Jacob Wetterling Murder Case Solved After 27 Years, Heartbreaking Result

Jacob Wetterling went missing on October 22, 1989, after heading out with two friends on bicycles to rent a movie. The case has long been a mystery, but foul play was always suspected. The case, 27 years unsolved, has now reached a resolution.

Interstate 35 bridge to glow blue for #JacobWetterling: https://t.co/M3jLOX2jkj pic.twitter.com/wNvW7MOozz

— KIMT News 3 (@KIMTNews3) September 15, 2016

It wasn’t until this month that 53-year-old Danny Heinrich admitted to killing the youth. The man, who reportedly lived 30 miles from where Jacob was last seen, admitted assaulting and killing Wetterling on the night he kidnapped him. He had also been investigated only months before Jacob’s disappearance for a sexual attack on a boy in a nearby town following a number of earlier assaults on young boys in Paynesville. Although Heinrich was questioned not long after Jacob went missing, he denied any involvement. Court documents show that he was never charged. Allegations against Heinrich left citizens on edge.

An owner of a floral shop in the area, Tracy Omann Smith, relayed how much the resolution of the case has impacted her and other people of the city. A sign in her shop read, “Jacob Let Your Light Shine Bright,” following learning of the outcome, and she adds “I have boys around that same age — 13, 11 and 8 — and what’s happened to Jacob just makes you cry,” as the New York Times shared.

Smith also spoke of Jacob’s family, noting how they always thought of him as still being out there, and alive.

“You have to understand, the family had left everything as it was,” she said. “They never moved from the house, never changed their phone number. They really believed he was coming back, and maybe we all did.”

A constant reporter on the case, Monica Davey, shares how the long-time connection to the now resolved crime has affected her.

“As a parent, I could never shake the impossibly painful details of the case: a masked, armed man had grabbed Jacob, 11, and his best friend and his brother before ordering the friend and brother to run into the darkness and never look back. I watched as Patty Wetterling created a foundation with her husband, Jerry, dedicated to helping other missing children and preventing abuse; served on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; expressed nuanced views on offender registries; and ran for the House of Representatives twice — even as she waited, with Midwestern resoluteness, for Jacob.”

The answers to Jacob’s whereabouts and the details about that fateful night he was taken, were closer to home than all thought. He was buried in a farm field in a nearby county. The events of the night were made known by the murderer 27 years later. On October 22, 1989, Jacob and two boys were approached by a man on a darkened road as they rode their bikes home from the convenience store, after picking out a movie. The attacker forced them into a ditch and asked all the boys their ages, after which he sent two away and threatened to shoot them if they looked back. He handcuffed and drove Jacob to a pit near Paynesville where he attacked and then shot him.

Jail documents reveal details of Danny Heinrich’s life behind bars – Story | KMSP https://t.co/7U1BV0TLUp

— Lawrence L. Byrne (@LawrenceLByrne) September 22, 2016

Following Henrich’s confession in court this month, Jacob’s mother emotionally thanked law enforcement officials and gave thanks to a local blogger and another victim of assault by Mr. Heinrich, for not letting up and “stirring this pot” over the last few years.

“For us Jacob was alive until we found him,” Ms. Wetterling said. “We need to heal.”

While speaking to a silent courtroom during his confession about Jacob’s words that night, he recalled the boy’s simple question, “What did I do wrong?”

Heinrich received an unusual plea agreement for admitting to the killing and directing authorities to Jacob’s remains that were buried in a shallow grave in a nearby pasture. He will not be charged in the killing or any earlier assault on the victims who survived. He pleaded guilty to a federal pornography count and is expected to be in prison for 20 years. Authorities add that he could be held beyond the 20 year mark under civil procedures, that are in place for the most dangerous sex offenders.

[Feature Photo by Craig Lassig/AP Images]