Jacob Wetterling Abduction Case File Will Be Released

STERNS COUNTY, MN — The closed investigative file regarding the Jacob Wetterling abduction and murder will be released to the public on Thursday, Sept. 20 just after 10 a.m. at the Stearns County Law Enforcement Center.

Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson will host a press conference, including a presentation on the key elements in the case, and take questions based on the presentation.

The release is required by Minnesota law. "Limited redactions" have been made, county officials said Friday.

Legal challenges from the Wetterling family

In June 2017, Jacob's parents, Jerry and Patty Wetterling, filed suit to keep portions of the file private that contained personal family information.

According to the Wetterling's attorney, Dough Kelly, Jacob's parents asked a judge to review a "less than three one-thousandths of 1 percent" of the investigation file.

Kelly said that is "intensely personal and protected from disclosure by the state and federal constitutions and the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act," the Pioneer Press reported at the time.

Kelley added that the Wetterlings "firmly believe in transparency in government and recognize that law enforcement files should generally be made public once a criminal investigation ends."

"Our lawsuit seeks to preserve the Wetterlings constitutionally protected privacy interests," he stated. "A very small part of the law enforcement file contains things which do not belong in a police file and misinformation of a character I've never before seen in 42 years of practicing criminal law."

Media organizations asked the court to deny the Wetterling's request. Among others, the request for a legal intervention against the Wetterlings' motion was filed by:

• The Minnesota Newspaper Association
• The Minnesota Broadcasters Association
• The Silha Center for Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota
• The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information
• Media organizations including KSTP, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Pioneer Press

In April, a Minnesota judge ruled in favor of the media, the Star Tribune reported.

The remains of Jacob, who disappeared in the small Minnesota town of St. Joseph in 1989, were found 27 years later in Paynesville.

Daniel Heinrich confessed in U.S. District Court in 2016 that he abducted and murdered Jacob on Oct. 22, 1989.

The Jacob Wetterling Story: What Went Wrong

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Image: MissingKids.Org, used with permission