Finally Solved 27 Years Later! | The Shocking Abduction & Murder of Jacob Wetterling

(Collage created by Caledonian Kitty. Picture credits: TwinCitiesABCNewsStarTribune)

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some sensitive information in this post regarding child abduction, sexual assault and murder. I have tried to be as gentle and sensitive as I can be whilst not taking away from the facts of the case. If anyone has any questions or enquiries, please feel free to reach out to me via my email or the contact form here on my page. Thank you*

I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since I started writing this series about Unsolved Cases over the decades and here we are in the final instalment. Obviously I will be continuing to feature more unsolved cases in future posts but for this series it has come to a close...for now. Next week I will be focusing on a different type of true crime case so I hope you will continue to join me for that? If you are new to my blog, I post new content here every Sunday!

So, first of all I would like to thank everyone who has commented about the cases covered in this series and the emails I have received. It was interesting to read that so many of you are personally familiar with these cases and were there first hand when the heartbreaking news first broke. I appreciate all the messages and emails received about the posts, it's a highlight of my day when a regular reader contacts me or someone has just discovered my blog and has kindly taken the time to communicate with me. I always find it fascinating when someone shares their memories of reading about a particular case in the newspapers or perhaps knew a victim or the perpetrator(s). People tell me they learn a lot from my posts but I also learn a lot from them too. 

In this post, I will be sharing the heartbreaking story of the beautiful little boy, Jacob Erwin Wetterling who, at the age of just 11 years old, was abducted and his case remained unsolved for an unbelievable 27 years! 

Jacob was born into a loving family in Minnesota, USA to doting parents, Patty and Jerry on the 17th of February 1978. He also had two sisters and a brother. he was brought up in a happy household and his parents often allowed Jacob and his brother to play outside on their bikes. The boys were always well behaved and knew not to talk to strangers. 

(Jacob Wetterling. Picture credit. ABCNews)

Jacob was like a lot of 11 year old boys of his age, he enjoyed playing outside on his bike, watching movies and one of his favourite things to do was ride to the video store to pick up movies. On the 22nd of October 1989 it was a Sunday and Jacob's parents were out at a dinner party while the children remained at home. It wasn't unusual back then for parents to leave their children home for a short period of time, the children had a phone number to call their parents in case of emergency. At around 9pm that evening, Jacob reportedly contacted his parents asking for their permission for he, his siblings and a a friend to ride their bikes to the local video store to rent out some movies. Jacob's parents were not to keen on the idea and didn't feel comfortable with the children being out at night. 

Jacob didn't give up though and contacted them again saying that they would wear reflective clothing and they would leave his younger sister with a trusted neighbour next door. Eventually the parents agreed as long as the boys came straight home. The boys agreed to their parents wishes and Jacob, his brother and friend (a boy by the name of Aaron) set off for the video store. 

Whilst at the video store, the boys excitedly browsed the aisles with so many movies to choose from. Video stores were so exciting and very much a highlight of the week for many people who fancied a night in with movies and some homemade popcorn. The boys decided on renting out the classic 'The Naked Gun'. When the three of them left the store, expecting to enjoy the rest of their evening cosy in front of the TV watching the movie and eating snacks, what happened next nobody could have foreseen. 

Out of nowhere a man appeared with a gun, ordering the three terrified young boys to get down on the ground and reveal their ages. Jacob's brother was ordered to run away and not look back or he would be killed. Without hesitation and full of fear, the frightened 10 year old boy ran for his life, never to look back. As soon as he got home he raised the alarm for help. Jacob and his friend Aaron were still on the ground, the gun pointing at their backs until the man holding the gun ordered them to turn around so that he could see what they looked like. 

The sick and evil man decided that he liked the look of Jacob the best so he ordered Aaron to leave. Aaron who was just a young child himself, in fear for his life, had no choice but to leave his friend behind. It was a very traumatic experience to have had to go through for all three of the boys but for Jacob, the ordeal wasn't to end there. The monster holding the gun stole the 11 year old boy away from his family, friends and all who loved him on that horrific night. 

Nobody wasted any time in searching for Jacob, authorities were contacted straight away, search helicopters flew overhead, police cars were on the streets as well as officers on foot, along with family members, friends and the local community were all out looking for Jacob. It was all sadly to no avail, not a trace of him was found and despite the constant incredible efforts by those who knew him, the questions would remain unanswered for 27 years. 

The heartbreaking fact that this case was left up in the air for so long is very difficult to take in. The police actually questioned and took DNA samples from a known child abuser/killer by the name of Danny Heinrich. Despite having his DNA on file just months after Jacob's abduction, forensics were not as advanced as they are today and so the case remained cold until a blogger who had seen Jacob's mother on TV taking about the case, became involved. This is another remarkable thing about the true crime community, sometimes a huge difference can be made to cases that are sadly, left on the files. 

Due to this blogger's dedication to the case, The police focused their attention back on Danny Heinrich who they knew was a monster when it came to children, but at that time the case that they were trying to nail him on had reached past the point of statute of limitations. Investigators didn't give up though, determined to get him and the DNA was tested and sure enough there was a match. Danny Heinrich was facing a sickening catalogue of charges and was offered a plea deal in exchange for information about Jacob and the location of his remains. The monster agreed to this and revealed the horrendous truth about what happened that night back in 1989. 

Danny Heinrich confessed that he had abducted Jacob Wetterling and drove the poor child to a gravel pit where he was subjected to being handcuffed before being physically and sexually assaulted. After this horrendous ordeal, Jacob was murdered by gunshot and buried. Then for 27 years his loved ones as well as Aaron (his friend who escaped that night) had to live with the constant pain of never knowing what had happened to Jacob and who was responsible. 

As part of his plea deal, Danny Heinrich agreed to take investigators to the burial site where Jacob's remains had been left undiscovered for 27 years. Sure enough, Jacob's remains were there and it was heartbreaking to see the shirt that Jacob had been wearing that night, all ragged. As was to be expected after such a long time, Jacob had to be identified by his dental records. It was confirmed to be him. 

(Danny Hienrich. Picture Credit: TwinCities)

Danny Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years for child p*rnography as part of the plea deal he couldn't be done for Jacob's murder. Everyone knew what a danger this guy was to children, an absolute sick monster who should never see the light of day. Heinrich was sentenced in 2016 and claims to be 'truly sorry' for his crimes. 

One of Danny Heinrich's victim's who thankfully survived his horrendous ordeal at this evil man, was awarded a considerable amount of damages for the absolute hell that he and his family went through. This brave survivor was sexually assaulted by Heinrich just months before he abducted, r*aped and murdered Jacob. Henrich didn't face proper justice for this crime or for Jacob because of the plea deal. 

Danny Heinrich is now 61 years old and is rotting in prison, hopefully suffering and never to have the luxury of walking the streets again. A lot of mistakes were made so many years ago which allowed this monster to slip through the fingers of investigators and he was then able to carry on his sickening acts to the point of murder. 

Jacob's amazing parents continued to honour their beloved son by helping set up a law in his name 'The Jacob Wetterling Act'. The purpose of the act that came into US law in 1994 was for a register that recorded all known sex offenders to be documented, monitored and for the general public to be kept safe and informed of any possible danger in their local area. The register also helps investigators with future crimes, abduction searches and possible links to other missing child cases. If a child goes missing in a particular area, anyone who is on that register near to that vicinity will be focused on straight away and the public will be notified. 

(Jerry and Patty Wetterling with a photograph of their beloved son, Jacob. Picture credit: startribune)

Jacob was finally laid to rest at Saint John's Abbey Friends Cemetery in Minnesota. There is a beautiful online memorial page for Jacob which you can view and lay virtual flowers & messages here.

Please check out the Jacob Erwin Wetterling Resource Center online here.

RIP Jacob, your beautiful legacy will forever continue through your loved ones, your incredible parents, those who were lucky enough to have known you, the incredible changes your loved ones have brought into the world in your name in order to help others, and to complete strangers like me who have been affected and moved reading your story and who I shall always remember as I do about all of the children and cases I have written about. 


Further Reading & Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Cases | Book by Michael Newton

Jacob Wetterling: Case Timeline | APM Reports

Jacob Wetterling: News Article | ABC News

Jacob Wetterling: Article | Inside Edition

Jacob Wetterling | Wikipedia

JWRC - Jacob Wetterling Resource Centre

Jacob Wetterling | Find A Grave

Minnesota | Wikipedia

Danny Heinrich: Article | The Guardian

Danny Heinrich | Office of Public Affairs

Danny Heinrich: Article | MPR News

Jared Scheierl: Article | MPR News

Patty Wetterling | Wikipedia

Jerry Wetterling: Article | APM Reports 


As always, thank you for taking the time to read my latest post and I hope you will join me again next time. 

Stay safe & in the meantime, I hope to see you on my Socials x

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