The murder of Jacob Erwin Wetterling
St Joseph, Stearns County, Minnesota · 1989
Overview
Jacob Wetterling, 11, was abducted at gunpoint near St. Joseph, Minnesota on the night of October 22, 1989, while biking home from a convenience store with his brother and a friend. The case haunted Minnesota for 27 years until 2016, when Danny Heinrich, who had been linked by DNA to a 1989 assault on another boy, admitted in federal court that he had abducted, assaulted and killed Jacob, and led authorities to the remains near Paynesville.
How it was solved
Heinrich had been an early suspect interviewed in 1989 and 1990 but was released for lack of evidence. In 2015 investigators compared his decades-old DNA samples to evidence from the January 1989 abduction and sexual assault of Jared Scheierl in Cold Spring; the DNA matched. A search of Heinrich's Annandale home that year turned up child pornography, leading to federal charges. Under a 2016 plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed not to charge him with murder, Heinrich led investigators to Jacob's buried remains near Paynesville and, on September 6, 2016, testified in open court describing how he abducted and killed the boy. The remains were identified as Jacob through dental records.
Sources
- Murder of Jacob Wetterling
“Jacob Erwin Wetterling ... was an 11-year-old boy who was abducted in St. Joseph, Minnesota ... on October 22, 1989. ... In 2016, Danny Heinrich admitted to abducting, sexually assaulting, and murdering Wetterling, and led authorities to his remains.”
- Danny Heinrich Admits To Murder Of Jacob Wetterling
“Danny Heinrich admitted in federal court that he abducted and murdered 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling on October 22, 1989.”
- Jacob Wetterling Investigation Timeline (In the Dark)
“December 16, 1989: FBI agents interviewed Danny Heinrich, a Paynesville resident, who denies any knowledge about the abductions of either Jacob or Jared. He was interviewed again January 12, 1990, and provided shoes and body hair samples.”
- Danny Heinrich
“Heinrich confessed to kidnapping and murdering Jacob Wetterling on October 22, 1989. He grabbed Jacob from a road near St. Joseph, drove him near a gravel pit, sexually assaulted him, shot him in panic, buried him, and reburied him a year later near Paynesville.”
- Sept. 6, 2016: Danny Heinrich explains how he killed Jacob Wetterling in a panic
“He forced Trevor and Aaron to run away, then handcuffed Jacob behind his back ... Jacob asked: 'What did I do wrong?' ... When Jacob asked to go home, Heinrich panicked upon seeing a police car pass by.”
- Wetterling's Killer Gets 20 Years In Prison
“Heinrich, 53, received 20 years in prison ... 'I am truly sorry for my evil acts.' ... Patty Wetterling: 'My heart hurts. He did nothing wrong. He just wanted to go home.'”
- Danny Heinrich Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison
“Danny Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the statutory maximum, on one count of receipt of child pornography, as part of a plea agreement in which he admitted to the abduction and murder of Jacob Wetterling.”
- 'Truly sorry for my evil acts': Jacob Wetterling's killer gets 20 years
“Danny Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years in prison ... apologizing for his 'evil acts.'”
- Danny James Heinrich says he killed Jacob Wetterling
“Heinrich said he panicked after a police car drove by and shot Jacob twice in the head ... He led authorities to a grave in a rural section of the county near Paynesville.”
- Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act
“The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act ... is a United States law ... that requires states to implement a registry of sex offenders and crimes against children. ... It is named for Jacob Wetterling ... abducted by a stranger in 1989 ... his remains were found on September 1, 2016.”