ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Nearly 30 years after he was abducted and assaulted near his Cold Spring home, Jared Scheierl finally got his day in court.
His journey to justice has all along run parallel to that of the Jacob Wetterling family, after both boys were abducted back in 1989. In 2016, Danny Heinrich confirmed the connection by confessing to abducting and assaulting Jared, and abducting, assaulting and murdering Jacob nine months later.
On Friday, Scheierl testified during his civil case against Heinrich about what happened back in January 1989. He recounted the attack and the years of nightmares, fear, paranoia and anxiety that followed, saying he also dealt with “repressed memory, guilt, shame.”
Scheierl also testified about the “revictimization” he endured during Heinrich’s legal proceedings, and how it cost him sleep, work and his family.
“Just losing that sense of family. That still gets me,” Scheierl tearfully testified in court on Friday.
Scheierl further recalled how he often dreamed about a “big black dog chasing him.” And he admitted that he struggled to trust others, just as he believed law enforcement did not trust or believe him early in the investigation.
“Trust is a big issue, and it takes me a while to establish that in relationships,” he said from the stand.
And on that point, his former wife – Lacey Scheierl – agreed.
“I think that I lost my marriage because of what happened 29 years ago. And I think I lost my marriage because of it all coming out,” she said in court.
Also testifying on Friday, a woman who knows Scheierl’s journey all too well: Patty Wetterling.
Wetterling described the “huge price” Scheierl paid in his efforts to find answers for himself and the Wetterling family. And she noted how the multiple legal steps represented additional setbacks to Scheierl’s recovery: “It was like getting hit over and over.”
“I’ve watched. I’ve watched Jared struggle. He was so incredibly, powerfully part of our resolution,” Wetterling said after the hearing, adding: “We really did just adopt this man. He’s a wonderful man. And he’s trying so hard to be happy and to be successful, and I think he will be. But it’s been a long hard, hard journey. I mean the search itself was 27 years for Jared. You don’t just, ‘Oh, that’s over.’ It just doesn’t work that way.”
Scheierl’s attorneys said they’re seeking millions of dollars in damages due to emotional pain and suffering and lost income. But they realize the case – that will likely be decided within the next month – is strictly “symbolic.”
“We all recognize that a judgment is probably not going to be collectible. We knew that from the first day, that was never the purpose of coming here,” said Doug Kelley, Scheierl’s attorney.
But Kelley continued: “Jared has been waiting for today since he was 12 years old. And this is the only time Jared gets to hold Heinrich personally liable for what Heinrich did to him.”
After the hearing, Scheierl addressed the media, saying: “I’ve learned a lot of patience through this. And that’s what the takeaway is.”
He added that he’s: “Nowhere near where I was two years ago, in regards to a level of anger or an idea of feeling injustice,” noting that, “today was a huge step.”
And after acknowledging the challenges of not being able to have his case criminally prosecuted – due to the statute of limitations – and watching his loved ones tearfully take the stand on his behalf, Scheierl imparted his own wisdom.
“If you’ve got anger in your heart, let it out, because it’s not good to carry it with you. It affects everybody else around you,” he said.
Neither Heinrich nor his attorney were in court on Friday. Heinrich is serving 20 years in a federal prison in Massachusetts on unrelated child pornography charges.