MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #10

[human]

I wonder about his parents, too. DR said in the Julie Nelson interview he thought his dad was going to have a heart attack (2010 dig), his father got confrontational and things got physical, his mother was dragged out of the house onto the floor....they seem to be not only scared about what they might suspect about their son, but when things got real and the cops were at their door with digging equipment, they were in an outright panic. It was fight or flight. If they were 100% certain of their son's innocence, why did they have such an intensely ugly visceral response? They must have had doubts about him.

Those are excellent points.

The over reaction.

Yes, digging is a big deal, but it was in a fire pit. So no beautiful area being disturbed.

I go back to Sher's story of people that she knew that lived in the area.

They were searched so often that they simply gave LE a key to the house.

 

[Trackergd]

Having grown up on a farm, here are some things that stand out to me:

1) Dead animals are usually put deep in the ground, not in the fire pit.
2) Firewood piles are not something to obsess about neatness. If it does not fall over, it's stacked well enough.
3) Does the farm have a backhoe on one or more tractors?
4) Does the farm have hogs?

Now, with all that out for discussion....if LE had NOT listed DR as a POI and had not exhibited odd behavior, would anyone be looking at him?

 

[Sasquatch321]

"When he reached puberty, Dahmer discovered he was a homosexual. He did not divulge his sexuality to his parents, although in his early teens, he did engage in a brief relationship with another youth, although the pair never had intercourse.[25] By his own later admission, as he began to fantasize sexually, issues of dominance and control over a completely subservient partner were prevalent in his thoughts. These thoughts gradually became intertwined with dissection. On one occasion when he was approximately 16 years old, Dahmer conceived a fantasy of rendering a particular male jogger he found attractive unconscious and then making sexual use of his unconscious body. To render the man unconscious, Dahmer concealed himself in bushes on the route he had noted the jogger took, baseball bat in hand, and lay in wait for the jogger. On this particular day, the jogger did not pass him and, although Dahmer never attempted to implement this plan again,[26] he later stated this was his first attempt to attack another individual."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer

"On this particular day, the jogger did not pass him and, although Dahmer never attempted to implement this plan again,[26] he later stated this was his first attempt to attack another individual."

We do know that DR went to college in Illinois with a suspect friend of his, did something happen there? Did he bring that home with him?

 

[human]

Having grown up on a farm, here are some things that stand out to me:

1) Dead animals are usually put deep in the ground, not in the fire pit.
2) Firewood piles are not something to obsess about neatness. If it does not fall over, it's stacked well enough.
3) Does the farm have a backhoe on one or more tractors?
4) Does the farm have hogs?

Now, with all that out for discussion....if LE had NOT listed DR as a POI and had not exhibited odd behavior, would anyone be looking at him?

I think people in the neighborhood have considered him odd. But did they ever suspect him? I do not know.

I would think they would be more apt to suspect known criminals.

Was he ever reported by anyone? Could be as initially it did not seem LE was that interested in him. I think only after LE from outside of the area came was he flagged.

 

[Trackergd]

When a crime of this nature occurs in a rural setting, my experience has been that when it occurs in an area where LE knows all the folks and considers them neighbors, friends and folks they see on a regular basis, that unless something really big stands out, they tend to look at or for outsiders/strangers and only when that option is exhausted, look at their own community. How many cases of missing children have we seen where the killer was right under their noses the whole time...even offering to help search and put up posters.

 

[human]

When a crime of this nature occurs in a rural setting, my experience has been that when it occurs in an area where LE knows all the folks and considers them neighbors, friends and folks they see on a regular basis, that unless something really big stands out, they tend to look at or for outsiders/strangers and only when that option is exhausted, look at their own community. How many cases of missing children have we seen where the killer was right under their noses the whole time...even offering to help search and put up posters.

Exactly!

 

[Sasquatch321]

The guy who was home alone the night Jacob went missing on his property, somehow evaded any conversation with the Wetterlings for 21 years. This is when Patty has a surprise encounter with him outside of his health club, looking him in the eye and asking him over and over again if he had anything to do with it. Six years before this encounter, Patty had sent him a letter looking for answers and possibly his help. The letter yielded no response from the elementary music teacher.

 

[HEY YOU!]

The guy who was home alone the night Jacob went missing on his property, somehow evaded any conversation with the Wetterlings for 21 years. This is when Patty has a surprise encounter with him outside of his health club, looking him in the eye and asking him over and over again if he had anything to do with it. Six years before this encounter, Patty had sent him a letter looking for answers and possibly his help. The letter yielded no response from the elementary music teacher.

WHY? Why would a neighbor who teaches children the same age as Jacob not reach out to the family of an abducted child in some way? A phone call, a note even. But not one contact in all those years. Why would the owner of the property that Jacob was abducted from reach out to these parents in some way? NO contact AT ALL. No sympathy, no casserole, no card or note, no neighborly concern or invite to come over and look around? Nothing. The fact that the neighbor who is a teacher is also the owner of the property that Jacob was taken from and NEVER once spoke to Patty even when she reached out to him speaks VOLUMES. Sure he is maybe shy and awkward...or is he? He seems pretty talkative in his interviews. He has written 14 letters to law enforcement agencies. Either he is shy and not prone to talking to people with people either in person or in writing or he is not. Clearly based on his media interviews and letters and phone calls to law enforcement, he is fully capable of communicating in many ways. Then what is the reasoning for never speaking to Patty even after her letter to him?

 

[ThePhantom]

I wish an interviewer would have asked him that question, HEYYOU! -- perhaps Joy the blog writer should.

 

[human]

WHY? Why would a neighbor who teaches children the same age as Jacob not reach out to the family of an abducted child in some way? A phone call, a note even. But not one contact in all those years. Why would the owner of the property that Jacob was abducted from reach out to these parents in some way? NO contact AT ALL. No sympathy, no casserole, no card or note, no neighborly concern or invite to come over and look around? Nothing. The fact that the neighbor who is a teacher is also the owner of the property that Jacob was taken from and NEVER once spoke to Patty even when she reached out to him speaks VOLUMES. Sure he is maybe shy and awkward...or is he? He seems pretty talkative in his interviews. He has written 14 letters to law enforcement agencies. Either he is shy and not prone to talking to people with people either in person or in writing or he is not. Clearly based on his media interviews and letters and phone calls to law enforcement, he is fully capable of communicating in many ways. Then what is the reasoning for never speaking to Patty even after her letter to him?

He is a teacher, entertainer, and a teacher with several age groups.

Shy? Um, no.

 

[Sasquatch321]

Why "The Hunt" will again make a link to Jared.

Because DR is known and in their sights already. Hes not going anywhere. Its more important that they focus on what happened to Jared because of its relevance but also because the suspect is still a ghost. There is enough evidence to get someone to talk in Jareds case. Unfortunately i dont believe it can be tied to jacob because of no vehicle involved. We have to catch this guy for Jared and eliminate him. All imo.

 

[ThePhantom]

Jared saw this man's face up close, right? Can someone tell me exactly which sketch is the accurate one, as I continue to see two sketches.

I agree, they will tie both cases together because they've always believed they were connected. It's strange -- all this sexual assault within what, a ten mile radius. There are scores of sex offenders where I live and yet -- nothing like this.

 

[Sasquatch321]

Jared saw this man's face up close, right? Can someone tell me exactly which sketch is the accurate one, as I continue to see two sketches.

I agree, they will tie both cases together because they've always believed they were connected. It's strange -- all this sexual assault within what, a ten mile radius. There are scores of sex offenders where I live and yet -- nothing like this.

He talked to him, he rode in his car, he observed his voice and demeanor. We need to keep hearing more about this case.

 

[ThePhantom]

Next question: do we all agree that the scent the cadaver dog picked up was human? My understanding is that these dogs are very accurate, in that they are trained to detect human decomposition (as opposed to animals). This has probably been discussed, but, do you think LE is hoping that someday technology will be able to determine DNA in "deteriorated" blood samples?

 

[ThePhantom]

I would like to believe that Jared would be able to tell whether it was DR who assaulted him. DR may have aged, but I can't believe it would be to the degree that Jared would not be able to recognize him.

In a different kind of investigation, a couple of the monks with histories of sexual offenses on minors would have been included as potential suspects for Jared to look at.

 

[human]

Next question: do we all agree that the scent the cadaver dog picked up was human? My understanding is that these dogs are very accurate, in that they are trained to detect human decomposition (as opposed to animals). This has probably been discussed, but, do you think LE is hoping that someday technology will be able to determine DNA in "deteriorated" blood samples?

Yes. They are trained for human.

And I think they are hoping for advances.

Maybe that is what will happen. The miracle!

 

[ThePhantom]

There are so many cases in which there is strong suspicion (Redwine/McCann(at least for some people) but insufficient evidence. Many of them are never solved with the perp never being charged. Some people seem to be amazingly good at being able to cover their tracks!!

 

[thenotebook]

I would like to believe that Jared would be able to tell whether it was DR who assaulted him. DR may have aged, but I can't believe it would be to the degree that Jared would not be able to recognize him.

In a different kind of investigation, a couple of the monks with histories of sexual offenses on minors would have been included as potential suspects for Jared to look at.

Jared has said that DR was not his perp (I believe he said that within the comments on Joy's blog).

 

[ThePhantom]

Thenotebook, thank you very much for this information. It is most helpful.

 

[ThePhantom]

Taking a quick poll: How many are of the mind that Paynesville cases are connected with Jacob and Jared?
Who is of the opinion that Jacob and Jared are separate cases?
Likewise, who believes, Jacob, Jared and Paynesville cases are discrete events

My personal opinion is that the Paynesville cases may be separate from Jared and Jacob, though I'm reluctant to discount anything due to my suspicions about two monks in particular. Since Jared said that DR is not the perp for that crime, then the question becomes, was it a different perp who was responsible for both Jared and Jacob, or, totally separate cases.

Then there is Joshua. I always include him in the mix because it is odd to me that three events happened in one small radius.

There are other cases in MN that I also wonder about: Aaron Anderson who disappeared from his backyard in April 1989, just a few months after Jared was assaulted, and Christopher Kerze disappeared under weird circumstances in 1990.

Does the FBI look for patterns? If they find a pattern do they look for possible connections and then, do they interview or in some way track potential suspects? Or is the FBI more likely to base their decisions on concrete evidence alone and not pursue these possibilities.

As I've commented before, my state is loaded with sex offenders including pedophiles, and while we do have some missing persons cases, they are predominately female and largely grouped in the southern part of the state.