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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Joseph Duncan

Summary

Joseph Edward Duncan III is the murderer and kidnapper who attacked a Wolf Lodge Bay family in May 2005.

Kootenai County deputies discovered three dead on May 16, 2005. Brenda Groene, 40; her fiance Mark McKenzie, 37; and her son, Slade Groene, 13, were bludgeoned to death. An Amber Alert was issued the next day for Brenda Groene’s two youngest children, 9-year-old Dylan Groene and 8-year-old Shasta Groene.

The murders and children’s disappearance launched the biggest investigative effort in Kootenai County’s history, at one point involving more than 100 FBI personnel and more than 80 investigators from several other agencies.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on July 2, Shasta was recognized by workers and patrons at the Denny’s in Coeur d’Alene, and her kidnapper, Duncan, was arrested without incident.

Duncan, 42 at the time, was a federal fugitive and a Tacoma native who had spent much of his adult life in Washington state prisons for sex crimes against children. He was on the run from a child molestation charge in Minnesota when he drove past the Groene home on Interstate 90 east of Coeur d’Alene and spotted Shasta and Dylan playing outside.

Over the July 4 weekend, investigators found Dylan Groene’s remains at a campsite near St. Regis, Mont.

On Oct. 16, 2005, Duncan pleaded guilty to three counts of kidnapping and three counts of murder in the deaths of Brenda Groene, Mark McKenzie and Slade Groene. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for the kidnappings. The sentences for the murders were undecided, pending federal prosecution.

More than two years later, after numerous legal delays and psychiatric evaluations, Duncan acted as his own lawyer as he pleaded guilty to 10 federal counts, including the kidnapping of the two children and Dylan’s murder, on Dec. 3, 2007.

On Aug. 27, 2008, a federal jury sentenced Duncan to death. The decision ended the state’s earlier case, with a judge imposing three more life sentences for those murders. Later, Duncan was given three more life sentences, for a total of nine, for his federal crimes.

Duncan pleaded guilty in the death of Anthony Martinez, a 10-year-old California boy, adding his 10th life sentence on March 15, 2011. Duncan has also been linked to the 1996 slayings of two young half-sisters in Seattle.

Key people

  • Joseph Duncan

    Joseph Edward Duncan III is the murderer and kidnapper who attacked an Idaho family in May 2005. Duncan was 42 at the time, was a federal fugitive and a Tacoma native who had spent much of his adult life in Washington state prisons for sex crimes against children. On Dec. 3, 2007, after numerous legal delays and psychiatric evaluations, Duncan acted as his own lawyer as he pleaded guilty to 10 federal counts, including the kidnapping of the two children and Dylan Grone’s murder.

  • Brenda Groene

    Brenda Groene, 40, was found at her home by Kootenai County deputies on May 16, 2005, bludgeoned to death, along with her fiance Mark McKenzie; and her son, 13-year-old Slade Groene. Her 9-year-old son Dylan Groene and 8-year-old daughter Shasta Groene were kidnapped by Joseph Duncan.

  • Mark McKenzie

    Mark McKenzie, 37, was found by Kootenai County deputies May 16, 2005, bludgeoned to death, along with his fiancee, Brenda Groene, 40; and her son, Slade Groene, 13, were bludgeoned to death.

  • Steve Groene

    Steve Groene is the father of Shasta Groene. His sons, Dylan and Slade Groene and his ex-wife, Brenda Groene, were killed in 2005 by Joseph Dundan. Shasta was kidnapped and was found two months later.

Key places

  • Wolf Lodge Bay

Latest updates in this topic


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    Kendra Martinez has kept herself out of trouble since the days of yore when she was the object of a tug-of-war between the Kootenai County prosecutor and the public defender. …


  • Joseph Duncan given two more life sentences

    Convicted serial killer Joseph Duncan received two more life sentences today for the 1997 murder of Anthony Martinez in southern California.


  • Joseph Duncan guilty plea brings 10th life sentence

    A convicted mass-murderer pleaded guilty today to the 1997 murder and torture of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez in exchange for life in prison without parole.


  • Duncan lawyers offer to settle California case

    Defense attorneys for the man accused of killing a 10-year-old Beaumont, Calif., boy in 1997 have offered to settle the case with prosecutors. During a hearing Tuesday morning in an …


  • Duncan requests attorney ahead of California trial

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  • Duncan murder trial put off again

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  • Duncan could face California trial next fall

    Joseph Duncan could face trial next fall on charges of murdering a Southern California boy in 1997.


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  • California judge says Duncan can act as own attorney

    Joseph Duncan will be allowed to act as his own attorney in a trial in which he faces the death penalty if convicted of the 1997 slaying of a 10-year-old …


  • Jury OKs Duncan trial

    INDIO, CALIF. – An Indio jury has found Joseph Edward Duncan III competent to stand trial in the 1997 kidnapping and killing of a 10-year-old boy. The jury deliberated for …


  • Calif. jury: Duncan competent to stand trial

    Convicted murderer Joseph Duncan is competent to stand trial in the killing of a 10-year-old Beaumont, Calif., boy, a jury has ruled.


  • Doctor: Duncan mentally fit for trial

    INDIO – In the years leading up to the arrest of Joseph Duncan, he battled with the dichotomy of good and evil and lashed out violently after suffering through life, …


  • ‘Pardon the expression, but he’s crazy,’ doctor says of Duncan

    When a psychiatrist visited Joseph Edward Duncan III at the jail in Indio, Calif., on Sunday, he asked if Duncan thought he was mentally competent to stand trial.


  • Jury hears expert’s analysis of Duncan

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  • California jury considers Duncan’s mental competency

    INDIO, Calif. — A Riverside County jury is considering whether a convicted killer is mentally fit to stand trial for the murder of a 10-year-old boy in 1997.


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  • Judge: Duncan should stand trial in Calif. boy’s death

    INDIO, Calif. — A judge has ruled that a man charged with the 1997 kidnapping, murder and torture of a 10-year-old Beaumont boy should stand trial.


  • Joseph Duncan extradited

    Joseph Duncan, the killer and child molester who attacked a Coeur d’Alene family, has been extradited to California, where he faces another possible death sentence for the 1997 kidnapping and …


  • Duncan extradited to California

    Joseph Duncan, the notorious serial killer and child molester whose attack on a Coeur d’Alene family shocked the state, has been extradited to California, where he faces another possible death …


  • Duncan moved to Indiana prison

    Condemned murderer Joseph Duncan has been transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary at Terre Haute, Ind., that houses the federal death row, but Riverside County, Calif., still is working to bring …


  • Duncan moved to Indiana

    Condemned murderer Joseph Duncan has been transferred to U.S. Penitentiary at Terre Haute, Ind. that houses the federal Death Row, but Riverside County, Calif. still is working to bring the …


  • Wolf Lodge Bay murder site razed

    The house that stood as a reminder of a terrible tragedy is gone. The Idaho Transportation Department on Saturday destroyed the Wolf Lodge Bay home of Mark McKenzie and Brenda …


  • Site of Wolf Lodge Bay murders demolished

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  • Judge tosses Duncan appeal

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  • Man gets 45 years for drug killing

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  • Ferris High School coach cleared

    The Ferris High School boys basketball coach accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl was cleared Thursday after the girl said she made the story up, her lawyers said. Don …


  • Groene home slated for demolition

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  • Feds want Duncan’s appeal tossed

    BOISE – Federal prosecutors are trying to toss out the appeal filed by standby attorneys for Joseph Duncan, saying he never wanted to appeal his death sentence and the attorneys …


  • Duncan appeals death sentence

    BOISE – Joseph Duncan is appealing his death sentence to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Duncan stood silent when the sentence was handed down in August, after he …


  • Duncan sentenced on remaining charges

    BOISE – In addition to three death sentences, killer and child molester Joseph Duncan is now under nine life prison sentences. “There’ve been no redeeming qualities demonstrated throughout the course …


  • Groene opposes California trial

    BOISE – Steve Groene, father of two North Idaho children murdered by Joseph Duncan, said Monday that he’s against trying Duncan for an additional child murder in California. “I’m going …