The events of the past week have had a profound impact on many Minnesotans as we process the final chapter in a decades-old mystery.

For those of us who actually remember when the news broke about the abduction of an 11-year-old boy in central Minnesota on October 22, 1989, the recovery of Jacob Wetterling’s remains from a farm field near Paynesville, and the public confession of the man who kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered Jacob has produced an emotional roller coaster.

Unlike many so-called “cold cases,” Jacob’s fate seem to remain near the forefront of our collective consciousness as the years clicked by and we watched the Wetterling family cope with a tragic story that we all knew deep down was going to have a horrible ending. When Danny Heinrich confirmed our worst suspicions, there was a little bit of relief that the mystery had finally been solved, but the news mainly produced overwhelming sadness for an innocent life cut short and far-reaching impact of the actions of an evil individual.

So much about the case is incomprehensible, which prompted KROC-AM’s Rich Peterson to connect with an expert criminologist on “Rochester’s Good Morning.” You can listen to the entire interview with Dr. Katherine Brown by clicking play on the YouTube video at the top of this post.

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