Jurors frowned, pursed their lips, some reddened visibly and one gasped audibly as U.S. Attorney Tom Moss detailed the horrific tale of Joseph Duncan’s crimes, intricately planned out in every detail in advance, culminating in the sexual torture and murder of a 9-year-old boy and an attempt to burn beyond recognition every piece of his body. An FBI agent, crawling through bushes near the Montana campsite where the murder occurred, later found a piece of the child’s head – thrown there apparently when Duncan shot him point-blank with a sawed-off shotgun. It was the only piece of Dylan Groene’s remains large enough, and not charred away, to be successfully tested for DNA. “He’s a little boy whose last days on earth were filled with experiences that no child should ever have to endure,” Moss told the jury. “He deserves the justice that only you can provide.”

Judge Edward Lodge then asked Duncan if he planned to give an opening statement. “Can I think about it during the recess?” Duncan responded. Lodge then called a 15-minute recess, and jurors filed out of the courtroom in stunned silence.

---

---