More Indictments for Joseph Edward Duncan III

My experience as a blogger who crosses over into the mainstream media from time to time began with the arrest of Joseph Edward Duncan III in July, 2005. Blogging I did in relation to that complex, haunting, and truly scary story eventually brought me the first invitation to appear on a news program, and also the first contacts I ever had from anyone in law enforcement.

In some ways, it's a story that keeps on giving, when it comes to true crime news.

I'm still moving entries over to this blog, but below is a link to the Wayback Machine's records of The Dark Side of Planet Huff, my original crime blog, as it appeared in the summer of 2005:

The Dark Side: The Groene Murders.

In August of 2005, a number of bloggers -- I was one of the first, but not the first (link goes to the first blogger to spot this) -- made note of Duncan's resemblance to the suspect who abducted Anthony Michael Martinez from the front yard of his home in Beaumont, California on April 4, 1997.

Duncan was absconded from parole at the time, and by his own account he was in California while on the lam. This time on the run in '97 sent Duncan back to prison to complete the rest of the 20 year sentence for rape that he'd begun serving in 1980.

It turned out that Riverside police were thinking along the same lines as the bloggers. It turned out that Duncan may have even made incriminating statements about Anthony Martinez. And a partial fingerprint found on tape binding Anthony's body when it was discovered, bludgeoned to death and buried in the desert, matched Duncan's prints.

There's major news about Duncan again today, even though he's already serving life in Idaho for murdering four members of the Groene family: "Joseph Duncan indicted by federal grand jury." From KNDO/KNDU:

A federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, this afternoon indicted Joseph Edward Duncan in the kidnapping of two children near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 2005.
The indictment charges Duncan with kidnapping 9-year-old Dylan Groene (GROH-nee) for the purpose of sexual assault, and for intentionally killing the boy after torturing him.

(...)

Federal prosecutors have already said they intend to seek the death penalty for the registered sex offender.

Earlier today, prosecutors in Riverside, California, said they will charge Duncan with the murder of a ten-year-old boy near Indio, California, a decade ago. Prosecutors say they also intend to seek the death penalty...

So the monster may finally get the chair or the needle one day, after all. Maybe Anthony will finally see some justice, after all.

The best link on the Web for information about Joseph Edward Duncan III is Jules Hammer's jetd63.blogspot.com, The Cellar. Jules is one of the finest amateur sleuths I've ever met, and her weblog (begun by the pseudonymous "Mickey Rat" shortly after Duncan's arrest and later turned over to Jules) is both a one-stop online shop for information about this particular serial killer and his crimes and the essence of what a crime blog should be. Blogs began as link lists and personal journals, and Jules has managed to stay true to the spirit of blogging and blend the personal with the factual at The Cellar in a seamless and engaging manner.

Also of interest:

• Blogging the Fifth Nail -- Joseph Edward Duncan III's own weblog, kept between 2004 and 2005. Duncan's blog should not be read in one sitting. Though there is nothing overt there as to what kind of animal he truly was, this is a weblog that works its way into your psyche until you think you hear his soft, chilling voice in your head. Read when it's light outside.
• 5nrevelations.blogspot.com -- Blog begun by proxy while Duncan was awaiting his first trial -- which ultimately didn't happen because he pled guilty. In one entry in this weblog, Duncan practically admits he is a serial killer.
• Video made by Duncan while he was a college student titled "Reality." The video itself is strange, somehow haunting, but safe to view. However, the site I used to upload the video (this was pre-YouTube) has since taken on a lot of adult advertising. So that fact renders the link potentially not work-safe. It was pretty barebones when I first uploaded that video over a year ago.

I'll continue moving those original entries over to this weblog, and whenever there's a new development in Duncan's case I'll cover it. Maybe one day he'll grow tired of his game and just reveal once and for all what his "demons" have driven him to do over the years.

(Tip of the old crimeblogger's fedora to true crime writer M. William Phelps, one-half of the blogging team at CrimeRant.com, for the heads-up on this story.)