Jacob Wetterling /// Episode: 71 /// Part 2 | Forensic Files

[Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks
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see you. Welcome to part two of the Jacob Wetling case. We got so much to talk about that we thought we'd put out
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We start this morning with breaking news in the Jacob Wetling investigation. Sources say the suspect in the case led
the FBI to remains that are now being tested for DNA. In the last 40 minutes, Patty Wedling texted WCCCO's Esme
Murphy. Our hearts are broken. We have no words. WCCCO's Jennifer Merrill learned of these significant
developments in the last two days and she joins us now with more. Jen, the man named as a suspect in Jacob Wetland's
abduction led FBI agents to where he says they'll find the missing boy's body. We have heard they have found
remains. This all happened in the last few days as agents pressed Danny Heinrich for information on the nearly
27year-old mystery. Sources tell me that the FBI took Hinrich out of jail at least twice this week. It's during that
time that Hinrich told investigators where they'd find Jacob's body. We know searchers have been at a site in Sterns
County for several days. 11-year-old Jacob Wetling was on his way home from Tom Thumb with his brother and a friend
on October 22nd, 1989 when he was abducted by a man with a gun. The attacker told the two other boys to run
and not look back or he'd shoot them. Jacob was never seen again. Danny Heinrich was arrested last October at
his home in Anandale. Prosecutors charged him with several counts of child pornography and named him as a person of
interest in Wetling's kidnapping. We'll have more on just how early Heinrich was
looked at in this case in a moment, but again, sources tell me that the man suspected of kidnapping Jacob Wedley has
told authorities where they'll find his body. Searchers have been at that site for the last few days. Heinrich was also
scheduled to be in Minneapolis federal court yesterday at 2:30. We were prepared to be there. That court hearing
was cancelled early yesterday. >> It really is a stunning development, Jen. It is.
>> All right. Thank you. [Music] Jacob Wetling, 11 years old, along with his brother Trevor and a friend Aaron
went to their local video store around 900 p.m. on Sunday, October 22nd, 1989. Now, as the boys rode their bikes home,
a man suddenly emerged from a wooded area with a gun, and he forced the boys to the ground. First, he told Trevor to
run and not look back, and then he told Aaron to do the same. When the boys did look back, the man was gone and their
friend and brother, Jacob Weatherling, was gone as well, without a trace. Now, that was 1989. Where we left off was
2003 where the Dan Rasier was on the hot seat. He had become a big part of the investigation. Uh, some would call him a
suspect. He lived right by the crime. >> Yeah. I talked to police officers that night and he was a local music teacher.
>> Mhm. Uh well the the following year they get another tip. Okay. We were going
through tips that were coming in and one of those tips is what led them to believe Dan Rasier could have committed
this crime. But that following year we get another tip. This time it's a man in his late 20s who lived in Cold Spring as
a child. Cold Spring, Minnesota is about 12 or so miles from St. Joseph, where Jacob's hometown was and where he had
disappeared from. >> The man's name is Jared. Uh, and you can look it up and you can find Jared's last
name, but for the majority of this investigation and for the majority of the times that he comes forward to
media, uh, he's simply known as Jared. Will give him that respect. Um, Jared comes forward and he says, you know, he
has a story very similar to Jacob's. Jared was abducted. The man had a gun. The man threatened to kill Jared. Um,
and from my understanding, this was a bit of old news for some of the investigators whom had known about this
attack the whole time. >> This attack, yes, it took place 9 months before and 12 miles away from the
abduction, but Jared as a boy was even interviewed additional times after he was attacked. They they started
reviewing his case again and went back and interviewed him again. I believe this was about 6 weeks after Jacob was
taken because the attacks sounded so similar. >> Yeah, >> there were so many similarities. Mainly
the verbiage of the attacker was was the same. Jared was abducted by a man in a car. The car had stopped to ask Jared
for directions. >> Jared got closer to the car when the man stepped out of the vehicle and he said,
"I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it. Get in the vehicle." The man inside of his car, he had a police scanner. He
drove Jared to a remote. >> I take back my comments about wanting to get a police scanner. I don't want one
anymore. >> I think bad guys are using these for for for bad purposes. >> Yeah, I'm not a bad guy. I'm not going
to buy one of those now. >> So, after he has the young boy in the vehicle, he drives Jared to a remote
location and he sexually assaults him. Uh he then drives Jared back toward the town where he had taken him from. Now,
all this time he that he's driving him back there, he keeps asking him, asking Jared over and over again, can you
recognize me? Do you know who I am? Would you be able to recognize me? Questions like of that nature? And Jared
very wisely constantly, he just says, "No, no, I wouldn't be able to recognize you. I don't know who you are. I I I
don't know what you look like." And it's probably because of this that Jared was
able to u live to tell his story, >> right? He was released. >> Yeah. So Jared was just 12 at the time,
you know, roughly the same age as Jacob Wetling. Jacob Wetling was 11. Uh, and he and his parents would eventually move
away from Cold Spring sometime after Jacob was abducted because even though he had reported the crime to the police
and his parents had reported the crime to the police, it it was this is a tough thing for a kid to go through.
>> Mhm. Um, and I don't know if it's any easier >> tough thing. I mean, >> I don't even know if tough is the right
word. >> Well, for obvious reasons, but but for the reason that I'm going to get into is
there's there's other kids, you know, and kids can be cruel. Um, and >> he he's getting pulled out of this is
after Jacob has been abducted. He's getting pulled out of class constantly to be interviewed, you know. No, they
never really said they had announced that there was a similar attack on a boy that took place about 9 months before
Jacob was abducted and but they never they didn't say who the boy was, >> you know, rightfully so. But when you're
getting pulled out of class and you're seen talking to the sheriff's department time and time again, they they get a
good idea that you're that boy. Um, and sometimes sometimes kids can pick on a a
child that's a victim uh because they don't understand uh they don't know any better to be honest with you. Or or
>> Yeah. Or they're just >> or they're dumb mean kids, >> right? They're [ __ ] you know? I
mean, how many how many kids did you go to school with that were just super [ __ ]
>> Well, eventually Jared and his parents move away. And part of that may be because of the kids. Part of it may be
because of the investigators. Um, and he does kind of tell them who >> Well, I wonder too if there was
this kid has this fear of this this attacker, you know, he's sexually assaulted by this guy
>> and then the attacker is saying, "Can you recognize me?" And now with this other kid going missing, I wonder if
there was a thought or some maybe he was scared that this attacker was going to come back after him.
>> I think you're exactly right. moving away as a form of defense and getting your child out of there. Um, and and
especially now because the stakes have been raised because this guy could have could have done this to somebody else
and this child has never resurfaced again. Um, I think you're exactly right there. He eventually moves away. But
it's in 2003, 2004 that he comes forward to remind everybody, you know, I was attacked nine months before, right?
>> And it was very apparent to me by the questions that the investigators were asking me that my case was probably
related to Jacob's case. And if if this guy assaulted me and he assaulted Jacob,
he probably did this to other boys as well. we might be able to get enough people to come together, tell their bits
and pieces of their story that they know of, and maybe we can figure out who this
guy is. I mean, we're talking about Jared was able to give some specific details. He gave a description of the
vehicle, saying that the man had a police scanner in the car and give a give somewhat of a description of the
man himself. >> Yeah. And I think also having it be 14 years later, I mean, maybe there's
there's a possibility that he's resurfacing to go, hey, look, if this happened to anybody else, come forward
now. And maybe at 12 years old or 14 years old or or whatever age that this takes h if if somebody approached you
when you were 12, maybe you're not likely to come forward um and and tell the police about it. But maybe 14 years
later, you'll go, "Hey, I had this thing happen and and I saw this guy or this guy came up on me and told me he had a
gun, but I ran away." >> Yeah. Or maybe you had somebody that tried to grab you but wasn't successful
and you you have a description of that man in the vehicle that he was in. You know, these little things can matter.
These details can matter. Um in 2009 though, we're talking about tips and leads here. In 2009, in my opinion, we
get the strangest lead in this case so far. in this very lengthy case, an investigation would come, this strange
lead would come about in January of 2009, all the way from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
>> And we're going to bring in my one of my favorite characters in this whole case.
>> Now, on December of the previous year, a St. Francis Barber, he was 62 years old.
His name's Vernon Seats, and he tells his psychiatrist that he had killed two boys back in 1958.
And I want to throw this in here though. I I found several accounts of what the doctor said,
>> right? >> Uh on one occasion, she says that that that Vernon Seats had said he had killed
two boys in 1958. On another account, she says that he had said 1959. So this man tells his psychiatrist that he had
killed two boys in 1958 andor 1959. >> Right. And who is this guy? This is the guy that we talked about in part one
where uh we talked about the psychics that were coming to the Wetly family and trying to get some information and
saying, "Hey, give me um some of his clothing and maybe I can uh see something for you and maybe I can give
you a psychic reading." He is one of those uh guys that were claiming to be a psychic.
>> Mhm. Yeah. And he would drive, it's like over 400 miles to get to uh the Wetling
House, right? and and meet with Patty Wetling on two occasions and tell her that I'm a psychic. I, you know, I'm
trying to get some information on the abduction. And by the way, here's a painting that I did of of your abducted
son. >> So, we this we got this guy claiming to be a psychic. Like we said, he was a
barber and then he uh admits to his doctor that he killed kids. Now, you would start thinking, well, maybe he he
has to be somebody that we need to look into further on the Jacob case. Mhm. Now, I know some people out there are
thinking, well, what about, you know, doctor client privileges here? You know, should this doctor be notifying the
police? But I and I don't know what what the law is exactly on that. I'm sure there's some legal jargon that I
wouldn't understand, but the psychiatrist says that the reason why she came forward was because she he had
been seek seeking her help for quite some time. This was not their first interaction. This is somebody that he
had been going to for a while. She says months. I don't know exactly how many months, but she said that the reason why
she notified the police >> is so that they can speak with Vernon Seats because he is ready to make a
confession. Well, before the police can get to Mr. Seats to interview him, he actually dies of natural causes.
>> That's very odd. >> Yeah. And you would think that the strangeness ends there, but it does not.
uh given the information that he may have killed two boys in 1958 or 1959, uh the police get a search warrant to
search Mr. Seat's home and property. Now, keep in mind, he died in his home. Um here's a list of the items that were
found in Vernon Seat's home. >> Okay. >> Uh first off, >> hold on. I'm I'm preparing myself to be
creeped out. I don't know what you're going to say. >> And I'm going to warn you in advance.
This is a long list, okay? So, Don't get mad at me here. >> I'm already mad at I'm always mad at
you. >> First, they found newspaper articles, posters, and laminated photos. Now, some
of these posters were laminated as well, right? >> And notes on some cardboard boxes. Uh,
one of one of these posters, missing person's posters that they found was of Jacob Wetling and it had been laminated.
>> They also found children's shoes. Now, keep in mind, this man lived alone, >> okay? He didn't he didn't have a he
didn't have a big family or or uh children living with him. They found children's shoes.
>> Oh, thank God. >> One shoe was a size 2 and 1/2. The other shoe was a size three and a half. Both
contained DNA and were later sent for testing. They also found several books on cannibalism. One of them was titled
Eat Thy Neighbor. Uh they found a small round bone. >> That is not a recommended reading, by
the way. >> No, no, it's not. Um they also found a small round bone uh you know and this
was sent for testing as well. They found >> brown patches of human hair, blonde patches of human hair, black patches of
human hair. >> They found rings and necklaces which didn't seem accurate for a man living by
himself himself. A flesh colored candle with a catheter attached to it covered in some strange brown substance. They
found bondage straps and chains hanging from the inner rafters of the home. Handcuffs. A box full of negatives. This
was these were later sent to be developed. Right. >> Pictures of unknown children. A picture
of a boy holding a fish that was dated July 1959. >> An Illinois road map with two locations
circled on it. They found a map of Milstream Park. This is a location that is near Jacob's abduction.
They found photos, paintings, and drawings of children being sexually tortured. >> A novel that was written by Vernon Seats
named Innocent Rage. A 38 caliber gun. >> What was that book about? >> I I don't know. I didn't That's who
knows. >> Yeah, I'm not going to buy that on Amazon. >> Um and they also found, you know, we
talked about notes and missing persons posters uh and newspaper articles about missing kids. Some of those kids that
were that he had a built this collection of were of Sandy Bertalis and she was not a child. She was 20 years old.
Sandra went uh missing >> in April of 1988 from a bowling alley. Uh this was in Wisconsin after telling
her friends and family that she was going there to confront a man that she was dating for cheating on her and
giving her a false last name and home address. Uh her car was later found in a in the parking lot of this bowling
alley, abandoned. She's never been found. Um also amongst these newspaper articles and posters was that of Kora
Jones. Uh she was 12 years old. 12-year-old Cora Jones was kidnapped while riding her bike in 1994.
But this was by a by a known sex offender. This was a case that was was solved. Uh he later plead guilty to to
the murder of the young girl. Uh they >> well obviously that this guy has obsession with kids.
>> Yeah. >> And uh I mean the the shoe thing is super strange. The patches of hair super
strange. >> And you don't have a hair collection at your house. >> [ __ ] no, man. That's No. Uh
>> if anybody tells you they collect hair Yeah. >> report them to somebody. >> Yeah. One time I was at a party and this
guy said I collect hair and I said I'm [ __ ] out of there. I just dropped my beer and just left. No, that never
happened. But no, so obviously he's he's into this, but you know, I wonder if he's using these like missing children
cases and these clippings as like some sort of like uh pornography, >> you know? I mean, like, you know, cuz
you can have I mean, is that technically pornography if it's like in written form? But maybe he like fantasizes
about, you know, and that's why he was visiting the Wetling family, you know, to get all these details. So maybe there
was some kind of sexual thing that he got off on about this. >> Well, and they found, you know, of the
drawings we talked about, they found drawings that uh were of >> right of torture.
>> Yeah. Of torture or of, you know, sex with children, um, things like that. And
of course, the the immediate thought is that he drew them himself. Um, amongst the the other people that were of
concern was Michael Dun. He was uh 5 years old. He was abducted um from a playground in Victoria, British Columbia
in March of 1991. Michael was last seen around 12:30 p.m. playing at the school playground uh as his mother, Crystal,
was participating in a softball tournament to which his father was a spectator, you know. So, his parents
were there as well. Michael was abducted meters from his parents, but no witnesses to his disappearance and no
one involved in that has ever been identified. Michael was never found or seen again. And the other person of
concern is Melissa Brain. Now, she was 5 years old. Uh Melissa went missing from
a party at her apartment complex in Virginia. A groundskeeper was later charged and convicted with her
abduction. Uh but Melissa was never found. So, it's obvious here, Captain, that Vernon Seats was not responsible
for some or all of these cases. But it is also clear by the items that are found in the home. uh that that this is
of some very big concern here. >> Yeah, this is very alarming. >> This goes beyond the level of weird. You
know, he was a 62-year-old barber. He had passed away. Um there were reports that
>> Oh, I thought you said 52 before. >> I I may have You might have misspoke. >> Uh but there were reports that there was
fresh cement which was recently poured over. >> Be careful how you say that word cuz I
thought you were going somewhere else with that. Oh, no. There was there was fresh cement that was poured in his
basement. Um, and there was also fresh dirt that looked to be have been overturned uh underneath heavy snowfall.
This is out in his yard. Um, these >> What do you think his house smelled like? >> Oh god.
>> And think about all the Okay, so this makes a lot more sense. The hair sample.
I wasn't putting two and two together. If he's a barber, then he's But that's creepy. He's cutting some kids hair and
then he's taking it home with him. >> Mhm. >> I bet it smelled like I bet it smelled
like u weird egg smell mixed with pomade. >> Yeah. Uh who who knows? They they they
end up the police end up coming into the house with a jackhammer later because they want to get to this fresh cement to
see if there's anything underneath of it. They spent a good amount of time uh you know breaking up that cement floor
and found nothing. Um and they checked the yard. They found nothing. >> Um and furthermore, they couldn't find
um you know, they couldn't find any link to him to any of these people that he had specific posters of.
>> Right. >> Um but there's a little a little more followup to that. Um, unfortunately,
this is a story that came out in 2009 and it was very hot when it came out and there's not a whole lot of explanation
for these items as we sit here now in 2017. Well, and then like like we said, he had that connection with the family
going there telling him that he was a psychic. And so, it's like, is this going to uh be is this going to be the
smoking gun that solves this Jacob Wetling case? You know, obviously we know that it's not now, but
>> but then it opens up this whole other can of worms. And so what if he's talking to his doctor and saying, "Hey,
I I killed these boys." I I I believe that. I believe whatever he's saying there was true unless because
and maybe he didn't kill anybody else after that. I'm I'm not saying that he didn't. I'm just saying it's
possibility. And so I wonder if he like said, "Okay, well, you know, in 58 or 59
I killed these kids." But but then ever since that time, maybe he's like, "That's not self-medication, but he's
like, "Well, if I just dive into these cases and and surround myself with these other cases, I'm kind of living
vicariously through these other cases, and then so I'm not killing or, you know, not molesting or whatever he's
doing." It >> it's rare. Um, but there's also the possibility of some kind of mental
health issue. I mean obviously there's a mental health issue but I mean to the point of where he might believe things
to have happened that did not take place. >> Yeah. Um there is one account um he as
said he was a barber and so at his business the next door neighbor was a salon and the salon owner told the media
on several interviews that she had many interactions with Vernon Seats that when
when times were slow at the barber shop he would come next door he'd have a cup of coffee and he always wanted to talk
about his life and she said you know his life as >> sounds like a typical man >> as he described it was was tragic
strange and bizarre. Uh, you know, because he went into some detail with her, stating that, you know, when I was
a child, when I was about 14, this would roughly be around 1958, 1959, >> that I was abducted, somebody had taken
me, he he was from Rine, Wisconsin, >> and he said that he was abducted there by an older man. And the man had had
another boy that was abducted as well. And through the course of this abduction, he was sexually assaulted and
he was made to kill the other boy using a gun. Jesus. Um he later says that that
during that same abduction that he witnessed the death of another boy. So it's it's unclear of him saying that he
killed two boys back in 58 or 59 that if it was his hands that did the killing or
if he pulled the trigger on one of the boys forced to do so and then witnessed the death of another. The other thing
too though is he doesn't really stop there. He he he has told the salon owner that um that a few years ago a man broke
into my home and I killed him. I shot him dead. >> Right. >> Um so that he has had multiple homicides
um whether he was forced to do them or or self-defense or what >> or maybe it's all made up in his head.
Right. >> Yeah. And the thing here is the the detectives looked into this and I don't
know if these were detectives specifically involved in the Jacob Wetling case, but I do know that
Milwaukee detectives in Wisconsin looked into it. And the problem that they had with this whole scenario was that
>> they couldn't find any record or any any cases that were even seem somewhat related to uh Vernon Seat's stories. You
know, they couldn't find any record of him actually being abducted. They couldn't find or track any mysterious
deaths of young boys in 58 or 59. >> Right? So, either he just made this up or he he was a victim
>> and he didn't come forward and he didn't talk about it and because of that trauma, he's been wrestling with all
these demons in his in his head. Well, his sister-in-law, Susan Seats, came tried to defend him uh postmortem, you
know, let's say uh tried to defend him, saying that he was she believed that he was abducted. Uh she doesn't believe
that he killed anybody. Uh she thinks that this abduction uh may have created some strange sexual attractions to
younger people. Um, and that it also developed some kind of psychosis where he became obsessed with child abductions
where he would follow them in the news and follow them in the media and drive 400 miles to go talk to the victim's
mother. >> Yeah. >> Um, I mean, look, we we've talked about this before that, you know, a kid
becoming a victim of this can lead for them to become the monster. >> Mhm. >> You know, not all the time, but it does
happen. So, he doesn't seem to have been linked to any of the people that we named here specifically, but I did find
some uh some weird stuff on him, you know, because 1959, he would have been young, you know, it wasn't like he was
an old man out abducting little kids. He was 14 or 15 years old. Now there is there was a boy who a young boy I think
I don't have the age right in front of me but I want to say it was like five six seven in that age range that had
gone missing from a campground in Mobile Alabama. Um this would have taken place
uh in July of that year of 1959. Now remember we said that he had a a picture of a boy holding a fish um from that was
dated July 1959. Mhm. >> And the weird thing here is that Vernon Seats had family members. I believe it
was his grandparents that lived somewhat in the area. So that's a strange, you know, we can't connect him to some of
these other people, but that's a strange weird situation here. >> I don't know that anything came of this
because and I'm believing that nothing came of this to solve any cases because they took evidence for testing,
>> right? >> And we've we've not heard the results. So usually that means it's a negative.
It's, you know, they're not able to link him to anything. >> Yeah. And again, it's one of those
things where it's like, you know, he had some sick thoughts going through his head and there is a part of you that
would feel bad for him if he if he was traumatized, if he was sexually molested himself, then then there's a part of you
that feels bad for him cuz then he then he's dealing with this trauma and he never see professional help and and and
maybe that's why he was talking to the doctor in the first place. Mhm. >> But at that point, it's a little too
late. Um, either way, I mean, there there's some sick thoughts in that guy's head.
>> It's a it's a very strange story and one that got everybody in St. Joseph, Minnesota in an uproar, you know.
>> Well, it's such a crazy, you know, uh, connection with this case. >> Yeah. That he actually drove there,
spoke to the mother and drew a picture. >> This leads us up to 2010. Captain, let's
go back to the gentleman coming forward that he had driven to the crime scene. You know, we we said that they had
always, you know, Dan Rasier says that I saw a vehicle at the end of my driveway
turn around. >> Dan Dan is the music teacher. >> Yep. And then we we don't know who this
ghost car belongs to. You know, we we don't know. But there's a gentleman that comes forward and states, "I was driving
by the crime scene because I heard the crime on on a police scanner." >> Right. Right.
>> And I saw the bikes. I talked to the police. They didn't seem interested. So,
I drove home. And then many years later, he comes forward to remind them of the story.
>> Right. >> And again, this is where the police believe that the the vehicle that Dan
Rasier claims he had seen as well as the tire tracks are all they're all accounted for now by this guy in this
vehicle that that had nothing to do with the abduction. >> So therefore, since we don't have a
suspect with the vehicle, we're going to assume that the suspect was on foot the
whole time. Mhm. >> And then that makes our number one suspect, Dan. >> Yes. And this is going to be the summer
of 2010. Uh the Sterns County Sheriff's Department conduct an extremely publicized search of the home and
property of Robert and Rita Rasier. This is Dan Rasier's parents. He of course is
still living at home. Um >> well, you say of course he's a music teacher. You think at this point
>> they pay them nothing. I mean, how's he supposed to live anywhere? the arts in
this country is going downhill. >> Um, from the search that they did, they removed several truckloads of dirt as
well as removing some of Dan and his family's property from the house. >> Um, at some point, and I couldn't nail
down a date for when this took place as it may have not been made public, but prior to the search of Dan Rasier, he he
agreed to meet with Patty Wetling. Um, and during that meeting, Dan Dan tells her, I I don't know if this is at
Patty's request or the investigator's request >> or poor Dana, you know, I mean, this
guy, you know, this all these like look, if he's still living with his parents, then
there there's something going on there, right? Wouldn't you agree? >> I don't know. I I initially,
>> right? And maybe maybe they're older and he's taking care of them, >> you know, but what I'm saying is that
>> at some point that becomes the case. I don't know if that's occurring then, >> right? But it's just like here's this
teacher and because he lived close to where this uh event took place now he's the number one suspect and now and and
how did that affect his social life after that and this small town and then to come back all these years later and
go okay well now you're a number one suspect. >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, I I mean I have a I
have a very close friend that lives with his father and they have a very large property. Uh and it's too much work for
one person to take care of. And this friend of mine, he enjoys working the land and taking care of the place and
fixing things up and maintenance and all that stuff. He enjoys that stuff. He can't afford a big house or a whole
bunch of land by himself because he has so many hobbies, so many hobbies that he
spends a whole lot of money on. And his his father's seems very happy to have him around. They're they're like a like
a team. Now, he does mention from time to time that he's going to move out, but he's been there for forever. So, I don't
know that that's ever gone. >> Someday is, right? >> Maybe that's the case of of Dan Ras
here. But, um, >> but I feel bad for the guy cuz it's, you know, I mean, obviously, we want to save
this. we want to solve this case and we have this uh you know this 11year-old boy went missing and obviously the the
law enforcement wants to solve this case but man the casualt the casualties that
come through investigations sometimes are awful >> you know and and we got this guy that I
mean like we're talking about him now and he might have done some good things with his life and all we're reporting on
is that he was possibly or was a suspect in the disappearing parents of this 11year-old boy.
>> Yeah. Um this is this is the thing though, you know, he he's such a strange variable in
this case and you almost wonder if he had been removed from this case, if he was if if his role never took place, if
this could have been solved faster. >> Uh did did did he just just his presence alone get in the way of the
investigation? >> Right? Was it like a big decoy? and we talked about him uh you know we started
to touch upon that he met with Patty Wet Wetling at some point. Now the issue here is I said I don't know if this was
at Patty's request, Dan's request or the investigator's request. My guess would be the investigators and I'll tell you
why. Because I think Patty comes off to me and you know I don't know her personally obviously but but all the
interviews I've heard from her, things that I've read that she's done, she seems extremely strong, a very strong
person and on top of that extremely smart and kind as well. She's >> I think she comes off very authentic.
Yeah. You know, >> she she just seems like an amazing person to me as well. And Jerry seems to
share those same traits, her husband. Now, I wonder here, you know, if the investigators say, you know what, we got
this guy and we can't find nothing on him other than he was a quarter of a mile from where your son was abducted.
We think he did this. Okay. Now, we also think that he, like you, Patty, is a sensitive maybe a sensitive person.
>> And we think that if maybe if we put the two of you in a room together, if you
can handle that, Patty, let's put the two of you in a room together and see if he breaks. Because Dan says during some
of his questioning, you know, the police called an interview, he might refer to it as questioning, some might refer to
it as an interrogation. But he says that during some of these portions of the time that he's been questioned that they
would play video clips of Jared or I'm sorry, of Jacob and they would play audio clips of Jacob. And of of course,
this is a way to try to get someone to break down, you know, to to to get to that person that's inside and and get
them to confess. Now, during this interaction and during this meeting with Patty Wetling, uh Dan tells her where on
his property that he is afraid Jacob could be buried. He actually read and he heard several accounts of this is I've
actually read and heard several accounts of this. Um, the one that has been reported more than others was Dan had
stated that because he was publicly being looked at and because his property is so large, we are talking about his
property is like 25 26 acres. That's a big piece of land. >> Dan was afraid that the real killer
could return with Jacob's remains and place the body on the property, implicating Dan as the murderer.
>> Mhm. >> And then there's a couple things. One, I if you hear that as law enforcement,
you're thinking, well, this guy is just stating this crazy story to cover his ass.
>> Mhm. >> Right. Because he did kill this kid. He he did bury the the body and he's using
this as a cover up. So, that seems a little fishy. >> But on the same time, and to be in Dan's
shoes, think about freaking out like, well, look, we have, you know, almost 30 acres,
>> you know? So if somebody's reading the news and and they could move a body, you
know, and and and and dig, you know, dig up the body and then bury it on my property because they know that the cops
are looking at me. >> Well, and they end up searching all of those. I mean, he listed specific areas
where he thought that maybe the killer would want to >> return with the remains of Jacob and
place him there, >> right? uh and he names specific places and they search all of those places
during this highly publicized search. Um now here's the weird thing though. Um this interaction between the two of
them, between Dan and Patty has been reported many times, but it's been reported differently depending on who
you check your sources with. And some of those reports come out as if Dan was taunting or teasing the grieving mother
of a dead child, right? you know, that that that he's playing some kind of game here, right?
>> Uh and then the other reports state that he's just simply afraid that he's going
to be implicated for a murder he didn't con >> didn't have anything to do with, right?
And then on top of that, like I said, that the the social implications and and the career implications from him just
being involved. >> Now, I do want to point out that Dan never lawyered up, uh which some
consider lawyer lawyering up to be a small sign of guilt. He did agree to submit to every and any test that law
enforcement sought. He he submitted to a DNA test, lie detector test. He even did
an interview while under hypnosis. Uh and and also he's agreed to let them search his car. Uh to multiple
interviews as well as a meeting with with the victim's mother. >> Well, it seems like he knew that he was
innocent and that he was had some faith in the justice system that it would work
itself out. Yeah, this to me looks very much like the behavior of an innocent person. But if you fear that you are
being unfairly accused or harassed by the public, news media, or especially law enforcement, by all means, man,
lawyer up, you know, lawyer up and submit to their test as requested. Um, so I think he did with with the exception
of the lawyer, I think he did everything as helpful as he could and he tried to be very forthcoming in this
investigation. In May of 2014, WCCCO TV reported that around the time of Jacob's
abduction, there were a cluster of at least six unsolved sexual assaults on boys that were never looked at as a
possibility as being a lead in the Jacob Wetling case. >> These were all taking place about 2
years prior to the abduction of Jacob and about 30 miles away in Payneesville, Minnesota. This took place in 1986 and
1987. There are plenty of similarities here as well. Uh these attacks are all on boys ranging in age from 12 to 16
years old. These are nighttime attacks. In two of the cases, the boys were riding bicycles. Uh the attacker
sometimes wore a mask. >> Mhm. And here's the two of the victims from the Payneesville attacks as adults
um recounting the events of their attack. It was quite a while since I went back outside at night time. I
remember I was home that before dark every night for a while. It was not something I wish on anybody. It was
terrifying. Put it that way. The Payneesville Police Department is seeking the public's support in
apprehending a man that has been accosting young men in the Payneesville community. So far, there have been five
different incidents reported. Sergeant Bill Drager, Payneesville Police Department said, "We need help. All the
help we can get." This article ran on the cover of the Payneesville Press. It's not like it was buried on page 5.
It ran on the cover. There's an alleyway right here. The pine roll pine used to be right here.
That's where it happened. It's been so long. I just can't remember all the details of that night. But I I remember
I was on my way home and I was coming by the the Gates Eagle Park and I turned a
corner down come home here and some guy just grabbed me off my bike from behind and I didn't see who it was or nothing.
put his hand around my mouth and drugged me into the bushes there and said, "Quiet, I'm I'll kill you."
>> And he went about his doing whatever he wanted to do to me. And what could go
through your head? I thought I was going to die basically. You know, I mean, some
guy does that. And then, you know, he has a knife cuz he cut your hair. I laid there and then I ran home and told mom
and dad and me and dad went looking for him before we went and did anything else. but didn't find out of course and
then we contacted the police. >> That was the end of an era of innocence. I mean, Payneesville was the type of
town, like any town in Minnesota, there was a 10:00 whistle and at 10:00 you went home. The sergeant, I think it was
at the time, was requesting help from the community for these attacks on on boys. And it didn't sound like they were
minor attacks. I mean, the guy said, "Don't look back or I'll blow your head off." And so there was this threat of a
gun. When we started looking into it a little bit and I started blogging about it, then suddenly I get other people
that are commenting and saying, you know, I know another guy or that happened to me or my little brother.
Suddenly it was just more and more and more. And so five became six and six became seven and seven became 12. and my
parents were gone and my oldest brother was there to, you know, kind of keep an eye on us or whatever. We were like we
always did, hang out up town, you know, and it was a weekend. I'm sure I was probably 10 or 15 feet
ahead of him and jumped off my bike like kids do, you know, let it roll down, plop to the ground and uh it started to
go head towards the front door and we had a concrete patio out there and we had some lawn chairs out there and I
heard something bump into it. Since I seen somebody, you know, dart across the alley, I'm like, I'm not staying around.
So, I took off running and I bumped into my brother and I said, "Hey, I think it's the molester. Run." So, we ran to
the street light or headed that way and I looked over my shoulder and I seen a figure there, but I couldn't see a face.
It was just all black from the neck up. We got to the street light there and we just yelled for help and luckily one of
the neighbors had their window open a little bit and they could hear us and they said, "What's going on out there?
You guys need help?" We said, "Yeah, call the cops." You know, somebody just tried to grab us.
>> This group, they were all tight and they hung out together all the time. And it
was the same group of boys that kept getting um attacked. They were absolutely terrified. And
I don't feel that they ever had a voice in this, you know, that or that they ever felt that they were taken
seriously. >> I talked to the cop that one night and that was it. No followup, no detectives, nothing.
Nobody. It was just, it was hush hush after that. It was, "Oh, it's okay. Whatever." They just kind of blew it
off, you know. They never talked to us again. You know, the cops never came around and said, "Well, do you remember
anything else?" At least I don't remember them, you know, asking me again if you know, is there anything
different, you know, now that you've had time to process it? the description I gave of the guy and I,
you know, I said he was a chubby guy, but I don't, he wasn't, he wasn't chubby at all. I mean, the guy I seen run
across Cali was in good shape and could move fast. >> I hope the Payneesville victims know
that it was not okay. It never was okay. And and that I hope they do get some justice
now. I hope they get some answers. Now, you heard in the clip there, they're talking about uh an a mask. You
know, the one boy describes when he turns around and looks back, he saw, you know, someone run across the street but
couldn't see anything from the neck up. It was all black. >> Mhm. >> Um now, I do have a description of a
mask that was used in at least one of these attacks. It's described as a homemade mask made from candy striped
indoor or maybe outdoor carpeting. Uh the attacker had a low gruff voice and he threatened most if not all of the
boys stating that he had a knife or a gun, you know, and we talked about verbiage with the victim of Jared and
how it was similar to what the what Trevor and Aaron heard the things said to them and said to Jacob. Um how the
verbiage was the same in those attacks. >> Um you know, we we heard in that clip
there that >> that this attacker had some of that same verbiage. you know, he was saying things
like he would blow their heads off um if they told anybody. And there's also situations from these group of boys. You
heard you heard the one lady talking saying that the cases once they started pouring in, it got to the number of 12
of these cases. And in some of these cases, they were boys that were taken from a group of boys. Um, and
unfortunately out of these 12 victims with their 12 stories, only two victims were interviewed after Jacob's
abduction. The others were not interviewed at all. >> Right. Which, you know, we'll, you know,
looking back on it, we're going to view that as a big um a black eye in this investigation.
>> Yeah. And then one thing that we didn't hear in the clip uh was was some more
details of one of the attacks um from the Paynesville victims. A the one boy well now a man says that when he was
attacked that the the man that grabbed the boy off of the bicycle that grabbed him from behind.
>> Uh he said that the man his hand rire of cigarette smoke. >> You know this so this person grabbed him
off of his bike and and wrapped his hand around the boy's mouth so he couldn't scream. And the whole time the boy is
smelling this this hand that's wreaking of cigarette smoke. So there's one there's one indicator on your suspect
along with the the mask, the gun, the knife, the same verbiage, and the you know the this
age of the of the victims, >> you know, and another thing that he did too was um you know, he told him, "Shut
up or I will kill you." This is the boy was taken off of his bike. Uh he unzipped the boy's jeans and he had a
knife on this attack. The asalent had a knife here and he used the knife. You said that you heard in the clip he said
he used it to cut my hair. He used it to cut to saw some of the boys sandy blonde
hair off and took it as some kind of like some kind of sick weird souvenir, I guess.
>> Right. There's a lot of uh pieces of hair in this case. >> Now, real quick here, we got to give
some props. Some Let's give some big props to a lady named Joy Baker. Um she is one of the voices that you heard in
the clip there. and uh she should get some big props because she is uh the reason that this development got brought
to light. Um Joy Baker is a writer. You can find her blog online. She blogs about several things, but for quite some
time she had a blog solely for and regarding the Jacob Wetling case. Yeah. And she you heard her say there that,
you know, this was not back page news. This was not on page five or page six when she went out cuz she suspected, you
know, if there were two boys that were interviewed following the Jacob Wetling case
>> that there was probably more boys and she was the one that started to find these boys. She went to the went to the
library, started checking out the microfilm and searching through the old newspapers and found these attacks and
started reaching out to some of these victims. And then these other victims come forward and they all have very
similar stories describing a very similar guy who's saying the same things uh showing, you know, he's got the same
weapon in most of these attacks. And he's, you know, from time to time disguising himself by wearing a mask.
And actually that that description of that mask like terrifies me. You know what I mean? When you think about it,
it's like a made a homemade mask from made from carpet. You know what? What is it? just is it just like a carpet hood
draped over your face with two eyeholes? I I didn't see, you know, there's no there's no uh evidence of this actual
mask other than the victim's description. >> Yeah. >> You know, but it's very Zodiac Killer to me almost, you know,
it's that's what it reminds me of. And and it's it's so much like you know this person we talked about are these all u
you know opportune opportunity attacks or is this something that this person is working towards or putting some thought
into and clearly in this in this particular situation he's manufacturing these masks on his own to avoid being
you know oh a man wearing a scream mask abducted me. Well, you might be able to trace that at some point.
>> Yeah. I mean, to me, like I said, I think it's it's somebody that is doing a lot of planning uh beforehand and then
driving around looking, right, and looking for opportunities. >> Those boys started coming forward in May
of 2014. Now, later that same year, in October of 2014, marked the 25-y year anniversary of the abduction of Jacob
Wetling, and there were still no answers. It's still unsolved at this time. Well, Patty Wetling sat down with
CNN and they did the following story called Five Questions for My Child's Abductor. Uh, the first question she
wanted to ask is, "Who are you?" Uh, she states, "I believe that somebody knows.
It's time to quit protecting the bad guy, even if it is a family member. It's time to speak up for Jacob. Please tell
me who took our son. And if you are the abductor, it's time to tell. You cannot feel good about this. find some peace
and write back. >> Mhm. >> The next question she asked is, "Is Jacob still alive?" She says that
sometimes the phone rings and there's no there's no one there. It's probably a telemarketer or a wrong number, but her
heart cries out, "Jacob, are you there?" >> Right? >> I And she states that she saves articles
of kids coming home after long periods of time, 3 months, 9 months, 4 months, 7, 10, 18 years later, you know,
>> because she didn't want to give up hope. Yeah, these things can happen. And she
states, "I don't know. So, I hope and I pray that you got away, Jacob. We need you back. We love you more than the
flowers love the sun and the rain. My heart wants to be wants to believe that you're okay."
>> The next question was, uh, what made you think you could take a child? >> Yeah. She says, "Jacob is so deeply
loved and missed by his mom, dad, brother, sister, cousins, neighbors, and friends. Mhm.
>> I have read a lot about kidnappers and child molesters and I know that they are
all people, human beings that need help. Maybe you feel bad. Maybe you told someone, but I still live with so many
questions like how could you and how could anyone still keep this secret after all these years? You can free
yourself of carrying this. Please explain this to me. >> And then she would ask, uh, why didn't
you let him go? >> Yeah. She wants to know what happened. You probably had other boys that you
victimized and released. I think you meant to let him go and something went terribly wrong. I need to know what
happened. Please talk to me. And >> this is such a tough thing that you know a mother would have to go through just
even this this hypothetical questions that she would ask and the last one being uh what was the last thing that
Jacob said to you? >> Yeah. She states that Jacob had a keen sense of fairness and always stood up
for people who he thought needed an ally or a friend. He probably would have befriended you, too. I need to hear his
voice again or to hear the last words he said if he can't speak them to me himself. Please tell me what he said.
And like I said before, I mean, this is a really tough thing that a a mother would have to deal with. You know, her
11-year-old boy goes missing and he's been missing for so long. But I think she took this opportunity to talk to CNN
to, you know, one, I mean, just to get the message out to all parents and, you know, protect your children. Know where
your parent your children are. Do as much as you can to protect your children. Let people know that these
monsters are real and they're out there and this could happen to your family. I think she did it for that reason, but I
also think she did it for the reason of maybe that the the killer would hear this or the abductor would hear this
>> and that he would this would weigh on his conscience and that maybe he would be able maybe he'd come forward. Maybe
he would confess to this or confess to somebody or maybe somebody would hear this and start connecting the dots. And
maybe he's had like this extreme stress of always looking over his shoulder because of this one bad thing that he
did. >> And she's giving him an opportunity to reach reach out to us and take this
weight off your shoulders. Give us some closure. Tell us what happened. Turn yourself in. You won't have to live with
this stress anymore. Even though she will have to continue to always live with it.
>> Yeah. But at least she would get some closure. >> Yeah. And that that to me shows the
strength of the Wetling family now. And she's on the road to some form of closure and on the way to getting some
answers because in 2015 there's a man and his name is Daniel James Heinrich. He's a white man in his early 50s from
Anandale, Minnesota. Uh and he is named as a person of interest in the Jacob Wetling case. Daniel or Dany as he is
better known uh by his friends and relatives was the subject of a child pornography investigation. They had
found with him uh child pornography most of this involving young boys and they also found videotapes that apparently
Hinrich had filmed himself of boys in public that the boys were unaware that they were being filmed.
>> Right. Law enforcement obviously got a search warrant, but on those warrants,
see on these warrants here, they have to state what it is that they are seeking and they have to be somewhat specific
about this. >> And so, a lot of times, if you're able to view these warrants, it will give you
some insight as to what a what law enforcement officials may actually suspect one is guilty of. So, for Danny
Heinrich's uh search warrant, >> some of the items that they had listed and that they were searching for
included human remains, a red t-shirt with the name Wetling on the back, a red hockey jacket with the name Jacob on the
front. So, these are very specific items, and this is of course linking him immediately to the Jacob Wetland case.
So Danny was facing child porn charges in 2015, but after that, he strikes a deal with the prosecutor in the summer
of 2016. >> This is after he's convicted before, right? Yeah. >> He's actually convicted and he's going
to spend life in in jail for the child porn pornography charges. >> Well, I don't know if it was life, but
it was certainly a good amount of time. >> I think it I I I maybe I'm wrong, but I
think it was life. So they keep they >> I mean also mind you that he is older gentleman now. So you know you know uh a
30 40ear sentence could technically be life. >> So in the summer of 2016 this is when he
he creates this deal uh with the prosecutor and I don't know who came up with the idea of this deal. Um but the
he ends up leading them to the remains of Jacob Wetling. >> On September 3rd, 2016, Patty says that
the remains of her son had been recovered. >> Uh but she couldn't speak further on the
issue. >> It was kind of interesting though cuz you know they may they had this report
that came out that they're going to you know he's he is going to tell them where
the remains are. Then they had law enforcement out there and they did find rema remains. Now the next question was,
is this of Jacob or is it somebody else? And I and I think the parents had to assume right when they found out that
they found remains, they just had to assume and brace themselves for that it's probably going to be Jacob.
>> Yeah. And there were some details of that um confession and that agreement uh
the plea bargain that they had come up with that we can get into in a bit here. But it was on September 6th that Daniel
James Hinrich confessed to the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of 11-year-old Jacob Wedling. Now,
here's the thing. >> Mhm. the whole state, the whole country, you know, the there wasn't too many
people that didn't know about this case, especially in that area. And so, you're
talking about, of course, you have a family and friends and loved ones of Jacob that have been hurting like you
wouldn't believe for so long, but you also almost had a community that was in mourning as well. So, when the
prosecutor came to an agreement with the eventual killer, there was a lot of backlash from the public stating, you
know, how could you give a deal to this guy, right? >> Um, he ends up getting a deal that would
convict him of of only child pornography charges. He's not going to be charged with the murder of Jacob Wetling. That
was part of the deal. Um, and he's only going to receive 17 to 20 years, so he could potentially get out when he's in
his early 70s. Now, >> you're right. But I think it was more important for the family to get closure.
>> Well, it definitely was. And I think here the problem was that they had no evidence against this guy.
>> And a lot Well, and a lot of times too, the law enforcement will actually put,
excuse me, they'll actually put the decision on the family. >> Hey, we have this information. He claims
that he can lead us to Jacob. U we're going to give him this deal. Is that okay with you?
>> Right. And that's exactly what happened. Now, I have heard that had he not been
able to lead them to the remains, there were certain stipulations of this agreement,
>> right? Then the deal's off. >> Yeah. If you can't read lead us to the remains, we're not going to believe you.
Uh >> right. Right. Then the family gets zero closure. >> And furthermore, you know, they wanted
to make sure the Wetlings agreed to this deal. Um by this point, of course, Patty
and Jerry have to they just kind of have to know at this point, you know. Um, the
other thing too is that he had to confess and tell exactly what took place and what exactly happened. And he stated
that uh he had parked his car uh down the road a little bit. He went and he hid. He had saw the boys going to the
>> I told you there I told you there was a car involved. >> Yeah. He he saw the boys going to the
Tom Thor Thumb store. >> Right. Right. To rent a movie. >> And he thought, you know what? I will
ambush them on their way back. and he he kind of put his car at a distance. He abducted Jacob. He he had Jacob in the
vehicle with him. They drove to a remote location. Uh there he he assaulted the boy. And he says he says a couple things
happened that that Jacob had asked him if he you know he said he was cold and he wanted to go home.
>> And the Danny says, "I can't take you home." Um, which which is weird to me because I had always wondered, you know,
the the this abduction and what he did almost sounded like a ser a potential serial offender, uh, maybe serial
murder. And him saying that I cannot take you home almost tells me that that he determined when he abducted the boy
that he was going to kill him, >> right? >> Um, he then told the boy that he that
Jacob needed to turn around so that Dan could take a pee. And when when the boy turned around, he shot him in the back
of the head. Um, before this took place, I think Jacob was getting a feeling like
something wasn't going to work out when when he told him that he couldn't take him home.
>> Jacob had asked uh Dan, you know, what did I do wrong? What what did I do wrong?
>> Yeah. >> Um, it's it's a heartbreaking story. There's there's no good of this. I mean
there there has been, you know, the Wetlings have been so involved in in other uh helping other children and
other families of of these type of crimes. Um it's it's just heartbreaking to to recount this. Uh shortly after
Jacob had passed away, um Danny he >> stop calling him Danny like you know call him Dan. I don't know why.
>> Well, I apologize, but that's what he's referred to in the news as >> Yeah. It makes him sound like way more
innocent for some, you know what I mean? >> So So Dan Hinrich, he he attempted to
bury Jacob. Uh he was unable to do so. Um he went and found a I guess there was construction in the area.
>> Uh he found a bobcat, you know, one of those little miniature bulldozer type things and he used that to unear some
ground and he put Jacob in there and he he buried him. Um at some point he was questioned. Um he was questioned in the
Jacob in the uh Jared attack um because he had a vehicle that matched a description that Jared had given the
police. >> Uh he also had a police scanner in his car. Um he ended up at some point he got
scared and he went back to where he had buried the child and he noticed that he didn't do didn't do a very good job
because at some point there was u the jacket was showing was now visible and so he buried the boy one more time. Um
and there unfortunately Jacob remained until this case was solved late you know last year after they got
the answers that they were looking for in the Jacob Wetling case. Um it was confirmed uh Jared the other victim uh
who was let go. He he did say that yes after seeing Dan Heinrich uh and hearing him talk he was able to confirm that
that was the man that took him. >> Yeah. Um, and it's also believed and very likely, if not confirmed in some
cases, that he was also the the attacker or the attempted to attack other boys in
that Paynesville area. >> Yeah. I mean, this if you and I'll post a picture online for you guys to see his
mug shots and and then later on there there's there's two shots that I'll I'll send. one I think right when he was
arrested early in in 2015 and then one a couple years later or now his recent picture but he grew out this beard and
looks a little different but either way this guy is a very intimidating uh individual and normally I see these
mug shots and stuff not super intimidated by a lot of the people you know like you know Bundy's I mean even
though he's vicious doesn't you know scare me just on looks alone but but this guy uh He he there's kind of a
chill >> to his eyes and everything. It's very uh very evil. >> Not not always can you see the monster
on the outside, the monster that's hiding on the inside with him. >> It it's almost obvious, you know, um in
a sense. >> And one of the things I I wonder if he had some trauma as a as a kid himself.
>> He he did. That's another long story. Um and but I don't know that he was so much
a victim. I've looked into that story. He may have been a victim, so I don't want to put my stamp on anything, but it
sounds to me like he may have been a willing participant >> uh in some of in some of that situation.
Um he see Yeah, it seems like a lot of times though it's like um like they're wrestling with something and
that maybe that it won't get this far. Maybe it won't get to the point where you're actually abducting a kid. Maybe
it's not going to get to the point where you're you're assaulting the kid. It's then it obviously it's not going to lead
to you uh abducting them, assaulting them, and then murdering them. And obviously there's something either just
off or trauma or whatever. But God, you wish that this stuff never happened. And
I don't know if he planned to kill whoever he abducted when he set out that night or once he saw the boys. I've I've
I've gone through his statement time and time again and I go back and forth because you know that's like I said when
he says I can't take you home. Well, did that mean like the Jared situation where
you drive him somewhat near the home and let him go or what if that meant >> uh you know what if you know what if in
the other cases the boys didn't actually see his face and what if in this case he
he had the mask off for whatever reason. >> Yeah. you know, and and therefore because Jacob saw his face that that he
he felt that he had to kill him. You know, >> he he claims that uh he had heard a
police siren at some point and he panicked. >> Okay. >> Uh and and that's when he when he killed
him. Um I that could be an excuse. That very likely could be some kind of excuse. Um I don't know. See, I go back
and forth on that, Captain. If you're going to panic, you hear a police siren, I would assume police are
near, I'm not going to want to fire a loud gun. >> Either way, this guy is a sick evil
individual. >> Yeah. And I'd like to be like I'd like to try to be like a big, better, more
peaceful person than what I am. And I I >> I don't want to be >> and I I almost regret hearing these
words come out of my mouth. But he's going to spend 17 to 20 years if he gets off with good behavior.
>> Yeah. He's 17 17 years. And no, I'm not saying that it's worth it. I'm not saying it's worth that that it equals
that it equals out. What I'm saying is >> I wouldn't mind if something, you know,
get a little prison justice, uh, it happens. Uh, >> yeah. Well, hopefully that, you know,
there there's some real justice and that, uh, they connect him in other cases and they can tack on charges. I
mean, and and I'm glad that there's some closure for the family, but uh you know,
I want to see this guy spend the rest of his life in jail. >> Yeah, they do. They did have some
speculation, some stipulations in that agreement, and I don't know that they are allowed legally to talk to him about
other cases other than Jared or Jacobs. Um unfortunately, that's that's the situation,
>> right? But that doesn't mean that they can't go back and reinvestigate these cases. They know that this monster is
behind jail. They have 17 years to figure it out and keep him behind bars. >> Yeah. And he could have he could have
let Jacob go. That's the thing here. He could have let Jacob go. He let other people go. But for whatever reason,
whether he planned it or didn't plan it, at some point he decided that a few years of my freedom is worth more than
the life of this child. And it's I mean it's the worst of the worst, >> right? But it doesn't even matter if you
if you kept him, you know, if you let him go. I mean, anybody that sexually assaults a kid should spend their life
in jail. There shouldn't be like 10 years because you ruined somebody's life or you drastically affected somebody's
life. Spend the rest of your life in prison thinking about what you did, you stupid piece of [ __ ] You know, that's
the way I think. So, all right, let's wrap it up. >> Okay. Again, this week's recommended
reading is Hometown Killer. And you can pick that up by going to trueimegrage.com. click on the
recommended page and see all the books that we've recommended there and use that by going through the Amazon banner
and making a purchase. >> And a quick thank you to all of you for the support of last year 2016 and we
look forward to doing uh as many shows as we can in 2017 and it's all because of the support you gave us and rem
reminding you, hey, the best thing you can do is uh give us beer money. No, the best thing you can do is just tell a
friend, tell a family member about the show and it means a lot. >> That's right. And until next week, be
good, be kind, and don't litter. [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Jacob Wetterling /// Episode: 71 /// Part 2

TrueCrimeGarage.com

October 22, 1989 was the night of of a real life nightmare. Three young boys were returning home from a visit to their local Tom Thumb store after renting a movie. Blocks from their destination a man appears in the dark. He has the boys at gunpoint. He tells two of the boys to run into the woods. He drags the other boy away. The search for the missing boy Jacob started that night and lasted for almost 27 years. Join us as we discuss one of America's saddest and most talked about child abductions.

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Brief Summary

Danny Heinrich confesses to abducting and murdering Jacob Wetling after leading authorities to his remains in 2016.

Key points

Breaking News in Jacob Wetling Case. The suspect leads the FBI to remains being tested for DNA, raising hopes for closure.
The Abduction of Jacob Wetling. Jacob Wetling was abducted in 1989, and the case remains unsolved for years.
Strange Lead from a Psychiatrist. A barber confesses to killing two boys in 1958, leading to a police investigation.
The Alarming Discoveries. Investigators find disturbing drawings and fresh cement at the home of Vernon Seats.
The Mysterious Past of Vernon Seats. Vernon Seats claims he was abducted as a child and forced to kill another boy.
Dan Rasier's Involvement. Dan Rasier becomes the number one suspect in the case after a publicized search of his home.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Our hearts are broken. We have no words.

Patty Wedling's reaction to the news about Jacob Wetling's remains.

3:55WatchAug 18, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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