Prompt Cast
The Circleville Poison Pen Letters: A True Crime Mystery
TLDR The Circleville Poison Pen Letters is a true crime mystery involving a series of stalking letters received by Mary Gillespie, leading to escalating harassment, a suspicious death, and a wrongful conviction. The case remains unsolved, with multiple potential suspects and unanswered questions.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Circleville Poison Pen Letters is a true crime mystery involving a series of stalking letters received by Mary Gillespie, a local bus driver in Circleville, Ohio.
05:17
Mary Gillespie receives a series of alarming letters accusing her of having an affair with the superintendent of the West Falls School District, leading her to suspect that another bus driver, David Longbury, is the letter writer.
10:26
After receiving letters accusing her of having an affair, Mary Gillespie and her husband Ron experience escalating harassment, including signs being posted around town, until Ron's death in a suspicious car accident.
15:27
Sheriff Radcliffe initially agreed with Paul Freshauer that Ron Gillespie's death was suspicious, but later changed his story and ruled it an accident after a high blood alcohol content was found and a polygraph test was passed by a suspect who was never identified.
20:45
After Ron's death, Karen and Paul's marriage deteriorated, leading to a divorce, with Karen cheating on Paul and ending up living in a trailer on Mary's property, causing Karen to live in a constant state of upset and anger at Paul, while Mary admitted to having an affair with Gordon Massey after the letter-writing campaign started.
26:15
Paul Freshhour's gun, which was traced back to him and found in a booby-trapped sign from the Circleville letter writer, led to his arrest and trial for attempted murder, with the introduction of the letters and handwriting analysis playing a significant role in his conviction.
31:25
Paul Freshhour was convicted and sentenced to prison for attempted murder based on circumstantial evidence, including the letters and the fact that his gun was found in the booby-trapped sign, but there were other potential suspects and evidence that was not introduced in court.
36:22
Paul Freshhour was released from prison in 1994 after serving 10 to 11 years for attempted murder, and despite having no clear motive, a strong alibi, and letters being sent to Unsolved Mysteries while he was in jail, he was still convicted and spent over 10 years in prison.
41:40
More than a thousand letters, postcards, and signs were sent or put up around Circleville and central Ohio over the course of almost 20 years, alleging everything from murder to affairs to complaints about Ohio politics, and some of the allegations were actually true.
46:59
The accusation that the prosecutor in Paul Freshauer's case, Roger Klein, killed a pregnant school teacher was one of the scandalous allegations made in the Circleville Poison Pen Letters, although it was never proven and Klein went on to become an appeals court judge.
52:18
The possibility that Karen Freshhauer, Paul Freshhauer's wife, was the Circleville letter writer is supported by the fact that she had the means, opportunity, and motive, as well as the timing of her involvement coinciding with the divorce proceedings.
57:25
The hosts receive a letter from a listener suggesting a plausible explanation for the Flannan Isle mystery involving a rogue wave that swept away all three keepers.
Categories:
Society & Culture
