MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #3

[Pandora]

http://www.startribune.com/local/10...UoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl


"...his new role as a music teacher puts him in contact with more students."

St. Boniface has a contract with Cold Springs to provide music education.

Can you seriously believe DR is going to molest a child while teaching a school music class?

Music teachers are permitted to offer private & semi-private lessons during school hours. After approx. 14 years of teaching, the music teacher from my elementary days was fired for molesting girls. It happens.

 

[Trino]

Law enforcement can be wrong, and I'm going with innocent until, at least, arrested.

Re: Elizabeth Smart kidnapping

Bret Michael Edmunds - pursued across the US for this crime - not involved.
Richard Ricci - POI, arrested - not involved.
Ultimately, of course, Brian Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee were found by an alert traveler; she was walking along a road with them. Law enforcement had absolutely no idea.

Just assume DR is innocent. At this point, what else might he do? He has been interviewed w/o an attorney several times, has provided DNA, has been hypnotized, has voluntarily taken a LDT.

Finally, law enforcement did NOT need to state DR was a POI, only that the property was being searched. What actual evidence do they have to say he is a POI? If he is innocent, his reputation has been trashed. If nothing is found, will they apologize to DR, or will they quietly let things die down w/o saying a word?

 

[Shay]

I received an email from the principal stating they have hired someone to escort the children to and from music class, as well as staying with them during class.

As one of the parents, it really is a difficult situation to be put in. I don't want an innocent man to lose his job and be crucified by his community and peers. But to think the person possibly responsible for this 20-year nightmare has been walking among us makes my skin crawl.

 

[margaret_diane]

Law enforcement can be wrong, and I'm going with innocent until, at least, arrested.

Re: Elizabeth Smart kidnapping

Bret Michael Edmunds - pursued across the US for this crime - not involved.
Richard Ricci - POI, arrested - not involved.
Ultimately, of course, Brian Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee were found by an alert traveler; she was walking along a road with them. Law enforcement had absolutely no idea.

Just assume DR is innocent. At this point, what else might he do? He has been interviewed w/o an attorney several times, has provided DNA, has been hypnotized, has voluntarily taken a LDT.

Finally, law enforcement did NOT need to state DR was a POI, only that the property was being searched. What actual evidence do they have to say he is a POI? If he is innocent, his reputation has been trashed. If nothing is found, will they apologize to DR, or will they quietly let things die down w/o saying a word?

I just wanted to make sure to clearly articulate that I AGREE that he should not loose his job over the concerns - but - still hold that perhaps until this is resolved, an office job might be in HIS best interest (it protects HIM against potentially unfounded allegations)... and best interests of the children (heaven forbid if he WAS involved!).

I'm sad to think that he may not have been involved at all, and that this has trashed his reputation -- I certainly have empathy for him and his family and what this must be doing to them! I do wonder why police have named him as a POI!? Is it possible they have evidence that is circumstantial (not enough to charge him, but enough to be concerned about him?)...

Is it possible they hope that in naming him a POI he might make a further statement or action that might lead them to more solid evidence? Are they hoping he cracks under pressure and makes a confession??

Its possible they don't suspect HIM at all! A person of interest might mean they may believe he may have more information than he has provided to date. And... its possible they are applying indirect pressure on someone else's concious (at DR's expense) to elicit a confession (eg: they pressure DR by naming him a POI and guilt eats away at someone else he knows (brothers, friends... anyone!)... and then the guilty party comes forward to save DR?? I'm not saying these tactics are FAIR, just pointing out I wouldn't put it past LE to employ them to try to crack this case at this point.

 

[Shay]

http://www.sctimes.com/article/2010...s-concerned-about-Rassier-teaching-assignment

There are a few facts in this article I hadn't heard before, i.e. DR was a volleyball coach, yearbook advisor, attended Apollo High School, and went to college in Illinois.

 

[shergal]

http://www.startribune.com/local/10...UoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl


"...his new role as a music teacher puts him in contact with more students."

St. Boniface has a contract with Cold Springs to provide music education.

Can you seriously believe DR is going to molest a child while teaching a school music class?

Probably not in class. But there's such a thing as "grooming" - making certain children comfortable around him (if he is the perp). I have to believe LE has more info they haven't released to be naming him a POI in the first place. I do hope they are working on their forensics as quickly as possible, without rushing them, so they can either clear him or name him, just for everyone's peace of mind.

I'm glad to hear Shay say the school seems to be taking it very seriously, if they have an escort for the children. I still think they may regret not just giving him an office job. If he accidentally even touches a child innocently now, and the child complains, they're going to have a mess on their hands.

 

[human]

sounds to me like Dr fought having an office job. Seriously, I think the first thing the district would do is give him an an office job.

I have been a teacher for almost 30 years, so I think I know how it works.

I think it was DR that insisted on a classroom job and they had to give it to him because they had no choice. Hence, the guard for the children. IMHO IMHO IMHO

 

[Trino]

All this will, undoubtedly, contribute to discipline problems for him. Upper elementary kids are unmerciful and don't think about what they say or ask. i'm sure some kid will ask him in front of an entire class if he murdered Jacob.

 

[human]

All this will, undoubtedly, contribute to discipline problems for him. Upper elementary kids are unmerciful and don't think about what they say or ask. i'm sure some kid will ask him in front of an entire class if he murdered Jacob.

I bet someone will. And not only that, some kids will be terrified that he is the teacher.

There will be whispers and rumors like you can't believe. A very stupid move on his part to stay in the classroom.

Minnesota has the Rule of 90 and he can retire soon-age +years of experience. so in about 1 1/2 years, he can retire unless he''s in another state facility.

 

[Trino]

I bet someone will. And not only that, some kids will be terrified that he is the teacher.

There will be whispers and rumors like you can't believe. A very stupid move on his part to stay in the classroom.

Minnesota has the Rule of 90 and he can retire soon-age +years of experience. so in about 1 1/2 years, he can retire unless he''s in another state facility.

The Rule of 90 works - in many cases. However, some older employees are tied to both social security and their district/state pension. If he retires early (re: social security), he won't get full s.s. benefits. I have no idea how the Ricori District operates.

I hope after a few weeks things will settle down with the kids. I wonder if he didn't just okay someone to follow him around. Again, if nothing is found, I hope he's given an apology.

 

[human]

He can't get social security until age 62 at the earliest. He can choose to wait until 62 or probably take a leveling of benefits.

That means, that the pension fund makes up the difference until he reaches SS age.

But his pension benefit would be lower because in effect they are giving the employee a loan.

Since he lived at home almost his entire life, his expenses must have been minimal.

In other words, he could chose to get his pension plus SS if he retires at rule of 90. He would be getting the amount until he reaches 62 when SS kicks in, if he chooses to take it at 62.

Or if his pension is enough, he can wait until anytime after 62 to take SS and not even have a leveling of benefits.

 

[buffetoflies]

Ugh, why does he answer questions in such strange ways?

from http://www.sctimes.com/article/2010...erns-unfold-around-teacher-in-Wetterling-case

"“I can feel for the parents. If I had small children and didn’t know the situation — they don’t know me at all. I’m just an innocent bystander witness. This has been going on for 21 years,” Rassier said."

I thought he was inside the house sleeping?

“The kids are going to be hurt by the cuts. The whole issue of who is teaching the music class, in the end, the kids have lost no matter what I turn out to be,” Rassier said."

His responses are just so creepy.

 

[human]

Ugh, why does he answer questions in such strange ways?

from http://www.sctimes.com/article/2010...erns-unfold-around-teacher-in-Wetterling-case

"“I can feel for the parents. If I had small children and didn’t know the situation — they don’t know me at all. I’m just an innocent bystander witness. This has been going on for 21 years,” Rassier said."

I thought he was inside the house sleeping?

“The kids are going to be hurt by the cuts. The whole issue of who is teaching the music class, in the end, the kids have lost no matter what I turn out to be,” Rassier said."

His responses are just so creepy.

" no matter what I turn out to be." What in the heck does that mean?

 

[margaret_diane]

Ugh, why does he answer questions in such strange ways?

from http://www.sctimes.com/article/2010...erns-unfold-around-teacher-in-Wetterling-case

"“I can feel for the parents. If I had small children and didn’t know the situation — they don’t know me at all. I’m just an innocent bystander witness. This has been going on for 21 years,” Rassier said."

I thought he was inside the house sleeping?

“The kids are going to be hurt by the cuts. The whole issue of who is teaching the music class, in the end, the kids have lost no matter what I turn out to be,” Rassier said."

His responses are just so creepy.

Ummmm... how can he claim to be a witness in one breath, but claim he knows nothing, saw nothing in another?? I think its possible the board has put him in the classroom with an escort at the request of police!! They know its going to end up in the media -- what if they're hoping that the media / parents / teachers / kids ask him some question they haven't thought of yet? What if they hope he'll answer something he has already answered... DIFFERENTLY to someone else?? I've seen THIS tactic employed in various criminal cases out here as well, though none of this magnitude!!

I find his comments very strange!! "No matter what I turn out to be?"... what the hell does that mean!? This is certainly an interesting statement.

 

[Mandy113]

I don't know the truth about the DR and I have no idea what his comments mean. There seems to be an element of self-serving pretense to them. IMO

DR had a choice the night Jacob was abducted, the night he was first approached by LE. He could have willingly opened his home to be searched, mentioned possible places on his property to check, he could have joined in the search. If what has been reported is true, DR did none of those things. I understand he had no responsibility to do so. I just find it disturbing he did not. All that is simply my own opinion based on what I've read.

I'm sure Jacob would have gladly chosen to spend his teenage years in a classroom with his friends, going on to high school and college, building a life of his own. Jacob never had that choice.

 

[kemo]

I'm a little bothered at how quickly so many people are willing to "label" DR as a murder suspect. If nothing is found on his property, he will not be "exonerated"; the cloud of suspicion will remain.

As far as I can tell, the only reason he became POI is that he lived closest to the crime scene. LE is right to "check him out" but, absence of evidence to the contrary, this is hardly "suspicious".

There is the possibility that LE knows more than they are letting on. If this is the case, LE agencies that I am familiar with would generally play it down as just "routine" or "closing out some loose ends". That way, if nothing is found, no one’s reputation is damaged and if evidence is found, the issue is now settled. In this case, LE is saying very little but it has turned into a media circus and speculation is rampant. One of the local papers has suggested that the basis for this search (do we know if there was a search warrant or if the search was "consensual") is that two small out-buildings on the farm were torn down or moved and there was some sort of "altering" of the ground where the buildings stood. I don't own a farm but that hardly seems "suspicious" to me.

My guess is that this is just a "fishing expedition". Maybe they'll find something. Maybe DR will flee the country or do some equally incriminating. Maybe they will find nothing and perhaps try it again with the next POI.


It seems to me highly unlikely that DR just "happened" to be waiting at the end of his driveway with a gun and mask, that late in the evening, in hopes that some kid would come along for him to abduct. It is far more likely that someone who "happened" to have a mask and gun, noticed the boys, followed them until he saw where they were going, drove past them and hide his car in a long driveway and then laid in wait for them to pass. This doesn’t rule out the owner of the driveway but it hardly casts any serious suspicion on him.

 

[buffetoflies]

it's not just that he lives closest to the crime scene.

People think it might have been him because:
1.) he was at home that night and he didn't come out of his house to help search because he was 'sleeping', but in the same breath he says he saw/heard a car turn around in his driveway (impossible because it is really long and there is a curved bit with trees blocking the house from the road). People see this as fishy because he works with kids.
2.) he was home alone - his parents were out of the country.
3.) the cops did not search his home/property right away. They waited 5 days.
4.) He makes strangely phrased comments about the case. There was a video from a while ago where he made a bunch of hinky comments.
5.) Several other reasons.

Someone should make a better list with all the reasons that point toward him.

 

[Trino]

" no matter what I turn out to be." What in the heck does that mean?

It means the kids in the district have lost because the entire music program has been cut back. I guess you have to be in education to understand this.

 

[human]

I'm a little bothered at how quickly so many people are willing to "label" DR as a murder suspect. If nothing is found on his property, he will not be "exonerated"; the cloud of suspicion will remain.

As far as I can tell, the only reason he became POI is that he lived closest to the crime scene. LE is right to "check him out" but, absence of evidence to the contrary, this is hardly "suspicious".

There is the possibility that LE knows more than they are letting on. If this is the case, LE agencies that I am familiar with would generally play it down as just "routine" or "closing out some loose ends". That way, if nothing is found, no one’s reputation is damaged and if evidence is found, the issue is now settled. In this case, LE is saying very little but it has turned into a media circus and speculation is rampant. One of the local papers has suggested that the basis for this search (do we know if there was a search warrant or if the search was "consensual") is that two small out-buildings on the farm were torn down or moved and there was some sort of "altering" of the ground where the buildings stood. I don't own a farm but that hardly seems "suspicious" to me.

My guess is that this is just a "fishing expedition". Maybe they'll find something. Maybe DR will flee the country or do some equally incriminating. Maybe they will find nothing and perhaps try it again with the next POI.


It seems to me highly unlikely that DR just "happened" to be waiting at the end of his driveway with a gun and mask, that late in the evening, in hopes that some kid would come along for him to abduct. It is far more likely that someone who "happened" to have a mask and gun, noticed the boys, followed them until he saw where they were going, drove past them and hide his car in a long driveway and then laid in wait for them to pass. This doesn’t rule out the owner of the driveway but it hardly casts any serious suspicion on him.

There have been several maps put on here and the discussion as to why just some masked stranger getting ahead of the boys is highly unlikely.

LE got sealed search warrants so that further searches would not be compromised.

I don't think that Minnesota has the money to spare on some little hink on some LE's part.

 

[Trino]

Snipped...
I don't think that Minnesota has the money to spare on some little hink on some LE's part.

In this welfare state? Are you kidding?