Duncan describes murders in detail, gets moved to state prison

After 478 days in isolation, Kootenai County’s most notorious inmate was transferred Monday to the state’s maximum-security prison in Kuna, Idaho.

Joseph Duncan was moved three days after an interview with Kootenai County investigators, a requirement of the Oct. 16 plea deal in which he admitted to three charges of murder and kidnapping.

Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said specifics of the interview won’t be released until after a related federal case concludes.

But in a news release, Wolfinger said Duncan on Friday provided “detailed information that was consistent with the physical evidence” at the Wolf Lodge home where the bludgeoned bodies of Brenda Matthews Groene, Mark McKenzie and Slade Groene were found.

“That fulfills, as far as the state’s concerned, his end of the deal,” county Prosecutor Bill Douglas said.

Duncan arrived at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution about 10:30 a.m. Monday. He will remain in state custody pending federal charges for crimes against Shasta Groene and her brother Dylan.

Duncan allegedly kidnapped the children from their home and held them captive for weeks at a Montana campsite, where 9-year-old Dylan was killed. Shasta, now 9, is the only survivor.

Federal prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if Duncan is convicted.