Sole survivor speaks in 2-hour special examining horrific murder of Idaho family
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IDAHO FALLS — A two-hour special examining the kidnapping of a northern Idaho girl and the murder of her family will premiere Monday night on Investigation Discovery.
‘People Magazine Investigates: Groene Family Massacre’ takes a closer look at the 2005 Coeur D’Alene case that captivated the nation.
Investigators were called to the Groene home where they discovered Slade Groene and his mother Brenda Groene, along with her boyfriend Mark McKenzie, were bound and bludgeoned to death. Brenda’s two youngest children, Dylan and Shasta Groene, were gone.
Amber Alerts were issued and massive search efforts were organized but it was a 2 a.m. visit to Denny’s when a waitress recognized Shasta with the man who abducted her. Police rushed to the restaurant and took Joseph Duncan into custody. Investigators soon learned Duncan tortured Shasta and Dylan before killing the boy in front of his sister.
Duncan was sentenced to death for the crimes and was also convicted for the 1997 killing of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez in California. The killer also admitted to the 1996 killing of two young girls in the Seattle area, but he was never charged. He died on death row of brain cancer in March 2021.
The Investigation Discovery program includes a rare interview with Shasta Groene, her grandmother and other family members. The Denny’s waitress and police investigators are also featured in the show.
‘People Magazine Investigates’ airs at 10 p.m. MT on Investigation Discovery. Watch a preview in the video player above.