Topics
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Wolf Lodge Bay
Latest updates in this topic
Huckleberries: Strangers reward woman’s effort to turn life around
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
Convicted killer Joseph Edward Duncan, already condemned to die for a murderous North Idaho rampage in 2005 and about to stand trial in California for an earlier slaying, has reconsidered …
Duncan murder trial put off again
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A trial still appears to be at least a year away for a convicted killer charged with the 1997 slaying of a 10-year-old Beaumont, Calif., boy. During …
Duncan could face California trial next fall
Joseph Duncan could face trial next fall on charges of murdering a Southern California boy in 1997.
Appeal delays mount for Duncan sentence
Thirteen months after Joseph Duncan was handed three death sentences for his abduction and murder of a North Idaho child, his appeal languishes in its earliest stages at the 9th …
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
INDIO - Joseph Duncan, charged with the 1997 murder of a Beaumont, Calif., boy, is too delusional and psychotic to make his own decisions and understand his death penalty trial, …
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.
In brief: Man dies in rollover crash
A 54-year-old Spokane County man died early Saturday in a one-car accident on the Palouse Highway near Sands Road, south of Spokane. The driver, whose identity was not been released, …
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
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 …
In brief: Arrest returns Hall to jail after escape
One of Spokane’s most notorious criminals is back in jail. Detectives arrested Eddie Ray Hall about 6 p.m. Tuesday at a convenience store near U.S. Highway 195 and Cheney-Spokane Road, …
Judge tosses Duncan appeal
BOISE – Defense attorneys charged that the FBI plied Joseph Duncan with milkshakes and gifts to manipulate him into not appealing his death sentence, but a federal judge rejected that …
Man gets 45 years for drug killing
A Spokane man convicted last month of first-degree felony murder for the drug-related 2005 killing of 25-year-old Sebastian Esquibel was sentenced Friday to 45 years in prison. Spokane County Superior …
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
Shoulder-high weeds obscure the front entry, but the house where a North Idaho murder spree began still stands, easily visible to travelers passing on Interstate 90 just east of Coeur …
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 …