True Crime and Identification with Victims
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15
April 3, 2018 was a cold Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa where the drizzle, light snow, and stinging temperatures in the mid-30s revealed a spring day where winter refused to let go.
That day, I participated in a training session for federal criminal justice practitioners, and the keynote speaker at the event was Patty Wetterling. She is the mother of Jacob Wetterling, whose murder and sexual assault on October 22, 1989 went unsolved for more than a quarter-century.
The Wetterling case is not like most unsolved murders or missing persons cases, which typically remain unresolved and are largely forgotten by everyone except the victim’s immediate family and friends.
In sharp contrast, the case had major impact on the criminal justice system. It ultimately resulted in the creation of sexual offender registration policies in the United States through legislation known as the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Act as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
To this day, Patty’s solemn presentation on that cold morning is the most powerful, poignant, and riveting experience of my professional life.
She began the presentation by playing a family video, followed by the actual 911 call from the abduction. Seeing Jacob on screen interacting with his family, and then hearing the horror in the call for service was heart wrenching.
As far as I could tell, everyone in the audience, myself included, openly wept.
With remarkable poise and dignified strength, she described the events in the immediate aftermath of the loss of her son. The original FBI profile was that the likely perpetrator was a white male, age 25 to 35, with prior criminal history, may have physical deformity, recent stressor, may have attempted recent abductions, would have an unskilled/semi-skilled job, and would exhibit heightened anxiety. The latter point is the only part of profile she felt was not accurate.
In the first year of the investigation, police had 40,000 leads to pursue. Police arrested 17 people in the first year, but none were responsible for kidnapping Jacob. To add insult to injury, the Wetterling family received contacts from convicted sexual offenders, including some who sent her family videos and other inappropriate information indicating their “love” of children.
Some of these offenders fixated on Jacob. Several men called the family and reported they were Jacob. Others thought they were Jacob. Some would leave voicemails as if they were Jacob.
The family would endure these kinds of tormenting incidents for 27 years. To solve the case themselves, they hired private investigators, and the local sheriff stopped talking to them after they did. The family also hired FBI agents who had been working the case. The family spent great energy, time, and money to pursue justice even when it seemed the criminal justice system itself had run out of steam.
Ultimately, the police located the perpetrator, an individual named Danny Heinrich who federal authorities were investigating for possession of child pornography.
Consistent with the manipulative interpersonal style of the worst offenders, Heinrich was willing to provide details about his involvement in the Wetterling case, but only in exchange for reduced charges.
They would be greatly reduced charges.
According to Patty, legal authorities effectively offered her family a deal with the devil. Investigators asked the family if they wanted justice, in reference to full prosecution of Heinrich on all charges, or if they wanted answers about what happened to Jacob after his disappearance and his whereabouts.
The family chose answers.
On November 21, 2016, Heinrich pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography for which he received 20 years in federal prison and supervised release for a term of life. In his plea, Heinrich admitted to the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of Jacob, and the kidnapping and sexual assault of another 12-year-old boy nine months previously.
Heinrich also admitted that he possessed between 10 to 150 images of child pornography, some of it containing sadistic or masochistic conduct. If released from federal custody, Heinrich is subject to indefinite civil commitment in Minnesota.
Because of the structure of the plea deal, Heinrich could not be prosecuted for Jacob’s murder, but the family would have his remains for a proper burial. Heinrich told the family what happened after the abduction of their son. The details were sickening.
Hearing her retell what Heinrich told the family was devastating.
Awash in silence, the room was captivated by the horror of the Wetterling family having to enter into an agreement with their son’s killer. Throughout Patty’s presentation, one could hear a pin drop. When there was audible sound, it was usually because an audience member was crying.
Patty showed sublime grace about her son’s killer, although she did not mention his name, only referring to him as “the man that took Jacob.”
She thinks the second most devastating thing to having a child abducted is to be the parent of an offender that perpetrated this. Although Patty considered Heinrich a pitiful individual, her tone of voice when discussing him reflected empathy as opposed to rancor.
The prosecution and judge in the Heinrich case showed no such emotional restraint.
Prosecutor Julie Allyn stated, “Danny Heinrich is a cold, calculated predator of children. He only pled guilty because the numbers were good for him.” Like many Americans, Allyn was appalled Heinrich used his knowledge about Jacob’s burial site as leverage to avoid prosecution for his sexual crimes against children.
Judge John Tunheim described the case as one of the most horrible crimes he has ever seen. In addition, Judge Tunheim admonished the defendant,
We won’t pretend that this crime and sentence is about child pornography. It is also about changing the lives of so many children and parents, who prayed for Jacob’s return, and also feared you coming out of the dark…every child knows the story of Jacob Wetterling. You stole the innocence of children in small towns, in the cities of Minnesota and beyond.
The Wetterling case inspired heroic efforts by Patty and her husband Jerry to advocate for child safety and protection. The federal legislation emblazoned with Jacob’s name created greater oversight and awareness about convicted sexual offenders.
The true crime community noticed as well. The podcast In the Dark devoted its entire first season to the case.
It is one of the most consequential crimes in American history.
The rapt sadness and empathy all of us in that large meeting space had for Patty Wetterling and her family was an incredible emotional experience. It was a vivid, tangible life experience informed by the conscience collective.
We were bound by our identification with the victim.