The Circleville Letters

In the late nineteen seventies, mysterious figure cast a shadow over the quaint town of Circleville, Ohio. This individual embarked on a campaign of terror reminiscent of an analog version of Gossip Girl, but with a far more sinister type of consequence that involved divorce, murder, and wrongful imprisonment. This is the mystery of the Circleville Letters. My name's Ben.

And I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked and Grim, a true crime podcast. Warning.

The following podcast and material intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised.

Tomorrow's the day.

Tomorrow is the day, the day, the day, or the day.

I don't even know either one.

Yes, the answer is all of the above.

Yeah, Tomorrow is the start of our what I guess it would be our third annual Halloween Week.

Yeah, don't, dun't, which also means it is the return of Jacko. So Jacko is going to be our MC tomorrow as we start the seven straight days of Wicked and Grim.

I'm actually sure missed Jacko.

Jacko's pretty dope, so I'm pretty stoked for the return to.

Yeah, that's gonna be awesome. That actually just just hearing his name, maybe even more excited.

Rightfully, so he instills not only fear, but joy. He's like a encryptid Santa Claus. If that makes any sort of sense, it does.

I get it. Yeah. So yeah, we're pretty pumped. We've been preparing for that. We got lots going on. But we will be announcing what the week looks like tomorrow.

Yeah, so tomorrow we'll be uh we laying it out a little bit more for you so you can understand what's happening. We got some pretty cool stuff going on. One thing we're actually doing this weekend was a photo shoot though. Yeah, we will talk about that a little bit if that's cool, of course.

Yeah, our whole weekend consisted of some spooky, spooky stuff. So on Friday we did our photo shoot, our annual I mean, everything is just an annual now, I guess. And it's funny. Actually, we were just planning to do photos with the dogs, like just pretty normal photos, I thought, and then of course Ben came up with an idea, and so we did the idea. What was it?

Well, we involved our patrons in actually voting in yeah, you know what we should do. But the idea is that we are out on a picnic, we were enjoying just looking a nice glass of wine and then guess what up comes a zombie?

Oh literally my worst fear.

Yeah, so the zombie bites one of us and the other person gets to kill the other person. If you want to see the result on who got to kill who and who got bitten, you gotta check it on social media though.

Yeah, we'll be putting that up shortly.

Yeah, so shout out to our patrons for helping us pick who got to be the survivor and who got to be killed and all that sort of stuff. You guys are awesome.

Yeah, that was pretty cool. We've been doing a lot more posts and stuff on Patreon. It's fun.

We are. Patreon's a fun place. And before we forget, because we did forget last episodes, we got to shout out some of our patrons who have signed up this week and last week because we forgot to shout out those individuals we remembered at the end of the show again.

But yeah, we said we would do it again at the beginning.

Yeah, So to the individuals who have signed up and are joining us over on Patreon, we have Dione Santy Day, Clay Swanson, Amy Hadden, Crystal Lareth Anna, Jesse Harp, and Silgy. They all signed up and are getting that epic so sweet behind the scenes cool Patreon stuff.

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If you guys want to sign up for Patreon links down below. If not, you're here, that's cool. We appreciate that too. You're your supporting us in your own way and that is amazing, So thank you.

We just appreciate all the support we do. All all, all, all, yes.

Shout out to Bridges because they offer a lot of support.

We're also like really missing something.

What are we missing?

Yep?

Yeah, I know. Well I was just at a meet up with some creators and stuff like that, and I just had a couple so I thought I might not this time. But that also just sets up for us to open them up tomorrow.

Oh yeah, we'll be like enjoying a beverage every every day this week, probably, So do you.

Know what we should do? We should make a run to town tomorrow and get some stuff from Margarita's or starting off Halloween.

Oh I would love that. Actually, Yeah, it's been a while since we had a good Margarita.

Okay, if you're listening tomorrow, you need to if you're willing and wanting, and join us with the margarita.

We're drinking Margerita is tomorrow.

Get prepped when you're listening to the episode with a nice margarita, because we're going to have one too. All right, we've chatted enough. You ready for this one?

Yeah, without further ado, let's do it.

It is the mystery of the Circle vill letters, which I have never heard of before until looking for a good case. And this one's kind of reminiscent of like that Watcher case. Okay, yeah, with a different twist in there. Okay, so it's like the Watcher, but.

The Watcher is creepy as shit, it is.

This one's just as creepy.

Okay, awesome.

Okay. So this story begins in nineteen seventy six, when the unsuspecting residents of of course, Circleville, Ohio, found themselves targeted by a series of disturbing letters. They contain shocking intimate details about their private lives, with a particular focus on their sexual deviancies.

Oh shit, yeah, that's terrifying.

Like I said at the very beginning, it's very reminiscent of gossip Girl, because yead is Oh no exo xo. I'm ashamed that I know.

That's so exo gossip girl.

Oh wow, oh my god. Okay, people out there either losing their shit being like yes, or they're cringing way too hard right now.

Oh I mean everyone, well not everyone, the majority of people would know that, saying I think I.

Only know it because you watched the shit out of that back in the day.

That was a good show. I should watch it again.

Anyways, we digress. The letters, all postmarked from Columbus, Ohio, arrived without any turn address on them, okay, which to me says that they're being hand delivered by whoever is putting them out there.

Yeah, because I don't even know if you can. Can you actually mail something without a return address?

I'm not certain to arrive. I'm not certain, and it might be different. It might be different in like you know, countries or states or even townships. Who knows, right, Yeah, but anyways, the town of Circleville had a modest population of around fourteen thousand dollars about dollars people. Today, it's not a place for anyone to really easily hide with its small numbers. It's located approximately twenty five miles south

Because that's why I want to see that.

Look it up. It's all but despite the small despite the small size, Circleville boasted a tight knit community where neighborly intimacy was rather cherished. However, the Circleville letter writer exploited this exact intimacy, transforming everyone into a basically giant fearful bunch or small fearful bunch because it's a smaller town, leaving the residents haunted by, you know, the unknown identity of who this person with this poison tipped pen is.

You. So he's doing this to numerous people, then he is, it's not just because then the other one it was just like one person.

Correct, yeah, correct. But we're going to get right back to the very beginning of it, and we're going to dive into where it started. And it all started during the summer of nineteen seventy six when Mary Gillespie, a local bus driver in Circleville. She one day in her mailbox found that she received an ominous letter postmarked from Columbus, as I mentioned before, bearing neither signature or a return address.

Okay, well was she actually having an affair?

Well, despite the claims on the page, Mary denied any involvement with Massey. Now, soon after Mary received the letter, her husband Ron found himself targeted as well, with another ominous letter message arriving to him sort of thing this time, like I said, directly to him though right, not her, And it had a couple inserts, some of them saying things like this, mister Gillespie, your wife is seeing Gordon Massey. You should catch them together and kill them both. Oh

Wow.

Yeah, so these are some terrifying threats right out of the gate. And now the fact that Mary received this letter, she can't just, you know, just pretend this accusation is there and not existing. Her husband knows of this accusation

I was very much assuming that.

Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't be having a case that we're talking about right now.

Oh and then it just stops and they moved on and everything was good.

That's the case. We'll talk to you tomorrow and on Halloween week. No, that's definitely not what happens here. Within weeks, more threatening letters began arriving, this time warning Mary that unless she ended the alleged affair, the truth would be publicly exposed rather than just within the relationship, and this plunged the Jellispe family further into the nightmare of uncertainty, and one of the letters they received wrote this, Jellispie,

Geez. But like what if she actually wasn't having me a fakir that's true? Like what is she supposed to do then just lie, I don't know.

Yeah, oh gosh. Well, with more letters arriving, Mary and Ron decided that it was time to confide in their family about the craftsment. They turned to Karen, who is Ron's sister, and her husband, Paul, so their last name was Fresher. Now, Paul was employed at a local beer plant,

Yeah. I couldn't even imagine like thirty hours. Holy heck.

Yeah, that's terrifying. So in their conversation, Mary revealed that she actually had a suspect in mind. She believed she might know who it could be.

Oh, she had someone that she felt was an enemy exactly.

She's got her eyes in the prize here. Now, this individual was a man by the name of David Longbury. He was a fellow bus driver who she had previously made, who had previously made unwanted advances towards her. Oh okay, and when she rejected him, he seemingly kind of harbored some resentment from it.

Huh. Well, did she reject him because she was freaking married?

Well, I'm assuming so.

So why should there be any l feelings there? I don't know, huh, Okay, but.

That's her assumption, is that it's got to be this guy, right, you said, yeah, And ever since then it's kind of up in the same So maybe he's, like, you know, he's behind these letters, possibly seeking revenge for whatever rejecttion happened, or you know.

Yeah.

So they decided that to put an end to this torment, the brother in law, Paul, would confront David in a letter of his own. Okay, so fighting fire with firesome situation. So he wrote one making it explicitly clear that they were very well aware who he was and what he was doing, demanding that he stopped the threats against both Mary and Ron. And in the wake of that letter being sent, miraculously no new letters began appearing. It seemed that it all stopped.

Oh my gosh. So then right there they're like, yeah, that was the guy.

Pretty much, it seemed that the whole plan had worked. However, the relief was short lived because soon ominous signs of the letters began to appear. And I'm not really meaning really like spiritual or metaphorical signs. I mean literal signs began appearing in the neighborhood, like signs on the side of the road.

Oh okay, I thought you meant just like more letters.

But literal signs. How he threatened to begin taking this public.

With stuff, so he did it.

Signs in the public were being put out. Now, these signs began to appear around town, falsely claiming that Gordon Massey, the school superintendent, was involved romantically with the Jellispes twelve year old daughter Tracy.

Whoa shit, I bet this massy guy was also getting letters.

Then I'm thinking, well, individuals do begin getting letters as we go on, for sure, so I don't doubt it.

Okay, So just let me get this straight here. So the signs were saying that he was having an affair with like the daughter of who. It's kind of confusing because the letters were saying she was having an affair with him, but now the signs are saying that he's having an affair with the daughter.

Yeah right, Okay, he's basically saying that this woman has been sleeping with this man even though they're both in relationship. Yes, and now these public signs are saying this man is also sleeping with this woman's daughter too.

Okay, see, I'm it's surprising. That's surprising to me because I thought the signs, if anything, were just gonna kind of reveal them. But it's almost revealed. It's revealing something.

New, Yeah, something much darker.

Yes.

Yeah, an affair is one thing that's good, don't get me wrong.

But like we're an underage.

Yeah, this is a whole new ballgame here.

And he works for the school, just like the schools, right yeah. So ah, so.

Of course they're outraged, and Ron, in an effort to actually shield his daughter from this slander, would patrol the town early each morning and removing these signs that were popping up before Tracy could ever see them.

Oh my gosh, what a good dad. Hey.

Yeah, so the harassment understandably fueled Ron's anger. Not only was it attacking him or Mary, but now their child was the target of this harassment.

Papa Bear was coming out.

Eh, oh, definitely. And you'll see here just how much Papa Bear was coming out because on August nineteenth, nineteen seventy seven, a breaking point kind of came. A menacing phone call came through their home phone. Ron picked up, and the stranger ominously described his surveillance of the Jesalus b residents. He detailed knowledge about Ron's truck, saying like, I know where you live, this is what you drive

Oh he just like yelled that, or what do you mean?

He turned to his family, He's like, I recognized voice. Okay, yeah, So in a fit of fury, he stormed out of the house, hopped into his truck, armed with a twenty two caliber revolver, intending to confront the individual that just called him. Tragically, Ron's life came to a sudden end. Only moments later. His truck veered off the road not far from their home, crashing into a tree, and Ron was found lifeless at the wheel.

Are you shitting me?

Strangely, investigators discovered that Ron's gun had discharged a single bullet before he died. The gunshot residue was found on his hand, no bullet casing or evidence pointing towards what or whom he shot at could ever be located.

Oh my gosh, okay, so what Okay, that's really confusing. So what I'm thinking Potentially he he found this person like right by his home maybe right, and then went to shoot at them and then got in an accident himself and died, Like, are you kidding?

It's possible.

That's brutal. Yeah, And also I'm pissed because that sucks. Yeah, Like, that's the worst. Not only that he never said who the fuck.

He never said who it fucking was?

Oh my gosh.

So who he recognized died with him?

Yeah? Yeah, that's so fucking sad too.

Now. Adding to the mystery, Ron's blood alcohol content was measured at point six, which is twice illegal and indicating that he had been drinking quite a bit that night. So Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe and his team, included Pickaway County authorities, were unable to find concrete evidence suggesting any sort of foul play. With no definitive proof of the contrary, Sheriff Ratcliffe concluded that Ron had tragically driven himself off the

Well, yeah, but I mean unless it was it was tested in it, like the labs made a mistake or something.

Well, I don't think there was a mistake. There was that blood alcohol content in his body at the time as far as I can find. Okay, Now, I wasn't able to find anything on anyone saying if he was even drinking that day or anything. But mind you, we are dealing with the situation where they are in high stress right now. Oh yeah, so it is possible that even though he's not a heavy drinker, maybe he was having some drinks being so stressed out.

Just trying to chill or whatever enjoy.

Is even correct. So there's a million different little tiny things that play in that situation. However, that still does not explain his gun going off.

Well, yeah, because you said there was gun residue on his hand, right, Yeah, he.

Had gun residue on him, the bullet was discharged, They could not find the casing. They could not find where the bullet was shot towards huh man.

That would be so hard for the family just to move on from that, Yeah, without with having so many unanswered questions like that.

Yeap. So here's the thing I'm thinking, if he was chasing someone, he probably had the gun outside the window and fired, aka the casing on the ground, not inside the cab. If he did get in an accident and it's an accidental just discharge inside the cab, that casing is going to be in the cab. Yeah, but it was nowhere to be found.

Yeah, So he was shooting at someone and then oh my goodness, I can't believe that that happened where he actually crashed and died.

Right. That's Hollywood, right.

That's a soap opera. It is so.

Following Ron's death, the unsettling entire saga in Circleville took an even more strange turn. More residents began receiving letters implicating Sheriff Radcliffe in a cover up related to Ron's death and asserting that Mary and Gordon Massey, the superintendent, were responsible for it.

Like Mary his wife.

Correct, That's what the letters were claiming.

And I just have to say too, this potentially, now, this person who was writing all these freaking letters or whatever, that's like manslaughter, is it not? It could potentially be that he like murdered someone. Now I don't know way so I don't know. I because it wouldn't If it wasn't for him, Ron would not have been all fired up drinking or whatever going out in the night to try to freaking get this asshole. I don't know. I know he'd never be charged of it, but I still

I don't know. You stressed me out and I drink because of you. Lots.

Oh wow, wow, wow wow, just saying I don't know, I think that there's blood on this guy's hands.

Now, I mean, if he was physically there and there was like a little car chase thing or something like that that did happen, I think yes, of course. But I don't think harassment can be implicated into manslaughter. Not at this degree, I don't think so.

Well, yeah, like I'm saying, it would never be in a charge or anything, But I still feel this person Ron wouldn't have been doing any of this if it wasn't for the stuff.

No, No, this person definitely played a part in Ron's death. Yeah, legally speaking, I don't think this is worth a manslaughter charge as far as you know, courts, I don't think that charge would go through it should it should. Now, some believe this cover up thing may be true, and actually point to the fact that Sheriff Ragcliffe disclose to Paul Ron's brother in law that a person of interest had actually been questioned regarding the incident and apparently had

Interest, that doesn't make any sense.

Right, So in this person of interest is a proven thing. This is not some hearsay situation. Sheriff Ragcliffe had a person of interest.

Okay, but maybe just for the letters or the harassment.

Yeah, I guess actually that's a point potentially Yeah.

Okay.

Anyways, though, the whole Circleville letters continue to persist, targeting Mary and Gordon. Of course, the letters continued in their cruel taunts, claiming, quote, everyone knows what you've done. If you don't believe us, just make them mad and find out for yourself.

Huh. Poor Mary, She's still having to deal with this shit and she has lost her husband.

Correct. It just keeps going. So I missed all this whole drama. Mary's sister in law, Karen Fresher, was going through a divorce with Paul, which prompted Mary to offer her a place to stay over at her place now and a supply surprising revelation, Mary admitted to her about actually having the affair with Massey really, although she claims the relationship had allegedly started after the letters began, which I complete fucking bullshit.

Are you serious?

You're not going to get publicly shamed for a fucking affair and then decide then do well? Okay, I might as well fucking do it now like're putting me fuck off.

Dang, now I feel even worse. Run run yeah, gosh. Now.

On February seventh, nineteen eighty three, an even more strange turn occurred along Mary's buffs route unless she was working now. As Mary was completing her school bus route in Circleville, she encountered a handwritten sign unlike many she's seen before, at the intersection of Scotio Darby Road and Five Points Pike. The sign contained an absolutely vile re mark about a sexual engagement between her daughter Tracy and of course Massy.

Oh my gosh.

In an act of remarkable composure. However, Mary didn't tear down the sign. She simply just took it down calmly. She took down the whole rig setup, not in haste. She brought it onto her bus without triggering the gun.

So she probably didn't even know that there wasn't even.

No Once she later inspected a little bit closer that evening, she discovered a small container on the post, which then revealed the firearm hidden inside, which was pointing directly where she wash. My gosh, so she were to yank that sign, it would have pulled a cable and fired the gun where she was standing.

Wow yeah, Okay, well that definitely would have been murdered.

Yeah yeah. So law enforcement launched an intensive investigation to trace down the ownership of the firearm, and surprisingly this actually provided a breakthrough in the case, offering a very crucial lead that could potentially unmask the person responsible for the years of torment and threats. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation managed to recover a partial serial number from

Oh jeez.

To get an identification, the firearm was traced back to Paul Fresher.

Oh, the brother in law. Correct, what the shit like he was the one that wasn't he the one that wrote the letter? Yes to the other freaking I don't know who David or something?

Correct? What? Yeah, Paul is Ron's sister's husband.

So yeah, ex husband, ex.

Yeah, it was Karen Fresher and now it's Karen Sue. But yes, Paul, that very same Paul. Now, Karen, as I mentioned earlier, was going through a divorce with Paul, and when she was questioned about Paul, she actually disclosed to the police that her husband had indeed been writing threatening letters and she believed he was a Circleville letter writer. She claimed that she found several hidden letters throughout their home while together.

And she didn't disclose any of this to.

Her sister, correct, which I find suspicious.

Yeah.

Paul adamantly denied any involvement in writing the letters, although he admitted to being the owner and purchasing of that gun.

Now I'm thinking it's her the sister almost but sorry, keep going well.

Paul claimed it was stolen weeks before the incident.

Oh yeah, it's always was stolen.

Very convenient in fact. Yeah, despite his denial, a polygraph test indicated deception. But we do know polygraph tests cannot always be definitive.

Oh. I would fail one of those tests for sure.

Oh, definitely. A police officer pulls me over, just like in a speed trap or whatever, you know, like just a roadblock, going through, sweating, and I'm just like, is there a brick of cocaine in the back of my vehicle? Like I don't even do drugs, Like what the hell? I'm just like panicked about, Like, am I like harboring something?

Oh? Man, I don't.

I don't know. Someone out there has got to sympathize with you.

No, I totally get Okay, I get it.

I'm not alone.

Yeah that's yeah. No, I would be sweating, like sweating away. There would be no way that I would pass.

Yeah. Well Paul didn't pass, And I'm pretty sure Paul would be sweating right about now because he was actually quickly arrested. Yeah, And throughout the investigation and subsequent trial, the motive behind these threats and letters, especially to his you know, in laws, remained a part of the puzzle that no one was able to really ever seem to put together. Paul was of course questioned on it why he did all these things, but he stood strong in

Oh seriously match correct See I'm I was really thinking it wasn't him. Just sit in here, listen to you. I'm like, it's not him.

You might still want to hold on to that.

Thought, because I really am thinking that.

No, Like, no, you might want to still hold on to that thought.

Okay, I'm sticking to it.

Then, Paul claimed, though, that the match only occurred not through records of employment, but only because Sheriff Radcliffe had asked him to mimic the offending letters for investigation and comparison purposes, and that's where they got the match. So what he's saying is the officer told me to copy the letter to see if what my version of it would look like in comparison, and then they took that and matched it the shit. That's what Paul is claiming.

Okay, because it was his gun, correct, Okay?

Now, Judge William Amner sentenced Paul to seven to twenty five years in prison, with an additional three years for controlling a firearm due to the offense. Now, Circleville residents hoped that with Paul behind bars, letters would stop, but they did not.

Okay, yep.

The Circleville letters continued to haunt the town even after Paul was imprisoned, with hundreds of letters still being received, including Paul himself receiving letters from behind bars even while he was in solitary confinement.

Oh my gosh, that I would just I. Oh, he's gonna lose his fucking mind.

Yeah. So, with Paul incarcerated, the prison warden stated that he couldn't have sent these letters as there was no way you could access pens or paper, raising questions of course about the true senders identity. Right, So here we have an individual sitting in a cell without pens, without papers, even at times being in solitary confinement, letters are still being sent out. In fact, he's even received at least.

One dang wow, this poor guy. Yeah, and you know what, I okay, because when you said that he had admitted himself to a hospital, right, yeah, I was almost thinking, because there was so much evidence you were saying that was pointing to him that he was probably losing his fucking mind and being like holy shit, like am I like, am I actually doing this? Like quescating himself? Right?

Yeah? Questioning his own sanity?

Yeah.

Yeah, So some people may have said it was because he was searching for a plea deal of insanity. He might have actually thought, maybe I am going nuts here, like I don't know if I am writing these letters, but these people are saying I.

Am, like, I'm losing my mind here. I need help.

Yeah. Yeah, So maybe it was a literal cry for help, or because people were pointing their fingers at him, he was just believing them. Now, I mean, despite Paul's release that would come in May of nineteen ninety four after serving ten years.

Oh, you're kidding.

He still maintained his innocence. He served his time ten years because he was given seven to.

Twenty five oh ten years of his life.

Correct, So he was released on parole after ten years. Now, the question still remains, was it actually Paul? This also brings up another question. Maybe it was him and he had an accomplice. Maybe Paul was doing this but while he was in prison he had someone helping him from the outside too, or was it just someone else entirely. One theory regarding Paul suggests that he might have had

That he but then that he didn't actually write the other letters. It was just those ones that he wrote.

I don't know, Okay, Like I said, this theory, I don't get it.

Yeah, I really don't. It's odd.

So basically he's like, oh, there's this other affair going on, so through these letters, we're going to try and like make them make up or make things right. But that doesn't explain why he's sending letters elsewhere outwhere to other people or maybe the signs in the road bringing the daughter into it, you know, Like it doesn't make sense to me.

Well, yeah, because that daughter would be his niece. So that's horrible.

Exactly outside of that one. Suspicion also, of course, fell on as you said earlier, Karen, who had spoken against her ex husband to the police, and as you had already mentioned, had access to said firearm.

MM.

Now, considering their strange marriage and divorce proceedings that included allegations of abuse, Oh yeah, some speculated that she might have framed Paul out of spite, especially after he gained custody of their children in the separation.

Okay, but then it's that I mean, I feel like, I don't know, she seems sketchy to me. But also I don't think that she would have gone about trying to kill her sister necessarily exactly.

That brings up the question on why would she put Mary at risk? Yeah, so who's who's to say?

I also think that rat was Radcliffe. Radcliffe the like, sorry, I don't know what that in my voice there? Yeah, is a a little bit sketch as well.

Yeah, well that the letters are even saying that, hey, he covered him up with this death.

Right, Yeah, I think he's sketched too.

And then Paul is saying that, hey, he made me duplicate these letters and is now using that as evidence. Yeah, so there is some shady shit going on, at least shady allegations going on towards them. So whoo's to know? Now? A crucial lead in the case that had left a lot of people wondering about the true identity involved an eyewitness account from another bus driver working the day that Mary discovered the booby trapped sign. There was in fact

Okay, but then you would think, I don't know that that vehicle would be so recognizable, though, I agree.

In town, right, you would think in a small town of fourteen thousand people, you'd be able to pick out a yellow Alchemune.

Yeah.

I know. For me, I drive an orange pickup truck in a town of eighty thousand people. People see me all the fucking time.

Yeah. Yeah. Do you regret that life decision.

A little bit? Now, this man has never been identified. Like I said, it's just kind of been swept under the rug, and it's kind of an unresolved piece of the puzzle sort of thing. Now, in nineteen ninety three, when the television show that We All Know and Love Unsolved Mysteries delved into the case. Okay, now, the production itself actually became a target of the letter writer, receiving

Oh my gosh.

Hey, now this is actually something. I didn't draw this connection while I was writing this, but I just realized if there is a connection with the El Camino and calling them l sickos, what do you mean? Sorry, because the yellow car that was seen with El Camino. Oh, I just drew that connection. I don't even know if there's anything there. Huh, Well, I just want to throw that out there. Saw it.

I have to say, this person clearly has way too much time on their hands.

Yeah, I think so too.

This has been going on for years. That's crazy.

Now, during the time when the show was actually filming and they got this letter, Paul had pleaded with the show to investigate letters further, but not much came out through the investigation. It was just kind of like, oh, there's another letter, just like all the other hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and what do you do? So anyways, it would be the year after that that Paul would actually be released on parole, and that is the same time that the letters ceased. No one received another one.

That's really weird.

Actually, yeah, so Paul, who consistently denied being the writer passed away in twenty twelve, maintained his innocence to the very end. In twenty twenty one, a forensic examination conducted by CBS the forty eight Hours Team brought fresh scrutiny to the case. Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole, along with forensic document expert Beaverly East, analyzed the letters. While Mary didn't be Paul's, Paul matched the profile of the

Totally.

He needs something stronger than that to me, Yeah, yeah, But apparently this rose some suspicion in his potential involvement. Now, this one really gets me. Some of Paul's fingerprints were found on some of the letter writers letters that were sent out. Really, however, his fingerprints were found on the letters that were sent out while he was incarcerated in prison.

What the actual shit?

Yeah? So either he was managing to write from prison still.

Or he had he had letters that he had already that were saved or whatever, right.

Letters already written, or someone was fabricating them using somehow I don't know if they were what kind of technology they would have used to duplicate or replicate fingerprints? Who knows, latex molds or something. But while he was in prison, letters being sent out some contained his fingerprints.

Dang. I thought I had this all figured.

Out, but that's but I want to throw one more ballpark, little curveball in there. Okay, what if it was just paper that Paul had handled, and then the letters were written afterwards by someone who I don't know lived in the same household. Yeah, what if Paul just happened to, I don't know, fill up the printer paper tray one day, and then the wife, while Paul's in prison, takes a stack of those papers and starts using them to write letters.

Yeah, holy shit, this case, this literally seems like a real life soap opera to me.

Yeah, it really is.

This is unbelievable.

Yeah. Well, the police consider the evidence inconclusive. They've closed the investigation on the mystery of the Circle Bill letters. With all these eerie threats that stand a mystery still, and Paul did officially serve time, not for the letters, but for the incident with the pistol. As for the writer's true identity, though it may forever be unknown and remain a mystery.

Wow, this one sure is.

A freaking humdinger and a half.

Yeah, might like wheels are turning, it's.

A mystery of the Circleville letter writer.

Huh. But I was also going to say, too, like the person that was writing them they just randomly stopped. It seemed they could have passed away too, right.

That's true, But it also could have been that they were specifically trying to coincide with his exiting in prison. Yeah, a ploy of some sort.

But I mean that doesn't super make sense, because when he's out of prison, it would have been much easier for him to write the letter, to continue writing the letters, true, than when he was in prison still being able to do it.

True. But I mean, he's some people are probably gonna speculate that he has someone outside helping him write the letters. So he's in prison, he's angry, he's communicating with him, keep writing the letters, and then when he's out, Okay, fuck it, let's forget about this, let's get on with life. So maybe it was a ploy of like showing that, you know what, fuck it, he's done, he's over. It's behind him now. So maybe someone was really trying to

Man. Was this rad what is his name again? Radcliffe?

Yes, Officer Radcliffe, Sheriff Radcliffe.

I believe it was. Was. Are they investigated at all? I wonder I problem.

Not as far as I was able to find. No. I kind of looked into it a little bit and I wasn't able to find anything regarding it. I wasn't able to find a lot of information regarding what sort of investigations even really took place at all.

Well, they might have just thought, yep, Paul's the guy, like we got him. Yeah, who knows how much was really done behind the scenes, right, It's.

Always hard to tell, And especially in a case like this, where it's, like, you say, a soap opera, how do you even keep track of shit like that? It's at a certain point it just becomes this mess of what the fuck is going on?

Yeah, And to be honest, if I was in this kind of situation, I feel like I would probably check into a hospital too. I'd be losing my fucking mind. Yeah, fair enough, Like I feel like sometimes I have to do that now and like all that wild shit's not happening. Yeah, Like, holy moly.

So are you convinced or not convinced that it was Paul?

You know, I was pretty convinced that it wasn't Paul. But the fingerprints on the freaking letter are getting me?

Okay, how about this all?

Right?

Do you think he set up the gun letters? Aside? Do you think he did that sign with the gun?

No?

No, I don't think so either. It doesn't make sense, yeah, why, But.

It also doesn't make sense that the sister would do it, or his wife or whatever. You know, Yeah, unless who knows. Maybe, like sometimes siblings have weird relationships. Maybe she actually hated her sister.

Yeah, who knows.

Family like sometimes family drama, like it's deep true true.

I remember one time, when I was about six years old, my sister stole a particularly long French fry from amat McDonald's Happy Meal. Wow, it's upset me to this day, and I am always looking for the opportunity to venge that fry.

Oh my gosh, I have heard of this numerous times. That is so bizarre.

It was the largest McDonald's French fry I had ever had, and I was like, oh my god, this thing's huge. And she's just like yoink, nabs it out of my hand and shoves it in her mouth. I hate you, Robin, poor poor are you hey? Yeah?

It's bullshit, Oh my gosh. And to this day, you've never found a longer French front.

No, I haven't. I do want to say, I don't hate my sister, Robin, but I hate that you did that, and I will get vengeance. If you are listening, Robin, I will. There will come a day where I seek vengeance. And I fulfill my destiny on getting you back.

Okay, Well, on that note, I think Ben needs to go to bed or something.

Sibling drama is strong and true and the roots go deep.

Just like you said, I know, but now I'm regretting saying that. I'm almost like afraid of what have I done to you.

That you were Do you want me to go off because I can.

No, No, I'm good. No.

What I will go off on, though, is I will go off on you guys and tell you that all of our information is in the description of this podcast. You can find Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, you name it, Patreon, It's all down there. You can go ahead and support us in any way you want. If you're here just listening right now. That is incredible and we so appreciate it, and we will really appreciate tomorrow.

When you tune in for Halloween week.

For Halloween Week, it's gonna be awesome. And like I said, we're going to start it off with Margarita's tomorrow, So if you want to make Margarita and join us with that, that'd be so cool.

I think you should.

Make sure you post on your social media and tag us so we can see your margarita's while you listen to the first Halloween Week.

Yeah, do a story or something. We'll share the shit out of those. It'll be so fun. Yes, love that idea.

Okay, well, we're going to go get some sleep because we got a big day of making sure we have everything organized, shit together for Halloween Week. So let's we'll talk to you guys later. Have a good one, and of course until next time.

Until next time, stay wicked.