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Man admits to kidnapping and killing Jacob Wetterling in 1989

By Associated Press

This undated file photo provided by the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, shows Daniel Heinrich. |Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office via AP

A Minnesota man has confessed to kidnapping and killing 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling nearly 27 years ago.

Danny Heinrich made the admission Tuesday as he pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in federal court in Minneapolis.

Heinrich led authorities to Jacob’s remains last week, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing case.

This is a 1989 family photo of Jacob Wetterling, 11, who was abducted at gunpoint near his home in St. Joseph, Minn., on Oct. 22, 1989. | AP Photo/Wetterling family

He admitted abducting Jacob near the boy’s home in the central Minnesota community of St. Joseph on Oct. 22, 1989.

Authorities named Heinrich as a person of interest last October when they announced the child pornography charges.

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