Letters From Dylan, Shasta Revealed In Court
BOISE — A handful of letters from Shasta and Dylan Groene revealed in court Thursday showed what they were thinking while Joseph Duncan held them captive for weeks in western Montana.
Several handwritten letters from Dylan and Shasta were presented as evidence Thursday at Duncan’s federal sentencing hearing in Boise. The letters revealed what Dylan and Shasta knew about the murders of their family members and it also appeared that Duncan led them to believe both would be going home.
In one of the letters, Dylan wrote to his sister Shasta about how God had told “Jet” – Joseph Duncan – to let him go home to his dad, Steve Groene.
The letters were never sent and were found inside Duncan’s stolen Jeep Cherokee.
In addition to the letters jurors heard from Shasta Groene for the first time during the trial Thursday. In dashcam video recorded from Officer Shane Avriett’s patrol car, Shasta decides to vent after Duncan’s arrest and tells Avriett her brother Dylan was in heaven, describing what happened the day Dylan was killed, that Duncan had accidentally shot Dylan and then burned his body.
Shasta told Avriett that Duncan “killed a lot more people than you probably don’t even know about” and Duncan had decided to bring her home because she taught him how to love.
