In January 1989, Jared Scheierl was kidnapped and sexually raped near Cold Spring.
This occurred just six days before he turned 13 and nine months before Jacob Wetterling was taken from a community that was 10 miles away.
Scheierl was able to survive the attack, despite the fact that it left him mentally damaged.
As an adult, he made it his mission to discover who assaulted him and the other youngsters who lived in the region at the time, as well as who was responsible for Wetterling’s death.
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Jared Scheierl: Who Is He?
Jared, a citizen of Cold Spring, Minnesota, was characterized as a caring and energetic individual when he was 12 years old.1
He was quite close to his parents and cherished the time he spent with his friends. Jared was born in the year 2002.
It was well known that Jared was an exceptionally bright student in school; nonetheless, most people spoke highly of his friendly nature and how it enabled him to quickly make friends.
In addition, Jared had a large number of close friends and enjoyed spending time outside, but a traumatic event that occurred in January 1989 completely altered the course of his life as he had previously known it.
Jared Scheierl: What Happened With Him?
Once it had gotten dark, Scheierl was making his way back to his house from the nearby skating rink.2
On the way, he had stopped for a malt at a restaurant, and then a man in a car approached him and asked for directions.
While Scheierl was explaining what had happened, the man who would subsequently be recognized as Danny Heinrich, the individual who recently admitted to kidnapping and killing Jacob Wetterling, forcibly placed the boy inside the vehicle while Scheierl was still speaking.
He claimed to have a firearm and wasn’t scared to use it in any situation.
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Scheierl, who is now a plumber and a rising community leader in the Paynesville area, would characterize his attacker using language that would eventually be used to describe Jacob’s kidnapper: He had a deep, raspy voice, an authoritative bearing, a gun, and a scary parting directive, which was to run away and not look back or he would shoot.
Because Heinrich wore a mask during the attack on Jacob, but not on Scheierl, the youngster became an important witness in the snowballing inquiry.
Investigators suspected that the two incidents were connected, thus they considered the boy to be an important witness.
Jared Scheierl: Current Location Explored!
In 2013, Jared learnt how a man known as Chester the Molester was held accountable for multiple sexual assaults that occurred in Paynesville in the 1980s. This information sparked Jared’s renewed interest in the case.
Even though he was contentedly married and already had three children at the time, Jared was nonetheless curious about the circumstances behind his kidnapping.
As a result, he initiated his own inquiry and sent multiple letters to the media regarding his findings.
In the end, his efforts were instrumental in convincing the police to reopen the investigation, and they employed cutting-edge DNA tracing techniques to identify Danny James Heinrich as a possible suspect in the case.
Danny was considered a person of interest by the police immediately after Jacob went missing; nevertheless, they were unable to connect him to the disappearance of Jacob and were therefore compelled to let him go.
This time, however, DNA evidence linked Danny to the kidnapping of Jared, and even though the statute of limitations prevented him from being prosecuted with the kidnapping, a plea deal soon led the suspect to confess to killing Jacob Wetterling.
In the wake of Danny’s arrest and conviction, Jared took legal action against his abuser in the civil court system in the year 2016, with the expectation that this would provide him with the sense of resolution he so desperately needs.
In the end, the judge sided with Jared in 2018 and decided in his favor, awarding him damages totaling more than $17 million. Jared Scheierl continues to make a career as a plumber and maintains a residence close to Paynesville in Minnesota at the present time.
In addition to this, a number of different sources identify Jared as a community leader, and media have highlighted the active role he played in the investigation into Jacob Wetterling’s murder.
In addition to that, readers will be glad to learn that he is in a loving marriage and is the proud father of three children.
Witnessing Jared’s bravery and resolve in the face of hopelessness is genuinely motivational, and we fervently wish that in the years to come, happiness will never be something that eludes him.
Jared Scheierl: Who Molested Him?
In addition to being a pedophile, a rapist, and a murderer, Danny Heinrich hails from Paynesville, Minnesota, which is situated about an hour and a half outside of Minneapolis. He resided in the same house as his father.3
Danny, who was initially indicted in 2015 on 25 counts of child pornography, was supposed to go to trial on the charges the following month when he led authorities to Jacob’s remains. Nonetheless, investigators were able to find Jacob’s body.
On Tuesday, he entered a guilty plea to one of the 25 accusations that were brought against him. In return for his guilty plea and confession, the remaining charges against him were dropped.
As part of the agreement, he will not be prosecuted for the homicide, rape, or kidnapping of Jacob Wetterling. This is because the defendant admitted guilt.
The parents of Jacob Wetterling agreed to the terms of the bargain, which effectively consisted of exchanging immunity from murder charges for the opportunity to discover what happened to Jacob and bring him back home.
Judge John Tunheim has indicated that the recommended punishment will be the utmost allowed by law, which is twenty years in prison.
After serving his sentence of 20 years, Danny will be 73 years old. In addition, Judge Tunheim stated that the offender may be subject to civil commitment as a sexual predator in the event that he survives the current term.
On November 21, 2016, he is scheduled to get his sentence.
Danny, who had as many as 150 pornographic images of children in his home and on his computer, including children younger than 12, admitted to downloading an image of a naked minor female on March 1, 2014, in addition to collecting other images. These children ranged in age from infants to children older than 12 years old.
Jared Scheierl Contribution The The Wetterling Investigation
Today marks the first time that a man has spoken publicly about his role in the resolution of the Jacob Wetterling cold case, which has been the subject of recent media attention.4
According to Jared Scheierl, “I had to overcome a tremendous degree of dread in order to get involved in the case approximately three years ago, and I documented some things that I felt significant or helpful in solving my case and potentially Jacob’s.”
Danny Heinrich was kidnapped and assaulted at the time he was taken nine months before the Wetterling family was taken.
Since then, Scheierl has assisted law enforcement in linking Heinrich to both his case and Jacobs, which ultimately led to a confession being made in court this week.
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