The mother of Jacob Wetterling issued a statement Monday after learning that Jacob’s remains had been found nearly 27 years after he was abducted.
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Heinrich, who has been jailed since his arrest, pleaded not guilty to the child pornography charges and is scheduled to go on trial on those counts in October.
Asked whether he abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered Jacob, Heinrich said: “Yes I did”.
The 53-year-old Andover man described donning a mask and confronting three children with a revolver near Jacob’s central Minnesota home.
Heinrich said he went home for a couple of hours, then went back to the gravel pit and buried Jacob about 100 yards away. “And I think what she said is important you’ve got to value your family and not take them for granted”, Bill Dornbush said.
Danny Heinrich said he kidnapped and shot to death Jacob Wetterling, who was riding his bike on a rural Minnesota road almost 27 years ago, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. His remains were identified Saturday. He said he’s not sure what prompted Heinrich to allegedly cooperate with investigators now.
Prosecutors have not yet moved on to facts or potential charges in the Wetterling case. “For us, Jacob was alive until we found him”.
Patty Wetterling also thanked Jared Scheierl, a Minnesota man whose own sexual assault as a 12-year-old was long suspected to be connected to Jacob’s disappearance. Using technology that wasn’t available in 1989, investigators found 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. Scheierl talked publicly about his case in hopes it could help investigators find his attacker and Jacob’s. Jacob’s abduction shattered childhood innocence for many rural Minnesotans, changing the way parents let their kids roam. Jacob’s smiling face was burned into the state’s collective psyche, appearing on countless posters and billboards seeking clues.
Jacob’s mother Patty Wetterling tearfully thanked investigators, the media and missing children advocates in an emotional statement after the hearing. Timeline of events in Jacob Wetterling abductionOct.
Jacob disappeared on a dark road in central Minnesota on the night of October 22, 1989. He said he told Jacob to turn around. She says her son’s legacy will live on.
In the years after Jacob’s disappearance, his mother Patty became a nationally known advocate for missing children. 1994: Congress passes the Jacob Wetterling Act, legislation for a sex offender registry. 2010: Investigators spend two days searching and digging at a farm near where Jacob Wetterling was last seen. Heinrich faces the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for child pornography.
Danny Heinrich made the admission Tuesday as he pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in federal court in Minneapolis. While he was questioned extensively about Jacob’s kidnapping at the time, he denied any involvement. That ultimately led to Saturday’s announcement that Jacob’s remains finally had been found.
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Unnamed sources told CNN affiliate WCCO and the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper that a suspect in Wetterling’s disappearance led the Federal Bureau of Investigation to remains that are now being tested for DNA.
