Joseph Edward Duncan III - Convicted Sex Offender & Murderer Sentenced To Death

    Joseph Edward Duncan III has a long history as a violent sexual predator. In 1975, at the age of 12, Duncan confessed to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy. In 1980, he was clinically diagnosed with antisocial personality, while serving time for home invasion, raping a young boy at gunpoint, and later fleeing from police in a high-speed chase, two years prior. While still serving, he confessed to therapists that he had tied up six younger boys and sexually assaulted them, later admitting to raping a total of 13 young boys - all before he turned 16. Throughout the 90's, Joseph Duncan was in and out of custody, due to numerous violations of his parole.

    In 2004, Duncan was charged with groping the genitals of a six-year-old boy. He was arrested and charged in April 2005 in Minnesota. The judge granted bail at $15,000, which he eventually skipped out on. Duncan publicly recorded many of his violent sexual fantasies, and engaged in many pro-pedophile campaigns to repeal sex offender and predator laws. He was actively involved in several infamous online pedophile organizations. Much of this activity was done while in prison, with the aid of other pedophile activists working as a ghostwriter for him.

Joseph E. Duncan III with Shasta Groene on security camera

    While fleeing from authorities, Joseph Duncan continued to update his journal. On July 2, 2005, Duncan was finally arrested while in the custody of missing 11-year old girl Shasta Groene. Shortly thereafter, the remains of the missing 9-year-old Dylan Groene were discovered. Duncan was then connected to the murders of Brenda Groene, Slade Groene, and Mark McKenzie while kidnapping the children. A month into the investigation, Joseph Duncan is linked to a separate crime - the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez.

    On August 27, 2008, a federal court sentenced Joseph E. Duncan III to death after he plead guilty in December 2007 to 10 federal counts involving the kidnapping & torture of the children, and the murders. At the conclusion of this trial, it is likely Riverside County officials will now prosecute Joseph Duncan for the slaying of Anthony Martinez.

    A much more in-depth timeline of Joseph Duncan's criminal history, is published here. The author of the blog, The Cellar also features extended details on all of Joseph Duncan's activities, if you can stomach the details.

Groene / McKenzie Online Memorial