Full-time true crime writer. Danny Heinrich, an early suspect in the abduction of Jacob Wetterling, has admitted that he kidnapped and murdered the 11-year-old boy on the night of October 22, 1989. Heinrich then admitted to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering Wetterling. Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media. Two weeks later, Heinrich moved from his downtown Paynesville apartment, where he'd lived for years, into his father's basement two miles away. Why would you bring bullets if not to use them? Heinrich denies any connection to the crime and says he's being framed. The Wetterling family agreed to the plea deal, along with victim Jared Scheierl. [9][10][11] In 2015, Heinrich's DNA was matched to the DNA taken in the case of Jared Scheierl, who was abducted in nearby Cold Spring in January 1989 at the age of twelve. Heinrich is currently in jail, charged with possessing child pornography. In 1990, they arrested him for a related assault, of a boy named Jared Scheierl, that took place in Cold Spring, near St. Joseph, in January 1989, but he was released and not charged. With renewed interest in Heinrich, investigators took the hair sample he had given decades earlier and tested it for a DNA match to evidence held in storage from the 1989 Scheierl assault. In addition, there are shoe prints from the scene of Wetterlings abduction that may match Heinrichs. You didnt need to hurt him. [4] During the court hearing, Heinrich also admitted to kidnapping and sexually assaulting Jared Scheierl earlier that year.[18]. We wont pretend today that this crime and sentence is about child pornography, although it technically is. For nearly 45 minutes Monday morning, Danny Heinrich's victims approached the podium in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis and spoke of the sorrow, anguish and pain he inflicted on them. He is the man in jail on child pornography charges and a person of interest in Jacob Wetterling's kidnapping. No concern is too small, no observation too unimportant to call 1-800-THE-LOST or go online to www.missingkids.com. At the hearing, Heinrich was confronted by one of his victims and Jacobs family and friends, according to the court transcript. There were no images of video of Wetterling in the collection. "There was a fire back in the cabin back over there. He said he abducted and . First published on November 13, 2015 / 7:06 PM. "Finally, we know," said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger at a press conference after the hearing. "When you go through this [file] you should have thought of it," Gudmundson said. Thanks again to our federal and state partners for getting us all to today.. A Minnesota boy was kidnapped at gunpoint in 1989. sexually assault Jared Schierel in Cold Spring. It is likely records relating to this interview are in the FBI documents that were withheld. He fired two rounds at the back of Jacob's head that misfired before he fatally shot Wetterling. This is another step towards closure, Scheierl said. ", "We will ask many times, 'Why?" Long known to investigators looking into the Wetterling abduction, he originally denied connection to the case but now admits that he murdered Jacob and pointed authorities to his remains. For nearly 45 minutes on Monday morning, Danny Heinrich's victims approached the podium in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis and spoke of the sorrow, anguish and pain he inflicted on them. The truth arrived as a shred of unearthed jacket, bones and teeth, and a t-shirt that read, "Wetterling. On January 13, 1989, roughly nine months before the Wetterling abduction, 12-year-old Jared Scheierl was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and physically threatened by an unknown adult man. The first season of the In the Dark podcast is about the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, whose case went unsolved for 27 years. United States Attorneys Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600, Heinrich admitted to abduction and sexual assault of two boys, murder of Jacob Wetterling. ", First published on September 6, 2016 / 2:59 PM. Danny Heinrich hurt countless lives, none more tragic than Jacob Wetterling. AGE. This is the moment when he slips away from investigators for more than two decades. Around the same time, the FBI described the suspect as commanding like a military man. A then 26-year-old Heinrich was having financial trouble. The first time an individual shoplifts they may take one item and it was really traumatizing, but the more they think about it, 'Hey it was rather easy. Fair use is a use, 25 Years On, Patty Wetterling Keeps Searching For Answers, It's been a quarter of a century since Jacob Wetterling went on a bike ride with his brother and a friend and never returned, reports Esme Murphy. Potential victims of Heinrich have been told by investigators that Heinrich lost 60 pounds before Wetterling's kidnapping and then put 60 pounds back on in the few months that followed. We can all help. Between the summer of 1986 and the spring of 1987, five teenage boys were attacked, but no one was ever arrested. Shes also entered the political world, running twice on Democratic Farmer Labor party ticket for Minnesotas 6th District in 2004 and 2006. Neighbors like Norm Athmann still remember Heinrich's name for what fire investigators told them he did one Sunday morning. I want to let the family know that I will be praying for their comfort during this time of loss may God be with each of you and bring . We know the truth." Patty Wetterling and her husband Jerry became national advocates for missing children after Jacobs disappearance. According to HEINRICHs guilty plea, on January 13, 1989, he abducted and sexually assaulted J.S., a 12-year-old boy. As part of a plea agreement, whereby he pled guilty to possession of child pornography, Heinrich revealed the location of Jacob's remains, which were unearthed last week. Danny James Heinrich. Of the all the critical records from between 1989 and 2015 that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal of Apprehension and the Stearns County Sheriff's Department made public Thursday, 71 percent were generated in the first two years of the investigation. A 1989 family photo of Jacob . Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. I didn't know who they were until later on they identified Danny Heinrich as one of them," Athmann said. In 2010, John Sanner, then the Stearns County sheriff, identified Dan Rassier as a "person of interest" in the crime. Friends and neighbors paint a dark picture of Danny Heinrich's past. He will be sentenced at a hearing in November. What youve done is so heinous, so brutal and so awful that I dont believe society will let you go free, Tunheim said. For more than five hours, he sat with them at a picnic table in his back yard while a team rummaged through the rooms of his house. Born in 1963, Heinrich grew up in Paynesville with his parents, until they divorced, and two brothers. MINNEAPOLIS -- Danny Heinrich, the man who led authorities to the remains of Jacob Wetterling, admitted in U.S. District Court Tuesday, Sept. 6, that he abducted and killed the 11-year-old boy . He is the man in jail on child pornography charges and a person of interest in Jacob Wetterling's kidnapping. She said: "All I can confirm is that Jacob has been found and our hearts are broken. They were announced as part of a plea deal with Danny Heinrich, the man who led FBI investigators to his remains late last week. Investigators believe he used that car to sexually assault Jared Schierel in Cold Spring. 115 records for Danny Heinrich. None pick out Heinrich. Stearns County detectives finally arrest Heinrich in connection with the kidnapping and molestation of Scheierl. "He is the confessed murderer of Jacob Wetterling and nearly 27 years after he committed . After months of research and interviews with some of the victims, investigators believed that these attacks were not random and that the culprit could be connected to the abduction of Wetterling, which occurred just 40 minutes from the other crime scenes. Patty Wetterling's sister exited the courthouse weeping and said she couldn't understand how Heinrich could keep his secret for 27 years. Robert Dudley wrote a book about Wetterling's kidnapping. But he came under renewed scrutiny when authorities decided to take a fresh look at the case around the 25th anniversary of the kidnapping. Aliases. It's incredibly painful to know his last days, his last hours, his last minute. It is likely records relating to this interrogation are in the FBI documents that were withheld. received a $1,000 donation from Barack Obama. The Star-Tribune reports that as recently as July 28, deputies from Stearns County searched Heinrichs home. They also thought the threat of a gun indicated he may have tried a similar event before and failed. Heinrich said that he was able to avoid police that night by listening to a police scanner. Im so sorry., Heinrich continued, Many are probably wondering how I kept this secret so long. He will be sentenced at a hearing in November. Its about taking a childhood away from Jared Scheierl and taking a lifetime away from Jacob Wetterling.. While some of Jacobs siblings said they want Heinrich to spend the rest of his life in prison, the family agreed with prosecutors and investigators that the plea deal was their best hope of learning Jacobs fate. Within minutes, they see Heinrich get into his car and they trail him. He's been named as a person of interest in Wetterling's kidnapping but has always denied having anything to do with the crime. The same day that Heinrich fails a polygraph test and is found to have car tires that resemble tracks left at the site of Wetterling's abduction, investigators put him under surveillance. Authorities had interviewed Heinrich about Jacob shortly after . Daniel Heinrich was sentenced on one count of receipt of child pornography in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, nearly three months after his confession in Jacobs disappearance resolved a decades-old cold case, court officials tell PEOPLE. Danny Heinrich has been named as a person of interest in the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling in Minneapolis in 1989. ", "It all hits home. What's remarkable about this lineup is who didn't see it: Neither Trevor Wetterling nor Aaron Larson, who were with Wetterling when he was kidnapped, nor any of the seven victims of the Paynesville molester. . / CBS Minnesota. A 1994 federal law named for Jacob requires states to establish sex offender registries. [25] The law has been amended several times, most famously by Megan's Law in 1996 and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006. On the 1st of September 2016, scumbag Danny Heinrich led detectives 30 miles away from Jerry and Patty's family home to where he had buried their son 27years earlier. Heinrich admitted to abduction and sexual assault of two boys, murder of Jacob Wetterling. The Paynseville Press wrote about that fire back in 1989. been named as a person of interest in Wetterling's kidnapping, The Timeline In The Jacob Wetterling Abduction Case. Steve Herding considers himself a Heinrich family friend. "I was thrown into the investigation not by choice, but because I was a victim," Scheierl said. During her first campaign in 04, Patty received a $1,000 donation from Barack Obama, then a Senate candidate. WCCO 4 News at 6 - . Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Heinrich detailed his crimes in chilling detail in court in September, recounting how he drove the boy to a gravel pit near Paynesville and molested him. I'm going to do that again.' Early during the investigation, authorities questioned Heinrich, who maintained his innocence. The trio were going to rent a video. 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