Case overview
On May 16, 2005, 8-year-old Shasta Groene and her 9-year-old brother Dylan were taken from their home near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after three family members were found bound and bludgeoned to death inside. Six weeks later, a Denny’s restaurant employee in Coeur d’Alene recognized Shasta seated with an adult man and called police, leading to the arrest of Joseph Edward Duncan III and the recovery of Shasta Groene, the sole survivor.
What investigators found at the house
On the evening of May 16, 2005, authorities responded to a residence on Frontage Road in Wolf Lodge Bay, just outside Coeur d’Alene. Inside the home, investigators found three victims who had been bound with zip ties and killed by blunt force trauma: 13-year-old Slade Groene, his mother Brenda Groene, and her boyfriend Mark McKenzie. Two younger children, Shasta and Dylan Groene, were missing.
The scene showed signs of targeted violence. There was no forced entry. The victims had been restrained before being killed. Investigators recovered forensic evidence at the scene, but initial searches of the surrounding area yielded no immediate leads on the missing children. Authorities issued an AMBER Alert and began canvassing the area for witnesses.
The timeline suggested the attack occurred late in the evening or overnight. Family members had last spoken to Brenda Groene earlier that day. A neighbor reported seeing an unfamiliar vehicle in the area around the time investigators believed the attack took place, but the description was not specific enough to generate early leads.
The search and investigation
For six weeks, law enforcement conducted ground searches, reviewed traffic camera footage, and followed up on hundreds of tips. The FBI joined the investigation. Investigators looked into family connections, recent disputes, and anyone who had been in contact with the household in the days leading up to the killings. No ransom demand was made. No credible sightings of the children were reported.
Authorities also examined registered sex offenders in the area. Joseph Edward Duncan III, a convicted sex offender with a violent criminal history spanning multiple states, had been living in the region. Duncan had recently failed to appear for a court hearing in Minnesota related to a previous offense and was considered a fugitive, but investigators had not yet connected him to the Groene case.
Duncan had been arrested in 1980 for the rape and torture of a 14-year-old boy in Washington State. He served 16 years in prison and was released in 1994. In 1997, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy in Kansas and served additional time. At the time of the Groene kidnappings, Duncan was under court supervision and had removed his GPS monitoring device weeks earlier.
The recognition at Denny’s
On July 2, 2005, at approximately 2:00 a.m., an employee at a Denny’s restaurant in Coeur d’Alene noticed a young girl matching Shasta Groene’s description seated in a booth with an adult man. The employee had seen media coverage of the case and called 911. Officers arrived within minutes.
Shasta Groene was found sitting with Joseph Duncan. She was visibly malnourished and showed signs of prolonged trauma. Officers took Duncan into custody without incident. Dylan Groene was not with them. Shasta was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
During subsequent interviews, Shasta provided investigators with an account of the abduction and the weeks that followed. She described being taken from the home along with her brother and held at multiple remote campsites in western Montana and northern Idaho. She told investigators that Dylan had been killed weeks earlier.
What Duncan told investigators
Following his arrest, Duncan made statements to law enforcement and later provided additional details in court filings and recorded interviews. He admitted to surveilling the Groene home for days before the attack. He entered the residence armed with a shotgun, restrained the occupants, and killed the three victims before leaving with Shasta and Dylan.
Duncan described taking the children to a series of remote campsites in the Lolo National Forest in Montana. He documented parts of the abduction on a video camera recovered by investigators. The footage corroborated Shasta’s account and provided direct evidence of the abuse both children endured. Dylan Groene was killed by Duncan several weeks into the abduction, and his remains were later recovered based on information Duncan provided.
Duncan also admitted to other violent crimes during interrogations. In 2005, he was linked to the 1996 murders of Sammiejo White and her half-sister Carmen Cubias in Seattle, as well as the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez in California in 1997. DNA evidence and Duncan’s own statements connected him to those cases.
Charges and legal outcome
Duncan was charged in both federal and state court. In October 2006, he pleaded guilty in federal court to kidnapping Shasta and Dylan Groene, resulting in Dylan’s death, and to other related charges. He was sentenced to multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole. In 2008, a federal jury in Boise convicted Duncan on additional charges and recommended the death penalty. He was formally sentenced to death in 2011.
Duncan also faced state murder charges in Idaho for the deaths of Brenda Groene, Slade Groene, and Mark McKenzie. He pleaded guilty to those charges in 2008 and received three additional death sentences in state court. Duncan waived his right to appeal the federal death sentence.
He remained on death row at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, until his death from brain cancer in March 2021. He was 58 years old. Shasta Groene, who had been kept informed of major developments in the legal proceedings, released a public statement following his death.
Investigative findings and digital evidence
Investigators recovered Duncan’s personal computers, external hard drives, and digital media during searches of his property and storage locations. The devices contained journals, photographs, videos, and other materials that detailed his criminal history, his planning of the Groene abduction, and documentation of the crimes he committed during the six-week period.
Duncan had maintained a blog prior to his arrest in which he wrote openly about violent fantasies and his belief that he would offend again. Portions of the blog were reviewed by investigators and used as evidence in court. The writings demonstrated premeditation and provided insight into his decision-making leading up to the attack.
Forensic analysis of the video evidence recovered from the campsites provided critical corroboration of the timeline and the conditions under which the children were held. That evidence was presented during sentencing proceedings and contributed to the jury’s decision to recommend the death penalty.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “The Girl in the Diner” (Investigation Discovery)
- Documentary: “Kidnapped: The Shasta Groene Story” (Lifetime)
- Podcast: “Casefile True Crime”
