Joseph Edward Duncan

Joseph Edward Duncan III (February 25, 1963 – March 28, 2021) was an American convicted serial killer and child molester who was on death row in federal prison following the 2005 kidnappings and murders of members of the Groene family of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Joseph Edward Duncan III was born in Fort Liberty, North Carolina, on February 25, 1963.

He was the fourth of five children born to Joseph Edward Duncan Jr and Lillian Mae Duncan.

He had three older sisters and a younger brother.

Duncan's father was in the United States Army, and because of this the family moved from city to city both within the U.S. and abroad, changing locations every year or two until the elder Duncan retired to Tacoma, Washington when the younger was around 12 years old.

He committed his first recorded sex crime in 1978, when he was 15 years old.

In that incident, he raped a 9-year-old boy at gunpoint.

The following year, he was arrested for driving a stolen car.

He was sentenced as a juvenile and sent to the Jessie Dyslin Boys Ranch in Tacoma, where, according to a report by the Associated Press, he told a therapist assigned to his case that he had bound and sexually assaulted six boys.

He also told the therapist that he estimated that he had raped 13 younger boys by the time he was aged 16.

Duncan's parents split up in 1979, and would divorce in 1983.

His sisters soon left the household all at once and Duncan remained behind with his mother, while his brother went to live with their father after some time.

His father would later remarry, giving Duncan a stepfamily.

Duncan attended Lakes High School but did not graduate.

Duncan had a long history as a violent sexual predator.

Duncan's mother was described as a domineering woman, but although he claimed after being arrested in 1980 to have been abused as a child, his younger brother disputed this.

In 1980, Duncan stole a number of guns from a neighbor and abducted a 14-year-old boy, raping him at gunpoint.

During his incarceration, authorities connected Duncan with the unsolved murders of Anthony Martinez in California and two girls in Seattle, which all occurred when Duncan was on parole from 1994 to 1997.

In all, Duncan was convicted in Idaho for kidnapping and murdering the three victims in Coeur d'Alene, for which he was given six life sentences: in federal court for kidnapping Shasta and Dylan Groene and murdering Dylan, for which he was given three death sentences and three life sentences; and in the state of California for kidnapping and murdering Martinez, for which he was given two life sentences.

Duncan died on March 28, 2021, at the age of 58, as a result of a terminal brain tumor.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for this crime, but was released on parole in 1994 after serving 14 years.

While out on parole, Duncan is known to have lived in several places in the Seattle area.

Additionally, Duncan confessed to — but had not been charged with — the 1996 murder of two girls, Sammiejo White and Carmen Cubias, in Seattle, Washington.

At the time of the attack on the Groene family, Duncan was on the run from a child molestation charge in Minnesota.

He was arrested again in 1996—this time for marijuana use—and released on parole several weeks later with new restrictions.

Authorities believe that Duncan murdered Sammiejo White and Carmen Cubias in Seattle in 1996 and Anthony Martinez in Riverside County, California, in 1997, during his parole period; however, both those cases went cold and were not tied to Duncan until after his arrest in the Groene case.

He was also serving 11 consecutive sentences of life without parole for the 1997 murder of Anthony Martinez of Beaumont, California.

Duncan was arrested in Missouri and returned to prison in 1997 after violating the terms of his parole; he was released from prison on July 14, 2000, with time off for good behavior and moved to Fargo, North Dakota.

In March 2005, Duncan was charged with the July 3, 2004, molestation of two boys at a playground in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

On April 5, 2005, he appeared before a Becker County judge, who set bail at US$15,000.

A Fargo businessman, with whom Duncan had become acquainted, helped him post bail.

However, Duncan skipped bail and disappeared.

On June 1, a federal warrant was issued for Duncan's arrest on the charge of "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution."

On May 16, 2005, authorities discovered the bodies of Brenda Groene, 40; her boyfriend, Mark McKenzie, 37; and her son, Slade Groene, 13, in their home along Lake Coeur d'Alene, outside the city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Two of Brenda's other children–Dylan, 9, and Shasta, 8 –were missing.

An Amber alert was issued and searchers combed the area for the missing children while authorities investigated the deaths at the home as homicides.

Autopsies determined the cause of death to be "blunt trauma to the head"; authorities also noted that the victims had been bound.

Seven weeks later, in the early morning hours of July 2, 2005, Shasta was seen at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene in the company of an unknown man.

A waitress, manager, and two customers at the restaurant recognized the girl from media reports.

They surreptitiously called police and positioned themselves to prevent the man from leaving.