MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #4

[human]

why did he? There were 2 the same age

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

Yes, but why did he need to know how old they were?

 

[shergal]

was Kevin the art student looking for places to sketch or the supposed US Marshall who heard about the kidnapping on the police radio? I seem to remember both coming forward saying their cars were in the driveway somehow.

ShyViolet is correct above, and also it wasn't a US Marshall that drove there, it was a guy named Kevin who heard it on his scanner and drove there. Years later at a party he told a US marshall about it and that marshall encouraged him to call the sheriff and tell his story. That's where the marshall came into the story.

A secondary theory I've had (after DR, who is still my main POI) is the "cop" who stopped Kevin there and told him to go back home. This cop was very dismissive according to Kevin. He said, "yes, we know about the bikes, now please leave the scene," so Kevin left. But no report was ever turned in to the sheriff or FBI at the time from this alleged cop. IMO, it's possible the perp had on police clothes (black outfit, had a gun) under his jacket, and this was not really a cop at all. But if it was the perp, then it doesn't explain what he would have done with Jacob while talking to Kevin. So maybe not. Just something else to think about.

 

[human]

interesting Sher!

 

[ShyViolet]

True, but why did the abductor ask for the boys' ages?

The million dollar question! : ) Yes, I agree it seems to point to a pedophile. I have heard other theories that also seem plausible to me, but I would tend to lean heavily toward sex crime being the motive.

Hopefully, to clarify, my point was not really to try to debate the motive behind the abduction. I just kind of threw that out there as one possibility. The point I really wanted to make, was that I would not rule out any logical POI, based solely on the fact that person has not committed other sex crimes (to our knowledge).

If you think about it, whoever the monster(s) were that did this to Jacob, and/or Jared, do not appear to have re-offended. Kwim?

Is that more clear, or did I make it worse? I know what I mean to say in my head, but sometimes there seems to be a malfunction between my head and my typing fingers. :blushing:

 

[SpringThyme]

What kind of car did DR drive in 1989? Was it similar to the car used in the Cold Spring case?

Why would Javob's abductor need to be on foot? Why not use the same MO as in the Cold Spring assault?

Did Jared attend the same school where DR taught? Would he recognize him?

Would Jared be able to ID DR as the perp now?

 

[Cappuccino]

ShyViolet is correct above, and also it wasn't a US Marshall that drove there, it was a guy named Kevin who heard it on his scanner and drove there. Years later at a party he told a US marshall about it and that marshall encouraged him to call the sheriff and tell his story. That's where the marshall came into the story.

A secondary theory I've had (after DR, who is still my main POI) is the "cop" who stopped Kevin there and told him to go back home. This cop was very dismissive according to Kevin. He said, "yes, we know about the bikes, now please leave the scene," so Kevin left. But no report was ever turned in to the sheriff or FBI at the time from this alleged cop. IMO, it's possible the perp had on police clothes (black outfit, had a gun) under his jacket, and this was not really a cop at all. But if it was the perp, then it doesn't explain what he would have done with Jacob while talking to Kevin. So maybe not. Just something else to think about.

It is bit puzzling that they had to wait for Kevin to come forward and say he was there when one of the police officers at the scene should have been able to tell his colleagues that straight away.

Just an inept police officer or something more sinister?

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

I know it's been a long time and it was dark out, but I wonder if Kevin would be able to ID the officer.

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

IMO, it's possible the perp had on police clothes (black outfit, had a gun) under his jacket, and this was not really a cop at all. But if it was the perp, then it doesn't explain what he would have done with Jacob while talking to Kevin. So maybe not. Just something else to think about.

More than one person involved?

 

[Cappuccino]

I know it's been a long time and it was dark out, but I wonder if Kevin would be able to ID the officer.

I don't know if I'd trust any ID from Kevin after this length of time. Eyewitness evidence can be very unreliable even when they're questioned straight away, getting an accurate description of someone seen on a dark road in 1989 would be nigh on impossible.

Shouldn't the police logs from that night show who was the first to respond and who was the first at the scene? That must have been whoever Kevin spoke to.

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

Agreed. Unless he wasn't a police officer, as Shergal suggested. Maybe far fetched, but still possible.

 

[shergal]

What kind of car did DR drive in 1989? Was it similar to the car used in the Cold Spring case?

Why would Javob's abductor need to be on foot? Why not use the same MO as in the Cold Spring assault?

Did Jared attend the same school where DR taught? Would he recognize him?

Would Jared be able to ID DR as the perp now?

1. I'm not sure what type car DR drove in 1989, although I think it has been shown in some pics in interviews.
2. The remaining boys, Trevor & Aaron, said Jacob's abductor was on foot. They never saw a car. If it was the same guy, perhaps he felt that first grab of Jared didn't work out so well, since he let him go - so he didn't want to use the same MO?
3. Yes, Jared attended Cold Spring School. The abductor kept asking Jared if he recognized him and he had Jared pull his winter cap down over his eyes so he couldn't see. Also DR just teaches music at Cold Spring, so if Jared didn't take music, he may not have known him.
4. After 23 years? Doubtful - I'm sure LE has asked Jared that long ago.

See this link for more info on Jared's case:
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=63324

 

[Cappuccino]

Agreed. Unless he wasn't a police officer, as Shergal suggested. Maybe far fetched, but still possible.

I think if they'd asked the first police officer at the scene and he'd said he never spoke to anyone, Kevin would be a suspect. Given that his story checked out, I'd guess that the police officer in question corroborated it.

 

[kemo]

I have never been to St. Joseph and I do not know DR but I feel he has become a victim of a "witch hunt". True, he lived close to the abduction site and he had no alibi but that is not "evidence"; that is happenstance. There is no evidence that he was involved in Jacob's disappearance and compelling EXONERATING evidence of any involvement in Jared's abduction.

The St Joseph PD should have interviewed DR that evening and asked for a cursory "look around". They probably should have done it for all of the homes in the immediate area. Their big mistake, however, was not to detain Kevin and get a full account of what he did and didn't see. The discovery that he arrived at the scene before the PD opened the possibility that the abductor didn't have a car, but the 911 call didn't happen until at least 15 minutes after the abduction. There still could have been a car that the other boys didn't see. (Kevin may have passed it but we will never know). Sure, DR could have done it but there are plenty of other perfectly plausible ways it could have gone down.

Jared's abduction is a little different. We have a composite sketch of the guy. He appears to be heavy set and at least 15 years older than DR at the time (DR was, and still is, a runner and quite thin and wiry). They were about 35 teachers at Cold Springs School. Jared may not have had DR as a teacher but he would probably recognize him as one of the teachers at his school. Furthermore, investigators knew what kind of car the abductor drove and they could easily ascertain what car DR had access to at the time. If they were close, my guess is we would know about it.

More telling is the DNA issue. DR claimed he consented to a DNA test. DNA is not an issue in the Jacob case but it is in the Jared case because there was a rape and there should have been a Rape Test done. If there was a hit, even though the statute of limitation had expired, would LE have released the results? You Betcha. That would probably end DR's teaching career and piled on the pressure (not to mention ending all criticism the St Joseph PD got over the search of DR's farm).

There was no match. All of the "heat" directed a DR in the last 5 years has never involved Cold Springs. I think it is pretty obvious that St Joseph PD KNOWS he had nothing to do with Cold Springs.

I think the two cases are connected but who knows? They may not be; however unlikely that is. The basis of any suspicion of DR boils down to his proximity to the crime and the fact that he is in his 50's and still "living with his parents"; something that raises a few eyebrows in Michele Bachmann County.

 

[SouthernSummer]

Hi all- I've been reading up on all of this the past couple of days...so I am new to the thread.

But one thing that clearly stands out to me is the fact that Kevin said he went to the scene before the cops arrived and was then basically dismissed by the officer he attempted to speak to.

He likely assumed that his statements were taken by the cops and evaluated. But that apparently didn't happen- there is no record of it.

So he either did not talk to one of those officers or he did and the officer didn't report it.

I am leaning towards either the cop accidentally forgot to record Kevin's statements OR
he intentionally forgot the record the statement.

Either way- that DEFINITELY needs to be examined further. imo

 

[Cappuccino]

I think Kevin's a red herring, personally. It was inept of the police not to interview him sooner, and his presence shows that DR didn't invent the story of a car in his driveway that night, Kevin shows that there was at least one.

That's about it for the importance of Kevin, IMO.

 

[kemo]

A man with some kind of mask accosted the three boys (Jacob, his older brother and a friend) as they walked near the driveway to DR's farm (which was set back quite away from the road). The man chose one of the boys (Jacob) and told the others to "run away". They ran towards the Wetterling house where they were staying at about a 1/4 mile away and called Jacob's parents, who in turn called 911.

Kevin, who had a Police Scanner, heard the dispatcher's call and went straight to the scene, No one is there so he waits, then a St Joseph PD patrolman shows up, figures him for a "lookie-loo" and tells him to "beat it" without taking any information. Apparently Kevin uses DR's driveway to turn around. Presumably other PD soon shows up.

DR later claims that he saw the police activity and call ST Joseph PD (was it a 911 call?) Accounts I have read do not make it clear if the intent of the call was to inquire about the police activity or to report seeing a car "turn around in his driveway".

The Police notice some vehicle tracks on the dirt driveway and child’s footprints leading a short distance up the driveway. They seem to have concluded that Jacob was taken to a vehicle in the driveway and driven away from there. We do not know what the basis for this was; was it DR's call, some other call, perhaps just a "hunch".

At that point, all resources are directed at a search for an unknown vehicle with an abducted child. Nobody goes up to DR's house to talk to him or "look around"; nor do they "knock on doors" of other houses in the area. They assume the Perp has left the area with Jacob. (Apparently DR and other neighbors were interviewed the next day).

When Kevin came forward years later, it opened up a whole new possibility: that there never was another car and the Perp lead Jacob away on foot. If this happened, DR's house was at the end of the driveway while there were no other houses in the immediate vicinity. The Perp with Jacob in toe would have had to walk 100 yards or more along the road.

The significance of Kevin is that he could have told the investigators where he was when he heard the dispatcher and the route he took to crime scene and when he got there. More importantly, he could have told them of any vehicles he passed coming from the direction of the crime scene. Very likely, they could determine if any reports of vehicles in the area were actually Kevin. Also, Kevin's tires could be used to compare with other tire tracks on the driveway.

SOP is to get statements from all potential witnesses (or suspects) as soon as possible. If DR reported a car in his driveway, that would be pretty important. This pins them down before memories fog and information starts to spread. When appropriate, it is also SOP to ask a witness/suspect for permission to conduct a "search". Most likely they would not do a thorough search but they would be very interested in the reaction to the request.

My own WAG (wild *advertiser censored* guess) is that the perp hid his car in DR's driveway and took off with Jacob after the boys had run some distance away, but who knows? It seems crazy for DR or any other neighbor, to abduct a kid, in front of two witnesses, that close to their own homes, but stranger things have happened.

 

[Cappuccino]

I agree, Kemo. One small correction though - the police did knock on DR's door that night and briefly speak with him.

 

[human]

Kemo-there are several errors in your story starting with Jacob's brother The brother was younger, Other errors as well

Where is it written that DR called LE about a car after the abduction?

 

[kemo]

I wrote my post based on memory of what I remember from following this case when it was re-opened in 2010. I read numerous reports from the local media and interviews with DR. There is some conflicting reports regarding contact DR had with the police and the police had with DR on the night of the abduction. From what can tell, the police had no interest in him until the next day when he was formally interviewed at his school. From what I can tell, other neighbors were also interviewed that day and DR appears to have attracted no particular interest.

I recall reading that DR claims to have called or otherwise contacted the police that night. He claims to have reported the existence of a car that he felt was important. He has made the claim that their failure to listen to him or otherwise consider what he saw may have been a factor in their failure to solve the crime.

The night in question, the police were apparently operating on the assumption that there was a car. Some posters have suggested that this was based on information DR provided and that report may have been a deliberate "red herring" by DR to divert attention away from him. I can find no indication that the police have ever released any information as to who may have contacted them that night or what information may have been provided.

Part of the problem here is that there is very little direct information available until around 2004 when Kevin came forward and the police have been very tight lipped about what information they have. They have, however, named him as a POI, executed at least two search warrants on his property and confiscated paper files and computers, not to mention six truckloads of dirt, which they claim is still being "processed" two years after the last search. The Sheriff, John Sanner, admits that they haven't found anything "of substance" but they are still looking.

It all sounds like a "fishing expedition" where they have a POI, who cannot be excluded but no evidence. The approach is to do any search they can get a warrant for, publicly identify him as a suspect and "see what happens". Nothing has happened except a man's reputation has been smeared.

(The brother may have been younger, I didn't fact check it because I didn't think it was important, sorry)