In this August 28, 2009, file photo, Patty and Jerry Wetterling show a photo of their son Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted in October of 1989 in St. Joseph, Minn and is still missing, in Minneapolis.
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The Wetterlings came up with the idea after being approached by a children’s soccer team in Maryland that wanted to wear Jacob’s jersey number at their next game, said Allison Feigh, the resource center’s program manager.
The patch is to support the #11forJacob effort started by the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center following this week’s confession from the man who kidnapped and killed Jacob back in 1989.
Heffelfinger said he believes if prosecutors had waited to try and get a murder charge against Heinrich, they would have lost the opportunity to close the case.
A sentencing hearing for Heinrich was scheduled for November; the agreed-upon plea deal calls for him to serve a maximum prison term of 20 years.
Authorities then named Heinrich a person of interest last October, when they turned a renewed spotlight on him as part of a fresh look into Jacob’s abduction. He did so last week.
Heinrich has not been charged in that case.
Heinrich led authorities to Jacob’s body last week after initially denying involvement in his death.
The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office said Jacob’s remains were identified Saturday. “The Wetterling family can bring [Jacob] home”.
According to an investigator, Henrich led authorities to Jacob’s buried remains in a field in Minnesota last week.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar honored the life of Jacob Wetterling while speaking on the Senate floor Thursday.
“In this case, what Mr. Heinrich was offering was the ultimate piece of information”, says Tamburino.
The FBI has said Heinrich matches the general description of a man who assaulted several boys in nearby Paynesville from 1986 to 1988.
Authorities have long suspected a link between Jared and Jacob’s cases, leading them to circle back to Heinrich. No further state prosecutions are planned for Wetterling’s murder of for Scheierl’s assault. Patty Wetterling becomes a national advocate for missing children.
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“I want to say ‘Jacob, I’m so sorry.’ It’s incredibly painful to know his … last hours, last minutes”, Patty Wetterling said, according to the Star Tribune.
