I was reading the Jessica Lunsford thread and mentioned Joseph Duncan. I thought since I'm close in geography to this case, I should add it. The scary thing is my best-friend and I drove by this house on the day the family was killed, Dylan and Shasta were kidnapped. Here's what happened:
Sometime in May, Joseph Duncan-- having fled Becker County, Minnesota on charges of child molestation and attempted child molestation and having a warrant out of Fargo, North Dakota--stopped at the Wolf Lodge which is about 8 miles east of Coeur D'Alene on Frontage Road. The Groene and McKenzie family lived in a small white house next to the lodge. Duncan spotted Shasta, 8 and Dylan, 9 playing outside in the sprinkler. He watched the house during the day and used night vision goggles to watch the house at night. On May 15, 2005, there was a barbecue at the house and that's the last time four members of the family were seen a live. Sometime between Sunday, May 15 and Monday May 16, Duncan made his move.
On Monday, a neighbor who had hired 13 year old Slade Groene to mow his lawn, went to the house to pay Slade $10. There was no answer when he knocked but he heard a dog barking inside. Suspicious because the family's two cars were in the drive-way, the neighbor went home and called 911. At 6:15 pm, Kootenai County Deputies found three bodies in the house. Duncan entered an unlocked back door to the kitchen, he used zip ties and duct tape to bound his victims. Two bodies were found in the kitchen, the third in the living room. Deputies couldn't tell if they'd been beaten to death or shot. They were beaten to death. They were Slade Groene, his mother Brenda Groene, and her boyfriend Mark McKenzie. There was no sign of two younger children Dylan and Shasta Groene. At first, it was suspected that the murderers were a drug deal gone bad. Brenda and Mark were known to deal drugs.
On July 2, Duncan brought Shasta to Denny's in Coeur D'Alene. A waitress there called the police. Duncan was arrested and Shasta was reunited with her father. Dylan's bones were found in a campsite in Montana. Duncan plead guilty to state and federal charges to escape the death penalty. After his arrest, the police made him the prime suspect in a cold murder case out of California.
Here's a link to more about the case:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_k..._duncan/1.html