Danny Heinrich Won't Be Charged For Killing Jacob Wetterling

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — After 27 years, a suspect in the abduction of Jacob Wetterling has admitted to kidnapping and killing the 11-year-old boy on the same night.

Daniel Heinrich confessed in U.S. District Court Tuesday, admitting he had abducted and murdered Jacob on Oct. 22, 1989.

"Danny Heinrich is no longer a person of interest," said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.

"He is the confessed murderer of Jacob Wetterling and nearly 27 years after he committed this heinous crime, he has been brought to justice. And Jacob is finally home."

Though Heinrich confessed to killing Jacob, he will not be charged with murder.

Until Jacob's body was located with the help of Heinrich last week, there was not enough evidence to prove Heinrich killed Jacob.

According to prosecutors, the only way to find Jacob's body and know what happened to him was to strike a deal that ensured Heinrich would not be prosecuted for his death.

Heinrich's plea deal

In October 2015, Heinrich was arrested and charged with possessing and receiving child pornography. These charges were pivotal to authorities striking a two-part agreement with Heinrich.

According to the Pioneer Press, the first part of the deal with Heinrich was that he show authorities the location of Wetterling's remains and confess what he did to him. The second part was that he must plead guilty to a child pornography charge and admit that he abducted and assaulted Jared Scheierl in Cold Spring, Minnesota, nine months before Heinrich killed Jacob.

Heinrich can't be charged in Scheirel's case because the statute of limitations has expired.

Without Jacob’s body, prosecutors weren't able to pursue murder charges against Heinrich. Until last week, the only physical evidence authorities had against him were tire tracks and a shoe print, but neither they were scientific matches.

Heinrich is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 21 by U.S. District Judge John Tunheim.

Heinrich may still be civilly committed as a sex offender after he serves his criminal sentence.

Heinrich recounts Jacob's last moments

Heinrich told the court Tuesday the details of the murder as Patty Wetterling, Jacob’s mother, sobbed.

According to the Star Tribune, Heinrich said he was driving on a dead-end road outside St. Joseph on the evening of Oct. 22, 1989 when he saw three young boys on their bikes.

Heinrich said he confronted the three boys and told two of them, Jacob’s little brother and his friend, to run. Heinrich then took Jacob into his car, where he handcuffed him to the front passenger seat.

According to Heinrich, Jacob asked, "What did I do wrong?"

Heinrich had a scanner in his car and heard police responding to the kidnapping. He told Jacob to duck down to avoid police as he drove out of St. Joseph.

Heinrich then drove into an area near a gravel pit in Paynesville, a town 23 miles out of St. Joseph, walked with Jacob to a stand of trees, and molested him.

Jacob asked to go home, but Heinrich said he couldn’t take him all the way home. Jacob then started to cry.

Heinrich said he "panicked" as a patrol car drove by.

I pulled the revolver out of my pocket. I loaded it with two rounds. I told Jacob to turn around.

I told him I had to go to the bathroom.

I raised the revolver to his head. I turned my head and it clicked once. I pulled the trigger again and it went off. Looked back, he was still standing.

I raised the revolver again and shot him again.

KARE 11 reported that Heinrich said he left Jacob there and went home to where he lived in Paynesville.

He said he returned hours later and dragged Jacob about 100 yards from the site to bury him.

Heinrich tried to dig a hole with a shovel, but it was too small. He went to a construction site, where he saw a Bobcat digger with keys in it. He used the Bobcat to dig a larger grave.

He buried Jacob in all his clothes, except his shoes, which he threw into a ravine.

About a year later, Heinrich returned to the site and noticed the spot where Jacob was buried was partly uncovered. Jacob’s jacket was visible. Heinrich put Jacob’s jacket, bones and skull into a garbage bag to move them to a new location.

When Heinrich found a new spot, he dug a hole and put the bones and jacket inside of it, with the jacket on top.

Heinrich led authorities to the second site while he was handcuffed last week. At the scene, authorities found fabric from a St. Cloud State University hockey jacket and a shirt with "Wetterling" written on it. Bones and teeth that were found matched Jacob's records.

KSTP reported that as a result of the plea deal reached Sept. 1, Heinrich's sentence could be up to 20 years in prison.

Patty Wetterling spoke to the media after Heinrich confessed in court Tuesday:

"Jacob Wetterling’s abduction in 1989 ended an age of innocence for central Minnesota and beyond and had a dramatic impact on how parents raised their children," said Sterns County Sheriff John Sanner.

"As the investigation wore on and years turned to decades the hope of resolving the case and bringing Jacob home never once faltered. A combination of steadfast determination, science and a unique collaborative effort involving local, state and federal agencies highlighted the value and importance of these relationships. Even though the ending is not what we had hoped and prayed for, Jacob is finally home."

Patch will continue to update this story.

Image via Sherburne County