have orchestrated the
letter-writing campaign to get back at him and ensure his imprisonment.
Karen's testimony and the letters she found surely played a significant role
in this case, and Paul Freshour's lawyer raised that very possibility during his closing argument.
If you read the divorce decree, who stands to profit financially if Paul is
(09:45):
convicted and goes During the divorce battle, Karen Sue lost her home,
custody of their daughters, and remembers she was living in a trailer on her sister's property.
So if Paul was out of the picture, she got everything.
And Karen Sue was one of the first to link Paul to the anonymous letters.
She claimed to have found letters hidden in their home, including one in the
(10:09):
commode, which she turned over to the authorities as evidence against Paul.
However, Paul and his defenders argued that Karen had both the motive and the
opportunity to plant the letters and fabricate evidence against him.
So, allegedly, Paul failed three or even four polygraphs. His fingerprints were
(10:30):
on the letters, but not on the booby trap or the gun.
Also, the way Sheriff Radcliffe conducted the handwriting analysis has been highly scrutinized.
He told Paul to copy the mystery letters exactly, which is not how it's typically done.
According to the lineup website, to perform an analysis accurately.
(10:52):
It's important to recreate the environment as closely as possible.
Now, this means like the same tools, such as like a pen, specifically a ballpoint,
blue or black ink, writing in all caps, using the same words or phrases found
in the original evidence.
However, it's important not to provide the suspect with the actual evidence to copy.
(11:15):
Copy instead they say that they are instructed to reproduce
it without having to see it and
without having in front of them because that's just direct mimicking and that's
exactly what paul was doing was mimicking the letters but fresh hire was indicted
by a grand jury in march of 1983 and suffered trial in october that year the
(11:36):
trial lasted one week he wasn't charged with anything related to the letters,
only with the attempted murder of Merrick.
The jury needed just two and a half hours to return a verdict of guilty on the
charge of attempted murder using
a firearm that was either in Freshower's possession or under his control.
Judge William Amher sentenced him to seven to 25 years. Now he ended up serving 10 years.
(12:01):
So Freshower's maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and his
entire incarceration and up until his death in 2012.
But listen up, folks. Listen to this. Despite Paul's conviction,
the mystery deepened because the letters continued to arrive even while he was incarcerated.
(12:23):
This unsettling development left both the authorities and the community wondering
if they had truly captured the right person.
The letters, not stopping, seemed to suggest that someone else was still out
there, continuing the campaign of fear.
As if to further confuse matters, Freshower himself received letters while behind bars.
(12:45):
Now, this was just a grim reminder that the terror was far from over.
These letters seem almost taunting, as if the real mastermind was toying with
him, letting him know that he was in control.
One letter said, Now when are you going to believe you aren't getting out of
there? I told you two years ago when we set them up, they stay set up.
(13:06):
Don't you listen at all. No one wants you out. No one.
Now that he was in prison, the authorities closely monitored Breschauer's mail
and all of his activities. activities, but the letters continued and were postmarked from Columbus.
A full-scale investigation was conducted, I think there was two or three actually,
during which Creshour was put into isolation.
(13:29):
The warden of the prison wrote a letter to Paul's wife saying that as far as
he was concerned, it was impossible for Paul to be writing these letters and
sending them from prison.
Okay, Hey, we're going to take a quick break right here. Take a stretch,
get a drink, but hurry back.
Music.
(14:17):
Okay, I'm glad you're back. Let's dive back in. This shocking development of
the letters still being sent, but absolutely, no doubt, not from Fresh Hour,
well, this fueled theories that the real letter writer was still out there.
And some people pointed fingers back at Karen Sue, suggesting that she might
have continued the campaign to show Paul's guilt and keep him behind bars.
(14:39):
The case gained national attention and was featured on an episode of Unsolved
Mysteries in 1994. The segment explored the mystery letters,
the impact on the community, and the investigation that followed.
The episode dived into various theories and included various interviews with
key figures that were involved in the case.
That brought widespread attention to the unsolved aspects of the Circleville letter mystery.
(15:04):
So during the investigation of the Circleville letters featured on the television
show, the show itself received an anonymous letter.
Yes, this letter was particularly chilling because it was sent directly to the
producers of the show, warning them against diving into the case.
Here's the letter. It read, Forget Circleville, Ohio.
(15:26):
If you come to Ohio, UL Sickos will pay.
And it was signed, The Circleville Letter Writer.
This indicated that the anonymous sender was still active and watching those
who were probing into the mystery.
The letter demonstrated that the person behind the Circleville letters was still
trying to exert control and intimidation, even reaching out to a national television
(15:50):
program that's investigating the story. That's pretty ballsy.
I found this most interesting right here, too. Paul's older daughter,
Selena, she thinks her dad is guilty.
And she says her and her mother suffer from PTSD from the sheer terror of living
through and being wrapped up in this nightmare.
They both believe Paul was guilty and that he had help.
(16:13):
Now, Paul wrote himself a 167-page report on his view of the case.
And I have read that everywhere, but all 167 pages. And it's pretty fascinating.
And we do have that on our files section in our Facebook group.
And a tidbit I found during my research about Kreschhauer is that he worked
(16:34):
as a prison guard at the notorious Ohio State Penitentiary.
This is interesting because it might speak on his mental health and state of mind.
Because listen, in a 1978 article in the Dayton Daily News marking the 10th
anniversary of the 1968 Ohio State Penitentiary Riots,
Paul Freshour was asked if he had any lingering emotional scars from the experiencing
(16:58):
of being held hostage and almost dying.
He claimed he didn't, although people often ask if he had turned to alcohol,
saw any mental health help, or experienced any lasting effects.
According to Freshour, there was nothing wrong with him, nothing he could pinpoint.
He was quoted saying, I still have nightmares every now and then,
(17:18):
a dream about what might have been and what was.
But considering everything, I feel fortunate to be as well adjusted as I am,
especially given how close I came to death.
The ongoing debate about his guilt or innocence, the role of his ex-wife,
and the continuation of the letters after his imprisonment all contribute to
(17:39):
the ongoing intrigue surrounding this case.
Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe and his team faced criticism from their handling of
the case, as the continuation of the letters suggested that possibly a larger
conspiracy or even maybe an organization could be behind this.
Okay, so a little tidbit here.
(17:59):
According to a report from the Scioto Valley Guardian in July of 2020.
Ratcliffe held the record of being the nation's longest serving elected sheriff
after being elected in Pickaway County to serve from 1966 until his retirement in 2013.
As the 37th Sheriff of Pickaway County, he served 12 consecutive terms. That's 48 years.
(18:27):
He is the second-generation sheriff, having served as a deputy sheriff for his
father for nearly eight years.
So his career totaled 55 and a half years in law enforcement.
That's quite an accomplishment. His son, Robert B.
Radcliffe, succeeded him as
sheriff, marking the third-generation Radcliffe to hold the top cop job.
(18:50):
Okay, so in 2021, the CBS program 48 Hours asked former FBI profiler Mary Ellen
O'Toole and forensic document expert Beverly East to examine the letters.
O'Toole said she didn't think Freshour was the culprit based on the impression
she got of a controlling, vindictive letter writer.
(19:12):
Traits that Freshour's relatives insist don't fit him.
But East pointed to the letter G, which resembled the number 6 in many of the
Circle Bill letters, as well as Freshour's own handwriting.
East believes 100% that Freshour wrote those letters.
The Circleville Letters mysteriously stopped in 1994. Now, that was the same
(19:35):
year Paul Freshour was released from prison.
The case took an unexpected turn in the 1990s when a new suspect emerged.
In 1993, a prison inmate named Thomas Lee Dillon sent a letter to the Columbus
Dispatch claiming responsibility for the Circleville Letters.
Now, Dillon had a history of violent behavior and was already serving a life sentence for murder.
(19:59):
Authorities investigated Dillon's claim and found several similarities between
his writing style and that of the Circleville letters.
However, they could not conclusively link him to the crimes and he was never charged.
And in 2006, the case took yet another turn when a former police officer named
James Renner began investigating the case.
(20:22):
Renner had grown up in Circleville and had always he's been fascinated by the mystery.
He began to uncover new evidence and interviewed several individuals who planned
to have knowledge of the case.
Renner's investigation led him
to a new suspect, a former school superintendent named Dwight L. Bowman.
According to Renner, Bowman had a motive for sending the letters because he
(20:45):
had been fired from his position as superintendent and had a grudge against
several of the individuals who received the letters.
However, Bowman died in 2009, and authorities were unable to question him about the case.
And then, just before dawn on September 11, 2002, in Portsmouth,
(21:06):
Ohio, a man's body was found floating in the Scioto River.
It was 39-year-old Mark Freshour.
He had shot himself. so. His mother, Karen Sue, told the police that Mark had
suffered from years of depression.
This bit of information is intriguing because Paul Freshour himself,
he believed his son might have been involved in the Circle Go Letters case.
(21:27):
Paul thought that his son, who he claimed hated him, could have been working
with his wife to orchestrate the letter-writing campaign together.
And also, another suspect, remember the other bus driver that Mary,
Ron, and the Freshours ours thought might be involved?
The one that was hitting on Mary, flirting with her?
Well, listen to this. An 11-year-old girl eagerly anticipated her visit to her
(21:51):
grandparents in Orient, Ohio, and that's a small rural town.
But her visit took a nightmarish turn when another house guest,
David Longberry, led her into the living room and assaulted her while her grandparents were home.
The terrified girl immediately told her grandfather, who confronted Longberry.
Longberry fled the house without his belongings and vanished.
(22:15):
So Longberry was charged with the forcible rape of a child, but despite years
of relentless searching, he remained on the run.
In June of 2005, police received a tip suggesting that Longenberry may be working
as an over-the-road truck driver, living out of his truck and frequenting truck stops.
(22:35):
They also believe he rode a motorcycle.
Police did lose track of him, and he did live as a fugitive trucker.
And in November of 2006, America's Most Wanted aired his case,
hoping for a breakthrough. through.
Yes, Americans Most Wanted aired his case, too.
Longland Berry's family grew increasingly concerned due to the lack of contact,
(22:58):
and in the spring of 2006, Ohio police finally discovered his fate.
Upon arriving in El Paso in 1999, Longland Berger had taken his own life behind a truck stop.
His body was discovered hanging, bringing it into the long and painful search.
There was no note or a reason why that was left behind.
(23:20):
So, Lillie is literally a dead one. Despite ongoing questions,
the identity of the true Circleville letter writer remains an enduring mystery,
leaving the residents of Circleville with lingering doubts and unanswered questions.
So, as we leave Circleville tonight, remember that the real answer might still
be out there, hiding in plain sight.
(23:42):
Who's to say they aren't still watching the truth
as elusive as it has been may
yet surface but until then the circle
of letters will remain one of ohio's most haunting unsolved mysteries imagine
folks receiving a letter that reveals personal secrets only a close friend or
(24:04):
family would know how would you handle that and what would you do if you suspected
someone close to you, was behind it.
Would you tell? Would you go snitch?
Do you believe that justice was truly served in this case with the letters continuing
even after Freshour was in prison?
Is it possible that someone else could have been pulling the strings,
(24:25):
manipulating the situation from behind the scenes?
The Circleville letters sowed seeds of fear and doubt in a small community.
So what do you think would drive Paul to create such terror?
Would it be power, revenge, or something deeper and more personal?
Okay, well, as we close this case, we've dove deep into the evidence,
(24:46):
the testimonies, and the theories that have kept this mystery alive for decades.
We've explored the suspects, examined the leads, some that went nowhere,
and others, they're still leaving us questioning.
Though this case is considered solved, the search for answers continues in the
hearts and the minds of those who refuse to let it fade into the past.
(25:06):
And really, if any of you have information, theories, or personal stories about
the Circle of Letters, we'd love to hear from you.
We'll have many news articles on the case. I have photos, copies of the letters.
I have trial documents. I have some medical reports.
This will all be on our Facebook group.
And that's That's it for this episode of Death, Lies, and Alibis.
(25:28):
We hope that by shining a light on the local crimes, we spark something within you, our listeners.
Because the truth is, solving these cases will take more than just our words.
It's going to require the dedication and collective efforts of the entire community.
Don't forget to hit the follow button on the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.
(25:48):
To learn more about how to get your case featured on the show,
or to get instant access to case files and reports, plus documents and many
free resources, go to our Facebook group, Death, Lies, and Alibis, and join today.
Or email us at deathliesandalibis at gmail.com.
As always, be safe, stay alert, and never stop seeking justice.
(26:14):
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