Did Paul Freshour admit to being the Circleville Writer?

[justins5256]

Whilst doing more Googling, I came across this article. I looked on a couple of the Circleville threads here and I don't believe the article has been posted thus far. Although I did see some mention of the fact that Freshour entered an affirmative defense. Perhaps this was the reason...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GJcTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0AUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7240,3630243&hl=en

[Bleedingheart]

That article goes all the way back 1983

EDIT
Dohhhhhhhhhhh i meant to add more to it but i forgot now

[justins5256]

That article goes all the way back 1983

and?

If he ever admitted to it at any point it contradicts what he said and what was portrayed on UM. This wasn't even addressed in the segment at all. He just said he didn't do it.

[biscuitgirl]

Perhaps the article was incorrect? I don't recall that he ever confessed.

[crystaldawn]

Well that would be quite a bombshell if he did confess to the letters! I'm not sure whether if was one of those where he was browbeat into confessing or if they twisted his words into making it sound like a confession though. I never really thought he was guilty but if there's any truth to the article, I would rethink my opinion obviously.

[kadrmas15]

Hmm, yes, an affirmative defense in criminal law is usually a justification defense or self defense or something like this. I still believe Freshour's story but I would have to know more about why his lawyer would put on an affirmative defense? I mean you are basically conceding the guilt of your client by doing that.

Freshour never did admit being the circleville letter writer. Remember, he was not even charged with writing the letters. But at his trial he was charged with attempted murder as he was accused of putting up that booby trap. I would assume UM would have known his attorney put up an affirmative defense. So there must be more to it if they would still cover his story?

What I am curious of is did Freshour confess to the police? I would think they would mention if he did in the UM segment. But I am still perplexed as to why his lawyer would say Freshour did it? It could be that Freshour's lawyer tried pushing for a not guilty by reason of insanity situation. Freshour did not testify in his own defense which I think was a mistake. I also question the attempted murder charge as the gun did not fire. I just am not really sure that situation was even actually technically illegal.

[Thiussat]

Very interesting find. I have always thought that either Paul wrote the letters or someone close to him did. However, this article opens up more questions than it answers. For instance, if Paul did write "40 to 50" letters, then who wrote the rest and why? I am also a bit confused as to why UM did not report on this supposed confession.

Also, did anyone see the headline right below the Circleville one? ("Link Eyed in Child Slayings"). Talk about a coincidence, it is discussing the Rachel Runyan case, which was going on at the same time.

[Mastermind]

justins5256...who is the original author of the article. What newspaper did this story come from originally..not Ocala I presume..Looking at the article it looks like it's part of a "National Crime" section of a local Florida newspaper.

I wouldn't trust this info till we find the source newspaper or news service. I wouldn't trust these local small time newspaper writers as far as I could throw them.

A corresponding article should at least be in the local Circleville newspaper. Such a confession would be FRONT PAGE headline on the Circleville newspaper!!!! FRESHOUR CONFESSES TO LETTERS!!!

Remember that the crime he's being convicted of is attempted murder, not murder. It is quite possible that his lawyer wanted him to confess to the letters in hope of getting some leniency on the attempted murder of Mary Gillespie.

What this article does do is that it very clearly details the case against Paul Freshour that the prosecution had.


Also, did anyone see the headline right below the Circleville one? ("Link Eyed in Child Slayings"). Talk about a coincidence, it is discussing the Rachel Runyan case, which was going on at the same time.

Are we sure this is a coincidence, and the paper is not a hoax or some type of unsolved mysteries paper or something?

For instance, if Paul did write "40 to 50" letters, then who wrote the rest and why? I am also a bit confused as to why UM did not report on this supposed confession.

1. 50 letter is way to excessive for what amounts to a crime of passion. That's almost psychotic. And the letters WERE written, not photocopied, I presume. That's a lot of work. he could easily have written only 5 letters and accomplished

2. How many people or copycats would know of the Columbus postmark on the letters? Circleville, i believe does not use the Columbus postoffice. I think it has it's own. (I could be wrong on that..) The fact that the letters were postmarked at a Columbus postoffice, has always struck me as an overlooked clue. Almost like the the writer commutes constantly from Circleville to Columbus. Anyone from the area, familiar with the geography and local mailing system?

3. Why would Paul Freshour go through that much trouble to off Mary Gillespie in a way that had nearly zero chance of working? That booby trap was crude and would take extreme luck to even fire, much less kill Mary.
Even more importantly why use your own gun and then halfway through stop filing the serial number. Makes no sense. It;s almost like someone wanted Paul's gun to be found by Mary.

4. Why would Paul Freshour call his own sister and brother-in-law on the phone, when both could easily recognize his voice? Seems way to risky.

5. don;t hold me to his, but I believe the letter that Paul Freshour received matched handwriting with the majority of the letters including the first ones. I believe that's a prime reason why they let Paul out of jail.

6. Why would Paul Fre

[Thiussat]

2. How many people or copycats would know of the Columbus postmark on the letters? Circleville, i believe does not use the Columbus postoffice. I think it has it's own. (I could be wrong on that..) The fact that the letters were postmarked at a Columbus postoffice, has always struck me as an overlooked clue. Almost like the the writer commutes constantly from Circleville to Columbus. Anyone from the area, familiar with the geography and local mailing system?

Paul worked at a beer company in Columbus.

3. Why would Paul Freshour go through that much trouble to off Mary Gillespie in a way that had nearly zero chance of working? That booby trap was crude and would take extreme luck to even fire, much less kill Mary.
Even more importantly why use your own gun and then halfway through stop filing the serial number. Makes no sense. It;s almost like someone wanted Paul's gun to be found by Mary.

I agree that it's stupid to use a gun registered to oneself, but the fact remains it is his gun. Who else besides him and close family would have access to it?

4. Why would Paul Freshour call his own sister and brother-in-law on the phone, when both could easily recognize his voice? Seems way to risky.

See, that's the thing. The segment makes it sound as if there was more than one person involved: more than one caller and more than one writer. The person on the phone might not have been Paul. And just because it might not have been Paul on the phone doesn't mean he wasn't writing letters. I think a strong possibility is that both Paul and his wife were involved in this campaign. Perhaps even others as well. Remember, Ron Gillespie was Paul's wife's brother, so there is a motive there.

The frustrating thing about this case is that UM left out a lot of info on purpose (probably because they didn't want to name names). As I said on this board a long time ago, it would be great if someone could obtain the court transcripts to Paul's attempted murder trial. I think those records would shed a lot of light on this whole thing.

[Bleedingheart]

1. During the UM Segment there was a researcher who claimed there was another person involved in the case that owned a yellow El Camino similar to one seen along the bus route

2. The Chief of police had Paul write several letters but did not charge him with letter writing! He charged with attempted murder. The chief seems a little shady

3.Ron Gilseppi was murdered but his death was ruled a suicide a blatant cover up

I have more but i will go into that later

[Mastermind]

During the UM Segment there was a researcher who claimed there was another person involved in the case that owned a yellow El Camino similar to one seen along the bus route

If you watch the segmenet again, there are 4 ferences to another suspect.
a. There's the person that the Freshour/Gillepsie family wrote the letter to.(this guy obviously wasn't Paul)
b. The original person the police suspected in killing Ron Gillespie.
c. The camino truck suspect
d. The women who wrote the letters. (obviously not Paul.)

Are these all the same guy.

2. The Chief of police had Paul write several letters but did not charge him with letter writing! He charged with attempted murder. The chief seems a little shady

I agree. The police activity on this case is strange.

3.Ron Gilseppi was murdered but his death was ruled a suicide a blatant cover up

Excelllent point. The death was at first ruled homicide then changed to accidental. What was it about the death that made them think homicide? What caused the change?

[justins5256]

Here is a very similar article from the Spokesman Review. It looks like they credit Associated Press...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19830305&id=K9gRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qe4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3138,2014169

Some interesting/tricky wording here...

"Radcliff said Freshour denied knowledge of the booby-trapped sign but said he had written 40 to 50 letters to businessmen, school officials, government employees and school district residents over the past seven years."

So Freshour denied making the sign, but who said Freshour had written the letters? Did Freshour make this statement or did Sheriff Radcliff?


Excelllent point. The death was at first ruled homicide then changed to accidental. What was it about the death that made them think homicide? What caused the change?

This is just a shot in the dark at a possible non-sinister explanation. In the Tony Lombardi case, one of the detectives interviewed mentioned that it was department policy to initially examine every death as homicide unless there is obvious evidence pointing to the contrary. Could the same thing be taking place here?

As an aside, do you guys have any opinion on Martin Yant? He was the journalist interviewed along with Freshour who supported his claims of innocence.

[mozartpc27]

I pointed out some time ago that Paul Freshour entered an affirmative defense. It's in the Circleville Letters thread. So yes, he did admit to writing some of the letters. You can't enter an affirmative defense without conceding you DID the thing for which you are on trial.

[Mastermind]

As an aside, do you guys have any opinion on Martin Yant? He was the journalist interviewed along with Freshour who supported his claims of innocence.

As a Suspect?

Interesting.....

A journalist would fit the profile of the writer.

[crystaldawn]

This may seem off the wall but has anyone ever considered a female could have been involved in the letter writing. It seems that people are overlooking the superintendent's wife (if he had one, not positive on that). She would have had a motive of letting the public know of the affair, possibly to get back at her husband and his mistress. Did any of these online articles ever mention who this person is that the original 4 people who knew about the letters in the beginning suspected? He would also be the one with the brother that had an el camino.

Btw does ANYONE out there believe that Mary Gillespie and the Superintendent's affair started AFTER the letter writing campaign....no I didn't think so. :lol:

[justins5256]

As a Suspect?

Interesting.....

A journalist would fit the profile of the writer.

LOL, sorry, I didn't mean as a suspect. I just meant his credibility.

It dawned on me that Yant appeared in an episode of Final Appeal to bolster Paul Ferrell's claims of innocence which are just so incredibly laughable. I mean, most of the final appeal segments get you thinking, but Ferrell's was a total no-brainer. Why Yant would stand behind someone like Ferrell I have no idea. He's either extremely gullible, or even worse, is pushing some agenda.

[Thiussat]

This may seem off the wall but has anyone ever considered a female could have been involved in the letter writing.

Yes, I brought up this possibility a long time ago in another thread. If you pause the segment when some of the letters are in a close-up view, you can read some of the text. In my opinion, what the text says is revealing in that it sounds to me like verbiage a woman would write. It's probable, in my mind, that it was Paul's wife or the superintendent's wife (if he had one).

One frustrating thing about this is none of us are privy to the info that the Sheriff and, I assume, the journalists had. I imagine they had access to most of the letters. A lot can be determined by someone's writing style (I don't mean handwriting, I mean verbiage). This is why I think it would be cool if someone could obtain the court transcripts (if I am not mistaken, all criminal court transcripts are publicly accessible by anyone).


Btw does ANYONE out there believe that Mary Gillespie and the Superintendent's affair started AFTER the letter writing campaign....no I didn't think so. :lol:

No. And for her to suggest it began afterwards is an ultimate insult to the intelligence of even the dumbest person alive. :cool:

And the fact that Mary wouldn't appear for the segment says something. The same goes for the Sheriff.

[soilentgreen]

It's probable, in my mind, that it was Paul's wife or the superintendent's wife (if he had one).


That's the thing that makes me feel Freshour had involvement with some of the letters and may have had suspicions about how his gun was utilized for the booby trap. Add to that his comments towards his former family at the end of the segment and the mysterious blitz of letters while he was in prison. If the letter writer wanted Freshour to "stay set up" why send scores of letters in to him (unless there were possibly a few poison pen writers out there)? It seems as though someone had regrets that Freshour received such a long prison sentence and wanted it to look like the mysterious harasser was still at work.

Why did the (original) letter writer focus on Mary Gillespie, and not the superintendent, whose career would be more adversely affected by the affair should it become public knowledge? A disgruntled coworker of Mary's could have made the most of the situation and made his boss' life a living hell, but as far as we know, s/he focuses on Mary. The writer wants Mary's husband to press Mary to admit the affair to the school board; basically s/he wants Mary publicly humiliated, the superintendent less so. That, to me, suggests a closer personal involvement with her -- either someone angry at how she was hoodwinking her husband or upset that she was sleeping with someone else (and not them).

[Mastermind]

Why did the (original) letter writer focus on Mary Gillespie, and not the superintendent, whose career would be more adversely affected by the affair should it become public knowledge? A disgruntled coworker of Mary's could have made the most of the situation and made his boss' life a living hell, but as far as we know, s/he focuses on Mary. The writer wants Mary's husband to press Mary to admit the affair to the school board; basically s/he wants Mary publicly humiliated, the superintendent less so. That, to me, suggests a closer personal involvement with her -- either someone angry at how she was hoodwinking her husband or upset that she was sleeping with someone else (and not them).

Why on Mary? There are several reasons other reasons.
1. The writer might have been someone that wanted to have a relationship with Mary. Mary may have rebuffed his claims because she pulled the fidelity card on him. Just think how upset this guy might be if he later finds out that Mary is cheating on her husband with someone else! That's the type of thing that might drive someone over the edge.

2. Usually people think the woman might be more vulnerable to humiliation over fidelity than the superintendant. A guy is almost expected to be promiscous in society. I'm not being chauvinistic here, I'm just pointing out how some poeple think.

3. Mary is more likely to be intimidated by the letter, whereas the superintendent may be more inclined to take a gun and search for the writer, much like Ron did.

4. It has to be considered that the writer may have no connection to Mary or Paul and may just be a psychopath that garnered a piece of gossip he heard. Perhaps a fellow bus driver who heard about the infidelity through the grapevine. This guy may have even been inspired by how the Zodiac Killer created fear via letters.

5. It's possible the letter writer has more of a direct connection to the superintendent and feared he might be recognized.

6. It's possible the writer may be a religious nut as well. The writer may feel that Mary is a harlot who needs to be punished. Sadly, religion tends to punish the women more in these cases.

7. More importantly...the writer may know that Mary was the person who commenced the relationship. She may have been the seducer. This may hold more stock with the writer.

8. The writer may be a rival to the affections of the superintedent(perhaps even the wife). The wirter may have wanted to have Mary "back off her man".


If the letter writer wanted Freshour to "stay set up" why send scores of letters in to him (unless there were possibly a few poison pen writers out there)?

Even more important...If his wife wrote the letter, why would she wait so long to spring him from jail?

Even more important...why would Paul Freshour risk trying to kill Mary or her daughter with the booby trap. As crude as it was, there was a chance it could fire. Didn't Mary already confess to the relationship before the booby trap? (or am I wrong about this?)

I would love to take a look at one of the letters to determine if the writer is a psychopath. Also if this letter was written by a woman.

When I think about it. Stealing Paul Freshours gun would be easy. Especially if the writer is a friend or relative of the family. It could be as simple as being invited into the house, going to the bathroom and just stealing it and walking away with it.

[soilentgreen]

If his wife wrote the letter, why would she wait so long to spring him from jail?

You'd have to delve into background of their marriage. Also, what was Freshour's background with Mary Gillespie? Were Freshour and his wife the original letter writers, or did Freshour at some point suspect that his wife or someone else close to him was behind the letters? This goes along with Freshour's claim that he wrote copies of the letters at the Sheriff's insistence because he thought he was protecting a family member.

His wife's issues/divorce with Freshour may have motivated her to point the finger at him and have him take the blame for the letters and booby trap.

Possibly whoever set the booby trap believed that no one would ever be successfully prosecuted for it. At some point, whoever set the booby trap may have felt guilty about how long of a sentence Freshour received. Or it might be his own friends and family thought to write the prison letters to deflect suspicion off of Freshour.

Exactly what was the motivation to write to Freshour? It could simply have been to gloat, but wouldn't common sense (which, I'll admit, highly vindictive people rarely use at such times) dictate that the letters would indicate that the harasser/attempted murderer was still at large? And these letters were going to everyone and their uncle, which makes it more credible that the entire purpose was to help exonerate Freshour. Since the original letter writer threatened to broadcast the affair on the CB, why didn't s/he carry out that threat earlier on, and send letters to the school board?

Even more important...why would Paul Freshour risk trying to kill Mary or her daughter with the booby trap. As crude as it was, there was a chance it could fire. Didn't Mary already confess to the relationship before the booby trap? (or am I wrong about this?)

I think the confession came prior to the booby trap. Was it ever proven that the original letter writer's handwriting was the same as the writing on the sign on the booby trap? By the time of the booby trap incident, word had undoubtedly spread about both the letters and the affair.

I tend to feel that Freshour, at the least, had some knowledge about the letters/booby trap or that he had suspicions about who was behind them. What appears as either absolute guilt or innocence in Freshour's case (and either is possible) may simply be a case of being unable to accuse other individuals without implicating his own self in some of the occurrences.

[Hambone2421]

As I watched The Circleville Letters on UM, I kept thinking he did it. But then when he went to prison, the letters kept going, with the same handwriting and the same postmark, which was ont he otherside of the state from where the prison was. The only possible way he did it was if he sent it to his wife/friend/accomplice and had that person send the letters from Columbus. Its just a very odd case.

Also before his BIL is killed, he was on the phone with the "letter writer" and was going out to confront him. Wouldnt he have recognized Paul Freshour's voice since he was his BIL? Plus who is this other "person of interest" that the family it may have been? The whole case seems very very strange.

[Mastermind]

The only possible way he did it was if he sent it to his wife/friend/accomplice and had that person send the letters from Columbus. Its just a very odd case.

What other accomplice could Paul have other than his wife?

Plus who is this other "person of interest" that the family it may have been?

Paul could have stopped writing the letters when the family wrote their own letter. To draw attention away from himself.

There are threeother "persons of interest" that are mentioned in this case
1. Whoever was first suspected of killing Mr. Gillespie
2. The man in the El camino.
3. Whoever mr. Gillespies believed was the writer over the phone.

The multi-million dollar question is whether these all refer to the same person or possible 4 different individuals.

Wouldnt he have recognized Paul Freshour's voice since he was his BIL?

More importantly, wouldn't he have told Mary? I suppose he could have decided that he didn;t want to upset her with the fact that he might want have to kill her brother.

To me the big questions in this case are
1. Why the gun booby trap?
2. Why so many letters at such a pace over such a wide spread.
3. If Paul Freshour is the writer...who wrote the letters while he was in jail and why?

What type of "mind" would do all the above?

[Thiussat]

You'd have to delve into background of their marriage. Also, what was Freshour's background with Mary Gillespie?

I don't know how well they got along but I doubt the relationship was very smooth. Paul's wife (Sue I think her name is) was the sister of Ron (the dead guy). If anyone had a motive for hating Mary and her infidelity it would be her. The question is what went on between Paul and Sue to cause the divorce. Which one of them wrote the letters or were both of them in on it? Perhaps Paul didn't want any part of this campaign, so perhaps that eventually drove him and his wife apart. Perhaps that's when she tried to pin it on him. All of this is speculation and will never be known without having more info about the case.

Were Freshour and his wife the original letter writers, or did Freshour at some point suspect that his wife or someone else close to him was behind the letters?

I don't know, but I do know Mary testified at trial that Sue had told her Paul was doing it. Either Mary is lying and trying to pin it on Paul (for some unknown reason) or Sue was telling the truth. It's also possible, as I said above, that Sue was writing the letters and trying to pin it on Paul (for reasons unknown). Again, this is why it would be imperative to know what caused the divorce (not that it's anyone's business).

This goes along with Freshour's claim that he wrote copies of the letters at the Sheriff's insistence because he thought he was protecting a family member.

It's interesting how many people in this segment were referred to as "family members" or "family friends." It's as if everyone had threatened to sue for defamation if UM used their names. But I agree with you, Paul's wife seems as good a candidate as any for this "family member." Remember, there is no one better than her as far as a motive goes since she was Ron's sister and definitely had a motive to hate Mary. The only strange thing is, if it was her, then why all the letters? Why didn't she just tell Ron, "Hey, Mary is cheating on you?" If she was writing the letters why would she harass her brother with the whole thing? After all, he lived in the house and had to deal with all the nonsense. It seems as if this whole thing turned him to drinking. This is a bit much to put a brother through. Not to mention some of the letters had threatened Ron if he didn't "put a stop to his wife's affair."

His wife's issues/divorce with Freshour may have motivated her to point the finger at him and have him take the blame for the letters and booby trap.

I think it's as good a theory as any. As I said above, it doesn't make sense why would Paul's wife would harass her own brother (Ron) and threaten him in the letters? I suppose this is why I believe several people were involved. Perhaps Sue and Paul were both involved and both wrote letters or perhaps they even brought a friend in to "help."

Possibly whoever set the booby trap believed that no one would ever be successfully prosecuted for it. At some point, whoever set the booby trap may have felt guilty about how long of a sentence Freshour received. Or it might be his own friends and family thought to write the prison letters to deflect suspicion off of Freshour.

I am not so sure that all of the letters being sent while Paul was in prison were authentic. The segment said hundreds, if not thousands, were being sent all over the entire state. I think it's likely some of them were copycats, bored teenagers, or what have you. It's unlikely one person could write thousands of letters.

I think the confession came prior to the booby trap. Was it ever proven that the original letter writer's handwriting was the same as the writing on the sign on the booby trap? By the time of the booby trap incident, word had undoubtedly spread about both the letters and the affair.

I don't know if it's possible to compare the booby trap writing with the letters since the booby trap was so succinct and in much larger print (probably done with a spray paint can). You can't compare spray paint or a paint brush with handwriting.

I tend to feel that Freshour, at the least, had some knowledge about the letters/booby trap or that he had suspicions about who was behind them. What appears as either absolute guilt or innocence in Freshour's case (and either is possible) may simply be a case of being unable to accuse other individuals without implicating his own self in some of the occurrences.

I agree. I think Paul knows a lot but feels sorry the thing "went so far." It's possible he is covering up for a family member, but at the same time, wants his name cleared.

[Bleedingheart]

It would seem to me they Freshour does have an idea who the writer is hence how did they communicate with the writer.

In the segment it mentioned that they were letting the writer know that they know who he or she was

[Mastermind]

It would seem to me they Freshour does have an idea who the writer is hence how did they communicate with the writer.

I think Paul has an opinion who the writer is like the rest of the family did. But I doubt he knows anymore than Mary Gillespies does.

The question is what went on between Paul and Sue to cause the divorce. Which one of them wrote the letters or were both of them in on it? Perhaps Paul didn't want any part of this campaign, so perhaps that eventually drove him and his wife apart. Perhaps that's when she tried to pin it on him.

Would Paul's wife really know how to set up that gun booby trap? As crude as it was, it did require a person with knowledge of contruction and handiwork to make it. Would Paul's wife really know where to start?

The construction of the booby trap seems to me to be more likely to be done by a man, than a woman.

Why does Sue even need to do the booby trap in the first place? Her fingering Paul as the letter writer would be sufficient enough.

I am not so sure that all of the letters being sent while Paul was in prison were authentic. The segment said hundreds, if not thousands, were being sent all over the entire state. I think it's likely some of them were copycats, bored teenagers,

1. How many teenagers knew the letters had to be postmarked via Columbus?
2. There is no internet and the letters were not published, nobody could have known what the content and style of the letters was.
3. i do believe that a few of the letters sent to Paul in prison match the original letters handwriting.

[Hambone2421]

I cant remember but was Mary Gillespie even interviewed by Unsolved Mysteries regarding this case? Its been so long since I've seen this segment but I honestly can not remember her being interviewed.

[justins5256]

I cant remember but was Mary Gillespie even interviewed by Unsolved Mysteries regarding this case? Its been so long since I've seen this segment but I honestly can not remember her being interviewed.

No, I don't believe there was even so much as a picture of her shown. Just the actress in the re-enactments. Freshour was the only family member interviewed (I think).

[Thiussat]

I cant remember but was Mary Gillespie even interviewed by Unsolved Mysteries regarding this case? Its been so long since I've seen this segment but I honestly can not remember her being interviewed.

As was said above, Mary was not interviewed and neither was the Sheriff. Both declined. The silence around this case is pretty remarkable -- no one but Paul wanted to talk.

As for the letters, one must not assume they were all written by the same person and one must not assume the guy in the El Camino (who set the trap) even wrote any letters at all. The more I study this case, the more I think more than one person was involved (it may have just been two people, like a husband and wife). Either that or some of the letters were copycats. The segment did not elaborate on how many letters handwriting analysis was done. It is doubtful that it was done on all of them (hundreds if not thousands of them were sent). It is very likely in my mind that letters were written by two or more people (Paul being one of them).

As for how copycats could possibly hear of the case (since there was no internet), well it was widely publicized in Circleville and even nationally. This is evident based on the fact that some of the newspaper articles about the story were printed in newspapers in other states.

[burbqueen]

HI everyone!! I have been lurking for 2 years now and have been reading posts and updates since 2004!! I feel I know some of you already from the post I have read. I am a huge fan of the show, but cant stand what spike TV has done to it. Well I finally decided to join.

As for this case. Did anyone think the letters written before Paul went to prison and the letters that arrived after he was in the clink looked different? Or was it just me? I swear the script is not the same.

[Mastermind]

Or was it just me? I swear the script is not the same.

Are we sure that's the actual letter shown? It could just be something that UM made themselves?

As for this case. Did anyone think the letters written before Paul went to prison and the letters that arrived after he was in the clink looked different? QUOTE]

I doubt it for these reasons:
1. I think the letter had a date postmark on it, did it not?
2. I also think you have to use a special address to mail something to a prisoner. How would Paul know his serial number?

[QUOTE]As was said above, Mary was not interviewed and neither was the Sheriff. Both declined. The silence around this case is pretty remarkable -- no one but Paul wanted to talk.

Are you sure they declined? Maybe there wasn't enough time to show everyone's interview. I think this was one of their longer segments if I rememer.

The problem I have with the conspiracy theory is:
1. What does the other person get out of it? There's no money involved here. The affair has already happened. Why would someone willing become an accessory to harassment and two counts of murder just to have Mary fess up to her husband?

2. Your assuming the motives of the 1st person are sane. It's quite possible the writer is a psychopath. These type of people usually are alone in their acts.

3. The proof that we have that their is second person is :
a. The letter that was sent to Paul in jail
b. A second person answers the question about why if Paul did the writings, why his gun was used in the booby trap
c. The opinion of one handwriting expert that the writing is a women's writing.

All the above could be answered by other things.


As for how copycats could possibly hear of the case (since there was no internet), well it was widely publicized in Circleville and even nationally. This is evident based on the fact that some of the newspaper articles about the story were printed in newspapers in other states.

But where copies of the letters shown to the public? Was the Columbus post office code mentioned?

[Thiussat]

Mastermind, since it's late, I don't have time to go over each point, but I can say that Robert Stack said the Sheriff was contacted and he declined to appear on the segment. I don't know about Mary, but you can bet your house that she was also contacted. And since she didn't appear, I think it's fair to say she declined. I would doubt very seriously that she was cut out of the segment due to time constraints. That would be like cutting Zodiac out of a segment if he was ever discovered.

[burbqueen]

I still wonder if the letters shown while Paul was in jail
was a um recreation or what. Either way I have always suspected either Paul or his wife. The whole booby trap box and pauls gun clearly means someone close to Paul or someone who had access to his gun. As for the husband that died, I dunno. I wonder if there was a witness? I do think he was killed. What was the cause if death again?

[Hambone2421]

This is one of the top 5 strangest cases I have ever seen. I have gone back and forth on this case and have thought several different things, but ultimately I believe Paul Freshhour did write the letters, perhaps with some help. I think the fact that the letters continued while he was in prison can easily be explained.

First of all, lets remember that Mary claims that it was Paul's own wife who told her that he was the letter writer. To me, it would seem doubtful that she would help him during this ordeal.

Secondly, if Paul was the letter writer, he had to have an accomplice. I say this for 2 reasons. 1. The letters kept coming while he was in prison. He could have written more letters during trial and given them to his accomplice to mail our sporadically while he was in prison so that police think he is innocent and end up releasing him. 2. When Mary's husband stormed out of the house the night he died, he told one of his children that he knew who the letter was and was going to confront him. Seems like if it were Paul on the phone with him, he would have told his kid, "Its Uncle Paul!, tell your Mom hen she gets home". This was way before cell phones so its not like he could have called his wife. Now I have no idea whether or not anyone killed Mary's husband or if he just simply died in the car wreck.

All together, I think Paul wrote the letters. At first it was just to Mary and her family. Once he went to prison, the letters started going to residents all over Circleville. I believe Paul wrote these letters before or during the trial and gave them to his accomplice to mail out while he was in prison. I believe that he wrote to many people so that he would have a better chance of those people calling the police to say they had received letters rather than just Mary's family calling. He may have figured that if alot of people call saying I'm getting these letters, the police would have no choice but to think that maybe someone else did it. My on,y question is, who could his accomplice be? Most would think his wife, but shes the one who fingered Paul to Mary. Why would she then go back and help him?

[Hambone2421]

Exactly!

[Hambone2421]

bump

[Hambone2421]

Remember the beginning of this segment when Robert Stack read the note that the Circleville writer sent it warning UM not to air the show? Has anyone ever wondered how that person found out about the segment on the show? I wonder if this was just another one of Paul Freshhour's games, since he did know about the segment since he participated in it.

[truthbtold]

This case drives me mad. I cannot believe that the person actually sent a letter directly to UM. There must be new info on this case by now. There has to be some DNA evidence (a hair or something) that can be used today to crack this case. Has anyone heard anything new about this?

[Hambone2421]

This case drives me mad. I cannot believe that the person actually sent a letter directly to UM. There must be new info on this case by now. There has to be some DNA evidence (a hair or something) that can be used today to crack this case. Has anyone heard anything new about this?

I highly doubt there is anything new on this case and I doubt that there is any DNA left. I mean, we are talking about something that happened almost 30 years ago. Ultimately though, I believe Freshour did write the letters. The letter that was written to UM "threatening" them had to have been written by someone who knew about the segment appearing on the show.

[justins5256]

I highly doubt there is anything new on this case and I doubt that there is any DNA left. I mean, we are talking about something that happened almost 30 years ago. Ultimately though, I believe Freshour did write the letters. The letter that was written to UM "threatening" them had to have been written by someone who knew about the segment appearing on the show.

I don't know. It could have been anyone who lived in or near Circleville who knew about the taping which was probably done several months before the episode first aired. Circleville sure seemed like a small town. I think bigshot LA television people rolling in to do a story on Circleville would have been a big thing that a lot of people would have known about aside from Paul Freshour and those who appeared in the segment. Just my $0.02.

[Hambone2421]

I don't know. It could have been anyone who lived in or near Circleville who knew about the taping which was probably done several months before the episode first aired. Circleville sure seemed like a small town. I think bigshot LA television people rolling in to do a story on Circleville would have been a big thing that a lot of people would have known about aside from Paul Freshour and those who appeared in the segment. Just my $0.02.

I thought Stack had said they received the letter before filming began? If so, then that means they received it before they went to Circleville. If they received the letter during or after filming, then your right, it could have been anyone.

[justins5256]

I thought Stack had said they received the letter before filming began? If so, then that means they received it before they went to Circleville. If they received the letter during or after filming, then your right, it could have been anyone.

I don't remember, I'll have to watch it again to be sure. Although, now that you mention it, I think the letter did say something like "stay out of Circleville, Ohio". which may imply they hadn't arrived yet, so you may be correct.

[Clockworkhigh]

How about the possibility of it being the superintendant's children? Permitting he had some. Another good motive

[Priddo]

From the UM segment, I came to theconclusion it wasn't Paul. There's just too much he would have had to do, secretly, for it to be him.

His wife tell Mary it was him? Well weren't they broken up or breaking up at the time? She was probably just being a bitch about it.

How come this suspect who's brother had the car that was seen was not talked about more? Clearly it was someone with access to such a car who did it, it's not rocket science. That right there clears Paul of at least ebing the 'only' one involved in this whole thing, since the appearance didn't match him, and the car was not his.... Even though his gun was used, it looks pretty obvious he didn't put it there.

i suspect that the sheriff was in on it. His work was so ridiculously dodgy, and his change in heart over Ron's death was insane. Didn't his kids say he hadn't been drinking, and didn't seem drunk at all when he left? Yet supposedly he has somehigh blood alc level... But wait that doesn't come out until the change of heart from the Sheriff... How shifty is that whole thing? What about the fact he declined to be interviewed in any form, or how the letter to UM mentions 'do not harm Sheriff Ratcliffe'.

I don't know what his motive was, maybe he had the hots for Mary and was jealous, or she burned him once and this was his revenge.


And yes, there is no way in hell this affair started after the letters... Does she honestly think anyone would believe that?

[Clockworkhigh]

And yes, there is no way in hell this affair started after the letters... Does she honestly think anyone would believe that?

Yes that was ridiculous. Would an innocent person of extramarital affairs start having an affair AFTER the accusations come out? No. A pathetic attempt to justify herself. But then again she had an indirect hand in putting her husband 6 feet under. So what can you expect?

Also, while Paul was in jail the letters continued. This can cause you to think that the killer is still out there. This is a strong possibility. However, does anyone remember the movie Scream? I hate to use a fictional horror movie to prove a point, but in that movie we all remember someone being in prison while the killer was seemingly on the outside creating havoc, making the person behind bars look innocent. Is it possible that this is similar with Paul? Could a partner/his wife be on the outside doing this stuff in order to free him?

[Hambone2421]

Yes that was ridiculous. Would an innocent person of extramarital affairs start having an affair AFTER the accusations come out? No. A pathetic attempt to justify herself. But then again she had an indirect hand in putting her husband 6 feet under. So what can you expect?

Also, while Paul was in jail the letters continued. This can cause you to think that the killer is still out there. This is a strong possibility. However, does anyone remember the movie Scream? I hate to use a fictional horror movie to prove a point, but in that movie we all remember someone being in prison while the killer was seemingly on the outside creating havoc, making the person behind bars look innocent. Is it possible that this is similar with Paul? Could a partner/his wife be on the outside doing this stuff in order to free him?

You make an interesting point but as I have pointed out before (as I believe Paul Freshhour to be guilty), he could have written several letters before he went to prison, then had a friend or an accomplice drive all over the state and mail them from different spots to make it look like the writer is still out there.

[mwcarolina]

I believe Paul is innocent, one reason is the letters continued to come when he was in prison and i know what you said about someone else helping write them, but if that person did, wouldnt they have to write EXACTLY like Paul?? it's NOT easy to do that, i think it had to be someone either in the family besides Paul or how about the other half of the affair?? what about HIS family members???? by the way, i FULLY believe the writer when he accused them of an affair, but the fact is, whoever this writer is got away with a serious crime and needs to be found.

[Clockworkhigh]

You make an interesting point but as I have pointed out before (as I believe Paul Freshhour to be guilty), he could have written several letters before he went to prison, then had a friend or an accomplice drive all over the state and mail them from different spots to make it look like the writer is still out there.

That is true, but weren't the letters thought to be relevant at the time? In other words those letters seemed to be accurate at that time they were sent. If Paul did it before hand, how could he have predicted the future?

[Priddo]

That is true, but weren't the letters thought to be relevant at the time? In other words those letters seemed to be accurate at that time they were sent. If Paul did it before hand, how could he have predicted the future?
I believe you're correct, which makes that unlikely. I guess he could have written lots and only had ones sent that were ccorrect, but that would take a massive amount of work, there's just no way that'd be doable for one man.

[Mastermind]

To me the key to this case lies in the gun booby trap.

In a bizzare case, this is the most bizarre thing in it.

The only thing that makes sense is that whomever sent it wanted Paul Freshour to be convicted of being the Circleville Writer.

[Hambone2421]

To me the key to this case lies in the gun booby trap.

In a bizzare case, this is the most bizarre thing in it.

The only thing that makes sense is that whomever sent it wanted Paul Freshour to be convicted of being the Circleville Writer.

Can you elaborate on that? Why do you feel that the booby trap is the key?

[MissFit29]

My guess is because the booby trap had Paul Freshour's gun in it.

[Priddo]

Which seemed like an obvious attempt to set him up, to me. Which means you'd have to look at people who wanted to get some sort of revenge on him.

[VikingsGal]

Is this a closed case for local police? If not, could there be a new team to look at the evidence with new DNA technology available?

I never thought Paul Freshour was guilty. There was just something about him that I believed. And he went to prison and the letters kept coming even after he was in solitary, right?

[bell83]

Which seemed like an obvious attempt to set him up, to me

Seriously. I don't know the man, personally, but he'd have to be a complete moron to use a pistol that can be tracked back to him in any way.

[VikingsGal]

I did a little searching myself and I did not realize this all started in 1976! No wonder it is such a cold case.

But there have been cold cases older than that which have been solved.

[Mastermind]

Can you elaborate on that? Why do you feel that the booby trap is the key?

1. If the writer wanted to kill Mary..he couldn;t have used a more inefficient method. What were the odds that the gun would go off or that Mary would be the one to set it off. Yet, there still was a possibility that Mary could die, so he did have some willingness to kill Mary Gillespie. It's almost like the setter of the trap was more interested in the gun being found and had no problem with Mary's death being a side benefit.

2. Why would Paul Freshour file his gun;s serial numbers half way?. Why not finish the job. Was he that sloppy?

3. As mentioned by other posters, why would he use his own gun for a booby trap that could easily fail and leave behind such critical evidence.

4. What about the whole situation prompted this attempted murder. Before the trap there had not been a direct threat against Mary. Now this. What changed? What did Mary do to prompt this?

5. If you think about it..there is not improbable that the booby trap was never set at all. That Mary faked the booby trap and used this as an attempt to frame Paul Freshour.

6. As bizzare as this case was, everything leading up to the booby trap was fairly normal as harassment cases go. The booby trap adds an even more bizarre layer.

7. Maybe this is just me..but the booby trap indicates to me that the writer may be psychotic. I would think in order to go through something like that for all the risks....it seems a lot like an unstable person who has beef with Mary borders on obsessive.

8. Again maybe I am too close to the Zodiac case, but the Circleville Writer always reminded me of the zodiac killer. Creating a booby trap in order to frame someone else and the writing a letter to said person while he is in jail sounds like something Zodiac would do. I would not be surprised if this whole letter writing campaign was inspired by the Zodiac Letters.

In short i believe the booby trap may indicate

1. That the writer (or someone) else was attempting to frame Paul Freshour for the crime.

2. That the writer may be psychotic. Which makes this case very frightening if the writer simply chose the Freshours simply because he had acquired knowledge of the affair. Small towns are ripe for gossip. The writer could easily have picked up on this rumour through any number of venues.

[Wamisto]

I highly doubt there is anything new on this case and I doubt that there is any DNA left. I mean, we are talking about something that happened almost 30 years ago. .

I don't know, they pulled DNA from the stamp from one of the Zodiac letters a few years ago, and that letter goes back to the 60s.

[Mastermind]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hambone2421
I highly doubt there is anything new on this case and I doubt that there is any DNA left. I mean, we are talking about something that happened almost 30 years ago. .

I don't know, they pulled DNA from the stamp from one of the Zodiac letters a few years ago, and that letter goes back to the 60s.

I guess because the Circleville Writer is not a murder case(depending on how you view the death of Mary's husband) there is not a priority to test the Circleville Letters for any DNA.

I can;t blame them either. The writer has not done anything in years. If Freshour did the Letters, then it;s moot since he was already tried. I can;t blame the police for not prioritizing this case over any of their other violent crime cases.

[Thiussat]

1. If the writer wanted to kill Mary..he couldn;t have used a more inefficient method. What were the odds that the gun would go off or that Mary would be the one to set it off. Yet, there still was a possibility that Mary could die, so he did have some willingness to kill Mary Gillespie. It's almost like the setter of the trap was more interested in the gun being found and had no problem with Mary's death being a side benefit.

Interesting.

2. Why would Paul Freshour file his gun;s serial numbers half way?. Why not finish the job. Was he that sloppy?

Well, a lot of people think it's easy to file a serial number, but it's NOT. Ask any mafia hitman. It's harder than you think to get an untraceable gun. It's likely Paul was under the impression that filing a serial number (by an amateur like himself) would work.

3. As mentioned by other posters, why would he use his own gun for a booby trap that could easily fail and leave behind such critical evidence.

Yes, but the serial was filed. I would agree with you if not for that. If someone was framing Paul, there is NO reason for them to file the serial number.

4. What about the whole situation prompted this attempted murder. Before the trap there had not been a direct threat against Mary. Now this. What changed? What did Mary do to prompt this?

Well, the letters were written about Mary. The letters stated that Ron had "better put stop to the affair." This person was obviously angry at Mary (or pretended to be).

5. If you think about it..there is not improbable that the booby trap was never set at all. That Mary faked the booby trap and used this as an attempt to frame Paul Freshour.

The problem with this theory is that there are witnesses seeing a man walking around the area about the time the trap was placed (the El Camino guy). And this is not a place where people just walk around -- it was the side of the road.

Don't get me wrong, I have pondered the possibility that Mary herself was behind this whole campaign (and it would be a very clever way to cover up any responsibility for Ron's death -- blame it on the mysterious letter writer), but the facts just don't bear that out. It was Paul's gun and witnesses saw the El Camino at the very spot the trap was placed. Of course, it's possible Mary could have easily stolen Paul's gun and it's also possible the El Camino guy really was just taking a leak (as witnesses said he seemed to be doing). I agree with you that a booby trap is a pretty weird way to kill someone -- it's almost as if someone wanted the booby trap to fail and be recovered. And who would want such a trap discovered? Someone who was trying to get others to believe they were being targeted, of course. And who would that be? The only possibility is Mary herself.

Think about it: Mary had the motive and the means (easy access to the gun). And the letters, while complaining about Mary, were really threatening Ron. That's an important distinction to make. Talk about one helluva Lifetime movie plot!

Of course, this whole scenario is so beyond the pale that I am more inclined to rule out the simpler explanations first (which have not been ruled out by any means).

7. Maybe this is just me..but the booby trap indicates to me that the writer may be psychotic.

Maybe. I would say more of an obsessive-compulsive with sociopathic tendencies. They could be psychotic, but there's no evidence of it. Psychosis is when the subject hears voices and sees things that aren't there. Other symptoms are extreme paranoia and delusions. The writer was not delusional since we know Mary was indeed having an affair.


8. Again maybe I am too close to the Zodiac case, but the Circleville Writer always reminded me of the zodiac killer. Creating a booby trap in order to frame someone else and the writing a letter to said person while he is in jail sounds like something Zodiac would do. I would not be surprised if this whole letter writing campaign was inspired by the Zodiac Letters.

It's possible. Both are pretty hard to solve, that's for sure. However, I think the Circleville writer could be more easily identified if we were privy to all the info that UM omitted.

In short i believe the booby trap may indicate

1. That the writer (or someone) else was attempting to frame Paul Freshour for the crime.

It's possible, and if true, they were fiendishly clever with the filing of the serial number (knowing it would be recovered by experts). I tend to take the "simplest explanation is the best" approach and that is that Paul thought the filing of the serial number would protect his identity. He was wrong.

2. That the writer may be psychotic. Which makes this case very frightening if the writer simply chose the Freshours simply because he had acquired knowledge of the affair. Small towns are ripe for gossip. The writer could easily have picked up on this rumour through any number of venues.

I am doubting it (Occam's Razor). I think it was either Paul himself or someone closely related to him (or both in tandem).

EDIT:

I just watched the segment again (it's been a year or so since I had). A few random observations:

1) The Sheriff does seems dodgy. However, he is one of the longest running Sheriffs in America today (I think he is STILL the Sheriff there), which means a lot of people like him. Typically corrupt Sheriffs do not last too long. People aren't going to put up with it and will vote them out.

2) I still think some of the verbiage in the letters sounds like a woman. Women are much more likely to be mad at another woman for having an affair (seriously, us guys don't really care unless it's our own wife. Ladies you know this is true -- there is nothing like the hatred and jealousy some women have for each other). Remember that Paul's wife was Ron's brother. Paul himself had no blood relation. I see no one with a bigger motive for hating Mary than Paul's wife. However, why she wouldn't simply tell Ron about the affair is beyond me. Perhaps she just wanted to humiliate Mary publicly. At any rate, the letters were laced with the noun "pig" quite a lot. I have never heard anyone but a woman call someone a pig. Have you?

3) A lot of the "evidence" was based on the word of Mary. For instance, it was her that claimed another bus driver told her that there was a man in an El Camino. The segment never said whether the other bus driver corroborated this story. It was Mary who claimed Paul's wife told her Paul was writing the letters. Again, the segment never said whether Paul's wife admitted that she really did tell Mary that. And third: the booby trap, as far as we know, was seen by no one else but Mary (remember, Mary would have relatively easy access to Paul's gun).

4) Paul thought he was protecting a family member when he did the handwriting test. I think this person was his own wife, or perhaps his wife's brother (maybe Ron had a brother who drove an El Camino). The person in the El Camino has to be connected directly to the family somehow. What this connection is we don't know from the segment since UM seemed to refuse to name names.

5) If Sheriff Radcliffe was involved in any wrong-doing (that is if he is covering for someone), why would the letter writer write a letter to UM telling them to "not bother Sheriff Radcliffe?" This seems rather stupid to out your partner in crime like that.

6) One of the letters to Paul in prison said "The Sheriff is loving this" or something to that effect (you have to pause it to read the text). This was in relation to the Sheriff convincing the warden to put Paul in solitary. Again, if it really were the Sheriff why would he implicate himself in the letters? (The letters make it seem as if the writer is not the Sheriff himself, but in cahoots with the Sheriff). But, again, why out you partner in crime like that?

7) This same letter to Paul said "I told you two years ago when we set them up they stay set up." This person is claiming to have told Paul this two years ago. Surely this must give Paul some idea as to who this might be. The letter makes it sound like the author is either the Sheriff or one of his deputies, but they would have to be stupid to implicate themselves in the letters.

8) If Mary was a "loose" woman, it is possible she was one of those women looking to hook up with a "big fish" in town (I know plenty of women like this). It's possible she wasn't only having an affair with the superintendent but also, gasp, the Sheriff. I, of course, am only speculating but this is the only motive I can think of for the Sheriff to be involved in this (but it wouldn't explain the hatred for Mary in the letters, unless, as I said before, Mary hatched this plan to take suspicion off herself for Ron's death).

As someone else has said, it is pretty clear Paul wrote some of the letters -- the newspaper article says he admitted to "40 or 50" and another poster pointed out they he filed no contest on this charge. So we have a scenario of Paul having an accomplice or a scenario where someone whom Paul knew began their own letter writing campaign after he was in prison (Paul's ex-wife perhaps?) An angry ex-wife might explain the vitriol towards Paul in the prison letters and might explain the "I told you two years ago" comment. Whatever the case, I am 100% convinced Paul wrote some of the letters but not all of them (especially the ones that came to him in prison as it would be impossible for him to write them to himself, obviously). Another possible letter suspect is the El Camino guy (who I think was blood related to Paul's wife and Ron, but the segment didn't say who he was, so I am speculating on his connection to the family).

Bottom line: we can only speculate until someone comes forward and produces some of the letters for public consumption. I would also like someone in Ohio to dig out the court transcripts to his trial. Since the journalist in the segment had them, anyone can have them.

[mwcarolina]

i am pretty sure he did NOT admit to it and i wouldnt either, first off, why admit it even if you spent all that time in prison??? you dont. Anyways, do i think he did it, honestly, no, BUT it's possible he did write the letters, but as of now, i still say no, BUT if he didnt write them, who did?? as for the writer, he SEEMS to be right about the affiar though.

[MariposaLKB]

Quote:

1) The Sheriff does seems dodgy. However, he is one of the longest running Sheriffs in America today (I think he is STILL the Sheriff there), which means a lot of people like him. Typically corrupt Sheriffs do not last too long. People aren't going to put up with it and will vote them out.

Thiussat:

Yes, he IS still the sheriff. I live in the area in which this case occurred and there was a pretty serious campaign against him in the last election, but from what I understand (not being a lifelong resident of Pickaway County), it has been 75 years of Radcliffes!

[Thiussat]

Quote:

1) The Sheriff does seems dodgy. However, he is one of the longest running Sheriffs in America today (I think he is STILL the Sheriff there), which means a lot of people like him. Typically corrupt Sheriffs do not last too long. People aren't going to put up with it and will vote them out.

Thiussat:

Yes, he IS still the sheriff. I live in the area in which this case occurred and there was a pretty serious campaign against him in the last election, but from what I understand (not being a lifelong resident of Pickaway County), it has been 75 years of Radcliffes!

Did you live in the area during the time of the letters?

[MariposaLKB]

No, I was a child and had recently moved to Ohio, but didn't move to the Circleville area until a couple years after I was married--a compromise, being about halfway between where I grew up and where my husband did. I have seen this UM segment, though now my recollections are very sketchy and I have not had the patience to wade through all the information on here. We watched UM religiously when it first came on TV, but I had forgotten details of any of the cases profiled, apart from reading (and very occasionally commenting on) the discussions here, or seeing the same stories on more recent shows like Disappeared. I tried watching the newer version of UM with Dennis Farina, but I never liked him on Law and Order and I still don't LOL!

[mwcarolina]

i wonder if anyone knows if the letters have stopped and if Mary Gillispie is still with that Superattendent (cant spell it sorry) of schools and if they are even still investigating the case??? Anyways, this is a very tough case and the only thing i can think of is to look at the letters and ask themselves about how this person knows Gillispie and how they knew of an affair (if it did happen which most of us now guess did)

[MariposaLKB]

I've gone back through this forum again now and I see that people were asking if mail from Circleville went through Columbus. I know it does now. Don't think it did back then, but it was mentioned Paul worked in Columbus. However, I can see the points of those who think maybe someone was trying to frame him. It's not that far from Circleville to Columbus--most of us do at least some of our mall shopping or movie-going up there. Probably more so back then, before there was a Walmart here LOL! And this is really a "bedroom community" of Columbus--only a couple of factories and a bunch of family-run downtown businesses right here. So someone else could have been mailing letters while going to work or running errands.

[TheCars1986]

What motive would Freshour have (if he were in fact the sole letter writer) in trying to stop the affair between Mary and the superintendent? It just doesn't make sense as to why Freshour would even care about the alleged affair, it was his sister-in-law, not even a blood relative.

[MariposaLKB]

^Good point. Like I said I didn't live here at the time, and since we moved from town out into the county before we had kids, I don't know anything about Circleville city schools even now. Was the superintendent's name ever mentioned? I would like to see if it is one I recognize as being from a family that is still prominent here.

[TheCars1986]

I also seem to remember some discussion about what the letters said on these forums and how people deciphered them by pausing the UM segment. I remember how the letters seem to indicate that the superintendent's wife is a good woman and how by keeping up the affair would be destroying her. That to me indicates the letter writer was close to the superintendent's wife, or may have even been the wife herself. Or it could have been a disgruntled member of the school board. I just don't see how Freshour could be connected to any of this. He obviously wouldn't be overly concerned with the superintendent's wife's feelings.

[Thiussat]

What motive would Freshour have (if he were in fact the sole letter writer) in trying to stop the affair between Mary and the superintendent? It just doesn't make sense as to why Freshour would even care about the alleged affair, it was his sister-in-law, not even a blood relative.

Exactly. As I have said in previous posts, this is why I think the writer is very likely a woman. And I see 3 possible women as being responsible:

1) Superintendent's wife

2) Paul's wife (who was the sister of the dead guy -- Ron)

3) Mary herself doing it as a ruse to cover up for Ron's death.


There is a person on that video site who says that they lived in Circleville at the time and actually had met Mary Gillespie (they said she is a "nice woman"). HA HA

At any rate, this person said that the letters were mainly being sent to people associated with the school. They said pretty much every faculty member at the school got the letters. This leads me to rethink my theory about Paul's wife and/or Mary being responsible. I am now thinking a lot about the superintendent's wife. However, I find it weird that the UM segment did not even mention his wife (was the guy even married?).

I think a possibility is the letter writer and booby-trap setter were two different people. The letters got to the point where they were disrupting the lives of Freshour and the Gillespies to a point where the booby-trap stuff came later after everyone got worked up.

One thing is for sure, none of us will ever solve it unless we can read the letters and know exactly who all the different suspects were.

I GUESS THE JOKE IS ON US: THEY TOLD US TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE SET THEM UP THEY STAY SET-UP: HA HA: WE ARE NOTHING BUT PIGS: HA HA: THE SHERIFF IS LOVING THIS:

[MegtheEgg86]

Exactly. As I have said in previous posts, this is why I think the writer is very likely a woman.

Why do you think a woman is more likely than a man to have written those letters specifically?

And I see 3 possible women as being responsible:

1) Superintendent's wife

2) Paul's wife (who was the sister of the dead guy -- Ron)

3) Mary herself doing it as a ruse to cover up for Ron's death.


As you mentioned, none of us know if the superintendent was married or not. Ron died right after the letters began (how is this a ruse to cover up the actual circumstances of Ron's death? If anything, wouldn't that exacerbate things for Mary?), and what motive would Freshour's wife have to send the letters?

[TheCars1986]

As you mentioned, none of us know if the superintendent was married or not. Ron died right after the letters began (how is this a ruse to cover up the actual circumstances of Ron's death? If anything, wouldn't that exacerbate things for Mary?), and what motive would Freshour's wife have to send the letters?

Well the letters actually do implicate that the superintendent was in fact married, and that his wife was a good woman. I paused the segment once while watching it and read everything I could and it seemed like whomever was writing the letters was appalled at how anyone could cheat on such a good, wholesome woman as the superintendent's wife (at least that is what was implied in the letters). So that would lead to speculation that it was either the wife herself, or someone very close to her. Freshour's wife could have a motive for writing the letters by knowing that her brother's wife was having an affair with someone and she wanted to put an end to it before it was brought out publically. That actually makes more sense to me, that instead of confronting her head on causing a irreconcilable rift in the family, she anonymously attempted to put an end to the affair by writing the letters.

[MariposaLKB]

I am having NO luck finding anything online from the local papers about this case. The superintendent (maybe his wife) and other faculty members of Circleville schools were part of either the cause (the affair) or the effects (the letters), so I would think names got out somewhere. I am "not from around here" originally, as they might say--so wouldn't know who or how to ask, and probably wouldn't get answers if I did--and haven't seen the UM episode in years. So it is really bugging me--was the superintendent named on the episode, or is there any other site (like a newspaper's online archive) that might name him? I don't intend to confront anyone--like I said I am not a "local" and not that kind of person anyhow. Just curious, since there are a few families who sort of crop up in everything (good or bad) around here LOL (Freshour is not a name I recognize from anything else but this case, though.)

[Thiussat]

Why do you think a woman is more likely than a man to have written those letters specifically?

Because of the letter's contents. The word "pig" is used a lot and that is a phrase more likely to be used by a woman, imo. I have heard women use the phrase a lot and very rarely a man.

Secondly, I don't think most men really care about women having affairs with other men. It's like the guy above said, men just don't care that much unless it's their own wife. And let's face it, men just aren't as much of "busy bodies" as women are. This is why I get a distinct vibe that these letters are a result of a "woman scorned."

As you mentioned, none of us know if the superintendent was married or not. Ron died right after the letters began (how is this a ruse to cover up the actual circumstances of Ron's death? If anything, wouldn't that exacerbate things for Mary?),

It could have been the plan of Mary all along. Write the letters to cover up the fact she wanted Ron dead and then make it look like the crazed letter writer did it. So she started writing the letters before he was killed and then later had him killed. Granted, this is one of the more far-fetched scenarios, I readily admit that.

and what motive would Freshour's wife have to send the letters?

Because Ron was her brother! This is why I think Paul's wife is suspect #1. She would have the easiest access to Paul's gun of anybody and she has a bigger motive than almost anybody to hate Mary. I think Paul himself knew about her letter campaign and probably even joined in at some point. Whether it was he or his wife who planted the booby trap is open for speculation. I also have wondered if the El Camino guy was her and Ron's brother (the reporter said he was the brother of someone but didn't say who).

I am having NO luck finding anything online from the local papers about this case. The superintendent (maybe his wife) and other faculty members of Circleville schools were part of either the cause (the affair) or the effects (the letters), so I would think names got out somewhere. I am "not from around here" originally, as they might say--so wouldn't know who or how to ask, and probably wouldn't get answers if I did--and haven't seen the UM episode in years. So it is really bugging me--was the superintendent named on the episode, or is there any other site (like a newspaper's online archive) that might name him? I don't intend to confront anyone--like I said I am not a "local" and not that kind of person anyhow. Just curious, since there are a few families who sort of crop up in everything (good or bad) around here LOL (Freshour is not a name I recognize from anything else but this case, though.)

If you pause the segment and look at one of the letters up close, you will see the name "Massie." The first letter they show on the segment actually starts by saying:

STAY AWAY FROM MASSIE:

DON'T LIE WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT HIM:

So, there's your lead! Massie. The letters have quite a few misspellings and grammatical mistakes. In another letter they misspell the word "strictly" as "strickly." There are numerous other examples too. Actually, upon looking at the writing of one of the letters, it looks like the script changes mid-way through. It's almost as if two people were sitting down together in tandem.

[MariposaLKB]

Thanks for that, Thiussat! As I said, I have not seen the segment in years and if it is online somewhere I was not aware of it. That last name figures in the name of a(n) (unincorporated?) town around here somewhere, so was probably a well-known family at one time like I thought.

EDIT: Now I see why I haven't been able to find a name when using superintendent of Circleville schools as a search term. He was not superintendent of the city schools, but of one of the rural districts in Pickaway county. An archived thread (which I didn't know Sitcoms Online had) was the first thing I got just now when I Googled Superintendent Massie and Circleville schools.

[mwcarolina]

Exactly. As I have said in previous posts, this is why I think the writer is very likely a woman. And I see 3 possible women as being responsible:
1) Superintendent's wife
2) Paul's wife (who was the sister of the dead guy -- Ron)
3) Mary herself doing it as a ruse to cover up for Ron's death.

One thing is for sure, none of us will ever solve it unless we can read the letters and know exactly who all the different suspects were.

I GUESS THE JOKE IS ON US: THEY TOLD US TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE SET THEM UP THEY STAY SET-UP: HA HA: WE ARE NOTHING BUT PIGS: HA HA: THE SHERIFF IS LOVING THIS:
first off, Thiussat, i agree that the writer COULD be a woman, anyways, i think the person who set the trap COULD be the same, but also could not be the same, i cant answer that. As for the suspects, all are good ideas, BUT who why would Paul's wife kill Ron??? if she didnt kill Ron, then all she did is write the letters and someone else killed Ron. As for the Superintendent's wife, i could see that and same with Mary herself.

[mwcarolina]

Something else that is strange, the letter writer was mailed a letter by the Gillispies and Paul and his wife saying "i know who you are." My question is did they actually mail that (which would require an address or did they put in their mailbox hoping the writer would come??

[egswanso]

Something else that is strange, the letter writer was mailed a letter by the Gillispies and Paul and his wife saying "i know who you are." My question is did they actually mail that (which would require an address or did they put in their mailbox hoping the writer would come??

The segment made it clear they mailed the "i know who you are letter" to the person they suspected, and the letters stopped. The next thing discussed was the phone call that lead to Ron's death.

[mwcarolina]

The segment made it clear they mailed the "i know who you are letter" to the person they suspected, and the letters stopped. The next thing discussed was the phone call that lead to Ron's death.
i wonder if the person they suspected did this???

[Thiussat]

i wonder if the person they suspected did this???

No one knows. I personally don't put much credence into the whole "the letters stopped after we mailed the letter to him" scenario. It might have been a coincidence that the letters stopped during that time or it might have been that the letter writer was actually one of the people who sent the warning letter (I find this more likely -- the letter writer was one of the four family members who fingered some other guy to take suspicion off themselves).

Someone a few posts back brought up a good point. In the letters they said "I will transmit it by CB radio" A key to the writer's identity might be discovering someone who had access to a CB radio. Perhaps one of them had a CB in their car (not uncommon in those days). Perhaps a truck driver. Or, dare I say it, one of the people in the Sheriff's department!

[TheCars1986]

Someone a few posts back brought up a good point. In the letters they said "I will transmit it by CB radio" A key to the writer's identity might be discovering someone who had access to a CB radio. Perhaps one of them had a CB in their car (not uncommon in those days). Perhaps a truck driver. Or, dare I say it, one of the people in the Sheriff's department!

Or maybe a fellow school bus driver? A-ha!

[MegtheEgg86]

Because of the letter's contents. The word "pig" is used a lot and that is a phrase more likely to be used by a woman, imo. I have heard women use the phrase a lot and very rarely a man.

Secondly, I don't think most men really care about women having affairs with other men. It's like the guy above said, men just don't care that much unless it's their own wife. And let's face it, men just aren't as much of "busy bodies" as women are. This is why I get a distinct vibe that these letters are a result of a "woman scorned."

I'm not seeing it.



Pig is a term used in many different contexts as an insult. It doesn't necessarily have to imply what's meant by the expression chauvinist pig. It's sometimes used to describe (perceivably corrupt) political or governmental cohorts as well. Sheriff Radcliff--who has something of a cult of personality in that area--figures prominently in many of those letters. I don't think the latter usage of the term should be overlooked. And really, it's anyone's guess what specifically is meant by the term pig without reading the entirety of the letter--the intent could've even been multiple expressions in a single term.

I'll only say this about your assertion that women are "busy bodies": it's a stereotypical, scientifically unverifiable claim that doesn't do much to bolster your argument. It's subjective. Personally, I feel the universally capitalized, block-style letters and the usage of colons in place of periods, exclamation points, and other punctuation marks is quite masculine. But all that boils down to is an individual opinion based on anecdotal ideas unfounded in academic theory or study, and is therefore essentially useless in the grand scheme of things.

[NFresh]

Hmmm.... it's interesting to see everyones posts about this. Paul Freshour is my uncle and my earliest memories of him were picking up White Castles on the weekend and visiting him in prison. As a small child I had no idea why such a nice man could end up there, and still can't believe how out of all people, someone would want to frame him. I've had several discussions with my dad (Pauls brother) and other family members, and completely believe someone was trying to set him up. (Paul a very gentle man that would offer you the shirt off your back)

For those of you who would like to see the case re-opened, it has been. Infact, to my knowledge, it will be featured on a cold case program some time in the near future. The investigators for the show have been looking into pieces of the investigation that would completely clear my uncles name (including the man in the el camino). I know they've continued to do interviews and look at evidence. I'm not sure when everything will be wrapped up, but I'm waiting for the day when his name will be completely cleared.

[Thiussat]

Hmmm.... it's interesting to see everyones posts about this. Paul Freshour is my uncle and my earliest memories of him were picking up White Castles on the weekend and visiting him in prison. As a small child I had no idea why such a nice man could end up there, and still can't believe how out of all people, someone would want to frame him. I've had several discussions with my dad (Pauls brother) and other family members, and completely believe someone was trying to set him up. (Paul a very gentle man that would offer you the shirt off your back)

First of all, thanks for posting. I have been hoping someone in the know about this case would post.

At any rate, who does Paul believe is responsible? If you don't want to give names, that's understandable. Give us a hint, though. ;)

Also, how does Paul rectify the fact that his gun was used in the booby trap? This tells me that either Paul had something to do with it or someone very close to him did. There's no other explanation really. Someone had to know where he kept that gun which means they had to have intimate knowledge of his house, etc. I am thinking a close blood relative of Ron might be involved (without naming names, I think you know who that could be).

For those of you who would like to see the case re-opened, it has been. Infact, to my knowledge, it will be featured on a cold case program some time in the near future. The investigators for the show have been looking into pieces of the investigation that would completely clear my uncles name (including the man in the el camino). I know they've continued to do interviews and look at evidence. I'm not sure when everything will be wrapped up, but I'm waiting for the day when his name will be completely cleared.

This is good news. Would you provide us with the name of the show and when it will air? I certainly do not want to miss this. Also, will they be covering the letters? As Paul said in the UM segment, the key to this is the letters. I have always been curious about their contents, style of writing, etc.

[MariposaLKB]

Hi NFresh! I have lived in the Circleville area for over 20 years now and love Pickaway County, the Logan Elm story, the Pumpkin Show, etc, very much! Wonder if we have ever passed each other in Walmart or someplace LOL....

Haven't seen this case for years, though I have tried to wade through the threads about it on here and ask my little questions now and then. Would love to see more coverage and am glad it is reopening. Will have to pay closer attention to the Dispatch and the Herald for info!

Lorelei

[NFresh]

At any rate, who does Paul believe is responsible? If you don't want to give names, that's understandable. Give us a hint, though. ;)

Also, how does Paul rectify the fact that his gun was used in the booby trap? This tells me that either Paul had something to do with it or someone very close to him did. There's no other explanation really. Someone had to know where he kept that gun which means they had to have intimate knowledge of his house, etc. I am thinking a close blood relative of Ron might be involved (without naming names, I think you know who that could be).

I have a feeling I know who you're talking about. To be honest, I have never asked him who I thought it was. I am only 24, so everything happened long before I was born, and I have never even met his ex-wife (Rons sister). I just recently relocated back to Ohio after living in Texas on and off for 12 years (my dad has been here, so I have made regular visits, but haven't really been "in the know"). Now that I am here, I plan on finding out as much as I can about the real happenings.

As far as the gun goes, Paul is a VERY trusting person who likes to surround himself with friends and family (often insisting that we have our big family gatherings over at his small house), so it is no surprise that someone else had access to the gun. He is also a very protective person, and it wouldn't surprise me if he took the blame for a loved one.


This is good news. Would you provide us with the name of the show and when it will air? I certainly do not want to miss this. Also, will they be covering the letters? As Paul said in the UM segment, the key to this is the letters. I have always been curious about their contents, style of writing, etc.

I will let you know as soon as I find out. I was not here during the interviews that were conducted, but will ask my aunt for more information (my dad wasn't very helpful as far as details go). Sorry, I wish I had more info, but will share what I find out. And yes, they will be looking into the letters some more.

Hi NFresh! I have lived in the Circleville area for over 20 years now and love Pickaway County, the Logan Elm story, the Pumpkin Show, etc, very much! Wonder if we have ever passed each other in Walmart or someplace LOL....

Haven't seen this case for years, though I have tried to wade through the threads about it on here and ask my little questions now and then. Would love to see more coverage and am glad it is reopening. Will have to pay closer attention to the Dispatch and the Herald for info!

Lorelei

Hi Lorelei! :wave: I am in Columbus, but am a big fan of the Pumpkin Show, and have gone while visiting and as a child.... so I'm sure we've probably been there at the same time at some point! I plan on asking a lot of questions, so I will share with you whatever I can.

[Doc_83]

Please visit http://paulfreshour.blog.com/2011/04/07/update-as-of-april-08-2011/ for update information

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Wow! Loving this development!

...and wishing I could say something more substantive. :)

[RobinW]

Yes, Circleville Letters is definitely one of the most baffling cases on UM, but it's also one of the hardest to find information on. This new Paul Freshour blog is VERY exciting and hopefully we learn a lot of stuff we never knew before!

[justins5256]

Maybe I missed it, but does anyone know where or how to view the documents he mentioned in the blog?

[TheCars1986]

The fact that Freshour still maintains his innocence (even after all of these years since being released from prison) tells me he's probably telling the truth. I wonder what the real Circleville writer (the one who initially targeted the Gillespie's) is up to today, and if he/she is still alive.

[RobinW]

Maybe I missed it, but does anyone know where or how to view the documents he mentioned in the blog?

Hmmmm, I'm assuming that he only wrote the initial blog post and was hyping that the documents would be posted on the website sometime in the near future.

[Ava]

Thanks for posting NFresh. It seems as if very few people on this board (myself included) think your uncle was guilty. Do you know if there is any truth to the AP articles claiming Paul admitted to writing over 50 letters (linked on page 1 of this thread)?

I read through the previous posts and some other threads on this topic, but was unable to determine if the superintendent was married.

Could superintendent Massie have been the letter writer? If he was having an affair with Mary and wanted her to leave Ron (and she was unwilling), what better way to force her hand? Then when Mary denied the affair and Ron chose to believe her, Massie continued communications, further attempting to dissolve the marriage.

The only problem with this theory is the booby trap. I can't think of a way Massie could have gained access to Paul's gun.

[Thiussat]

The only problem with this theory is the booby trap. I can't think of a way Massie could have gained access to Paul's gun.

Unless Mary herself obtained it somehow. It is plausible. Just sayin'.

Is this what happened? I don't know, but I definitely would not discount it.

[MariposaLKB]

^Makes sense.

[michaelfreshour]

My name is michael freshour, paul freshour is my grandfather, I have never met him him personally but heard lots of stories from my dad mark freshour who paul accussed of committing the crimes, his own son what a great guy right. I dont know who nfresh is if he is real or just somebody typing stuff up. But Paul was a very nice man and smart guy to his friends and in front of a lot of people but however he beat my grandmother (KAREN) and often beat my dad all the time ( he once put him in the oven for 30-40 minutes for time out) he also rip part of my grandmas hair outfor asking him to stop hitting my aunt. He is a ****ty person and I know the real story and what happen and let me tell you he is a guilty man, the guy in the elcamino was paul he borrowed my grandmas brothers car that very day which was a yellow elcamino. He is a liar and a scammer. I'm not like nfresh ill put names out there and can prove and answer any question.

[Hambone2421]

My name is michael freshour, paul freshour is my grandfather, I have never met him him personally but heard lots of stories from my dad mark freshour who paul accussed of committing the crimes, his own son what a great guy right. I dont know who nfresh is if he is real or just somebody typing stuff up. But Paul was a very nice man and smart guy to his friends and in front of a lot of people but however he beat my grandmother (KAREN) and often beat my dad all the time ( he once put him in the oven for 30-40 minutes for time out) he also rip part of my grandmas hair outfor asking him to stop hitting my aunt. He is a ****ty person and I know the real story and what happen and let me tell you he is a guilty man, the guy in the elcamino was paul he borrowed my grandmas brothers car that very day which was a yellow elcamino. He is a liar and a scammer. I'm not like nfresh ill put names out there and can prove and answer any question.

First, welcome to the board!

Secondly, I have always thought that Paul Freshhour was indeed the Circleville writer but that he had an accomplice since letters were still sent while he was in prison. Do you happen to know if he had an accomplice and if not, how were those letters sent while he was in prison?

[QuenSolen]

Michael,

I'm sorry, but I find it hard to trust someone that doesn't bother to spell/grammar check their posts over someone who used decent paragraph spacing, and doesn't say everything in one long run on sentence.

Of course, only the posters know the truth

[TheCars1986]

One poster claims Paul was a decent man, the other one an abusive a-hole. Who to believe?

[scc1222]

I get the feeling Paul was telling the truth,and that he is innocent.after all.HE is the one who came fwd to UM,and it seems he really had something to say about the letters...I think he knew who the author was and that he wanted LE to look into them and the 'accident' of his late bro in law.I know he can't come right out and mention any names,but it seems he did know who the suspect was and he had a pretty good idea about the whole thing.That's why I think he's teling the truth.And IMO that same person set Paul up w the gun trap,because Paul was one of the ones in with the others who sent him a 'cease and desist' letter about the letters this person was sending to Mary and his bro in law.
and that sheriff...if it wasn't him doing all of it..I'd be very surprised.he surely seems flaky.I wish we knew what all Paul knew and I wish he could reveal all of it.AND why the letter writer would give a darn anyway as to Mary and the superintendent having an affair. (I also don't buy that it started after the letters began).the whole thing is just very, very fishy.

[scc1222]

one other thing..how did the person who wrote the note to UM know they were coming to circleville? is that something that would have been announced? if not, then it would be a very small group of ppl to filter thru.that person did claim to be THE C-ville letter writer,and he/she sure didn't want UM there.

[scc1222]

My name is michael freshour, paul freshour is my grandfather, I have never met him him personally but heard lots of stories from my dad mark freshour who paul accussed of committing the crimes, his own son what a great guy right. I dont know who nfresh is if he is real or just somebody typing stuff up. But Paul was a very nice man and smart guy to his friends and in front of a lot of people but however he beat my grandmother (KAREN) and often beat my dad all the time ( he once put him in the oven for 30-40 minutes for time out) he also rip part of my grandmas hair outfor asking him to stop hitting my aunt. He is a ****ty person and I know the real story and what happen and let me tell you he is a guilty man, the guy in the elcamino was paul he borrowed my grandmas brothers car that very day which was a yellow elcamino. He is a liar and a scammer. I'm not like nfresh ill put names out there and can prove and answer any question.
here it says Paul had a solid alibi and the description did not fit him;

[TheCars1986]

[QUOTE=scc1222]here it says Paul had a solid alibi and the description did not fit him;



You might want to edit that post, it's against the rules to post links to youtube on this forum.

[UMFaninMD]

OK, Jessica Fletcher I'm not, but after watching the segment several times, I got a feeling it was Mary Gillispie who wrote the original letter, perhaps as an anonymous way to confess her affair with the school superintendent but at the same time make it look like she was an innocent victim and then either she or an accomplice started flooding the town with other letters. Then this accomplice murdered Mary's husband so she could be free to continue with the affair without interference, stole Paul Freshour's gun and planted it at the bus stop sign so Mary would still look like a victim. With Paul, a relative that apparently is not liked by some of the family, taking the blame, nobody would be the wiser.

Someone who was part of this family other than Paul or a close friend had to have had a part in this. Why would this group of people be targeted in the first place? I think it all comes back to the alleged affair. I agree with scc, that the affair started before the letters began.

[unslvd mr e]

does ne1 know any segments on UM about mysterious letter writers. i have circleville letter segment but was wondering the name of that episode where the guy says ha ha ha and the one where a mysterious woman calls but she lied cause she was never linked to the case. what other segments have scary letter writers?

[Oooga Chucka]

does ne1 know any segments on UM about mysterious letter writers. i have circleville letter segment but was wondering the name of that episode where the guy says ha ha ha and the one where a mysterious woman calls but she lied cause she was never linked to the case. what other segments have scary letter writers?


Circleville was, at least in my opinion, the creepiest one of the epistolary tales. Actually, I can only think of one more, the Lancaster Extortion letters.

[eurekasjm]

I'm just wondering if anyone ever looked into the bus driver that stated she saw the guy and the yellow El Camino? I mean...it states in the MU segment that the bus driver drove past that section of road about 20 minutes before Mary did. What are the chances that the bus driver could have stopped and put the box with the message on the side of the road for Mary to see. We and the UM segment are assuming that the bus driver was telling the truth but what if she made it up? What if she had some kind of issue with Mary and wanted to get at her by writing the letters and placing the boobie trap for Mary to see? And it's a small town so maybe this woman also knew that Paul kept his gun in his garage and knew that it was easy to get at. I'm one of the people who believes Paul Freshour is innocent and I question the validity of the information given by the bus driver. I know it's a stretch...but I just wonder if anyone looked into the bus driver???

[scc1222]

does ne1 know any segments on UM about mysterious letter writers. i have circleville letter segment but was wondering the name of that episode where the guy says ha ha ha and [B]the one where a mysterious woman calls but she lied cause she was never linked to the case.only one I can think of there is the one where the woman had an abortion and then disappeared from the clinic.someone later called and claimed to be her.Is that the one you mean? In that case,someone anonymous that worked at the clinic admitted she had died from an infection and her body was buried at sea.it was felt that was truthful, and the caller was just a prankster.

[scc1222]

I'm just wondering if anyone ever looked into the bus driver that stated she saw the guy and the yellow El Camino? I mean...it states in the MU segment that the bus driver drove past that section of road about 20 minutes before Mary did. What are the chances that the bus driver could have stopped and put the box with the message on the side of the road for Mary to see. We and the UM segment are assuming that the bus driver was telling the truth but what if she made it up? What if she had some kind of issue with Mary and wanted to get at her by writing the letters and placing the boobie trap for Mary to see? And it's a small town so maybe this woman also knew that Paul kept his gun in his garage and knew that it was easy to get at. I'm one of the people who believes Paul Freshour is innocent and I question the validity of the information given by the bus driver. I know it's a stretch...but I just wonder if anyone looked into the bus driver???
idk,I lean twds that or either Mary set the trap herself and needed a witness to later come fwd to say she saw someone else at that site.
it seems like such a complicated case at face value,but I bet it all comes down to just 2-3 ppl,inc. the sheriff,who were involved,and I agree,I think Paul is innocent.someone sure didn't want UM coming to town,(likely the original letter writer?) and notice no one but Paul was interveiwed,and it would be safe to say all the main players in the case were asked.thus,one(or more of them) are the letter writer.

[scc1222]

OK, Jessica Fletcher I'm not, but after watching the segment several times, I got a feeling it was Mary Gillispie who wrote the original letter, perhaps as an anonymous way to confess her affair with the school superintendent but at the same time make it look like she was an innocent victim and then either she or an accomplice started flooding the town with other letters. Then this accomplice murdered Mary's husband so she could be free to continue with the affair without interference, stole Paul Freshour's gun and planted it at the bus stop sign so Mary would still look like a victim. With Paul, a relative that apparently is not liked by some of the family, taking the blame, nobody would be the wiser.

Someone who was part of this family other than Paul or a close friend had to have had a part in this. Why would this group of people be targeted in the first place? I think it all comes back to the alleged affair. I agree with scc, that the affair started before the letters began.
good thought,Mary seems to have something to hide by admitting the affair,but then lying and saying it started *after the letters.so she possibly wrote the letters then? why would she feel the need to say that? also,I think the sheriff and superintendent were involved.
I'm not sure if it was ever intended for Mary's husb. to be killed..perhaps the only intent was for him to leave her.it seems things didn't play out as expected,and he went after someone after the phone call.I think he fired his gun at this person and missed,and either hit the tree then,or was beaten and then the 'accident' was staged.it seems it all spiraled out of control,starting with the phone call,and that triggered a series of events,ending with Paul being set-up and going to prison for something he didn't do.
it's odd the trap didn't go off..I think perhaps Mary staged it.it was in an odd place anyway..who's to say she would have even seen it in such a brushy area? someone who did that would want to make SURE she saw it.and we know she was at Paul's house,due to them all getting together to confront the letter 'writer'.
and the sheriff...I think he had connections.it seems odd Paul would get 10 yrs minimum for a booby trap that didn't even work.(much less would he not even bother to get the serial no. all the way off the gun).and then the letters continued while he was in prison,imo just as the author said 'when we set them up they stay set up'.iow,someone was giving Paul the middle finger by continuing the letters.so then he gets solitary and no parole...that just seems too convenient,and more like an inside job,as if the sheriff had connections there.
only other thing I can think to say about this case is that Paul said he was covering for someone else by copying the letters..I can only think that his wife would be the only one he would cover for,so then..it seems they thought the writer was a woman? were they doing this to set Paul up,even though they knew Mary wrote them (or might have..).JAT.
I did notice Paul said he wasn't doing this to get back into the family's good graces,and that he had a new family now and wasn't going to look back.I thought that lent him a great deal of credibility,as his only aim is for justice to be served.he specifically said he wanted someone to 'look back at the letters and the accident'.so it seems the author and the killer (if it wasn't an accident) are connected.

[TheCars1986]

There's one thing that's always troubled me about the theory that Paul Freshour was the Circleville Writer, and responsible for the attempted murder of Mary Gillespie (and also possible involvement in Ron Gillespie's death)....what was the motive? It's clear that the original letters wanted to stop this alleged affair going on between Mary and the superintendent, so what stake would Paul Freshour have in that? Would he really be that concerned about exposing an affair between his non blood sister-in-law and one of her coworkers? The apparent lack of motive for Freshour to commit any of these crimes is one of the biggest reasons why I think he's innocent.

And I still stand by my statement that the townspeople of Circleville used the "letter writer" as a way to tarnish others reputations and spread gossip. I think there were several writers, personally.

[scc1222]

There's one thing that's always troubled me about the theory that Paul Freshour was the Circleville Writer, and responsible for the attempted murder of Mary Gillespie (and also possible involvement in Ron Gillespie's death)....what was the motive? It's clear that the original letters wanted to stop this alleged affair going on between Mary and the superintendent, so what stake would Paul Freshour have in that? Would he really be that concerned about exposing an affair between his non blood sister-in-law and one of her coworkers? The apparent lack of motive for Freshour to commit any of these crimes is one of the biggest reasons why I think he's innocent.

And I still stand by my statement that the townspeople of Circleville used the "letter writer" as a way to tarnish others reputations and spread gossip. I think there were several writers, personally.
yes and I think Paul knows who is responsible for Ron's death,and thus the set-up on him..someone/s wanted to get him put away and tarnish his rep,and it worked.the fact he came fwd to UM on his own,while no one else wanted to talk..NO ONE..lends him a great of credibilty,IMO.

[UMFaninMD]

yes and I think Paul knows who is responsible for Ron's death,and thus the set-up on him..someone/s wanted to get him put away and tarnish his rep,and it worked.the fact he came fwd to UM on his own,while no one else wanted to talk..NO ONE..lends him a great of credibilty,IMO.

That's a good point. Only Paul came forward to talk and to try and clear his name even though he had been released. Even the sheriff wouldn't come forward to explain anything. It seems this is one case where practically the whole town seems to be in on everything and for some reason, only one person is willing to talk. Makes me wonder what else was/is going on in Circleville besides the alleged affair between Mary and the superintendent.

[Hambone2421]

BTW, Paul Freshhour is on facebook. Looks kinda creey...

[scc1222]

BTW, Paul Freshhour is on facebook. Looks kinda creey...
I don't think that's the same person,though the features are similar.the person on this UM segment would be at least 69 now,according to newsppr articles.(age 44 in 1986).

[Hambone2421]

I don't think that's the same person,though the features are similar.the person on this UM segment would be at least 69 now,according to newsppr articles.(age 44 in 1986).

You could be right but if you look at his friends list, several people are on there with the last name of Freshour who live in Ohio and the Circleville area. Two Paul Freshours in Circleville? Possible but unlikely. Plus that guy looks like he's 70!

[scc1222]

You could be right but if you look at his friends list, several people are on there with the last name of Freshour who live in Ohio and the Circleville area. Two Paul Freshours in Circleville? Possible but unlikely. Plus that guy looks like he's 70!
could be,maybe he was joking about turning 50 on his wall then.
I'm not sure the facial features fit the one on UM (nose,chin eyebrows) but I'm not that good with faces so idk.if it's him he sure does look and dress differently now.

[mwcarolina]

i dont think Paul is the letter writer, BUT i also dont think that Mary or the superintendent is either. i think it was someone who learned of the affair (likely someone in that school system like a teacher, principal or bus driver, etc) and wanted it to stop and they are the writer.

[TheCars1986]

Here's my two cents:

I don't think anyone of the Freshour/Gillespie family took the first few initial letters that seriously. Obviously, Mary Gillespie denied the affair and didn't admit to having one until AFTER the letters began (:rolleyes: ). I think they sent some letters to the man they suspected was the writer, all the while thinking it was more of a "game" than anything serious at that point. IIRC, the UM segment says the letters stopped for awhile after they mailed their letter to the person they suspected as the CW. Which seems to me that there's a good indication that the person they suspected truely was the "original" CW, or else he would have wrote back or reached out to them denying writing the letters. I think Ron Gillespie's death was truely an accident. I think he was drinking heavily on the night he died (the fact that his family says he left sober could be another case of a grieving family not wanting to accept the truth) when he got the phone call from the "suspect" whom received the letters from the Gillespie's & the Freshour's.

I think the "suspect" again called out the affair (this time over the phone instead of writing to Ron) and may have threatened Ron or his family. Ron, intoxicated and furious, left the house and died when his car crashed. A lot has been made on the fact that his gun was fired that night and I really don't have an explanation other than a possible misfire when he collided with the tree, or he may have fired it accidentally because he was intoxicated, I don't think we'll ever know the true reason behind the gun being fired. A couple of years after Ron's death, Paul and his wife seperated and eventually got divorced. I tend to think Paul's wife may have attempted to "set up" Freshour as the writer, and may have possibly had help from Mary Gillespie.

Who else, other than Paul Freshour, would have had access to Paul's gun? His wife. Who would want an affair to end involving their sister-in-law cheating on their brother? Paul's wife. Paul's wife, IMO, has a better motive in committing these crimes than Paul did. I think it's entirely possible that in an effort to frame Paul, she half-assed an attempt at rubbing the serial number off of the gun (knowing that it would be traced back to Paul) and had someone set up this crude booby trap (possibly even Mary Gillespie herself making up the story of "discovering" it), knowing it wouldn't go off, only to frame Paul. That really is the bottom line on the booby trap. Whoever set it up (due to its "crude" nature), obviously knew it was entirely possible that it wouldn't have went off and shot Mary (or it could have been discovered by an innocent bystander who was killed), so their main motive in setting the trap, IMHO, was not to kill Mary Gillespie, but to frame Paul Freshour. And again, who would have a motive in doing this? Paul's wife.

This is essentially what I have theorized has happened. I do think there was more than one CW, and that the townspeople used the CW moniker as a way to spread gossip about one another in the town. I do think the man who was initially suspected by the Gillespie's was in fact the original CW, and may very well have been the one sending more of the letters after Paul was incarcerated. I think the reason that there is a lack of interest in "solving" or updating this case is because Ron's death has been classified an accident and closed and the letters have ceased, so in the minds of LE in Circleville this case is closed. I just don't think (other than the initial letters the Gillespie's and Freshour's wrote to their "suspect") Paul Freshour had ANY involvement in writing any of the letters. The motive for him to have done so is nonexistent.

[RedBasket]

Who else, other than Paul Freshour, would have had access to Paul's gun? His wife. Who would want an affair to end involving their sister-in-law cheating on their brother? Paul's wife. Paul's wife, IMO, has a better motive in committing these crimes than Paul did. I think it's entirely possible that in an effort to frame Paul, she half-assed an attempt at rubbing the serial number off of the gun (knowing that it would be traced back to Paul) and had someone set up this crude booby trap (possibly even Mary Gillespie herself making up the story of "discovering" it), knowing it wouldn't go off, only to frame Paul. That really is the bottom line on the booby trap. Whoever set it up (due to its "crude" nature), obviously knew it was entirely possible that it wouldn't have went off and shot Mary (or it could have been discovered by an innocent bystander who was killed), so their main motive in setting the trap, IMHO, was not to kill Mary Gillespie, but to frame Paul Freshour. And again, who would have a motive in doing this? Paul's wife.

Agreed - I just watched the whole thing on youtube all partied come off as pretty dim, actually. I can't believe Paul gave all those writing samples to the police!! I am a HUGE fan of law enforcement but I would have said, "Look....I want a lawyer."

Finding a gun in a box would have freaked me out big time.

[scc1222]

Agreed - I just watched the whole thing on youtube all partied come off as pretty dim, actually. I can't believe Paul gave all those writing samples to the police!! I am a HUGE fan of law enforcement but I would have said, "Look....I want a lawyer."

Finding a gun in a box would have freaked me out big time.
I would have,too.He said it was put under the banner of protecting someone;still..

[Thelittleman]

My name is michael freshour, paul freshour is my grandfather, I have never met him him personally but heard lots of stories from my dad mark freshour who paul accussed of committing the crimes, his own son what a great guy right. I dont know who nfresh is if he is real or just somebody typing stuff up. But Paul was a very nice man and smart guy to his friends and in front of a lot of people but however he beat my grandmother (KAREN) and often beat my dad all the time ( he once put him in the oven for 30-40 minutes for time out) he also rip part of my grandmas hair outfor asking him to stop hitting my aunt. He is a ****ty person and I know the real story and what happen and let me tell you he is a guilty man, the guy in the elcamino was paul he borrowed my grandmas brothers car that very day which was a yellow elcamino. He is a liar and a scammer. I'm not like nfresh ill put names out there and can prove and answer any question.

You do know at least some details about this case which are not commonly known. One being the name of Paul's ex-wife Karen, the other being that her brother did own a yellow El Camino like the one seen by the bus driver. That is consistent with the story. What is also consistent is the disdain that you show Paul Freshour, the same disdain shared by your grandmother. Being that you never met your grandfather and only have what your parents and grandmother told you to go on, you have no way of actually knowing what he did or didn't do. I have a few problems with the theory of Paul being the one who set the trap.

For one, the man spotted by the El Camino was different in appearance to Paul having completely different hair color. Also, why would Karen's brother agree to loan Paul his car AFTER Paul was already divorced from Karen and estranged completely from her side of the family? What motive in the world did Paul have to either write the letters or attempt to murder Mary Gillespie? And another thing, like it or not, if Paul really did write the letters then he was too smart and careful to lay such a careless trap, one that not only failed but incriminated him directly.

I believe that Karen framed or hired someone to frame Paul for the attempted murder. Here are my reasons:

Motive: Divorce court was very generous to Paul Freshour. He got custody of the children, the house and money and funds. Being in jail and a convicted attempted murderer would certainly change the court's mind.

Means: Access and knowledge of location of Paul's handgun. Access to brother's car. The yellow and black El Camino was one of only two cars of that description registered in Ohio at the time.

Opportunity: Karen herself was not seen with the El Camino, however it was a man that neither resembled herself or Paul. This very well could have been the brother or her lover which no one would have recognized.

Vengeance: Karen did not stop or begin at the attempt to ruin Paul this one time. She moved in with Mary after the divorce and told Mary that Paul was the one writing the letters. She also "borrowed" Paul's typewriter to try and link it to the case after he was in jail. And she cooperated with Sheriff Radcliffe against Paul.

The Trap: The trap was poorly constructed and ineffective. The serial numbers were poorly scratched off. And I just find it hard to believe that this was a serious attempt on Mary's life. This seems like a blatant set up if anything. Why would Paul, an accomplished, educated man mastermind this chain of letters, then stupidly rig a trap that pointed directly to him?

[Charlie99909]

wow, this is very eye opening!

[TheCars1986]

You do know at least some details about this case which are not commonly known. One being the name of Paul's ex-wife Karen, the other being that her brother did own a yellow El Camino like the one seen by the bus driver. That is consistent with the story. What is also consistent is the disdain that you show Paul Freshour, the same disdain shared by your grandmother. Being that you never met your grandfather and only have what your parents and grandmother told you to go on, you have no way of actually knowing what he did or didn't do. I have a few problems with the theory of Paul being the one who set the trap.

For one, the man spotted by the El Camino was different in appearance to Paul having completely different hair color. Also, why would Karen's brother agree to loan Paul his car AFTER Paul was already divorced from Karen and estranged completely from her side of the family? What motive in the world did Paul have to either write the letters or attempt to murder Mary Gillespie? And another thing, like it or not, if Paul really did write the letters then he was too smart and careful to lay such a careless trap, one that not only failed but incriminated him directly.

I believe that Karen framed or hired someone to frame Paul for the attempted murder. Here are my reasons:

Motive: Divorce court was very generous to Paul Freshour. He got custody of the children, the house and money and funds. Being in jail and a convicted attempted murderer would certainly change the court's mind.

Means: Access and knowledge of location of Paul's handgun. Access to brother's car. The yellow and black El Camino was one of only two cars of that description registered in Ohio at the time.

Opportunity: Karen herself was not seen with the El Camino, however it was a man that neither resembled herself or Paul. This very well could have been the brother or her lover which no one would have recognized.

Vengeance: Karen did not stop or begin at the attempt to ruin Paul this one time. She moved in with Mary after the divorce and told Mary that Paul was the one writing the letters. She also "borrowed" Paul's typewriter to try and link it to the case after he was in jail. And she cooperated with Sheriff Radcliffe against Paul.

The Trap: The trap was poorly constructed and ineffective. The serial numbers were poorly scratched off. And I just find it hard to believe that this was a serious attempt on Mary's life. This seems like a blatant set up if anything. Why would Paul, an accomplished, educated man mastermind this chain of letters, then stupidly rig a trap that pointed directly to him?

Yep, I agree with this. In fact, I posed a similar theory in the page before this one. One big factor that tends to get overlooked is the fact that the letters continued even after Freshour was incarcerated, in solitary, without any writing implements. Freshour himself received a letter while he was in prison! I just don't see how it's physically possible for Paul to have mailed all of those letters (before and during his incarceration) to all of those people. I don't even see how or why Paul would have any motive in doing so.

[scc1222]

I agree,very eye-opening! thanks so much for posting.

[SimplyCurious]

I don't know how many of you are still looking for updates on this case, but I feel that this will give you more information. Perhaps it will shed a bit more light on this small town in Ohio. Since I am new it will not let me link this as a URL.

circlevilleletters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-full-story.pdf

Lets see what Paul Freshour has to say.

[WishfulDreamer]

I need to read this whole thread. I definitely think it sounds very fishy that Mary said she only had the affair after the letters began. "Some creepo is writing me letters about an affair I'm not having, oops let's begin that affair right now." That's just bizarre.

[TheCars1986]

I don't know how many of you are still looking for updates on this case, but I feel that this will give you more information. Perhaps it will shed a bit more light on this small town in Ohio. Since I am new it will not let me link this as a URL.

circlevilleletters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-full-story.pdf

Lets see what Paul Freshour has to say.

WOW!

Thank you for posting that.

Everyone who's seen this case should visit that site and read it, it's VERY telling and interesting.

[mwcarolina]

WOW!

Thank you for posting that.

Everyone who's seen this case should visit that site and read it, it's VERY telling and interesting.
have to agree. i still think that somehow though the superintendent's wife or a family member did the letter writing to Mary and Mary's husband (at the time)

[scc1222]

You do know at least some details about this case which are not commonly known. One being the name of Paul's ex-wife Karen, the other being that her brother did own a yellow El Camino like the one seen by the bus driver. That is consistent with the story. What is also consistent is the disdain that you show Paul Freshour, the same disdain shared by your grandmother. Being that you never met your grandfather and only have what your parents and grandmother told you to go on, you have no way of actually knowing what he did or didn't do. I have a few problems with the theory of Paul being the one who set the trap.
That also explains Paul getting UM involved,to help solve Ron's death.And Mary's lack of appreance on the segment...the guilty didn't show.Paul coming fwd on his own is due to him being totally innocent,theu he had no qualms about it.JMO.

For one, the man spotted by the El Camino was different in appearance to Paul having completely different hair color. Also, why would Karen's brother agree to loan Paul his car AFTER Paul was already divorced from Karen and estranged completely from her side of the family? What motive in the world did Paul have to either write the letters or attempt to murder Mary Gillespie? And another thing, like it or not, if Paul really did write the letters then he was too smart and careful to lay such a careless trap, one that not only failed but incriminated him directly.

I believe that Karen framed or hired someone to frame Paul for the attempted murder. Here are my reasons:

Motive: Divorce court was very generous to Paul Freshour. He got custody of the children, the house and money and funds. Being in jail and a convicted attempted murderer would certainly change the court's mind.

Means: Access and knowledge of location of Paul's handgun. Access to brother's car. The yellow and black El Camino was one of only two cars of that description registered in Ohio at the time.

Opportunity: Karen herself was not seen with the El Camino, however it was a man that neither resembled herself or Paul. This very well could have been the brother or her lover which no one would have recognized.

Vengeance: Karen did not stop or begin at the attempt to ruin Paul this one time. She moved in with Mary after the divorce and told Mary that Paul was the one writing the letters. She also "borrowed" Paul's typewriter to try and link it to the case after he was in jail. And she cooperated with Sheriff Radcliffe against Paul.

The Trap: The trap was poorly constructed and ineffective. The serial numbers were poorly scratched off. And I just find it hard to believe that this was a serious attempt on Mary's life. This seems like a blatant set up if anything. Why would Paul, an accomplished, educated man mastermind this chain of letters, then stupidly rig a trap that pointed directly to him?

yep,that's the reason(s) I believe Mary and Paul's ex set him up.It was both in their favor to do so..by that I mean I think Paul knows, and perhaps has info, that Mary had a hand in Ron's death,starting with the phone call as a rouse to get him out of the house.If she and the ex could make Paul not only look bad,but put him away for a long time,then it would bid well for both of them,and that's exactly what they accomplished.I think they both together came up with the whole scheme to get him...with the Sheriff being in on it as well.(thus that explains the note to UM).

[TheCars1986]

yep,that's the reason(s) I believe Mary and Paul's ex set him up.It was both in their favor to do so..by that I mean I think Paul knows, and perhaps has info, that Mary had a hand in Ron's death,starting with the phone call as a rouse to get him out of the house.If she and the ex could make Paul not only look bad,but put him away for a long time,then it would bid well for both of them,and that's exactly what they accomplished.I think they both together came up with the whole scheme to get him...with the Sheriff being in on it as well.(thus that explains the note to UM).

I don't necessarily think that Sheriff Radcliffe was in on the whole letter writing campaign, but I do think it was in his best interest to keep it as quiet as possible for political reasons.

[scc1222]

I don't necessarily think that Sheriff Radcliffe was in on the whole letter writing campaign, but I do think it was in his best interest to keep it as quiet as possible for political reasons.
me neither,I mean the whole cover-up of ron's murder.it's obvious there was more than one letter writer.

[Thiussat]

I don't necessarily think that Sheriff Radcliffe was in on the whole letter writing campaign, but I do think it was in his best interest to keep it as quiet as possible for political reasons.

Agreed. He has no motive whatsoever to get involved in that nonsense. He was just a small town Sheriff trying to settle the kids down. His methods were not professional, but I don't think he was directly involved in any way nor cared about anything other than putting a stop to the nonsense. Again, his methods were flawed and he acted stupidly at times, but that doesn't mean he was in on it. I fail to see a reason why he would even care.

I think Paul does himself a disservice by focusing on the Sheriff and the prosecutor so much in the .PDF file. Most of the stuff he mentions is completely tangential to the case (such as claiming the prosecutor killed a woman years ago, and that the medical examiner was a child molestor). He would have been better off just simply focusing on the facts that he can prove.

After reading Paul's document, my opinion of the case hasn't changed much. I still think there was more than one person involved. I think Paul was involved in some manner but certainly did not act alone nor was he the main actor. It is obvious after reading his comments that he hates Mary now as much as he did. He doesn't care much for his ex-wife either. I think Paul's ex-wife was probably the main letter writer and Paul might have been involved in it at the start. After they got divorced that's when his ex-wife started trying to pin everything on him. Remember, Paul's wife was the sister of Ron, so she has more of a motive than anyone.

The main thing Paul's letter did was reveal who the el camino guy was. As I suspected all along, he was a close family member (Paul's brother-in-law). Since the guy was the brother of Paul's wife, it makes sense that he would plant the booby trap and have access to Paul's gun.

He also revealed that there was a guy who worked at the school that might have had a reason to be involved. That's a new angle.

I still think most of the letters were written by a woman. And I still think that there was more than one writer. There's no way one person can mail THOUSANDS of letters all over America. Either there were some copycat writers involved, or there was more than one person in Paul's circle doing the writing.

[mwcarolina]

me neither,I mean the whole cover-up of ron's murder.it's obvious there was more than one letter writer.
oh i agree!! i think there were more than one writers. dont know who wrote most of them, but i think even Mary wrote some. i think the one to Paul in prison was from Mary or the ex. Paul accused his ex of the letter to UM. i also think the writer of the letters to Mary and her husband were from likely a teacher, superintendent's wife or someone who knew the affair was going on.

[scc1222]

if the sheriff wasn't involved,(at least in a cover-up),then why did he agree with Paul,at first,that Ron's death was not an accident,then later change his mind?
Also,why would someone be so worried about UM visiting Circleville,that they would send a threatening note to try and keep them away,(((specifically mentioning not to hurt the sheriff))),if the sheriff were totally innocent of anything? it sounds like the writer knew the sheriff was in on something and didn't want it exposed.JMO.
BTW,with the note being written before UM actually came to town,it should be easy to narrow down the list of candidates who wrote it.UM must have contacted certain individuals to see if they would want to be interviewed (and we can take a pretty good guess that the sheriff, Mary and Paul's ex-wife were at least three of them),although there may have been others as well.
and oh yeah...very telling that none of these individuals were actually on the segment!

[scc1222]

oh i agree!! i think there were more than one writers. dont know who wrote most of them, but i think even Mary wrote some.
I agree.


i think the one to Paul in prison was from Mary or the ex.
and I think the ones to Paul's ex were from the ex herself;I think she had a huge chip on her shoulder and a lot of anger at him,and sending him to prison wasn't enough;she wanted to make sure he stayed there for a very long time and didn't get out for good behavior.
I noticed in the clip that the ex was sent a note from the prison saying there was no way Paul could have written the letters to her,so she must have accused him of it.


i also think the writer of the letters to Mary and her husband were from likely a teacher, superintendent's wife or someone who knew the affair was going on.
I vote for the wife;I went and watched the clip again and she was specifically mentioned by name,as well as mentioning 'everything she'd worked for',or something to that effect.who else would even care??? that just totally REEKS of a woman scorned,and in all actuality,one can't blame her for wanting to expose and end the affair.
and the part about Mary being a homewrecking pig..only the wife would say something like that,IMO.
I wonder how Mary twisted that around though,and whom the notes were to that Paul and his ex,and all of them that got together wrote to.Paul mentioned a male,but I wonder if that's accurate.I would have assumed that logically,the wife might come to mind first.

[TheCars1986]

He also revealed that there was a guy who worked at the school that might have had a reason to be involved. That's a new angle.

I thought that was interesting as well. It actually would make sense in a way, because the letters specifically called for the end of the affair between Mary Gillespie and the superintendent. Who else, besides someone who worked at the school, would care about an affair (or even know about it) between the two?

[SimplyCurious]

Now I have begun to search for the original transcripts of his case, Feb 1983 in Pickway County, Ohio. I have found what appear to be his appeals in 1988 and 1992. Perhaps these are not, Perhaps they are. I am looking for the original, since now we have heard his side it is time to read from start to finish the court transcripts. Also if someone has copies or can locate copies of the letters please post a link. So we can perhaps see for ourselves, if the writing matches.

cco.state.oh.us/scripts/ccoc.wsc/ws_civilcasesearch_2007.r?mode=2&FirstName=&LastName=freshour
law.resource.org/pub/reporter/F2/985/985.F2d.559.92-3836.html
ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/791/791.F2d.932.84-3995.html
ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/872/872.F2d.1025.88-4014.html

Something seems off about this report I am placing below this.
ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/872/872.F2d.1025.88-3829.html

Signed,
Simply Curious

[Thiussat]

Now I have begun to search for the original transcripts of his case, Feb 1983 in Pickway County, Ohio. I have found what appear to be his appeals in 1988 and 1992. Perhaps these are not, Perhaps they are. I am looking for the original, since now we have heard his side it is time to read from start to finish the court transcripts. Also if someone has copies or can locate copies of the letters please post a link. So we can perhaps see for ourselves, if the writing matches.

cco.state.oh.us/scripts/ccoc.wsc/ws_civilcasesearch_2007.r?mode=2&FirstName=&LastName=freshour
law.resource.org/pub/reporter/F2/985/985.F2d.559.92-3836.html
ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/791/791.F2d.932.84-3995.html
ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/872/872.F2d.1025.88-4014.html

Something seems off about this report I am placing below this.
ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/872/872.F2d.1025.88-3829.html

Signed,
Simply Curious

I have asked before if we had any members here that lived in Ohio who wouldn't mind getting the court transcripts from his trial. No one has volunteered to do it yet. All trial transcripts are public record (except in rare cases which shouldn't apply here), so it should just be a matter of having someone go to the courthouse and get them. I don't know if it can be done online nowadays or not.

At any rate, Paul's essay is the first pretty much any of us have ever gotten about this case outside of newspaper articles or the UM segment. This is one case where information is really hard to come by, at least on the Internet.

There's two things I would love to have in my hands:

1) Paul's court transcripts

2) The actual letters

Transcripts should be possible. The letters seem highly unlikely to ever surface. However, I am confident that if I were to see them that I can get a pretty good idea of who might have written them (based on the verbiage and style). I already think most of them were written by a woman, but I am only going by the pieces that UM showed in the segment.

Someone posted on Youtube that there was supposed to be a new documentary coming out about this case. They said the letters were being handed over to a team of experts to examine forensically (hand-writing and physical evidence). I have never seen any other mention of such a documentary. Does anyone know if this is true?

[TripleG]

Quick Question: Is the Circleville Writer still writing his threatening letters?

[rhzunam]

I need to read this whole thread. I definitely think it sounds very fishy that Mary said she only had the affair after the letters began. "Some creepo is writing me letters about an affair I'm not having, oops let's begin that affair right now." That's just bizarre.

That has to be the most pathetic lie in UM history.

[scc1222]

yeah might as well prove the letter-writer right! ::rolling eyes:: LOL

[scc1222]

thx for posting MattC.that's really sad.he was only 70,(I still think that's fairly young) and had lost 10 yrs of his life in prison for a crime he didn't commit,(imo).And had lost a son as well.
I pray he is at peace now,with his son.

[dks64]

amandab1234 posted this in the "Deaths of some people interviewed on UM" thread:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?pid=158360432

How sad :(

[WishfulDreamer]

That has to be the most pathetic lie in UM history.
Agreed. If a man was tormenting your family with letters accusing you of doing something you were innocent of, why would you START doing it? "Hmmm, now that the letter writer mentions it that superintendent is kinda hot..." :lol:

[amandab1234]

Even though I don’t recall them interviewing her, I didn’t really care of Mary Gillispie. She denied the affair with the superintendent when her husband confronted her about it. But after he dies, it turns out they started a relationship.. just by coin-cid-ence.. sure it was.. (Lol) And if the affair wasn’t true, why didn’t she tell him about the letter before? Also, why didn’t she take threats to her children’s life seriously? Why didn’t she go to the cops when she got the first letter? This case always got to me especially because Fishour was in jail for 10 yrs for something he didn’t do!!


~Edit: I know some of the stuff I mentioned on this thread was brought up earlier, sorry just wanted to throw in my 2 cents  I like everyones opinions/theories on this!

[mike890]

That has to be the most pathetic lie in UM history.


That lie was so bad it was actually insulting. Most people know when it is time to cut their losses and come clean.

[amandab1234]

E x a c t l y!!! This is why I didn't like her.. As a matter of fact, I'm putting her down in the People on UM you didnt like...Lol

[Charlie99909]

Now would be the time to see if the Freshour family receives any letters be it real or just a sick prank.

[RedBasket]

That has to be the most pathetic lie in UM history.

Yes it really is a sad sad lie. Mary was very unappealing!

[scc1222]

mary declined to be on the show,didn't she? which was very telling in and of itself,IMO,seeing as it was her own husb. who was killed. (or had an 'accident',whichever you prefer).Paul was the only one who spoke up for him.

[amandab1234]

You would think since it was HER husband she'd want to appear on the show and get the word out to find the killer. BUT thats my opinion. I really think she declined because it's pretty damn obvious she was having the affair all along and it would make her look bad.

[RedBasket]

I can't believe so much time has passed in this case.

As for Mary not appearing on camera - not everyone wants to be on tv. Har to believe, but maybe she just wanted to not be filmed. (It could have been used against her in court!!!)

[Blackout]

she gulty yo

[flytrapp]

I truly believe Paul is innocent. As for Mary, I don't know about her direct involvement....but I do know that the entire cased started as a direct result of her ho-bag ass cheating on her husband. If she didn't do that, the letters wouldn't have been sent, no one would have been out to get anyone else, no one would have died, no one would have gone to jail. So, Circleville has Mary to thank for being a wh0re and ruining so many lives. :p

[MegtheEgg86]

I truly believe Paul is innocent. As for Mary, I don't know about her direct involvement....but I do know that the entire cased started as a direct result of her ho-bag ass cheating on her husband. If she didn't do that, the letters wouldn't have been sent, no one would have been out to get anyone else, no one would have died, no one would have gone to jail. So, Circleville has Mary to thank for being a wh0re and ruining so many lives. :p

If the logic is that Mary Gillespie is responsible for "starting" the letter campaign, it follows that the unnamed superintendent shares that "responsibility" as well.

Of course, it makes absolutely no sense to blame someone else for the actions of others in the first place, so that's kind of a moot point.

[flytrapp]

I was just poking fun at Mary. I have a very dry sense of humour. ;)
However, on a serious note, speaking of the superintendent, does anyone know if (or if the segment mentioned) he was married as well? I remember reading somewhere that some expert concluded that the letters were likely written by a woman....maybe a passive aggressive way to get Mary to leave the writer's husband alone?

[MegtheEgg86]

However, on a serious note, speaking of the superintendent, does anyone know if (or if the segment mentioned) he was married as well? I remember reading somewhere that some expert concluded that the letters were likely written by a woman....maybe a passive aggressive way to get Mary to leave the writer's husband alone?

I've never even read or heard the superintendent's name, but I would be curious to know if he was married as well. I would also like to know how it was concluded the letters were written by a woman. There are so many weird subtleties to this case, aren't there?

[TheCars1986]

I've never even read or heard the superintendent's name, but I would be curious to know if he was married as well. I would also like to know how it was concluded the letters were written by a woman. There are so many weird subtleties to this case, aren't there?

The biggest oddity about this case, IMO, is when the Gillespie's and Freshour's wrote a letter to the person they thought was responsible for the initial letters saying something to the effect of, "we know who you are, please stop writing the letters", and then the letters all of a sudden stopped for a short time. Wouldn't this person be the prime suspect instead of Freshour? Baffles my mind how the focus went away from the "mystery writer" and shifted to Freshour.

[Dazinho]

The biggest oddity about this case, IMO, is when the Gillespie's and Freshour's wrote a letter to the person they thought was responsible for the initial letters saying something to the effect of, "we know who you are, please stop writing the letters", and then the letters all of a sudden stopped for a short time. Wouldn't this person be the prime suspect instead of Freshour? Baffles my mind how the focus went away from the "mystery writer" and shifted to Freshour.

It's indeed an interesting part of the case, and I'd be curious to know as to who came up with the idea to write the letter and had to persuade others to join in. I'm not ruling anything else out, including the idea that Mary had some sort of hand in her fella's death, and used the letters as a method by which to muddy the waters.

I'm firmly of the view that Paul Freshour is innocent - I just can't see a motive for him having being the letter writer, and it's quite apparent that the booby trap was specifically designed NOT to kill anyone. Why would Freshour use a gun that could be easily traced back to him in that circumstance? What does he gain in return for the near-certainty of a lengthy prison sentence?

I've read some of the lengthy document submitted by Paul on the matter, and while it pretty much re-enforces my existing view I don't think he does himself any favours by conducting a post-mortem of local tittle-tattle. Much better posing the question that many others on here have - why on earth would I/he have done it?

An embittered ex/woman scorned is also capable of doing enormous harm to a former partner without thinking of the consequences, or certainly the gravity of them. The fact that she and Mary lived together is at least of great interest.

[scc1222]

Let's remember that these are 2 separate incidents,spaced yrs apart,iirc.
The motives and circumstances appear to be different,as do the letter writers,imo.

The Gillespie death being the first incident,and then later on,the set-up of Paul Freshour.

I do think Mary and the super. were in together on her husb.'s death.
But they would have little reason,since they got away with it...to set up Paul,together,many yrs later.

Yes,interesting Paul's ex and Mary lived together.They were good friends.I think Mary helped her after their divorce,to set up Paul,in order to help her get custody of the kids,the house,and...she also got ALL of his pension.I think she was an angry woman after Paul hired a P.I.,proved she was cheating on him,and lost everything,inc. the house and kids.(a little research proves this true).

Also,notice the letters to Paul in prison appear to be from his angry ex,rather than from the person who was taunting Mary and her hub about her affair
...'I told you when we set them up,they stay set up"...etc.IOW- the writer admits lying,isn't recanting,and ..he ain't gettin' out!

Once Paul was convicted,his ex got the house,full custody of the kids,his pension (that's why he had no money for a lawyer).She had motivation,plenty of it.So,yea..2 separate incidents and reasons,and 2 separate letter writers.Spaced out by a number of yrs.

Paul's reason for coming on the show? Not only to get justice for his late bro- in-law and friend...but for revenge (and rightly so) on Mary for her part (and her testimony) in setting him up.
JMO.

[MegtheEgg86]

Let's remember that these are 2 separate incidents,spaced yrs apart,iirc.
The motives and circumstances appear to be different,as do the letter writers,imo.

The Gillespie death being the first incident,and then later on,the set-up of Paul Freshour.

I totally agree with your assessment. That's something that I've had a little feeling about for a couple of years.

Paul's reason for coming on the show? Not only to get justice for his late bro- in-law and friend...but for revenge (and rightly so) on Mary for her part (and her testimony) in setting him up.
JMO.

That statement Paul made toward the end of the segment about the Gillespies not being his family anymore--"that's my past and I'm not even going to look back at it"--I always found curious. Like there's just a touch of resentment there. That would make sense in light of your take on it. I'm not sure how I feel about the possibility of Mary and the superintendent being responsible for Ron's death, but it is very interesting given Paul's desire to see the investigation into Ron's death reopened, having personally experienced a set-up himself.

[scc1222]

That statement Paul made toward the end of the segment about the Gillespies not being his family anymore--"that's my past and I'm not even going to look back at it"--I always found curious.
I would have to go back and watch,but I thought he was talking about his ex-wife there.Could have inc. the Gillespies, as far as moving on goes,but he then went on to say he had a new family and a new future.I took it to mean he had a new lady friend in his life,and that he wanted his ex and or the audience to know he wasn't trying to clear his name in an attempt to get her back,that he really wanted his bro in law's death looked into.