The Unbelievable Crimes Of Joseph Edward Duncan III

Joseph Edward Duncan III, was a convicted serial killer and child molester from the United States. He was sentenced to death by federal authorities for his involvement in the 2005 kidnappings and murders of several members of the Groene family from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Additionally, he was serving 11 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the same crimes and for the 1997 murder of Anthony Martinez from Beaumont, California.

The Background

He was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on February 25, 1963, to Joseph Edward Duncan Jr and Lillian Mae Duncan. He was the fourth of five children, with three older sisters and a younger brother. Due to his father's service in the U.S. Army, the family frequently relocated both within the U.S. and abroad, often moving every year or two.

They eventually settled in Tacoma, Washington, after the elder Duncan retired. Duncan's mother was described as domineering ,he claimed that she abused him as a child but this was disputed by his brother when he was arrested in 1980 . Duncan's parents divorced in 1979, and his sisters left the household soon after. Duncan remained with his mother, while his brother went to live with their father and stepfamily.

He was a troubled young man with a history of violent sexual crimes. His first ever known crime was the rape of a 9-year-old boy at gunpoint when he was 15 years old in 1978. He later admitted to a therapist assigned to the case that he had sexually assaulted 19 boys by the time he was 16. In 1980, he abducted and raped a 14-year-old boy and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He was released on parole in 1994 after serving only 14 years out of his sentence but was arrested again in 1996 for marijuana use. During his parole period, he is believed to have murdered three people, but these cases were not tied to him until later. He violated the terms of his parole and was returned to prison in 1997, but was released in 2000 with time off for good behavior and moved to Fargo, North Dakota.

In March 2005, Joseph Edward Duncan III was charged with the molestation of two boys in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota which occurred in June of 2004. He was granted bail of US$15,000 by a county judge in Becker County on April 5, 2005. A businessman from Fargo, who knew Duncan, helped him post bail but he disappeared after being released. A federal warrant for his arrest was issued on June 1, 2005, for the charge of "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution".

THE GROENE FAMILY MURDERS.

The bodies of Brenda Groene 40, Mark McKenzie 37, and Slade Groene 13 were found in their home by Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on May 16, 2005. Two of Brenda's children, Dylan and Shasta, aged 9 and 8 respectively, were found to be missing.

Authorities issued an AMBER Alert and searched the area for the missing children while investigating the deaths at the home as homicides. Autopsies revealed that the cause of death was "blunt trauma to the head" and the victims had been bound.

Seven weeks later on July 2, 2005, Shasta was spotted at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene in the company of an unknown man. The girl was recognized by a waitress, manager, and two customers who had seen media reports about her disappearance.

They called the police and prevented the man from leaving. The police arrived at the restaurant and arrested the man, later identified as Joseph Edward Duncan III. Shasta told the waitress and authorities who she was and was taken to Kootenai Medical Center for medical treatment and to reunite with her father.

Duncan was detained by Coeur d'Alene police on charges of kidnapping and his outstanding federal warrant. After she was found alone without her brother dylan, authorities began searching for him around the area.

On July 2005, human remains were found at a campsite that was located in a secluded area within the Lolo National Forest, situated near St. Regis in the state of Montana. The remains were sent to the FBI for analysis and autopsy and it was discovered that he was shot point blank on the head with a shotgun.

Shasta Groene being only surviving member of the Groene family, provided details of the murders to investigators. According to her, Joseph Edward Duncan III killed her mother, older brother, and mother's fiancé before kidnapping her and her brother from their home in a stolen Jeep Cherokee. She recounted that Duncan tied up the victims with nylon zip ties and then bludgeoned them to death.

Shasta and Dylan were taken to different locations where they were repeatedly molested and tortured for six weeks. Shasta reported that they stayed at two different campsites, and Duncan told her that he had beaten her family members to death with a hammer.

Duncan was also implicated in the molestation and death of 10 year old Anthony Martinez who went missing in 1997 and body was discovered about 2 weeks later. The partial print and composite sketch gotten at the time of investigation helped to indict Duncan for the crime.

HIS TRIAL AND DEATH

After a prolonged trial in both state and federal levels, he was finally sentenced to death and placed on death row. The jurors who sentenced Joseph Edward Duncan III to death were offered counseling to help them cope with the disturbing evidence presented during the trial.

The evidence included a 33-minute video of Duncan torturing, physically and verbally assaulting, and sexually abusing a restrained and nude Dylan Groene. The video showed the abuse taking place in various areas of a run-down wooden cabin. Other evidence presented included human remains, a wire noose found inside the cabin, and additional videos of Duncan torturing Dylan.

One of the videos included the sound of a child screaming in pain while a naked Duncan shouted, "The devil is here, boy, the devil himself… The devil likes to watch children suffer and cry!" Duncan died in 2020 at the age of 58 from a brain tumour in which he declined chemo and radio-therapies.