In 1976, residents of Circleville, Ohio, began receiving threatening mail that has haunted them ever since. The letters were from Columbus but had no return address. They accused school bus driver, Mary Gillespie and the school superintendent of having an extramarital affair. One of the letters was even addressed to Mary's husband Ron that threatened his life if he didn't put a stop to the affair. In 1977, Ron died in a suspicious one-car crash that involved gunshots. However, when the Sheriff ruled the death an accident, other residents of Circleville began receiving letters accusing the Sheriff of covering up the so-called "accident."
Ron's 's husband, Paul Freshour, was convicted of writing the letters after there was an attempt to murder Mary via a booby-trap-rigged pistol. Even after he was thrown behind bars, the Circleville Letters continued throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s. Freshour even received one in prison.
In 1994, Freshour was released, and he claimed his innocence until his death in 2012. The true identity of the Circleville Letter Writer remains unknown.