Forensic Files | Ties That Bind | FULL EPISODE | HD | True Crime Procedure Investigation Drama | Forensic Files

11-year-old Ricky Stetson went for an evening run on a jogging trail in Portland, Maine.
Witnesses recalled seeing the boy and a young man right behind him on a bicycle.
The next day, Ricky Stetson's body was discovered in a nearby ravine. He had been murdered.
[Applause] [Music] The killer left very few clues, but he left behind something he couldn't hide,
his signature. [Music] 11-year-old Ricky Stetson and his family lived in a working-class section of
Portland, Maine, a coastal city known primarily as a summer vacation destination.
Around 8:00 p.m. on August 23rd, 1983, Ricky went for a short run along the biking and jogging path called Black
Cove. He never returned home. His body was discovered the next day in a grassy area just off the jogging path.
There was evidence, both externally and internally as I recall, of asphyxiation,
that is of choking around the neck. And it appeared to the medical examiner as though he was he was choked manually
and probably by a ligature. He had also been stabbed. The autopsy revealed that the boy had not been
sexually assaulted, but there were bite wounds on various parts of his body. And the bite marks had been gouged with
a knife. None of the forensic dentists had seen a case before in which there had been a bite mark with slashing and
cutting through it as if to hide the bite mark. Uh and so that's what the law calls a
signature crime. That is, it is done in a way that is very unique, that is very unusual,
that the culprit, the perpetrator, is leaving, as it were, his signature uh on the crime.
To Portland police, Ricky Stetson's murder appeared similar to a series of knifings that occurred 2 years earlier
in the Oakdale section of the city. [Music] Michael Witham was just 9 years old when
he had an encounter with the so-called Oakdale Slasher. There's a wooded lot between a couple of houses,
which have a couple of paths, and I was called into the wooded lot by a guy who I didn't know at the time.
He had asked me a few questions, my age, my name, where I lived. And after he had
asked his questions, he said I could leave. As I turned to leave, he grabbed me and cut my throat.
Witham got away, but the injury was just inches from being fatal and required 12
stitches to close. All Witham could say was the attacker was a white male in his late teens or
early 20s. That description was similar to the one of the man seen riding his bicycle
behind Ricky Stetson. [Music] For a full year, police searched for the killer and eventually they identified a
suspect, 24-year-old Joseph Anderson. He was also a suspect in the attempted murder of a 9-year-old girl.
But there was a problem. Police in Bellevue, Nebraska had a similar murder. A 13-year-old boy with stab wounds and
markings identical to Ricky Stetson's. If the Nebraska murder was related to the Stetson case in Maine,
Joseph Anderson wasn't the killer. A serial murderer was on the loose on a 1,500-mile
killing spree. In the fall of 1983, police in Bellevue, Nebraska were searching for a missing 13-year-old boy,
Danny Joe Eberle. Danny Joe had been delivering newspapers early one Sunday morning when he
mysteriously disappeared. He's partially through his paper route and now he's disappeared.
And uh he wasn't with any of his playmates, any of his relatives, uh wasn't in any of the neighborhoods,
and we knew something was terribly wrong right then. Danny Joe's bicycle was found in front
of a home he delivered newspapers to, but there was no sign of a struggle and no sign of the boy. Danny's bicycle,
his brother and sister and his mother and dad said his whole life was that bicycle. He That's why he delivered
newspapers to buy accessories and to keep the bicycle shining. He was really proud of it.
Police searched for Danny Joe Eberle across the state of Nebraska. His picture was seen on nightly
television programs and in the newspapers. Three days later, investigators' worst fears were realized.
Danny Joe Eberle's body was found on a desolate stretch of road 4 miles from his bicycle.
He had been stabbed to death. The town's mayor, Joe Baldwin, personally delivered the news to the
boy's mother. We broke the news to her and we were all crying, including the FBI guy. He was crying. He was crying
and I was crying. The chief was crying. A very traumatic type thing to tell some
woman your son is found and he's dead. It's the most traumatic thing I think I've ever done.
Danny Joe Eberle's hands and feet were tied with rope and a star-shaped pattern had been cut into his chest, but there
was no sign of sexual assault. Police turned to FBI behavioral analyst Robert Ressler for a psychological
profile of the killer. We had a biter, an individual was compelled to bite his victims and then
cutting the flesh away to deny that evidence to the police. Since the body was found so close to the
road, Ressler suspected the killer was slightly built and not strong enough to carry the body very far. The location
also told Ressler that the killer was inexperienced. And it was right off the side of the road, really uh would
indicate to me that the killer was in in a little state of panic, uh wanted to get rid of the body, didn't want to be
found with the body in the car, but but wasn't sophisticated or knowledgeable enough about the area to do it
effectively. And uh it would indicate to me possibly that this may have been the
uh first time that he had killed in this particular area. The rope used to bind Danny Joe Eberle
was of particular interest to investigators and was sent to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Special Agent Wayne Oaks conducted the analysis. I had never seen anyone like this, none of the other examiners in the
laboratory who deal with ropes on a daily basis over a number of years had ever seen a rope like this.
The outside of the rope was common white nylon, but the inner core was extremely
unusual. There were 24 different types of fibers and 106 different colored yarns.
There were polyesters, nylons, rayons, acrylics, polyethylenes, wools, and cottons, which is what made the rope
unique. Oaks took the rope to the National Cordage Institute, a trade association
of all rope manufacturers in the United States. Their technical experts had never seen a rope like this, either.
Back in Bellevue, Nebraska, police were desperate to find the killer of Danny Joe Eberle and parents were warned to
keep a close eye on their children. People are reluctant to let their children out to go sledding or skating
or any of the normal activities. Children are watched over at shopping centers. The
parents are keeping a very tight rein on their children for their safety. Despite the precautions, the unthinkable
happened again. Another young boy, 12-year-old Christopher Walden, was abducted as he
walked to school. It was about eight blocks from his house, uh again in Bellevue,
and uh he was at a four-way stop when uh a young man came up and forced him into
the car and drove off with him. In the subzero temperatures, police searched for Christopher Walden.
Three days later, a group of pheasant hunters stumbled upon a snow-covered figure.
Christopher Walden's frozen body was found in the same area as Danny Joe Eberle's.
Like Danny Joe, Walden had been stabbed to death and he had the same star-shaped pattern
etched on his body. Two sets of footprints led into the woods where Christopher Walden's body
was discovered, but only one set of footprints left the scene, an indication the killer did not have an accomplice.
The star-shaped pattern told investigators that this was the same individual who killed Danny Joe Eberle 3
months earlier. Witnesses saw Christopher Walden with a young white male in his early 20s on the
walkway near the school. From those descriptions, police created a composite drawing which was distributed to
newspapers and local television stations. Robert Ressler refined his profile of the killer with information gathered
from the second murder. I felt that the individual because of this need to be close to young males and
having attraction for them that he would be involved in some sort of activities with youth. Uh soccer coach, baseball
coach, uh Boy Scouts. Since the killer was using a knife to obscure the bite wounds, Ressler suspected that the
killer read police and detective magazines because matching bite wounds to a dental impression is often
discussed in these types of publications. Police talked to a woman who was walking
her dog near the intersection at the time Christopher Walden was abducted. She thought she saw the abduction, but
she wasn't entirely sure. So, police asked her to undergo hypnosis. Hypnosis can sometimes help a witness to
recall details of an event they can't otherwise remember, but hypnotically enhanced recollections are usually not
admissible in court. She underwent hypnosis. And something came out in the session
and it was just driving her crazy. And it all came back to her. And that's when she realized that she had seen uh
Christopher Walden being kidnapped. She said that Christopher Walden was with a man who was approximately the
same height. [Music] The car leaving the scene was brown. The license number started with the letter R
followed by a series of numbers. Sheriff Patrick Thomas issued a challenge to the killer during a news
conference. And I think that the individual who's responsible for these acts is very sick,
spineless, a coward, and uh I would urge him to call a minister or a priest or me.
There was a lot of uh Monday morning quarterbacking from then on that uh maybe this shouldn't have been done or
maybe uh whatever. But I felt that uh that I would see what he's made of because I knew that he was watching the
press, he was watching TV. He was monitoring us as much as they do. That's part of their profile, that's
part of their MO. And I figured that uh maybe he would make a mistake. And it worked.
A local woman, Barbara Weaver, told friends that she had been praying for the capture of the serial murderer, and
she did something else. In her prayers, she offered herself in any way possible to help find the
killer. [Music] Barbara Weaver worked in a daycare center, and she usually arrived at work
early to get her classroom ready. When she looked outside, she noticed a strange car in the parking lot.
The driver was wearing a ski cap and looked similar to the composite drawings of the killer she saw on television.
As she was writing down the license plate number, the man entered the classroom.
Step back. He threatened the killer and pulled a knife. Mrs. Weaver ran past him and fled to the
house next door, which belonged to the pastor of the church. From there, she called police.
She writes down his license tag. That's first thing she did, sharp woman. And she went The fact of it is, you got
to say, she went She saw the car, she said, "That looks like the car of this killer."
Remember, this is all that's on everyone's mind. This is the biggest case they've ever had in Nebraska.
Police tracked the license plate number to a 19-year-old enlisted man stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. His name was
John Joubert. Joubert was a maintenance mechanic in the radar unit. He was also an Eagle
Scout and was an assistant scout leader for a local troop. Joubert denied having anything to do
with the two murders, but there was an interesting coincidence. Joubert had been living in Portland,
Maine the year before at the time of Ricky Stetson's murder. When John Joubert was questioned about
the murders of Danny Joe Eberle and Christopher Walden, he had little to say to investigators.
But he fit the FBI's profile of the killer. He was 19 years old, slightly built, and an Eagle Scout who
volunteered his time as an assistant scout leader of a local troop. Joubert read softcore pornography and
detective magazines, which were found in his footlocker at the Air Force Base. But what police found in his automobile
was of particular interest. On the right floorboard was a brown Caucasian head hair, which was sent to
the FBI for analysis. Microscopic examination of the question hairs found from the vacuum sweepings in
the vehicle with the known standards from the victim, they were the same microscopically. And I indicated in my
report that the hairs in the vehicle were consistent head hairs from the victim, Danny Joe Eberle.
Police also found a knife and a roll of tape. And in Joubert's automobile was a piece
of rope. At first, it appeared to be common nylon rope similar to the type sold in
thousands of retail outlets throughout the United States, but inside the rope was a surprise. The core of the rope was
so unique with 106 different fibers in there. Every single one of those fibers was mounted on a glass microscope, and
the generic class of fiber was identified to make sure they they were same color, composition, diameter, and
cross-sectional shape. And to make sure that the acetates matched the acetates and the polyethylenes matched the
polyethylenes. I found that they were identical in all respects microscopically, instrumentally,
chemical tests, there were no differences between the two ropes. Joubert had no idea the rope was so
rare. He said he had been given the rope years earlier in the Boy Scouts. When confronted with the evidence,
Joubert confessed. He said, "Let me tell you about the second boy first because it's fresher in
my mind." And uh we started questioning him and he told us and provided us with facts
concerning uh the uh killings and the abduction of both boys that would only be known to the
individual that had uh committed the crimes. Joubert also admitted that he was the
Oak Dell Slasher and his attacks on people like Michael with them were practice for his subsequent killing
spree. He also revealed that after killing Danny Joe Eberle, he walked into a McDonald's restaurant, washed the blood
from his hands in the men's room, and ordered some breakfast. After the Christopher Walden murder,
Joubert said he attended a Boy Scout meeting where he was an assistant troop leader. At that meeting, the troop
discussed the abductions. >> Yeah, well, guys, you know, as long as you look out for each other, you have
nothing to worry about. Okay? After 116 days in one of the most intensive manhunts in Nebraska history,
police finally had their killer. And Portland, Maine had theirs as well. In Maine,
Joubert was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Ricky Stetson. In Nebraska, for the murders of Danny
Joe Eberle and Christopher Walden, Joubert was convicted and sentenced to death.
I specifically asked him if he disliked the boys, and his statement was, "How could I dislike him? I didn't even know
him." No one knows what drove John Joubert to kill. And I remember one day I said uh John,
"If I let you out of jail today and just uh let you walk away from here, uh do you think you've learned now that
you would never do that again?" And he says He thought for quite some time, and he says, "No.
No," he says, "I don't think I could help myself." I says, "Do you mean you would go kill
another little boy?" "Yeah, probably," he said. "Yeah, probably would." On July 17th, 1996,
John Joubert was put to death in the electric chair. Joubert's presence is still felt to this
day in the small town of Bell View. Former mayor Joe Baldwin regularly visits the victims' graves and remembers
the 116 days when a serial killer stalked his community. Most horrible thing that ever happened
in this city, you know, for to have young a young person like that, two young persons, and even three when he
died to have their life taken away by a person like that. I think that is terrible. It it's you can't believe how
traumatic it is when it happens. Just the other day in the grocery store, a lady said that she's just fearful of
her little boy playing after dark. Uh that uh she remembers Joubert and she says, "I don't know how to instill
in him that it may happen again." And uh I told her to hope and pray it never would happen again, but make sure
she keeps an eye on her little boy. You just have to be careful. Children have to be very careful.
There are people out there that prey on [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Season 4 Episode 7 | Who was the sexual offender who murdered two adolescent boys in Nebraska? The key to stopping him would be the unique composition of the "junk rope" he used to tie his victims.

Brief Summary

The episode details the murder of Ricky Stetson and the capture of serial killer John Joubert, linking multiple child murders across states.

Key points

The Murder of Ricky Stetson. 11-year-old Ricky Stetson was found murdered after going for a run in Portland, Maine.
The Serial Killer Unveiled. John Joubert, a seemingly normal young man, was revealed to be a serial killer.
The Chilling Confession. Joubert confessed to the murders, revealing disturbing details about his actions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was choked manually and probably by a ligature.

Medical examiner's findings on Ricky's murder.

1:50WatchOct 15, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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