Eleven: Jacob Wetterling

*Content Warning*
It is extremely rare for a child to be abducted by a stranger, and, thanks to the systems in place for child safety like the Amber Alert and laws regarding sexual predators, in most instances the case is resolved within hours.
But, in October, 1989, a child was taken from a small community, and it would take 27 years for answers to be found.

Special thanks to Evidence of a Crime for research and writing assistance.
All sources can be found on our website.
Crimelapsepodcast.com

Episode Transcript

(00:10):
Where is Jacob? Because for us, Jacob was alive until we found Until
we found him. This episode containsdisturbing details of child abduction, sexual assault,

(00:39):
and murder. Listener discretion is stronglyadvised. Welcome to crime laps I
am aline. Parents often impart wordsof wisdom on their children in the hopes
that it will keep them safe.Don't talk to strangers, look out for

(00:59):
oncoming traffic when crossing the street,and traveling groups. We drum these words
of advice into our children's minds forour own peace of mind. But some
things are out of our control.There are those in the world that seek
to do harm. Most child abductionsin the US are committed by one of
the parents of the missing child.It is extremely rare for a child to

(01:23):
be abducted by a stranger, andthanks to the systems in place for child's
safety, like the Amber Alert andlaws regarding sexual predators, in most instances
the case is resolved within ours.But in October nineteen eighty nine, a
child was taken from a small communityand it would take twenty seven years for
answers to be found. This iseleven Jacob wedderling Jacob Ear when Weatherling was

(02:00):
born on February seventeenth, nineteen seventyeight. He had an older sister,
Amy, and two younger siblings,Trevor and Carmen. The family of six
lived in Saint Joseph, Minnesota,and Jacob's parents, Patty and Jerry Weatherling,
were said to be living the Americandream. They had a beautiful home

(02:22):
and lived a normal family life.Jacob, who had sandy brown hair,
blue eyes, and a big smile, adored sports, particularly football and hockey,
and he enjoyed fishing with his dad. He was an enthusiastic little boy.
He loved dogs and was musically gifted. Having mastered the piano, he
was then learning how to play thetrombone. Jacob's mom, Patty, said

(02:45):
that one thing that was really importantto him was fairness. One day,
she asked Jacob, who played ingoals in football games, if it had
upset him when someone scored, andhe replied, no, if it went
in, it was a good shot. If I saved it, it was
a good save. He applied thisnotion to everything he did in sports and

(03:06):
life. Jacob didn't like homework verymuch, but he did film a video
of himself talking about his likes andhis dislikes for a school project. Yeah.
My home name is Jacob Urban.My favorite steak, favorite color,
that's why, my favorite I don'tknow I have a favorite song. My

(03:30):
favorite game is Clue. My favoritething to do most is watch football.
My favorite sports football. My favoritemovie shows a copy show What of You?
When I grew up as a footballplayer. My favorite hobby is collecting
football cards. I don't have afavorite book. And my new Spanish this

(03:53):
game finished. Saint Joseph's township wassituated in a fair rural area and at
the time, considered safe by manypeople who lived there. The population satted
around two thousand, five hundred people, and as small communities go, everybody
knew everybody, or so they thought. Without the Weatherling family realizing it,

(04:17):
their semblance of safety was about tobe shattered, sparking at twenty seven year
long mystery that would ultimately destroy theirlives. October twenty second, nineteen eighty
nine, was a normal Sunday forthe Wetterlings. The weather was warm,
and so eleven year old Jacob andhis dad had decided to go fishing.

(04:41):
Later that afternoon, they sat downto watch an American football game between Minnesota
Vikings and the Detroit Line. Afterthe game had finished, the family decided
to go to an indoor ice skatingrink. At the end of a fun
filled day, Patty and Jerry madetheir way to a friend's dinner party around
twenty miles away. The eldest daughter, or Amy, was sleeping over at

(05:02):
a friend's house. Jacob stayed athome with his ten year old brother Trevor
an eight year old sister, Carmen. The siblings were later joined by Aaron
Larson, Jacob's best friend. Fourof them sat around while watching TV before
getting bored, claiming there was nothingto watch. After a short while,
Trevor decided to call his parents atthe dinner party and asked if they were

(05:26):
allowed to ride their bikes to theTom Tom convenience store, which was just
over a mile away, to rentthe video. But Patty said no,
she thought it was too dark.Her main concern was that a driver may
not see them if they were ridingalong the road. But, as most
children do, when one parents saysno, they asked the other. Jacob
promised to wear an orange reflective vestand his friend would carry a flashlight if

(05:49):
they were allowed to go. Jaketold him that Carmen would be watched by
a fourteen year old neighbor until theygot back, and Jerry finally agreed.
Jacob, Aaron, and Trevor setafter the Tom Tomb store at nine fifteen,
and when they got there, theydecided to rent a copy of The
Naked Gun from the files of PoliceSquad, a comedy about an inept police

(06:11):
detective. The boys managed to makeit within a quarter of a mile of
the wedding home on ninety fourth Avenuebefore they were stopped by a man wearing
dark clothes and a black nile onface cover. The man had emerged from
a darkened driveway holding a handgun inhis right hand. He aimed to go
on at the boys as he orderedeach of them to turn off the flashlight,

(06:34):
throw their bikes into a ditch,and lay face down on the ground.
The boys did as they were told. The man peered into their faces
one by one and asked him theirages. He told Trevor and Aaron to
run into the woods, and hewarned them not to look back or else
he would shoot them. The manwas holding onto Jacob's arm when Aaron glanced

(06:56):
back for a final time. Terrified, Trevor and arm ran for their lithe,
hoping that Jacob would be close behindthem, but when they got to
the woods and turned around, Jacoband the man were gone. Trevor and
arm ran back to the Wetterling house, where they told their neighbor, who
was looking after carn On what hadhappened. The girl ran home to tell
her dad, Merlin Jerzac, andMerlin called the police immediately. He told

(07:21):
the dispatcher on next door to myneighbors. The Jerry Wettling family and some
other boys went down to Tom Tomto pick up a movie and on their
way back someone stopped them. Webelieved that they have one of the boys
because one of the boys did notcome back with them. The dispatcher spoke
about Merlin and Trevor to try andget a description of a masked man whilst

(07:44):
officers were on route to the property. Trevor said the man was the same
height as Merlin, roughly five footten, wore a black mask and spoke
like he had a called. Thedespatch suggested that Jacob may have run off
into the woods shortly after the boyshad gotten lost, but Trevor are that
Jacob had been taken. When achild goes missing, time is the most

(08:07):
important factor. Each moment that passesdecreases the likelihood that the child will be
found safe, because whatever evidence orclues there are to follow begin to disappear
as time goes by. The officersdrove to the crime scene to find the
two bikes and a scooter lying inthe ditch where they had been left,
but there was no sign of Jacob. Words of Jacob's kidnapping spread quickly and

(08:31):
everyone in Saint Joseph and the surroundingarea was out looking for the eleven year
old who stood around five feet tallwith brown hair and blue eyes. He
had a distinctive mole on his leftcheek. Jacob was last scene wearing an
orange reflective vest, a red SaintCloud Youth hockey jacket, a red tshirt
with a blue mesh vest over it, and blue sweatpants. He was wearing

(08:52):
a pair of high top Nike shoeson his feet. The police search for
any clues they could find, assistedby firefighters, helicopters, National guardsmen and
trackers with bloodhounds. They canvassed theWeddnings neighborhood and asked them if they had
seen or heard anything suspicious. DanRassier, a man who lived along ninety

(09:13):
first Avenue, recalled a car drivinginto his driveway and turning quickly at around
nine thirty pm. Dan Rassier didnot get a good look at the carb
because it had less so fast andit was dark. Officers scanned his driveway
and found two sets of footprints closeby. One set appeared to be smaller,
as though from a child's shoe,and the pattern of the footprints made

(09:35):
it seem as though a struggle hadoccurred. His driveway led to the exact
spot where Jacob was kidnapped, andthe police thought it was unlikely someone would
hunt for a victim and take themaway on foot unless they lived nearby.
At the time, thirty four yearold Dan Rassier lived at his parents and
was a music teacher who taught manychildren in the local area. Because of

(09:56):
this, he was immediately perceived asbeing odd. He was a key witness
from the very beginning. Dan washome alone that night organizing his record collection,
and he heard dogs barking twice atpeople using his driveway. Upon learning
about Jacob's disappearance, he helped thefamily search and assisted the police as much

(10:16):
as he could. The police interrogatedhim multiple times. He gave DNA samples,
and they requested that he underwent hypnosis. They also asked him to take
a lie detective test, all ofwhich he agreed to. The police also
searched his home but found nothing belongingto Jacob. Dan Rassier always denied having
any involvement in Jacob's disappearance, buthe remained a suspect. Investigators set up

(10:43):
a trace and track to be placedon the Waderling's home phone and Jerry's office
phone in case a ransom call wasmade. A command post was established at
the Delwin Dance Hall near the cityof Saint Joseph. The search parties collectively
combed thirty six square miles of land, but Jacob was nowhere to be seen.
As with any suspected child abduction,the FBI were involved, and the

(11:07):
only evidence they had that could leadthem to the masked man were the tire
and shoe tracks in the dirt.They released information that the kidnapper was a
white man believed to have been aroundtwenty five or thirty five years old,
but they didn't receive any information thatled them closer to Jacob. By the
third of November, officers are questionedover one hundred potential suspects and questioned around

(11:28):
two thousand drivers in the area.Hundreds of tips were coming in and police
were investigating them all thoroughly. Afew people came forward following the kidnap with
information they believed to be significant.Witnesses who were around the Tom Thumb store
had seen a red Chevrolet Cheveac shortlybefore Jacob was taken, and another described

(11:50):
the middle aged man loitering around TomThumb and another store who was watching employees
and left without buying anything. Theowner of the car was low cated and
ruled out, and despite the witnessproviding a detailed sketch, the man seen
loitering around Tom Tom was never located. A teenager also claimed he had witnessed

(12:11):
a boy being forced into a whitecar. However, this also turned out
to be a false lead. Overthe following months, the FBI continued to
release witness sketches to no avail.The story of Jacob's abduction had made national
news, but there were no significantleads, with both Jerry and Paddy ruled
out his suspects in their son's disappearance, the police had no idea what could

(12:33):
have happened to Jacob or where hecould have gone. Two months after Jacob's
disappearance, the FBI connected Jacob's caseto another child abduction that had taken place
in Cold Spring, around ten milesfrom Saint Joseph, approximately nine months earlier.
Although the assailant did not wear amask and he let the boy go,

(12:54):
the method of abduction was strikingly similar. Joy Baker, and internet blogger
interviewed the victim, Jared Scharrell,as an adult many years later and published
his account online. Jard was twelveyears old when the incident occurred on January
thirteenth, nineteen eighty nine. Hehad decided to go ice skating with a
large group of male and female friends, and afterwards, they all walked to

(13:16):
a nearby cafe to get hot chocolateand some food. At around nine thirty
pm, they separated and began tomake their way home. One of Jard's
friend's parents offered to drive him home, but he respectfully declined, knowing it
wasn't that far away. Along hisjourney home, a man pulled up in
the car next to him and askedhim for directions. As he began to

(13:39):
tell the man where to go,the man got out of the car and
grabbed him, telling him in thegun and he wasn't afraid to shoot him.
Jard was forced into the backseat ofthe car, where he was told
to pull a hat over his eyes. Jared recalled thinking that it must have
been a joke. The man droveJarred to an unknown location and sexually assaulted
him. Afterwards, he told Jaredthat it was okay to talk about it,

(14:01):
but if anyone found out who hewas, he would find Jared after
school and kill him. He droveJared to a location near his home and
told him to get out and run. He gave Jared the same ominous warning
Trevor and Aaron would be given ninemonths later, that if he looked back,
he would shoot him. Jared describedthe man as five foot eight inches

(14:24):
tall, with big ears and araspy voice. He also said that the
man had a police scanner in hiscar and weighed between one hundred and eighty
to one hundred and ninety pounds.When the FBI took over the case following
Jacob's disappearance, Jared spoke about howthe investigation surrounding his attack intensified. Despite
being thirteen years old and a victimof a horrific sexual assault, he was

(14:48):
interrogated extensively in an effort to determinewhether or not he was telling the truth.
He was even subjected to a polygraphexamination. Eventually, Jared told the
police he'd had enough, and hisparents made the decision to move away from
Cold Spring. They brought me toa point where I broke down, where

(15:09):
I mentally broke down, just physicallyexhausted, and I didn't have the answer,
and they wanted the answer and Icouldn't provide that. So my parents
made that decision that we should move. After announcing the connection between the two

(15:30):
cases, the FBI interviewed a manfrom Painesville named Danny Heinrich who fit the
description of the subject. However,he denied any involvement in either kidnapping.
Weeks later, the police interviewed himagain and took his shoes and samples of
his body hair for testing. Itwas at this point that Painesville officers alerted

(15:52):
the team who were investigating Jacob's caseto a string of sexual assaults that had
taken place over the last year,where Heinrich was resigning. Paynesville is roughly
thirty miles from where Jacob vanished inSaint Joseph. There was no evidence to
suggest Heinrich was connected to any ofthe cases. However, the FBI continued
to consider him a suspect and comparedthe tires he had in his car to

(16:15):
the ones that were found at thescene of Jacob's abduction. Jared Scharrell was
asked to sit in the back ofHeinrich's car and recall whether or not it
was similar to the car that wasused to abduct him. Jared confirmed that
it was. Police initiated a searchof Heinrich's home immediately with the aim of

(16:36):
finding Jacob or any of his possessions. During their search, they came across
two police scanners, along with alist of scanner frequencies. Horrifying me,
they also found a suitcase with imagesof children inside, one boy wearing a
towel, another in his underwear.Despite not having any children or any reason
to have the photographs, Heinrich claimedthey were innocent and they just didn't look

(17:00):
right. With all of this inmind, the police were almost certain that
Heinrich was the man they were lookingfor Jarrod was then shown a lineup of
men, including Heinrich, but hecould not pick him out. He said
the resemblance was a four out often. As for the tire and shoeprints,
the tires on Heinrich's car were alsoconsistent with the ones at the scene

(17:22):
of Jacob's abduction, but they weren'tan exact match, and his shoeprints were
similar, but insufficient detail on theshoe tracks at the scene meant that the
lab examiner could not determine whether ornot it was an exact match. Days
later, fibrous from clothing that Jarrodwas wearing on the night of his abduction
were compared to the interior fabric ofHeinrich's car and confirmed to have similar properties.

(17:45):
He was arrested for the abduction andsexual assault of Jard Shyrell, but
was released shortly after with no charge. The police believed at this point that
the chances of Jacob still being alivewere slim to none, and that the
man who had kidnapped him had probablymoved away from the area to avoid being
caught. Whilst the investigation was ontheir way, Patty and Jerry did everything

(18:10):
they could to bring awareness to Jacob'scase. They refuted the police statement that
he was no longer alive and hadhoped that he would come back one day.
Patty later claimed that the hope thatJacob was alive is what kept them
going through all the difficult years.They celebrated his twelfth birthday were around two
hundred people who had gathered to showtheir support, and together they launched a

(18:32):
Jacob Wetling Foundation in an effort toraise awareness and prevent the possibility of child
abductions. In nineteen ninety four,enact named Jacob Wetling Crimes Against Children and
Sexually Violent Defend Their Registration was passedby Congress. It ensured that anyone who
had offended a child violently or sexuallyhad to be monitored on a registry and

(18:55):
must provide an address to law enforcementso that their whereabouts are also known,
and to stop cases like Jacob's becominga more frequent occurrence. The years continued
to go boy and still there wereno further leads or news about Jacob or
where he could be. In nineteenninety seven, an agent hands the photograph

(19:15):
of Jacob was released to the public. His parents hope that if he was
still alive, somebody would recognize thephotograph and call in. However, this
was unsuccessful. In nineteen ninety nine, Patty wrote an open letter to the
abductor and convinced the media in thearea. The publisher, she writes,

(19:36):
I have found some comfort picturing younot as a mean, old, ugly
bad guy, but at one timeyou were an eleven year old boy,
someone's son, possibly someone's brother,needing and hopefully sharing the love an eleven
year old boy deserves. If thislove wasn't shared in your family, I'm
sorry. Every child is entitled tolove and Careen that the family and friends

(19:59):
proved you have failed answers for solong, you also hold the pain.
Please talk to me sadly. Intwo thousand and three, the tire tracks
to police had spent many years focusingon became redundant when a witness finally came
forward and admitted that he was usingthe police scanner when he heard about Jacob's

(20:23):
disappearance. At the time, hehad decided to drive there to see what
was going on, and left beforethe police got there. The man was
later ruled out as a suspect,and so the officers began to look at
who in the surrounding area could havecommitted the crime on foot. In two
thousand and seven, almost eighteen yearsafter Jacob had vanished, the Waterlings were

(20:45):
informed that a man from Kentucky hadcome forward to police, believing that he
may be Jacob and was suffering fromamnesia. His brothers. Trevor, who
had witnessed the kidnapping, said thatthe family were hopeful and something like amnesia
would explain why he hadn't come backto them. Although the man looked similar
to Jacob, he had a molein the same place on his cheek.

(21:07):
Fingerprints and blood tests quickly dashed anyhope that the family had had when it
was revealed not to be the childthey had missed and longed for for so
many years. On the twentieth anniversaryof Jacob's disappearance, Patty Werlin features in
an interview for ABC News where she'stalking about how she's never given up hope
that Jacob will come back one day. What is life without hope? I

(21:30):
couldn't do it. We hope forJacob, We hope for our grandkids.
We hope for every child who's homesafe today, and every child who's missing.
We learned early on that what happenedwas way bigger than Jacob and way
bigger than our family. It's aboutthis entire community was taken. Was there
was an innocence stolen. A lotof people ask, you know, how

(21:55):
do you do it? And it'slike, how can I not? And
every parent knows you would do anything for your children and are anything.
Got to be a little bit morethan we ever would have dreamed. But
but you continue. In twenty ten, the police came forward to announce that
Dan Rassier was an official person ofinterest in Jacob's disappearance. There was still

(22:18):
no evidence to link him to thecrime. He was the only person they
had taught at the opportunity to abductJacob. I'm full. Media cars lined
the streets outside his house, andRessier claims that he immediately began to get
their threats and trying any emails frompeople who were convinced that he had taken
Jacob. Dan was reported as saying, I had absolutely nothing to do with

(22:41):
anything with Jacob. I didn't doit. I had nothing to do with
it. The police began to searchthe property he had still lived in with
his parents on the fourth of Julyand to go up large portions of the
land in order to find Jacob's remains. The search ended shortly after, and
again the police didn't find Jacob orany of his possession. Finally, in

(23:02):
two and twelve, there was ahuge break in the case. Advancements in
DNA testing meant that the items ofcloding provided by the victims of the kidnapping
and sexual assaults before Jacob went missingcould be examined again. The items of
cloding weare a sweatshirt worn by Jaredon the night of his abduction and a
baseball cap from another child sexual assaultcarried out in Painesville. The sleeve of

(23:30):
the sweat short provided a full maleDNA profile that did not belong to Jared,
and two years later, in fourteen, the baseball had provided another mixed
DNA sample. They had held theprofile of three or more people. Jared
had become an advocate for the casein previous years and had spoken out about
his attack regularly. He had adesperate need for answers. I wanted to

(23:55):
do everything he could. He metwith Joy Baker, a crime blogger,
in two thousand fourteen. Joy hadalso discovered stories of eight other victims of
child abduction and sexual assaults in Painsville. When she was searching the old newspaper
articles. The victims, who wereall children were sexually assaulted at knife,
described a man who wore a mask, spoke with a low voice, and

(24:19):
threatened them with a gun or aknife. It seemed too much of a
coincidence not to be related. Jaredtried to find and contact each of the
victims to see if they would comeforward and speak about their story. It
took the police another year to matchthe DNA profile to somebody, and when
it was revealed who, public frustrationand anger towards the Sheriff's an FBI agents

(24:44):
investigating Jacob's case became increasingly apparent.In two fifteen, the full profile from
Jared sweatshirt was matched to Danny Heinrich, the original suspect who was interviewed just
days after Jacob had vanished, thesame man who had indecent images of children
all the way back in nineteen ninety. With the DNA confirmation, police initiated

(25:08):
the search of his home with theintention of possibly finding something belonging to Jacob
again and to question him about thesexual assault of Jared Charlot. Horrifyingly,
during the case, they found multiplering behind their files full of child pornography,
handcuff's, and ominous footage he hadtaken of children in the neighborhood who

(25:32):
were completely unaware of the dangerous manwatching them just a few meters away.
Danny Heinrich, now in his fifties, was taken into custody on October twenty
eight, twenty fifteen, and heldon charges for child pornography. Sadly,
the statue of limitations had passed onJared's case, and so Danny Heinrich could

(25:53):
no longer be charged with the assault. The police now knew that Danny,
the man who they had desperately insearch of far I've been in my arms
reached the whole time. He announcedthat Denny Heinrich was a person of interest
in Jacob's disappearance. Shot one laterby a Jerry Spoco following his arrest,

(26:14):
this is a little awe striking.Let me tell you. We just got
back from Colorado last night after spendingHalloween with our son and his wife and
our grandsons. That was a lotmore fun than this, believe me.
Anyway, Thank you, thank you, so much for being part of our

(26:37):
journey for twenty six years. Weare so very very grateful for all the
work that has got us to wherewe are today. No one person can
solve this case and bring Jacob home. It takes all of us working together
to do that. Obviously, lawenforcement plays a huge role, and you

(27:06):
guys too. You media play avery very important role in getting the information
out to the public. But youknow what, no one plays a more
important role than you, everyday citizensin reporting that little piece of information,

(27:26):
when added to other pieces of information, will solve the puzzle and bring Jacob
home. Thank you so very much. I also want to thank you for
being with us for twenty six years. It's amazing length of time. And
the reason we wanted to do thishere is because this is where it happens.

(27:52):
We still don't know who took Jacob. We have as many questions or
more as all of you, andwe will let law enforcement and the courts
and the process continue and will watchimpatiently for answers. But the one question

(28:14):
that we have said for twenty sixyears is where's Jacob? Where is Jacob?
And that's what we're always going toask, is where is Jacob.
That's what we've been trying to findfor all of these years. And I
really believe that somebody in this communityknows. We are really, really proud

(28:37):
of Jared and all of the victimswho came forward in Painesville. There may
be other victims, there may beother stories to share. What we do
know is that child sexual abuse andabduction is something that we can't tolerate.
And I refuse to be silenced bythis man. We were caught off guard,

(29:00):
like all of you, and wedon't have the answers yet, but
I refuse to be silent. Wehave to all. I know that there's
more good people in the world thanbad, and when good people pull together,
amazing things happen, and that's whatwe need to focus on. I
have been focusing on the world thatJacob knew and believed in for all of

(29:21):
his time, and I want usto remember that. I want us to
still know that hope is real.Hope is what Jacob knew. It is
a verb. You don't sit backand hope that good things happen. It
is all of you showing up.We know that missing kids come home after
long periods of time. You've seenthose stories. I've met those families,

(29:45):
and I will still always, alwayshope until we have our answers. But
we have to also focus on preventingthese things from happening so that no other
family would ever have to go throughthis. We can't tolerate victims, zation
of children. We need to teachour children how to not grow up and
harm another. It's not that hardhaving conversations starting at really really young ages,

(30:10):
about treating one another with respect,the golden rule. It's really basic
stuff. No hitting, no punching, don't talk like that. We can
do that. We can build aworld that values its children. Doug Wood
wrote a song so many years ago, and I honestly I sing it every
time I take off in a plane, and I think that the words are

(30:33):
so telling. He wrote, there'sa dream that we dream, how the
world should be where the children aresafe, where the children are free.
But we know if it's to happen, we must make it so. We
are Jacob's hope, and we areMorgan's hope. We're the hope for every
missing child who's still out there,and we're the hope for all of your

(30:55):
children, every child who's home safetoday it's our job as adults to build
that world where children can be safeand grow up and follow their dreams.
I've watched you play Jacob's tape repeatedly. It's like, when I grow up,
I want to be. That's whatwe're fighting for. When I grow
up, I want to be andthese kids need us to do that.

(31:19):
Dannie Heinrich insisted that he was notguilty of any of the charges put against
him. However, over the months, authorities work with Heinrich to come up
with a plea agreement. In returnfor a more Leneian sentence, Dannie Heinrich
could plead guilty to only one countof trial pornography and help the twenty five
counts he had against them, andin return, he would lead them to

(31:42):
Jacob Werling. As part of theplea bargain, if Heinrich co operated in
the discovery of Jacob Werling's remains,he would not be charged with his murder
or opluction. Patty and Jerry agreedto the plea deal because they were desperate
to find their son. I wantedto lay him to rest properly. Heinrich
finally confessed that Jacob's mortar in Augustand on the fourth of September two sixteen,

(32:06):
he led officers to the site whereJacob's body had been buried years before.
Heinrich was described as being emotionless ashe led officers to a remote farming
field in Stearns County and gesture thatJacob was around there, somewhere behind a
cluster of trees. The officers didn'twear uniforms and didn't use heavy machinery,

(32:27):
and their vehicles were parked out ofsight. They didn't want to alert anyone
to the possibility that they were lookingfor Jacob in what could have been a
false lead and cause a media frenzyas a result. As they broke through
the surface of the soil, theynoticed a small piece of red fabric sticking
out and uncovered what appeared to bea jacket. Patty and Jerry later confirmed

(32:52):
it was likely to be the oneJake was wearing that night, although it
had faded significantly and his name wasno longer visible. The team then searched
another area a few feet away usinga small digger and uncovered bones, teeth,
and a small red T shirt withthe name Weatherling printed on the back.
They then knew that they had finallyfound him. Dental records confirmed on

(33:14):
September six, twenty sixteen, thatthe remains did belong to Jacob Weadling.
His family were reeling from shock,grief, and exhaustion. They had waited
years for answers, and everything wasfinally over within a matter of days.
Jacob had been buried approximately thirty milesfrom where he was taken. Until that
day, the people of Minnesota hadleft their porch lights burning at night as

(33:37):
a symbol of hope and unity,a gesture that began in the early days
of the investigation in an effort tohelp Jacob find his way home. Everybody
believed that Jacob was still alive.Patty sent a message to a local television
station which simply read, all Ican confirm is that Jacob has been found

(33:57):
and our hearts are broken. I'mnot responding to any media yet as I
have no words. On the verysame day, at one pm, Heinrich
entered the court to face the chargeof one count of possession of child pornography
and to change his pleat to guilty. During the hearing, he finally came
clean about Jacob's last moment. Andwe must warn you that this part is

(34:19):
sensitive. Heinrich stated that around ninepm he was driving around the area when
he noticed three boys which would laterturn out to be Jacob, Trevor and
Aaron, on their bikes carrying aflashlight. He pulled into Dan Rassier's driveway,
facing out onto the road and waitedfor them to head back so he
can confront them. Around twenty minuteslater, he spotted them and launched his

(34:43):
plan. Wearing a mask and brandishinga revolver. He then asked them to
lay in the ditch with their bicycles, where he demanded they confirmed their names
and ages. He gave the children, offered them the video they just rented,
and shunned the flashlight in his face, which annoyed them. He then
told Trevor and Arrow to run andnot look back or he would shoot.

(35:04):
Finally, he handcuffed Jacob with hishands behind his back and put him in
the passenger seat of his car anddrove off quickly. He said that Jacob
asked him, what did I dowrong? He drove out of town listening
to the police scanner. In orderto avoid being caught. He thought the
safest option would be drive back tohis hometown in Painesville. He made Jacob

(35:24):
duck down in the seat and allowedhim to return upright. Once they had
left Saint Joseph, he drove toa sewage pond road stopped at a gravel
pit, where he uncuffed Jacob andmade him get undressed. In the dark

(35:45):
and freezing cold, Heinrich sexually assaultedthe eleven year old boy. Afterwards,
Jacob told him that he was cold, and Heinrich instructed him to put his
clothes back on. Jacob asked ifhe could take him home now, and
Heinrich replied he couldn't take him allthe way home because he lived too far
away. Jacob started to sob immediately, and Heinrich asked him not to.

(36:09):
In the distance, a police carwith no sirens drove past with its lights
on, and it caused Heinrich topanic. He instructed Jacob to turn around
under the guise that he needed tourinate, and Jacob complied. Heinrich loaded
his gun and pointed it at Jacob. Jacob stood there with his back to
him, unaware of what was aboutto happen. The little boy who believed

(36:31):
everything in life should be fair,intending to give the man who abducted him
some privacy. Heinrich then shot Jacobin the back of the head twice,
stating that the first shot didn't seemto kill him. Jacob collapsed to the
floor, and Heinrich checked to ensurethat he was dead before he drove off,
leaving him lying on the ground inthe gravel pit. After midnight,

(36:53):
he returned on foot and dragged Jacobaway. He stole a small bobcat digger
from a nearby instruction site and duga large tool to bury Jacobin. It
was approximately one hundred meters from wherehe had killed him. After disguising the
area with grass and branches, hereturned the bobcat and walked back to his
apartment. Around a year later,Heinrich walked back to the area again.

(37:16):
At this point he realized that Jacob'sskeletal remains were completely exposed, along with
his jacket, due to a treeor bush growing in the area that had
disturbed the soil. He gathered asmany of his remains as he could and
placed them inside of a black bag, where he transported them on foot to
the rural farm area where Jacob waslater discovered. When he got there,

(37:38):
he dug a hole around two feetdeep using an army trenching tool and placed
Jacob's remains inside and covered it overbefore leaving. Moments later, Heinrich went
on to confess to the kidnapping andsexual assault of Girard Shyrell, to the
kidnap and sexual assault of Geard Shirellthat had happened nine months before Jacob's murder.

(38:00):
At the end of the hearing,Heinrich pleaded guilty and was formerly convicted
of one count of the crime ofbeing in receipt of trial pornography. The
sentencing hearing began on the twenty firstof November twenty sixteen, and finally the
family and victims of Heinrich's horrible crimeswere able to address him in court through

(38:20):
victim impact statements. First to takethe stand was Gerard Charrell. He said,
I came here to day to givea statement something I've been waiting for
for a long time. At timesI thought that this day may never come,
but it's here. We're here today to hear the level of pain
and trauma that Denny Heinrich has inflictedon a number of people through the course

(38:44):
of twenty seven years or longer.And that being said a victim of physical,
verbal, and sexual assault. Iwas left that night to deal with
a lot of emotions, a lotof questions, and trying to seek clarity
in my own life. Along theway, I recognize my blessings life,
and I choose to go through lifehaving few regrets on the decisions that I
make. The idea that after today, after hearing the testimonies and statements from

(39:08):
the weddling family and recognizing the othervictims associated in all of this that aren't
being heard here today, I cansay that this is just one more step
in gaining closure to an incident inmy life that has defined me in many
ways. And to make it short, I understand that Dannie Heinrich has an
opportunity to speak to the court today. I'll have him know that I'll personally

(39:30):
be walking out at that time forthe fact that he should know that the
words he had spoken to me onthat evening haunted me for years, and
I don't choose to hear anything hewishes to say at this time. On
a final note, I just wouldsimply like to say to him, there
is nothing uncommon about common sense.I just wish you had more common sense.

(39:52):
Next to speak was Jacob's childhood bestfriend, Aaron Larson, who was
there on the night of the abduction. He said October twenty second, nineteen
eighty nine, like any other nightin life, was a knight of choices.
The choices that Jacob, Trevor andI made to start that night were
once that every child should be ableto make, to have fun, to

(40:13):
enjoy your friends, and to enjoylife. The choices that were made by
Daniel Henrich that night changed so manylives, so many wrong choices by him
that caused heartache and sorrow for manyyears. October twenty second, nineteen eighty
nine, I consider that the endof my childhood. A twenty years sentence
for Daniel Heinrich is a significant numberfor me. For twenty years, I

(40:36):
lived with a huge amount of guiltfrom the choices that were made that night.
I lived every day thinking I wasthe monster that night. I was
the coward that left my friend.I was the coward that ran away.
Every day I lived with believing thatme running away was a choice. During
all these years, every decision Imade revolved around Jacob and the guilt I

(40:58):
felt because I was still year.I was the last person who cared about
Jacob, to see him, tobe right next to him, and I
just left him. I just wantedto be Jacob's best friend again. I
couldn't take being the kid who leftJacob. The choices that Daniel Heinrich made
that night caused all of that.He took a beautiful, innocent life and

(41:20):
attempted to ruin so many more.I say attempted to ruin so many more
lives because he did not win.Evil does not win. Jacob's brother Trevor
also spoke. He said, Octobertwenty second, nineteen eighty nine changed my

(41:42):
life forever. I was a tenyear old boy with an older sister Amy
and an older brother, Jacob,and a younger sister, Carmen. From
the moment Jacob was taken, molestedand murdered, my life was never the
same. The entire dynamic of havinga brother was taken away. Losing Jacob
was hard enough for this man tohold this secret for almost twenty seven years

(42:02):
and continue to be free. Is, as Jacob would say, entirely not
fair. No matter how much youtell yourself it wasn't your fault, it
is always in the back of yourmind. On the night of October twenty
second, nineteen eighty nine. Thelife that I knew was stolen and changed
forever. This terrible, horrible creaturewho thought it was okay to just steal

(42:24):
another human being and then murder himout of his own fear of being caught,
is and always will be a threatto society. Any person that does
not value another person's life, andat any time they feel that their back
is against the wall and is willingto kill a child for no reason except
to save themselves from being caught,does not deserve to be free. Amy

(42:46):
Jacob's sister, then expressed how muchof her life had changed that evening following
the loss of her brother, theintense burden of blame that followed her parents
and siblings, and how it affectedthe way that she now parents her own
children as an adult. Jerry Wederlingfollowed, explaining how difficult it was for
him to be grieving the loss ofhis child and searching for answers whilst also

(43:07):
being considered a suspect because he didn'tshow enough emotion during interviews. He expressed
that as chiropractor business was massively affectedand that some people thought that it was
possible that he may have sacrificed hisfirstborn son due to the bahe Eve faith
that he followed. He then saidI missed Jacob so very much. He

(43:31):
and my dad had birthday's five daysapart in February. Jacob's middle name,
Irwin, was my dad's first name. We often celebrated their birthdays together.
They boutloved fishing and were both verygood fishermen. My dad was never the
same after Jacob's abduction, and Ibelieve it literly broke his heart. It

(43:51):
wasn't just Jacob's physical body that wasmissing these last twenty seven years. More
importantly, I miss all of thethings I didn't get to experience. Phil
phishing outings, pride fill school eventssuch as concerts, plays, sporting events,
graduation, April Fool's pranks, watchinggames together on TV and hearing Jacob
made a comment and then have theTV commentators say the same thing second later

(44:15):
times hanging out with his friends,possibly going off to college. Since October
twenty second, nineteen eighty nine,my common overriding emotion could be summed up
as sadness. Selfishly, the statementis only talking about how Danny Henrick's actions
affected me. Unfortunately, the rippleeffect is exponentially greater because these actions have

(44:37):
affected thousands of people. Finally,Jacob's mother, Paddy, addressed Heinrich directly,
explaining exactly what he did to herfamily when he took Jacob's life.
She said, words can't express themagnitude of pain that Danny Heinrich has inflicted

(44:59):
on me and my family every dayof our lives, since he hurt my
heart, my soul, and everyfiber of my being when he murdered our
son, Jacob, a child thatI carried for nine months and nurtured for
eleven years, eight months and fivedays. Jerry and I were minding our
own lives, raising four wonderful children, teaching them to be fair and honest

(45:22):
and kind. When Dannie Heinrich stoleJacob, my heart hurts. I miss
Jacob's touch, his smell, hisfreely given hugs. I miss his smile,
his laughter, his jokes, hisquestions, his zest for life.
I miss him playing with our dogand dressing him up in football jerseys.
I miss him playing football with theneighbors. I miss him coming home from

(45:44):
school and complaining when something happened thatwasn't fair. He hated things that weren't
fair. We hurt every day forall that we have missed. My heart
hurts for Jacob and all that hewent through that last night. It keeps
me awake at night. I wouldjust like to say some comments directly to
Danny Heinrich. You didn't need tokill him. He did nothing wrong.

(46:07):
He just wanted to go home.His attorney wrote that you play that night
over and over in your head,but you knew you planned to hurt someone
that night. You didn't just bringa gun to scare the boys. You
brought bullets. Why would you bringbullets if not to use them. Jacob
wasn't going away, and we nevergave up. He believed in goodness and

(46:27):
fairness. All that he was andall that he stood for is so much
stronger than your cowardice and fear.I will not wonder about you or waste
a moment of my time concerning myselffrom this day forward. It's my hope
that when we all walk out ofthis courtroom, we're leaving the negativity,
the fear, the anger, thehopelessness, the confusion as best we can,

(46:49):
and we're taking Jacob with us,his hopes, his dreams, his
smile, his laughter, his senseof fairness, and all that is good
that he stands for. After thevictim impact statements were delivered, Jacob's killer,
Daniel James Heinrich addressed the court ina hollow statement that simply read,

(47:13):
I am truly sorry for my evilacts that I have committed against the victims
and their families, and the shamethat I have caused brought onto myself and
my family. For the victim andthe victim impact statements that I read,
and the suffering and the pain thatthey have spoken here to day. I
will always remember mister and missus Wederling, the heinous acts, the selfishness,

(47:35):
and the unforgivable for what I havetaken away from you. I don't know
what else to say. I'm sosorry. Danny Heinrich was sentenced to the
maximum sentence possible for the child pornographycharge. He faced twenty years in prison.
Paddy and Jerard both spoke out publiclyduring a press conference immediately after leaving
the court. Here's what they said. I came here today to remember the

(48:05):
spirit of Jacob, and it's thatspirit that's motivated me through the years.
Along with Patty Wetterling. The othervictims that I've learned to know and become
friends with, also learned to knowand become friends with a lot of the
law enforcement up here today. Iwas thrown into this investigation not by choice,

(48:32):
but because I was a victim,a victim of an assault that in
so many ways to find who Iam today. If you would have asked
me twenty five years ago what mypurpose in life was, I wouldn't have
had an answer. If you wouldhave asked me eighteen years ago what my

(48:54):
purpose in life was, I wouldhave told you my daughter. Today,
I'm in a moment of transcending orfinding a new purpose and helping others gain
closure and what they need to moveon, to move forward and to keep

(49:16):
it positive. So, despite despiteeverything that is going on right now,
once it all slows down, Ihope to open the doors to the Painsville
community for starters. It's where I'velived for the last twenty seven years.

(49:39):
Be known to me that Jacob wasresting there the whole time. The irony
and that is surreal, and Ithink as a member of the community,
I think I can say that we'rewilling to create something positive out of all

(49:59):
of this tragic news and is heartbreaking, and it is I promised Patty three
years ago when I got involved thatI was going to try to keep it
positive. And that's uh that mypledge. I just want to highlight on
that I really wanted to say todayis about Jacob. He's taught us all

(50:20):
how to live, how to love, how to be fair, how to
be kind. He speaks to theworld that we that he knew, that
we all believe it, and itis a world that's worth fighting for.
His legacy will go on. Iwant to say, Jacob, I'm so
sorry. It's incredibly painful to knowhis last days, it's last hours,

(50:42):
last minutes. I couldn't do thiswithout my family. Um there, I'm
proud. I'm so proud of thelives that they've built and the happiness they
found and the children and grandchildren thatwe that we so enjoy, and that
that is the world. That iswhat gets us up in the morning.
That is the hope. That isJacob's hope. That is what we're going

(51:05):
to continue to do. I alsowant to say one huge shout out to
Jared Enjoy. Jared had the courageto stand up and say this happened to
me, And there are others,and they found the others and they talked
to those others, and many ofthem will never get that full confession.
And maybe it was Heinrich, maybeit was somebody else, but we know

(51:28):
we had other victims. But theydeserve so much credit for stirring this pot
until he was willing to talk.Thank you. We love you, Jacob.
We will continue to fight. Ourhearts are hurting. We will try
and pull. I would I wouldlove to talk to you all. I'm

(51:51):
just not ready yet because for us, Jacob was alive. So we found
we found him. We need toheal. Jared boiled a civil lawsuit against

(52:12):
Dannie Heinrich the following year and wasawarded seventeen million dollars in damages. He
acknowledged that he would not see anyof the money, but for him,
it wasn't about that. Danny Heinrichstole his childhood too, and because of
the statue of limitations expiring on thecase, Heimrick was never going to be
brought to justice for why he haddone to Jared when he was just twelve
years old. Being awarded the seventeenmillion dollars final him and that Jared had

(52:37):
some kind of justice and was nowable to state that Heinrich was guilty of
assaulting him, something that he hadwished he had the privilege of saying many
years before when FBI officers accused himof lying about his horrific assault. It
took almost thirty years to have hisday in court, but when he got
it and he won, Danny Heinrichwas no longer in control of his life.

(52:58):
Dan Racier also filed civil lawsuit againstthe Stearn's County Sheriff's Department. He
said that being named a person ofinterest by law enforcement in ten ruined everything
for him. By doing so,they defamed him and publicly embarrassed him,
causing him extreme emotional distress. Hewas saying countless letters and emails by people

(53:20):
accusing him of morder in Jacob andnumerous death threats, despite the lack of
complete evidence to support his involvement inthis crime from the very beginning. The
lawsuit labeled the misdirected investigation focused onDan Ressier as the strangest, most embarrassing
moment in the annals of Minnesota casecriminal investigation for the highest profile in Minnesota

(53:45):
case Unfortunately, his lawsuit was dismissedbecause the statue of limitations had elapsed by
just one year, and a subsequentappeal was also denied. Jacob's kidnapping had
completely shaken up this city of SaintJoseph, Running the lawyer, there's not
only those who lost Jacob, butwho were wrongfully suspected and publicly persecuted.

(54:07):
Many of the locals say they becameparanoid about home security and the safe area
was never viewed the same way again. One residence as his parents began writing
his name on the inside of allhis clothing to act as an identifier in
the worst case scenario. Another parentsstated that she panicked every time she lost

(54:29):
sight of her children, even ifit was for a few seconds, in
the fear that they may had beentaken. Many people in the area what
could have possibly went run inside ofthe investigation for Danny Heinrich to remain at
large, molesting children and access intrial pornography for years despite being the main
suspect in weeks of Jacob's disappearance.The questions were answered in September eighteen when

(54:54):
the Stearns County Sheriff led the pressconference about the hours that were made and
details that were missed in those crucialearly days. The place to start in
our discussion of how the Jacob Wedderlinginvestigation was conducted is not October twenty second,
nineteen eighty nine, the date ofJacob's abduction, but January thirteenth,

(55:16):
nineteen eighty nine. It starts withthe kidnapping and sexual assault of a twelve
year old Cold Spring boy. Januarythirteenth, nineteen eighty nine. The boy,
who was wearing a snow bill suit, was walking home from the side
cafe in Cold Spring about nine fortyfive PM when he was approached by a
man who pulled up and asked whereKramer lives. Nope, Cramer's living Cold

(55:39):
Spring in this area, which wouldindicate the perpetrator was likely a local person.
He also tells a victim following thesault has an appointment at the Red
Carpet Bar in Saint Cloud, whichwould also seem to indicate he is local.
After the boy approached the car,the man exited the car, grabbed

(56:00):
him and threw him in the backseatof the car and said I have a
gun, don't try anything. Followingkidnapping of the Cold Swring Boy. The
perpetrator drove in circles and backwards fora little bit Pierce Rights exaggerated turns and
trying to confuse him to the Pacificlocation. After the assault, the suspect

(56:24):
tells the cold Swring Boy, you'relucky to be alive. Start running,
keep running, to run, orhe would shoot him. On January sixteenth,
Pierce Rights Officer Zigglemeyer contacted this writerby telephone. Officer Ziglemyer indicated he

(56:45):
had information regarding a possible suspect andthe assault of the Cold Spring Boy.
Officers Zigglmyer indicated Danny Heinrich. Theyappear to dismiss Heinrich as this aspect based
on a few discrepancies in the ColdSpring Boys description of the suspect vehicle in
Heinrich vehicle, specifically because the vehicledid not have automatic seat belts and the

(57:10):
transmission was on the council. Nowwe turned to Jacob Wedderling abduction. October
twenty second, nineteen eighty nine.At approximately nine fifteen pm, a mass
subject approaches three juvenile males, AaronLarsen, Trevor Wetterling, and Jacob Weddling,

(57:32):
near the address of two nine sevenfour eight ninety first Avenue in Saint
Joseph Township. The mass male subjectabducts Jacob Wetterling. He said, I
got a gun, put the bikesin the ditch. Recall the cold Spring
boy. I have a gun,don't try anything. On October twenty fourth,

(57:59):
nineteen eighty nine, at three fortypm, less than forty eight hours
after the Wedtherling abduction, a victimand the Painsville incident appears at the Sheriff's
office and talks to Benton County DeputyTice, who is assigned to the task
force. He speculates that the incidentin Painsville are connected to the wedding abduction

(58:21):
because the way it was done quick, military and proficient. He tells a
deputy about incidents and states he sawtwo of the ambushes by the Painsville perpetrator.
He also gives the name of thePainsville officer assigned to the cases and
state a hat was left at thescene by a perpetrator. It is January

(58:43):
fifth, nineteen ninety before this leadsheet is checked out by a Saint Cloud
officer. A sign to the taskforce. On January eighth, nineteen ninety
Painsville Police chief has interviewed and saysPainsville has experienced actually one year of episodes,
and he believes that Danny Heinrich wasin the National Guard should be considered

(59:07):
a suspect in the molestations. Mylieutenant in Detroit Homicide Larry Kelly, used
to say, the light at theend of the tunnel, people, is
a train coming straight at you.The answers right here, Now we know
And if Frankie should have been knownfrom the onset of the Weddling abduction that

(59:28):
the light was not at the endof the tunnel, it was right here.
I mean, how many other boyswere abducted in Searns County while there
was one the Cold Spring Boy?An investigator should have been on that in
mere moments after Jacob was taken.How many other boys were assaulted in Stearns

(59:49):
County while there were seven and theywere in Painesville, where Danny Heinrich lived
and where ultimately where Jacob Weddling wasassaulted and murdered. But a report less
than forty eight hours after Jacob's abductionfrom a Painsville victim telling a Task Force
deputy that the Painsville cases and Jacob'scase was perpetrated by the same person because

(01:00:14):
it was quick, military and proficient. The tip was followed up on January
fifth, more than two months afterit was received. The young man's assessment
absolutely spot on. However, theseleads were followed up on owns a bakery
and is weird a pair of plegicdrunks described weirdos, the mentally challenged and

(01:00:39):
ill, a three hundred and fiftypound man, domestic assault perpetrators, delusion
old owners, a small child's drawingincess with a female and a man with
a piercing stare, and by Juneof nineteen ninety Heinrich is essentially forgotten and
there is a fixation on over theroad truckers. As a detective, you

(01:01:05):
have to learn to fight your bias. That is often done through arguments.
Task forces, in our view,followed group behavior, and when it goes
wrong, it really goes wrong.It is an unwillingness to see you're on
the wrong path. But in shortorder this task force was not just on
the wrong path, but on thewrong freeway and later on the audubon with

(01:01:27):
no speed limit. In this case, too many cooks spoiled the broth,
the soup, the stew, orin Minnesota, the casserole. The right
hand literally did not know what theleft hand was doing. There are huge
time gaps between interview, investigation,dictation, and transcription, sometimes more than

(01:01:50):
a month on important reports like searchwarns. These time gaps are most prevalent
in FBI reports. There's probably nobigger stressor. Investigating the abduction of a
child, we do a cost benefitanalysis, which in essence, we know
the child never got to experience life, according to mp or news dot org.

(01:02:14):
In January nineteen ninety, Heinrick's homewas searched and the police discovered photographs
of two boys improperly dressed and threepictures of other Cloud children, all hidden
inside of a suitcase on his property. They didn't confiscate them for evidence and
allowed Heinrich to destroy these photographs byborn in them. They also failed to

(01:02:35):
see the connection between the police scannersand Heinrich's property and Jared's account of his
attacker having a police scanner in hiscare. Heinox's arrest in nineteen ninety was
also timed inappropriately. He was arresteddrunk in a bar in February in connection
with sexual assault of Jared Child.Because of his levels of intoxication, he
should have been viewed as unfit tobe interviewed, but the police persisted and

(01:03:00):
denied all acknowledgment of the recent kidnappingand attacks on children. Heinrich was also
seen driving ratically during the same time, turning office car lights and driving through
the back crowds whilst under police surveillance, but his odd behavior was not questioned
any further by detectives. His shoesand tire prints were also identical that I

(01:03:20):
was found at the scene, laterrevealed by picture evidence, but this evidence
was clossed over and generally ignored untilmany years later. The officers also failed
to link the cases in Painesville incold Spring to Jacob subduction, and when
they did, months had passed.A year later, in nineteen ninety one,
police interviewed a convicted sex offender namedHart, who was a friend of

(01:03:45):
Heinrich's at the same time with thedisappearance. Heinrich showed him a pistol,
police scanners, a black ninja styleoutfit that one of the attack victims had
described. Then he asked Hart ifhe knew how to get rid of a
body. The police team investigating bothJacob's disappearance and the molestation attacks on children
in the area, or they failedthem, and they finally publicly acknowledged that.

(01:04:11):
Jacob's family continued to run the JacobWeathering a Resource Center, which they
had set up on his twelfth birthdaymonths after his disappearance. They run a
zero Abuse Project website. We're aneleven for Jacob movement that they promote the
parents across the world. The websitestates, Jacob Weathering loves sports. His
dad coached his soccer team. Hewanted to be a football player. He

(01:04:34):
was a skilled hockey goalie. Jacobalso believed in a fair and just world,
a world where all children know theyare special and deserve to be safe.
We ask you to be part ofEleven for Jacob. This movement centers
around eleven simple traits that Jacob valued. One be fair, to be coined,

(01:04:56):
tree, be understanding, for behonest, Why be thankful. Six
be a good sport. Seven,be a good friend, Hey be joyful.
Nine be generous, ten be gentleor other Eleven be positive. Jacob's

(01:05:23):
life was taken in the middle ofthe night by a stranger who he sadly
trusted to take him home to hissafe and loving family. Despite what Jacob
asked Heinrich that night, he didn'tdo anything wrong. He was a wonderful,
polite, caring, and loving childwith so much potential and a bright
future ahead of him. It tooktwenty seven years and Dannie Heinrich still didn't

(01:05:45):
face justice for what he had doneto Jacob or to the many other children
who he snatched and assaulted in themiddle of the night. But Jerry and
Patty finally got to lay their sonto rest, never having to worry again
about where he might be or ifhe was suffering any longer. Jacob's grave
reads Jacob's hope lives, and hishope will continue to live in the minds

(01:06:08):
of many people forever. Thank youfor listening. This episode was researched and
written by Evidence of a Crime,with additional research and writing by Ali McFarland.

(01:06:32):
All sources can be found on ourwebsite. For more information on this
case, you can view the sourceson the case files, which were released
in twenty eighteen. You should alsocheck out the APM podcast In the Dark,
which is an investigative series that coversJacob Werlin's disappearance. Crown Lapt is
an independent podcast produced by Ali McFarlandand co hosted by Adam We'll be back

(01:06:56):
in two weeks time with our nextepisode.