Mysterious and creepy letters torment a close-knit family

Case 266: Circleville Letter Writer
In March 1977, school bus driver Mary Gillespie started receiving threatening letters delivered to her home in Circleville, Ohio. It wasn’t long before her husband, Ron Gillespie, also received the letters which accused Mary of having an affair with the local school superintendent, Gordon Massie.
When Mary Gillespie found a threatening sign hung from a fence post on her school bus route, she tore it down, only to find a booby trap inside, designed to kill her. Who wanted to target Mary? Investigation of the booby trap pointed to a prime suspect close to home, her brother-in-law Paul Freshour.
CREDITS
Narration - Anonymous Host
Research & writing - Jessica Forsayeth
Creative direction - Milly Raso
Production and music - Mike Migas
Music - Andrew D.B. Joslyn
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RESOURCES
For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-266-...

[@AlexApger]

so, there’s no more info on the dude suspiciously dying in a car accident after storming off with a gun?

[@danrobinson572]

There is information on google about him.

[@Pieternel2002]

After the accident several residents soon received letters stating that Sheriff Radcliffe had been involved in a cover-up.

[@JulieRushworth]

Conveniently the wife was out-of town

[@danrobinson572]

@@JulieRushworth 👍

[@immir6647]

And nobody thought to look at the superintendents wife? He and Mary were obviously having an affair and she knew it

[@splamalam]

exactlyyyy

[@jenford7078]

That was very serious harassment that just ruined lives. I worked with teens and when they would think it was funny to malign someone I used to get all over their backs and tell them that what they think is funny because it horrifies the person they are saying it about could have serious repercussions. I used to tell them that someone says it, someone believes it and now everyone thinks that it's true. It was effective that kind of assaults on character nearly disappeared.

[@texastea5686]

1. Why did Paul readily admit to being the writer? 2. Why was Paul's ex-wife's boyfriend not investigated? 3. Maybe a local priest or clergyman was the writer? Maybe he heard their confessions and felt justification in harrassing everyone?

[@kate-hybrid]

smuggling things in and out of prisons is very common ... what a horrid example of taking rural gossip to the next level with all those nasty accusations!

[@peregrinemccauley5010]

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

[@Dan-jp8jr]

So whT is then the possible

[@Yeahno-ey3rb]

This case has always fascinated me

[@JulieRushworth]

I dnt believe in coincidences, Ron was taken out. This is super creepy, well narrated

[@KingBritish]

Love a good mystery like this. Along with the Watcher story.

[@user-zg6ee3se8t]

Nobody thought the sherriff?? I didnt until the letter to unsolved mysteries..then thought it odd if he did have him do the handwriting analysis incorrectly...info about the coroner before he was charged. Or pauls wife.

[@FireRising86]

This. That sheriff is definitely involved to some level

[@pearlkenna5745]

That's weird one ❤

[@danrobinson572]

Great 👍 podcast today. Good morning everyone from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 😊

[@RindaJane]

Hi 👋

[@danrobinson572]

@@RindaJanegood morning 😊

[@darkbalance7167]

Morning back at ya from Allentown pa

[@danrobinson572]

@@darkbalance7167 hello 👋

[@ItsKrma00]

Have a great day from California ❤

[@unkown25337]

another excellent high quality episode

[@loredanadincu4300]

Another excellent re-upload

[@Jade_holloway]

Creepy case! btw 'Freshour' is a great name

[@toxic_muffin662]

These are literally so creepy. I love it😂. Bro. These people need to take a chill pill😑

[@rhondamcewananderson3968]

This was great, as always!!

[@jacindahalcrow3291]

Yay, another upload. I love Casefile ❤️

[@johnoneill7947]

Paul "Big Daddy" Freshhour denies doing it.

[@user-st6oo5ez5t]

I was born and raised in Circleville, Ohio, but by the time this happened, i had moved away to a different state with my husband.

[@SJ.77]

Thanks for the info - it surely does offer some great insight.....

[@tcf_iceland]

​@SJ.77 unlike every other comment? Yours specifically 😂

[@SJ.77]

@@tcf_iceland Your grammar is awful - what you meant to say is 'as opposed to every other comment? particularly yours...'

[@JulieRushworth]

​@@SJ.77yes feeling closer to the truth.

[@Crafty-One]

so there are many sign posts with pictures of your daughter but you manage to stop at the RIGHT one with the booby trap and you also do it on one of your ''rounds'' where nobody else is in the bus then after you discover this trap ''laid to kill you'' you take the box and the gun and you go home with it for a few mins(hours?) until you call the cops? Then you also start an affair ''after'' you got caught? something doesnt sit right with me. Also, nobody is that stupid to use his own gun to setup a booby Trap whether they try to scratch the serial or not. I don't think anyone's taking that chance. Of course you're not gonna scratch the metal fully. If they can ballistic test your bullets, how are they not gonna ''test'' the surface scratches to recover your serial#? The owner of that gun has a masters degree and lots of education. Also, note thousands of letters while he was under surveillance in prison and monitored specifically for those papers + pencils. Its either the wife of the superintendant(or the son) or Mary herself concocted this make herself NOT look guilty while eliminating her own husband to finally be with the bus driver. Perhaps, her husband had found out about the affair so it was already out anyway so she didnt mind doing this. Did she try to get her own husband killed to get rid of him???

[@npickle54]

I think it was mary it just doesn't make sense for it to be any of these other people I think the fact that she claimed they never had affair and had just gotten together after his death is very telling of her obsession with not getting exposed as a cheating w****

[@npickle54]

Woman do all sorts of strange things to not have their disgusting behaviour shown in the daylight

[@FireRising86]

All I know is Paul was set up

[@l3v350]

I still think it was Mary doing it herself

[@brandyjean7015]

Some mysteries will probably remain unsolved.

[@Adallace]

It was the superintendent's wife writing the letters, right? 🧐

[@stevetilk4926]

I thought the letters were written by a woman too.

[@MissVanHelsing]

Yeah the letters seem like a female wrote them.

[@stevetilk4926]

@@MissVanHelsing the writer referred to “my girls” about the bus drivers. Seemed like a female description and would a man care about adulterous behavior unless it’s his wife??

[@dylanwicklund5129]

Nobody actually knows because the cops didn't do there job properly like they forced that guy to write in block letters even tho it's not how he writes then said it matches -_- of coarse it did mine would too lol but it was most likely a women yes they tend to be vindictive like this but alot of things point towards a women besides just thinking that it could be a jealous women

[@dylanwicklund5129]

​@@stevetilk4926 Well actually yes I can point out over a dozen cases where the cheating wife was set up in a way by the husband But I can name way more cases where women do it Men usually just want the woman dead

[@GypsyRock]

Just fyi. A BAC of 0.16 is 16% bloood alcohol level not 1.6% The legal limit is under 0.08 which is 8% So a 1.6% would be like nothing. Thanks. Have a good day

[@joannathemadd]

This my is hometown

[@SH-to8sh]

well did ya ever get a letter

[@JGor_37F]

So somebody that is going through a stressful event in their life, takes a few drinks one night, gets a call that set him off, takes off mad with his weapon, and is driving down a deserted back road at night. More than likely, he fired off around in anger Into the forest or at a sign, and while he was distracted. He drove off the road and hit a tree. Perhaps to avoid an animal running across the road? There’s so many reasonable explanations for his accident, there’s no need to blame it on something nefarious.

[@Elizabeth-490]

Unsolved at the end.

[@l3v350]

have they ever solved this?

[@garethadams9610]

Had Ted Bundy gone no further than writing letters.

[@ladysatana666-l-9]

💜 me sum CASEFILE! MUCH 💜!

[@Mav8887.]

The dudes wife for sure

[@janemallick9927]

Brain puzzling… really don’t know what to think 🤔

[@Anna4ali]

Confusing for my pea brain . ❤ How was it ? Anyone knows?

[@user-st6oo5ez5t]

never was solved.

[@Gospel_weekly]

What was the moral of this story?

[@haydencooper_]

Avoid people at all costs.

[@diorlista]

Don’t cheat on your spouse

[@roadwarrior528]

That women are crazy.

[@edgarjryo7071]

17:00

[@kingpriapatius5832]

He smuggled the letters by using a prison officer.

[@an-open-eye]

he did used to work in prison as a guard, i imagine you make some very interesting friends in that line of work

[@elizabethprater-hughett8021]

P

[@danrobinson572]

Probably a prison guard smuggled the letters out .

[@peterj5106]

Uh-huh. Probably more like the wrong guy in jail in the 1'st place! It seems fairly obvious that Mary Gillespie was at the centre of it all.

[@thecatatemyhomework]

Why would he risk his job and his freedom to do that? Money? Maybe but it doesn't sound realistic.

[@danrobinson572]

@@thecatatemyhomework I’m just guessing maybe he was offered a lot who knows

[@SassySlater]

@@peterj5106I had to victim blame. Mary seems shady af, she’s at the centre of everything and I just can’t believe wasn’t involved when it’s all so personal towards people around her. Her daughter, her husband, her brother in law and the bloke she got with after being “widowed”.

[@mikeevans7381]

A circle jerk in circleville. What a strange case this is and what a dumb name for a Town. Lov this channel you do a great job. Thank you. 💯🆘🇺🇸

[@user-st6oo5ez5t]

not a dumb name. it was originally called round town. i was born there and you shouldn't be so cruel as to insult.

[@loredanadincu4300]

Re-upload

[@toxic_muffin662]

These are literally so creepy. I love it😂. Bro. These people need to take a chill pill😑

[@LittleBlueOwl318]

How many times are you gonna comment the exact same thing???????????

[@toxic_muffin662]

These are literally so creepy. I love it😂. Bro. These people need to take a chill pill😑