On the night of May 16, 2005, convicted sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan III broke into the Groene family home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after reportedly stalking the children. He killed nine-year-old Dylan Groene’s mother Brenda Groene, her boyfriend Mark McKenzie, and Dylan’s 13-year-old brother Slade Groene with a hammer, then abducted Dylan and his eight-year-old sister Shasta.

Duncan held the two children captive for weeks at a remote campsite in Lolo National Forest, Montana. Dylan was murdered there in front of his sister, and his body was burned in a campfire. Shasta survived and was found on July 2, 2005, after a Denny’s waitress in Coeur d’Alene recognized her from news reports and alerted authorities; that led to Duncan’s arrest and the recovery of Dylan’s remains.

Duncan pleaded guilty in state court to the killings at the family home and in federal court to the kidnappings and Dylan’s murder; he received multiple death sentences and life terms and later died in prison on March 28, 2021. Does anyone have memories of the Groene family or details about the case that haven’t been widely reported?