Suspect - Daniel Heinrich

[Sleutherish]

It has been a while since I last commented on here but I have never stopped following this case. I seem to remember a story about an anonymous woman who called into a tip line not too long after Jacob was taken and she seemed to know details of the abduction that had not been made public but she hung up the phone before giving away the identity of the perp. After that phone call LE and Patty Wetterling made a public plea for this woman to please call back but she never did (I wish I could find the link to that story!) I wonder if that anonymous woman was Daniel Heinrich's mother? he was living with her at the time of the abduction after all.

Does anyone know if she's still alive? I know his father died, but I don't remember specifically about her.

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[Sleutherish]

A couple of interesting points here

1. If this date is accurate, it means his last work day at Fingerhut was a Sunday. I wonder if he ever did any trolling there on weekends.

2. If he lost his job that could be a "stressor" that triggered escalation of his MO. Note that the car he used in Jareds assault had been repossessed, so it's apparent he had money problems.

I wonder if DJH noticed JW prior to ending work at Fingerhut when JW was at hockey practice. Maybe he targeted/stalked him for awhile before the abduction. From the criminal complaint, it seems blonde prepubescent boys were an interest of his.

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[sidvix59]

To clear things up a bit, the ice rink is across the street from part of Fingerhuts property, but its a four lane road and an indoor arena. He would have had to be hanging out inside the rink to see Jacob, there is no way he would have noticed him just driving by, even walking in and out would have been unlikely since there is a parking lot.

Plus he was more likely working at the other property closer to St Joe not the one in town (more likely cause more people worked at the newer facilities near St Joe).

Something I haven't noticed anyone mention, one of the news reports the night we found out, one of the neighbors said not many people ever visited him, but at times his brother lived with him and she would see them get in arguments.

 

[bessie]

A couple of interesting points here

1. If this date is accurate, it means his last work day at Fingerhut was a Sunday. I wonder if he ever did any trolling there on weekends.

2. If he lost his job that could be a "stressor" that triggered escalation of his MO. Note that the car he used in Jareds assault had been repossessed, so it's apparent he had money problems.

The date, 10/08/1989, was on a pay stub seized in the January 1990 search. DJH told detectives that was his last day of work at Fingerhut, according to the affidavit. Perhaps, he actually said that was his last paycheck, because he didn't work on Sundays.

When asked his whereabouts on October 22, 1988, he stated he couldn't recall precisely, but that he usually spent Sundays driving around Paynesville, doing laundry, or watching a movie, and he was alone most of the time. (Driving around Paynesville and where else?)

I noted the repossession of the Mercury Topaz in March 1988, also. And along with the pay stub, another item seized was a past due notice on a loan of some sort. So no doubt, he had financial woes. Seems to have switched jobs often, too.

With regard to no. 2, I absolutely agree with you. Whether he was fired from Fingerhut, or quit suddenly without a new job lined up, it's a sign things weren't well in his life at the time. Either way, his termination would qualify as the type of stressful life event that's often a precursor to a violent assault.

Speaking of which, he started the new job on 11/12/89, not 11/22/89. (Darn old eyes!)

 

[MotherOcean]

There must be some forensic evidence of Jacob being in that car. I am not convinced that Jacob was killed quickly. If DJH didn't plan to kill Jacob, perhaps he had a real problem on his hands when he heard on the scanner that LE were headed to the abduction site. This was a new situation for him. What would his response to that stressor be? Maybe he killed Jacob quickly as he felt the stress, but I believe it is possible that he kept Jacob alive for some time. I would like to go back and re-read some of the reports of sightings after the abduction. I think he may have "hit the road" for a short while. He may have been traveling with an unintended captive if his original plan was to release Jacob as he had released Jared. If that was the case then Jacob could be far from home.

 

[Sigrun]

There must be some forensic evidence of Jacob being in that car. I am not convinced that Jacob was killed quickly. If DJH didn't plan to kill Jacob, perhaps he had a real problem on his hands when he heard on the scanner that LE were headed to the abduction site. This was a new situation for him. What would his response to that stressor be? Maybe he killed Jacob quickly as he felt the stress, but I believe it is possible that he kept Jacob alive for some time. I would like to go back and re-read some of the reports of sightings after the abduction. I think he may have "hit the road" for a short while. He may have been traveling with an unintended captive if his original plan was to release Jacob as he had released Jared. If that was the case then Jacob could be far from home.

Given his limited means, in that case we'd need to find some kind of controlled environment to which he had access. I say this because I doubt he carried JEW around in his car for any length of time. But it's possible he kept him somewhere.

 

[jenves]

I'm followed this case loosely, so I don't know all the details. Forgive me for not digging this up myself but are there any known victims after JW? I only have access to my phone right now so digging back is hard to do.

Non cyber victims.

 

[Sigrun]

I'm followed this case loosely, so I don't know all the details. Forgive me for not digging this up myself but are there any known victims after JW? I only have access to my phone right now so digging back is hard to do.

Non cyber victims.

The new POI was employed in St. Cloud shortly after the abduction and was not incarcerated, so he was still "in circulation" in the same general area. AFAIK there are no cases after the JEW case in which an unresolved felony abduction or homicide of a minor occurred; at least not any fitting the known parameters of this case. I am also not aware of any assaults matching this pattern afterward. This is one of the peculiar features of this case.

Some of the locals may know better than I, but I am not aware of any case in MN after the JEW case that has any features that would tie it to the JEW case. Given what we know about this type of crime, this is an odd circumstance.

 

[bessie]

To clear things up a bit, the ice rink is across the street from part of Fingerhuts property, but its a four lane road and an indoor arena. He would have had to be hanging out inside the rink to see Jacob, there is no way he would have noticed him just driving by, even walking in and out would have been unlikely since there is a parking lot.

Plus he was more likely working at the other property closer to St Joe not the one in town (more likely cause more people worked at the newer facilities near St Joe).

Something I haven't noticed anyone mention, one of the news reports the night we found out, one of the neighbors said not many people ever visited him, but at times his brother lived with him and she would see them get in arguments.

Thanks for the explanation about Fingerhut, and the two locations. I believe that was mentioned the other day, but posts were flying by so rapidly that it was hard to take in all the details.

I'm not one who leans toward Jacob being stalked, even less so now that I'm learning about this guy's habits. I think he liked to drive around alone in neighborhoods where he knew adolescent boys resided or frequented, hoping to come upon an opportune moment, and fantasizing along the way. JMO

A neighbor is quoted in a newer article, perhaps a rehash of the original. Anyway, if I recall correctly, she said that in addition to fighting with his brother, he argued with himself at times. I'll look it up and link it here.

 

[Jennibee]

I think at this point it is clear that more information is missing from this story (beyond the obvious). Here is the dilemma:

1.Documents related to the new POI were inadvertently unsealed in 1996 and authorities were quick to re-seal them. The sealing and re-sealing indicates that the significance of the POI was known to authorities from the beginning. There were only 2 other persons in that list, and one of them died (I think before 1996).

2.Though I never had a name, when I pushed buttons someone indicated to me that they already knew who the perpetrator was, and that it was not who I originally suspected. This person was in the right position to know about the new POI from the very beginning.

3.Counterintuitively, there is no indication so far that the new POI was the subject of ongoing surveillance, search warrants or other investigative activity over the last 26 years (beyond the work done around the time of the kidnapping).

4.Counterintuitively, considerable resources were applied to DR, even though authorities knew the above. Moreover, by DR’s own testimony, he corroborated non-public information the authorities had regarding the car used in the crime.

Hi Sigrum, I just wondered if you are a verified insider?


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[Jennibee]

Be careful drawing conclusions without the proper evidence or JEW. The shoe print will be hard to prove as its a common shoe, even if same size, a lot of people wear same size shoes, and what not, especially back then, hard to tell but looked like old school Addidas, with the stripe on side. unless there is something specific with that shoe to match with what was found at scene, like bits of rubber or material from the shoe that forensically matches to his shoes.

Of bits or specific components of dirt or soil from the scene that is still on the shoes today.

Hopefully there's more than that for evidence.

Isn't that what we have being doing for the past 26 years? We don't have anything else to scrutinise at this point.


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[Jennifermn]

Does anyone know if she's still alive? I know his father died, but I don't remember specifically about her.

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From what I can tell, she died in 2007. She was remarried, so her last name was no longer Heinrich.

I'm not sure if I am able to post her name though.

 

[bessie]

This is from the article I referenced earlier:

Over the years, she said, she saw police at the house when Heinrich had altercations with his brother, who she said lived there on and off.

“He’d sit outside and talk to himself. And he’d have arguments with himself,” she said.

“He’s fine one second and the next minute, he’s swearing up a storm,” she said.

http://www.wctrib.com/news/world/38...itnessed-surveillance-search-warrant-and-were

 

[JerseyJo]

The date, 10/08/1989, was on a pay stub seized in the January 1990 search. DJH told detectives that was his last day of work at Fingerhut, according to the affidavit. Perhaps, he actually said that was his last paycheck, because he didn't work on Sundays.

When asked his whereabouts on October 22, 1988, he stated he couldn't recall precisely, but that he usually spent Sundays driving around Paynesville, doing laundry, or watching a movie, and he was alone most of the time. (Driving around Paynesville and where else?)

I noted the repossession of the Mercury Topaz in March 1988, also. And along with the pay stub, another item seized was a past due notice on a loan of some sort. So no doubt, he had financial woes. Seems to have switched jobs often, too.

With regard to no. 2, I absolutely agree with you. Whether he was fired from Fingerhut, or quit suddenly without a new job lined up, it's a sign things weren't well in his life at the time. Either way, his termination would qualify as the type of stressful life event that's often a precursor to a violent assault.

Speaking of which, he started the new job on 11/12/89, not 11/22/89. (Darn old eyes!)

Not being familiar with Paynesville at all...was it that interesting of a place back in the 80's that would compel someone to drive around all day?

Just by the few things that DJH has been quoted as saying so far, example telling his neighbors that the Feds confiscated child *advertiser censored*, but the neighbors had nothing to worry about it didn't involve their children...I don't think DJH has a filter. Not the sharpest tack in the drawer. Just my opinion, but I think the Feds will be able to get all the info they need out of him eventually.

 

[Sigrun]

Not being familiar with Paynesville at all...was it that interesting of a place back in the 80's that would compel someone to drive around all day?

Probably not, but what it does tell us is that he might have been very familiar with the area and known of places he could go without being challenged, that were easy to access and where he could likely spend time without being interrupted or observed.

 

[bufflehead]

From what I can tell, she died in 2007. She was remarried, so her last name was no longer Heinrich.

I'm not sure if I am able to post her name though.

That's the information I found, too. It looks like she was remarried in May of 1989, which is interesting timing. I found one source that indicates the marriage was short-lived, ending in 1991. Looks like she kept that marriage's last name till the end of her life.

I'm not sure what is OK to post here, either, as far as identifiers of non-POIs or people that haven't already been identified in the public record. This is my first post - like so many Minnesotans, Jacob's story has always been in the back of my mind, and even more so as I had my own children, who are all in that tween and young teen age. I came across Joy's blog last year and read here at Websleuths as well, and I love to research. But I ended up stepping away as it just became too hard to think about and keep a somewhat non-helicopter approach with my own kids. Of course had to revisit it all as soon as last week's news broke.

I'm sure that LE is on the case now and has probably spoken to as many relatives of this latest POI as they can. They don't seem too hard to track down...

 

[bufflehead]

Something else I found interesting was that the obituary of DJH's father was really stark...no services to be held (is that common?), no "beloved father of..." or anything that would indicate that he would be missed. Basically just a list of where he worked and "survivors". Could be that the family was pretty messed up in more than one generation.

It makes me ponder the (unanswerable) question - are people like DJH born, or are they made, or is it some of both? I feel like I have no sympathy for him, but a small part of me stands back and wonders...what happened to him? What could have stopped him from turning into a monster?

 

[JerseyJo]

Probably not, but what it does tell us is that he might have been very familiar with the area and known of places he could go without being challenged, that were easy to access and where he could likely spend time without being interrupted or observed.

Exactly...that and hunting his prey.

 

[bessie]

That's the information I found, too. It looks like she was remarried in May of 1989, which is interesting timing. I found one source that indicates the marriage was short-lived, ending in 1991. Looks like she kept that marriage's last name till the end of her life.

I'm not sure what is OK to post here, either, as far as identifiers of non-POIs or people that haven't already been identified in the public record. This is my first post - like so many Minnesotans, Jacob's story has always been in the back of my mind, and even more so as I had my own children, who are all in that tween and young teen age. I came across Joy's blog last year and read here at Websleuths as well, and I love to research. But I ended up stepping away as it just became too hard to think about and keep a somewhat non-helicopter approach with my own kids. Of course had to revisit it all as soon as last week's news broke.

I'm sure that LE is on the case now and has probably spoken to as many relatives of this latest POI as they can. They don't seem too hard to track down...

Welcome, bufflehead.

You're right. It's not okay to post names of family members and other individuals who've not been publicly identified.

Thanks for being cautious. It's very much appreciated.

 

[MotherOcean]

He told investigators that he didn't remember what he was doing on the evening that Jared was assaulted but that he was probably riding around town alone, washing clothes, or watching a movie at home.