Using technology that wasn’t available in 1989, investigators found 53-year-old Danny Heinrich’s DNA on Scheierl’s sweatshirt, and used that evidence to get a search warrant for Heinrich’s home, where they found a large collection of child pornography. In a Minneapolis courtroom, Heinrich also said he kidnapped and sexually assaulted another boy.
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At a news conference soon after and with family members in attendance, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said, “Finally, we know”. We will be eager to talk to media as soon as we are able.Everyone wants to know what they can do to help us.
Heinrich made the statements as part of a plea deal related to child pornography charges, on which he was indicted last December.
While official sentencing doesn’t take place until November 21, the plea deal calls for Heinrich to serve 20 years in prison, the same length he would serve for the child porn charge alone.
Heinrich said he acted alone in Jacob’s abduction. Charging anyone for murder, meanwhile, would be impossible without a body.
Authorities in October named Heinrich as a person of interest in Jacob’s disappearance when they announced the child pornography charges.
Luger says on Aug 30th families met with law enforcement about plea deal.
Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall said too much time had passed to charge Heinrich with kidnapping or assault.
FILE – In this August 28, 2009, file photo, Patty and Jerry Wetterling show a photo of their son Jacob Wetterling.
The plea agreement, which was supported by the Wetterlings, included Heinrich leading them to Jacob’s remains; giving a detailed statement about what happened October 22, 1989 (the night he abducted Jacob); and admitting he kidnapped and sexually assaulted Jared Scheierl in January 1989; as well as a lengthy prison sentence. Armed with a gun, he said he told two of the children to leave; one was Jacob’s younger brother, Trevor, and the other was Jacob’s best friend.
Heinrich said he told the two friends to run, handcuffed Jacob and drove him to a gravel pit near Paynesville, where he sexually assaulted him.
Heinrich said that on the night of October 22, 1989, he saw Jacob, Jacob’s brother, and a friend bicycling down a rural road near Jacob’s home in St. Joseph. “I pulled the revolver out of my pocket”, the newspaper reported him as saying. He shot the boy twice.
A year later, he said, he returned to the area and noticed the makeshift grave was becoming noticeable. He then put the bones, skull and clothing in a bag and buried it in a 2-foot hole he dug in a field across the highway.
A Minnesota man who led authorities to the remains of an 11-year-old boy who was abducted in 1989 is expected to appear in federal court in a child pornography case.
A tire track and shoe print were found at the scene, but investigators said they could not scientifically match them to Heinrich.
Heinrich testified how he led authorities to that second site last week.
He confessed and detailed where he buried the body, Luger said.
The now-confessed killer was arrested previous year after about 150 images of child porn were found in his possession. Authorities find the red jacket that Jacob was wearing the day he was abducted. “And none of us will ever forget the moment that we found him”. With a police scanner in the auto, Heinrich could hear the response of law enforcement to the abduction. Evidence, however, was flimsy. He can not be charged because the statute of limitations has run out.
Here’s a snapshot of what happened since Jacob was taken.
He then brought Jacob to his vehicle, handcuffed him, and put him in the front passengers seat.
He says we can all do some simple things to honor Jacob’s memory.
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Jacob’s parents were present at Tuesday’s hearing; toward the end of the proceedings, Patty Wetterling said it was painful to learn about the last minutes of her son’s life, according to Minnesota Public Radio’s Brandt Williams.
