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Joseph Duncan Pleads Guilty to All 10 Federal Charges in the Kidnapping of Two Idaho Children and Killing of One

Duncan admitted kidnapping and abusing Shasta and Dylan Groene and murdering Dylan, 9. A jury would decide whether he should be put to death.

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Illustration of snow-covered steps with a single line of footprints leading to a federal courthouse in winter. Not an actual scene from the case.

In 2005, Joseph Duncan kidnapped two children from their home near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, after killing three members of their household. On December 3, 2007, he pleaded guilty in federal court in Boise to all 10 charges against him.

The charges covered the kidnapping and sexual abuse of Dylan Groene, 9, and his sister Shasta, then 8, and the murder of Dylan. Three of the counts carried a possible death sentence. Duncan pleaded guilty without a deal with the government, answering "Guilty" 10 times as U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge read the charges. "I will continue to accept that responsibility to the death, if necessary," he told the court.

Duncan, 44, had already pleaded guilty in Kootenai County state court to murdering the children's mother, Brenda Groene, her fiancé, Mark McKenzie, and the children's older brother, Slade Groene. Shasta was the only survivor; she was rescued in July 2005 when she was recognized with Duncan at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene. The guilty pleas left only the question of punishment, and in August 2008 a federal jury unanimously recommended death on all three capital counts. The court sentenced Duncan to death.

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