Episode Summary
An anonymous letter-writer antagonized residents of Circleville, Ohio for years, singling out the school superintendent, Gordon Massie, and a local bus driver, Mary Gillispie, as the focus of much of the vitriol. When Mary finds a booby trap with a loaded gun in 1983, the gun is traced to her brother-in-law Paul Freshour – but the letters would continue long after Paul went to prison for attempted murder.
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Episode Info
Episode Source Material
- The Circleville Herald: Gordon Massie is Westfall superintendent
- The Circleville Herald: Mary Hinton is engaged
- The Circleville Herald: Local man killed in pickup crash
- Ranker: The Circleville Letter Writer Terrified Ohioans In The ’70s, by Jacob Shelton
- Mental Floss: Unknown Sender: The Mystery of the Circleville Letters, by Jake Rossen
- 48 Hours on CBS: The Circleville Letters
- Unsolved Mysteries: Mystery/Wanted: Circleville Writer/Murder: Ron Gillispie (segment)
- Whatever Remains podcast on Circleville
- Paul Freshour’s website
- Forensic Handwriting Identification: Fundamental Concepts and Principles, by Ron Morris. Second edition. (Chapter 14: Obtaining Handwriting Samples)
Records
- Ohio V Paul Freshour 1983 trial transcript
- Paul Freshour appeals
- Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation reports
- Pickaway County Sheriff’s Department, Paul Freshour case file
- Ron Gillispie State of Ohio traffic crash report/Pickaway County Sheriff’s Department death report
- Pickaway County Sheriff’s Department reports on David Longberry
- Paul Freshour V Karen Freshour
- Letters 1977-1978 (Downloaded PDF from the Invisible Ships Podcast page, but only used letters, not any of the podcast material itself)