Murder of Jacob Wetterling

American murder case

On October 22, 1989, Jacob Erwin Wetterling, an 11‑year‑old from St. Joseph, Minnesota, was kidnapped from his hometown and murdered later that night. His abductor's identity remained unknown for nearly 27 years. On September 1, 2016, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recovered human remains from a pasture near Paynesville, about 30 miles from the abduction site. On September 3, Wetterling's family announced that the remains were Jacob's, and authorities confirmed the identification through dental records. On September 6, Danny Heinrich, a long‑time person of interest in the 1989 abduction and sexual assault of 12‑year‑old Jared Scheierl, confessed to kidnapping and murdering Wetterling, as well as abducting and assaulting Scheierl.