Man Admits to Abducting, Killing Missing Minnesota Boy in 1989

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-admits-abducting-killing-jacob-wetterling-missing-minnesota-boy-1989-n643506

This story is a chilling one....

It is horrible.....hopefully he will meet his untimely death in prison.

Joanimaroni wrote:It is horrible.....hopefully he will meet his untimely death in prison.

I'm all for that.  This one's just too awful to contemplate.

RealLindaL wrote:

Joanimaroni wrote:It is horrible.....hopefully he will meet his untimely death in prison.

I'm all for that.  This one just too awful to contemplate.

I agree Linda, it is just incomprehensible this level of evil . . . . .

He's only facing 20 years for the pornography. He should be executed. There is no statute of limitations on murder. I don''t care if they made a deal w/ him. Execute him!

knothead wrote:

RealLindaL wrote:

Joanimaroni wrote:It is horrible.....hopefully he will meet his untimely death in prison.

I'm all for that.  This one's just too awful to contemplate.

I agree Linda, it is just incomprehensible this level of evil . . . . .

The thing I just can't get past, knot -- almost wish I hadn't heard it -- was the poor boy asking, "What did I do wrong?" and crying, saying he wanted to go home.   And, of course, he never saw home again.    
{{{deep, deep sigh}}}      

I totally understand Viking's desire for execution, but the family needed to know where the body was and the deal was the only way.  And of course the plea bargain has to be honored or all other plea bargains to come will be impacted.  

I have to believe the prison population will take care of this monster.  Just hope it's done sooner rather than later, and as painfully as possible.

[quote="RealLindaL"]

knothead wrote:

RealLindaL wrote:

Joanimaroni wrote:It is horrible.....hopefully he will meet his untimely death in prison.

I'm all for that.  This one's just too awful to contemplate.

I agree Linda, it is just incomprehensible this level of evil . . . . .

The thing I just can't get past, knot -- almost wish I hadn't heard it -- was the poor boy asking, "What did I do wrong?" and crying, saying he wanted to go home.   And, of course, he never saw home again.    
{{{deep, deep sigh}}}      

I totally understand Viking's desire for execution, but the family needed to know where the body was and the deal was the only way.  And of course the plea bargain has to be honored or all other plea bargains to come will be impacted.  

I have to believe the prison population will take care of this monster.  Just hope it's done sooner rather than later, and as painfully as possible.[/quote


Hate being in serial agreement but, again, I agree . . . . .

RealLindaL wrote:

knothead wrote:

RealLindaL wrote:

Joanimaroni wrote:It is horrible.....hopefully he will meet his untimely death in prison.

I'm all for that.  This one's just too awful to contemplate.

I agree Linda, it is just incomprehensible this level of evil . . . . .

The thing I just can't get past, knot -- almost wish I hadn't heard it -- was the poor boy asking, "What did I do wrong?" and crying, saying he wanted to go home.   And, of course, he never saw home again.    
{{{deep, deep sigh}}}      

I totally understand Viking's desire for execution, but the family needed to know where the body was and the deal was the only way.  And of course the plea bargain has to be honored or all other plea bargains to come will be impacted.  

I have to believe the prison population will take care of this monster.  Just hope it's done sooner rather than later, and as painfully as possible.

They'll put him in segregation and he will get out in 20 years. I'd rather not know where the body is than for him to get away w/ this.

Vikingwoman wrote:
They'll put him in segregation and he will get out in 20 years. I'd rather not know where the body is than for him to get away w/ this.

With all due respect, VW, you're not the child's mother so I don't know how you can say that.  

As for segregation, we'll see just how well that protects him over time.  Stay tuned.

Linda, I said that based on my preference and if it was my child. Having the remains of a dead child would do nothing for me. I would rather have the perp pay for his crime and never be able to do that again. The mother may feel differently and rather have the remains but I wouldn't. That's how I can say that.

I didn't think they had evidence to convict without his confession comfirmed by the location of the body?

He was a suspect before. They don't need a body to convict him. He admitted he killed the boy.

Vikingwoman wrote:He was a suspect before. They don't need a body to convict him. He admitted he killed the boy.

Viking, please go back up to Z-man's initial post on this thread and thoroughly read the article. Pkr is right -- there was more to the deal than just locating the remains, and that included the confession.

Linda, they dropped 24 pornography charges at 20 years a piece for the confession. Maybe they couldn't have convicted him for the murder but he would have never gotten out of prison, if they hadn't. Now he's got 20 years max for just one charge and w/ good behavior can get out sooner. He's only 53 so he'll have some life left. Considering they had him on the sexual assault of the other kid which they couldn't charge him for, I'd have left him w/ the 25 charges but that's me. I would not have wanted to know the horrific death of my child like that to haunt me forever but that's me. They knew he was dead anyway.

Vikingwoman wrote:They knew he was dead anyway.

Actually, in the televised statement what she said was that, to the family, he was always alive, "...until {she said, choking up} we found him."

I don't know if they truly believed he was alive but now they know the awful details of his death which will haunt them to their graves.

I could be mistaken and don't claim to be an expert in these matters, Viking, but from everything I've personally ever seen or read, the vast majority of these families want to know, even if the details are horrible, because the not knowing -- and thus the families' terrible, unbidden imaginings over endless days and nights -- haunt them worse than the reality.  

Here's just one example I ran across in a quick google of the many articles available on the subject:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/for-families-of-missing-children-the-pain-is-not-knowing/article_161f1ef7-14e3-58a2-b9c7-49f0b7b2b2f2.html

And the salient bit from that article (BBM):

"Kelly Murphy knows what it feels like.

"She runs Project Jason, a nonprofit in Yakima, Wash., that assists the families of missing people. She said every family she had helped was thankful for the resolution when it came, even in worst-case scenarios involving a brutal murder. It surprised her at first. But she came to understand.

“'Because having an answer is better than not knowing,' Murphy said.

And for many of them, Viking -- again, from everything I've seen or heard, not saying it's gospel -- it seems that finding the remains can mean bringing their son or daughter "home," to a place where they can be visited.  It may seem an odd comfort to those of us on the outside looking in, but I do think it's a help to many.  

Listen, I don't mean to try to tell you how to feel or think when you imagine how you'd react in a similar situation.  I'm just not at all sure it's the way actual parents of missing children typically feel or think.

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. I'm sure there are many parents who after finding out wish they didn't know the details. I personally would not as that would haunt me just as bad or more than not knowing.Is it better to live in hope as false as it might be or live in the worst nightmare of your life? It's just a matter of preference.

Vikingwoman wrote:Is it better to live in hope as false as it might be or live in the worst nightmare of your life? It's just a matter of preference.

Yeah, I guess it's pretty much like the personal preference/decision as to whether to believe in a god and an afterlife, or instead accept a different, but perhaps more likely scenario, as difficult as that might be for sentient beings such as our human selves.

Well I can live my life not believing in an after life and it wouldn't cause me suffering. I could not knowing my child's last moments were filled w/ unspeakable horror and pain. It's just more than my psyche can handle.

I understand.