MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #8

[human]

I live in an area in MN which now is super desirable

I was talking to a friend who is in her sixties who grew up here. At that time, people who could not live in society moved out into the woods. She said that lots of the girls she knew were molested. I know that about 40 years ago, a boy was killed in a car accident. The sister was upset because she wouldn't be able to sleep with him anymore. They were teenagers. We thought it was gross, but did not think any deeper than that.

We have a Swedish Norwegian population and not the German of the St.Cloud area . I think sex abuse was way more common than anyone imagined.

I have a friend who is 70 who was molested by her minister father.

Anyway, I think there is no shortage of perp possibilities.

Looking at the characteristics and adding them up is interesting.

 

[nmogren]

I know plenty of people that were abused in the 60's and even the 70's. I think that's where the whole "playing doctor" started sadly. I just don't think people thought much of it back then. And in northern MN and a small town it would have been the 80's or so before they caught up with the notion that this behavior isn't acceptable. I just don't think it is that unlikely that DR could have just grabbed a kid from the end of the driveway.

 

[Wisdom]

Take a look at the link provided below and watch both of the videos...which are excellent in my opinion. Pay close attention on the second one (part 2) from 37 seconds in up until about 1:05. If you pause the video at various times between that time frame you can really get some good looks at the tire track & foot print evidence. After you pause it put your mouse over the play button but don"t click and the picture will come in clearer for a better look. After really paying close attention to the tire tracks I can start to see why LE is ruling out a vehicle after Kevin...because from my eyes it looks like his was the only one that was fresh at all.
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/crime/2014/05/13/wetterling-investigators-take-fresh-look-at-similar-cases/9064905/

 

[human]

Looks like a dirt road.

Plaster casts were made and it looks like for several footprints.

And we met a real hero- JARED!!!!

 

[Wisdom]

The track evidence just based off what we can see in that video really sheds some light in my opinion. DR's story about spending most of the day typing on cards or running really makes sense because it doesn't look like any other tire prints were there which meant no visitors or him driving that day. I know he had a band lesson early that day but those tracks were probably pretty much non existent by the end of the day. So after Kevin came forward police knew DR was flat out lying about the other vehicles he claimed to have seen that day.

 

[Jbrown324320]

I am so glad channel 11 did a story too. wow.
Maybe tracker can look at the video of the scene and determine how fresh the tire tracks are? I still want to know why LE eliminated Kevin. Kevin claimed he didn't know DR's driveway was not a road. If he lived there all his life, I don't know how he couldn't know.

 

[kemo]

I've done some research on pedophiles who kill boys in the age range of 10 to 14)in hopes that it might shed some light on this case. For whatever it might be worth, here are a few (strictly amatuer) observations .

1)While we think of two "types": seducers and snatch and grab phedophiles, seducers can often be quite 'forceful" and snatch and grabbers will often attempt to seduce their victims, often in hopes of keeping them from "telling". None of the killer pedophiles I read of were the type that would "groom and seduce" and carry on with a child over long period of time.

2)Snatch and grab actions used to be far more common than they are now. Prior to the late 1980's, the penalty was usually no more than a year in prison and it was not considered a "serious" crime and a "series" of these, such as Paynesville would only involve local law enforcement. These incidents seldom resulted in serious injury. If a child was seriously injured or killed (or vanished), of course the situation would be treated quite differently. In the late 1980's in response to a growing concern with crimes against children and some high profile killing and "vanishings": (including Jacob) penalties were greatly increased and incidents dropped substantially.

3)Snatch and grab abductors would very rarely kill their victims. That would usually occur, unplanned, when the perp feared that something had gone wrong and he would be in serious trouble if he let the victim go. When the plan called for the victim to be killed, the usual reason was that the perp was a sadist and torture and killing were part of the thrill. This type of abduction seemed to involve a lot more planning.

4) All of the killers had a "history" of sexual interest in young boys going back to their adolescence. Most had arrests for sex crimes as juveniles and all had some incidents, rumors, allegation; something. None just went out and killed a child without less serious issues leading up to it. All of these were technically"homosexual" because the object of their sexual desire were of the same sex but only one of the perps I read about(Edward Duncan) was know to have had sex with grown men (and it is not clear that he identified as "gay"). Those killers who otherwise had "stable" lives also tended to be married or otherwise appear to be heterosexual. Those who had unstable lives tended to have no regular sexual partners but that would be consistent with everything else in their lives.

5) Generally, "vanishing" the body of a murder victim correlates with the perp being "close" to the victim. This may be less true for child victims because they would be easy to carry long distances. Still, most of these child victims were "dumped" where they were eventually found.

The primary conclusion I could draw from all this is that the guy who took Jacob most likely had a history of raping boys around Jacob's age; probably beginning at an early age. Any investigation of a POI should include not only his juvenile record but a very thorough background check covering his teenage years. School, Mental Health and Social Service records should be checked and interviews conducted with friends, family and neighbors. Any hints or rumors of sexual activities involving children would be a definite Red Flag, but a truly "clean" record would be very suggestive on "no involvement".

 

[human]

Bessie's info from UC Davis paints a different picture of a potential perp.

 

[ELOCsoul]

The boys were just starting their decent down the gentle hill when a man suddenly appeared from the driveway on their left.

"Stop!” the man shouted in a deep, commanding voice. “I have a gun!"
The boys skidded to a sudden stop. Trevor instinctively pointed his flashlight at the man. He caught a brief glimpse of him. He could see the man was dressed in dark clothing, black boots and a big, dark, puffy coat. He saw the flash of a gun in the man's hand. The man was a dark. Everything about him was dark.

The first thought to cross Trevor’s mind was that this was just a joke being played by someone from the neighborhood. He almost started to laugh out loud. The very same thought crossed Aaron's mind as well.

But it was not a joke. The masked man in the dark was serious, very serious.

The beam from Trevor’s flashlight quivered aimlessly. The instinctive sensation of “playful surprise” that came over Jacob, Aaron, and Trevor was shattered by a cold and stark fear. In an instant their collective spirit was transformed from the carefree innocence of youth, to a paralyzing hopelessness.

 

[Trino]

JUST IN:

MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) just had a news story (9:00p.m. May 14) that LE is looking into the Paynesville area for the JW case. Apparently, 25 yrs ago there were 5 -6 cases of young boys who were molested. LE has been investigating for the past 6 months.

 

[Trino]

Here's the MPR link:

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/05/14/investigators-look-at-possible-link-in-25yearold-case-

 

[Sasquatch321]

The boys were just starting their decent down the gentle hill when a man suddenly appeared from the driveway on their left.

"Stop!” the man shouted in a deep, commanding voice. “I have a gun!"
The boys skidded to a sudden stop. Trevor instinctively pointed his flashlight at the man. He caught a brief glimpse of him. He could see the man was dressed in dark clothing, black boots and a big, dark, puffy coat. He saw the flash of a gun in the man's hand. The man was a dark. Everything about him was dark.

The first thought to cross Trevor’s mind was that this was just a joke being played by someone from the neighborhood. He almost started to laugh out loud. The very same thought crossed Aaron's mind as well.

But it was not a joke. The masked man in the dark was serious, very serious.

The beam from Trevor’s flashlight quivered aimlessly. The instinctive sensation of “playful surprise” that came over Jacob, Aaron, and Trevor was shattered by a cold and stark fear. In an instant their collective spirit was transformed from the carefree innocence of youth, to a paralyzing hopelessness.

There is the black boots i was talking about. What are the insights of the rassier parents and brother about these items. That is crucial evidence right there.

 

[Trino]

There is the black boots i was talking about. What are the insights of the rassier parents and brother about these items. That is crucial evidence right there.

See my previous post. The NEW investigation is in Paynesville - not on DR.

 

[shergal]

All of the various news articles I've seen so far online today are including that LE DID investigate the connection with the 1987 Paynesville cases back in 1989 in connection with Jacob's case, and they interviewed a couple of the boys who came forward. (It was stated earlier by some that Stearns County never knew about these assaults. That is not true. I just watched the WCCO report on tonight's news, and WCCO stated also in their report that Stearns County never knew about these other assaults.) I hope they correct that in Part 2 of their telecast tomorrow.

"Sheriff John Sanner tells The Associated Press that investigators assigned to the Wetterling abduction compared similarities with the Paynesville cases 25 years ago. Sanner says officials have been taking a new look for about six months."
http://www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/S3436147.shtml?cat=10219

"Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner said Wednesday that investigators assigned to the Wetterling abduction compared similarities in cases in Paynesville and Cold Spring for a possible connection to the Wetterling case."
http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2014/05/14/blogger-raises-questions-wetterling-case/9099865/

So they did know about these assaults back then, and they looked into them and interviewed some of the boys who came forward. Just wanted to correct that misinformation.

I'm glad LE is looking into them again now though, and will talk to even more boys who have now come forward.

 

[Jbrown324320]

Trino, I read the article, it wasn't focused on any suspect. I would be interested to know if DR had a coat like that myself or black boots. I know that coat was common in the late 70s.

I just saw the WCCO story about Joy's blog and the Paynesville incidents. It is really getting around. Great job everyone. I can't find a link to it yet.

 

[Marzipan]

Human, regarding B in Iredell County, NC, did the jail folks tell you no arrest record? I can try county clerk again, but think it probably isn't a significant charge. However, I'm still interested in the person.

 

[shergal]

Trino, I read the article, it wasn't focused on any suspect. I would be interested to know if DR had a coat like that myself or black boots. I know that coat was common in the late 70s.

I just saw the WCCO story about Joy's blog and the Paynesville incidents. It is really getting around. Great job everyone. I can't find a link to it yet.

Here's a link to tonight's news:
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/tag/jacob-wetterling/

On the right hand side of the page under "latest video" - click on Jacob's picture to see video. You can set it to full screen to see it better.

 

[Sasquatch321]

Joy Baker truly deserves a 1up from me for getting this all together and going on again. This is exactly what we need, a constant discussion going on about all the different possibilities. Its really good to hear that Patty and Joy and Sheriff Sanner are working on this together. Patty is open to the possibility, so I am as well.

 

[HEY YOU!]

Take a look at the link provided below and watch both of the videos...which are excellent in my opinion. Pay close attention on the second one (part 2) from 37 seconds in up until about 1:05. If you pause the video at various times between that time frame you can really get some good looks at the tire track & foot print evidence. After you pause it put your mouse over the play button but don"t click and the picture will come in clearer for a better look. After really paying close attention to the tire tracks I can start to see why LE is ruling out a vehicle after Kevin...because from my eyes it looks like his was the only one that was fresh at all.
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/crime/2014/05/13/wetterling-investigators-take-fresh-look-at-similar-cases/9064905/

I can't find the second video. Where exactly is it? Thanks!

 

[HEY YOU!]

I've been looking at shergal's post #952...the 'dug in footprint'. And comparing that to ELOCsoul's post #969 stating that essentially Kevin's tires passed right by Jacob's dug in footprint (which I agreed). And yet...these footprints stop abruptly. This doesn't make any sense. If you study that picture, you'll see 2 sets of footprints: 1 set resembles Jacob's tennis shoes(see St Autumn's pics). The other set is striated lines. There's clearly 2 sets of footprints. If Kevin's car passed by after the abduction, then why the abrupt ending of footprints?

Can you direct me to the picture or video that shows 2 sets of footprints?