Summary: On Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, Daniel James (Danny) Heinrich of Annandale, Minn., who has been named as a “person of interest” in the October 1989 abduction of Jacob Wetterling, appeared in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on child pornography charges. Heinrich entered “not guilty” pleas on all charges. His trial was scheduled for July 11, 2016.
Summary: Excerpts from an excellent compilation by St. Cloud Times reporter David Unze of the history of the investigation of Jacob Wetterling’s abduction, focusing on 1990 case notes by private investigator Larry Peart while working as the lead investigator for Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District’s public defender’s office. The article includes an overview of the so-called Paynesville assault cluster, gleaned from the federal criminal complaint charging Danny Heinrich and the search warrant used to search his Annandale house in summer 2015.